Beating a good MAC team like Ohio would hardly mean that Nebraska is about to look and play like the days when the program was a college football powerhouse, but it would certainly be nice.
Last year, the Huskers held on to beat Cincinnati after picking off a bad late throw by Brendan Sorsby – leave that alone – to start an okay season.
With a favorable slate ahead, this should be the first in a series of wins. It’s not about whether or not they can beat Ohio – if they can’t, uh-oh. It’s about whether the team can start to look like it can hang with Indiana and Oregon in the middle of October.
- It’s the Frank Solich Bowl. The longtime Nebraska coach went 58-19 in his six years as the head man up until 2003. He took over Ohio in 2005 and went 115-82 in 16 strong seasons.
- As good as Ohio has been, it has lost five of its last six season openers. It gets Jacksonville State after this.
- Nebraska isn’t exactly extending itself in non-conference play, hosting Bowling Green and North Dakota after this before going to Michigan State.
Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
TV: FS1
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
– CFN Week 1 Schedule, Predictions
Head coach John Hauser took over for the bowl win over UNLV, and this year he’s got a stronger defense that should be a bear against the run.
The linebacking corps is among the deepest and best in the MAC, and it should load up to slow down the Nebraska ground game. The Husker offense didn’t set the world on fire. It has to be far better in pass protection and needs to be nasty right away for the ground game.
– Ohio 2026 Preview
Ohio was great when it stuffed opposing running games, but the bar was 140 yards. It won when it allowed fewer and struggled when it didn’t. As bad as Nebraska’s offense was last year, it was held to under 140 just five times.
The Huskers don’t have a ton of superstars, but UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea is a good all-around playmaker who can move. The ground game should be fine, and the defense has the potential to be fantastic with defensive coordinator Rob Aurich coming in from San Diego State.
– Nebraska 2026 Preview
It won’t be a walk in the park for Nebraska, but it’ll show its fans what’s coming.
The Huskers will win with a hard-nosed defense that complements an efficient enough offense to get by. They’re hardly a finished product – needing all three paycheck games to get up to speed – but there won’t be any major issues against an Ohio team that has way too many new parts to replace on offense to pull off the upset.
Nebraska 35, Ohio 13
Latest Consensus Line: Nebraska -24.5, o/u: 47.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 3
Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Leave a Comment