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LINCOLN — At the end of the day, Nebraska football is 1-0.

The Huskers used a 35-8 second half to push past Ohio 49-21 on Saturday. This was the third straight season-opening win for the Big Red, and the 100th such win in the 137 years of Nebraska football.

But the debut of the 2026 campaign and the Rob Aurich era on defense got off to an inauspicious start.

On the first play from scrimmage, Bobcat quarterback Nick Poulos found a wide-open Riley Neer for 68 yards. Two plays later, Ohio was up 7-0.

Just 1:11 into the season, Nebraska was trailing inside Memorial Stadium to a program from the MAC.

The Huskers answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:30 off the board. It was capped off by a short touchdown run from true freshman Jamal Rule. That was just the first of three for what became a massive first collegiate game for the running back.

After a pair of Ohio field goals, Rule took an Anthony Colandrea pass 24 yards for another touchdown, putting Nebraska up 14-13. The Big Red wouldn't trail the rest of the way.

The second half saw a dominance from Nebraska that many expected would have shown up at the start. After a negative play was followed by an intentional grounding penalty, the Huskers launched their only punt of the final two quarters. That was followed by five straight touchdown drives to put the game away.

Ohio made the second half somewhat interesting with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats converted for two, bringing the deficit to just seven points. However, they would only gain 21 yards the rest of the way, including a turnover in their own end.

Besides an opponent that showed up ready to play, Nebraska also had to battle the heat. At the peak heat time of the day (1:30 p.m.), the playing surface inside Memorial Stadium was 140 degrees.

Not necessarily a product of the heat, but the first game saw Nebraska commit nine penalties for 65 yards. At no point in 2025 did the Huskers commit more than seven penalties.

Rule finished with 15 carries, 122 yards, and two touchdowns, adding two catches for 47 yards and another score.

Colandrea completed 18-of-32 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was transfer wideout Kwazi Gilmer, who was targeted 10 times. Gilmer ended with five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Two Huskers tallied at least 60 yards receiving: Mekhi Nelson, 65 yards; Jacory Barney Jr., 60 yards. Nelson had a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown.

Nebraska stays home next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on FS1.

Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

• Today’s game marked the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Ohio. Hall of Fame Coach Frank Solich handled the coin flip. Solich was the head coach at Nebraska for six seasons and served as Ohio’s head man for 16 seasons.
• Nebraska’s victory marked the third straight year it has won its season opener and was the 100th victory in a season opener in 137 years of football. Nebraska now owns a 100-32-5 all-time record in season openers.
• Freshman running back Jamal Rule scored Nebraska’s first touchdown on a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter. It marked Rule’s third career carry. He finished the game with 15 carries for 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns. His 100-yard rushing game was the first by a freshman in a season opener since quarterback Adrian Martinez had 117 rushing yards against Colorado in the 2018 opener. Rule was the first Husker running back to have 100 rushing yards in a season opener since Tierre Green, who ran for 112 yards against Western Illinois in 2004.
• Rule also caught two passes for 47 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. In his collegiate debut, Rule finished with 169 scrimmage yards and three total touchdowns on only 17 touches.
• Nebraska had a 7-play, 92-yard scoring drive in the second quarter, marking Nebraska’s longest scoring drive since a 93-yard drive vs. Illinois in 2022.
• Quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 18-of-32 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his Nebraska debut. With his 298 yards of total offense, Colandrea increased his career total offense to 8,991.
• Colandrea’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Rule in the second quarter marked his 50th career touchdown pass.
• Junior receiver Jacory Barney had 60 receiving yards and nine punt return yards for a total of 69 all-purpose yards in the game.  Barney increased his career all-purpose yards to 1,993 with today’s effort.
• Barney’s 60 receiving yards pushed his career yardage total to 991.
• Running back Mekhi Nelson accounted for 129 all-purpose yards, including 10 carries for 64 yards and a 29-yard rushing touchdown. He caught two passes for 65 yards, including a 51-yard fourth-quarter touchdown.
• Nelson’s 51-yard touchdown catch was a career best and the longest by a Nebraska running back since Emmett Johnson had a 56-yard reception at UCLA last season.
• Dexter Foster had five tackles in the game, increasing his career total to 100 tackles.
• Nebraska had eight pass breakups in the game, its most since the Huskers had nine breakups against Rutgers on Oct. 5, 2024.

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