3 Reasons Matt Rhule is poised for a breakthrough season at Nebraska

The breakthrough season of Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule was supposed to have happened already.

Rhule usually has a breakout season in his third year in college. He did at Baylor and Temple. Nebraska was on pace for that — starting 6-2 before Dylan Raiola suffered a season-ending injury.

It ended Nebraska’s hopes against USC and dashed its hopes of having an eight or nine-win season. In the end, Raiola and Nebraska divorced. Rhule fired his uncle as the offensive line coach — three years too late — and landed a dual-threat quarterback, Anthony Colandrea, who still had a price tag over $1 million after earning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in 2025.

The Huskers are ranked No. 30 via ESPN FPI. The schedule is brutal, featuring three playoff teams from last season and six in the Big Ten that won at least nine games.

That makes a breakout season more difficult. But a seven or eight-win season could still meet that mark if Rhule could beat Iowa and end the losing streak against top-25 teams. This Nebraska squad doesn’t feel like a playoff team. However, it does feel like a team that will be better than last season.

Here are three reasons why, and why Rhule will have his best season as Nebraska football head coach.

The best QB situation

Rhule has his best QB situation going into the 2026 season. In 2023, Rhule had probably the worst QB room in the Power 4. That wasn’t all his fault, but Heinrich Haarberg couldn’t really throw.

Nebraska football then went from a starter who couldn’t really throw in 2023 to one who couldn’t run in 2024 and 2025. Finally, in year four, Rhule will have a QB who can do both.

Colandrea rushed for 649 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.  He also led the Mountain West in passing yards with 3,459 passing yards and 33 total touchdowns. We’ll see how that translates to the Big Ten.

Colandrea has also thrown at least nine interceptions in each college season. He will need to keep the turnovers under control, but having a QB who can run on third down and in the red zone will be a game-changer for Nebraska.

The Huskers finally have a modern QB under Rhule, who was stuck without that in his first three seasons.

The O-line will take a huge step forward

Geep Wade was a massive upgrade. We need to see what happens on the field for that to be true this season, but it’s hard not to believe that.

Wade added three starters from the transfer portal. Given the holdovers, which include guys like Tyler Knaak, who played in all 13 games with one start last season, and Gunnar Gottula, who has started games before and will be competing for the job at right tackle, there is solid depth. He could add valuable depth as a swing tackle or even on the interior.

Whatever players end up starting will have earned it. Justin Evans is the highest-rated center coming back, according to Pro Football Focus, and Elijah Pritchett should be a day-two pick at left tackle.

Rhule was supposed to fix the offensive line in year one. In year four, under Geep, it will finally happen.

Defense will make a major improvement

Switching to the 4-2-5 defense will pay huge dividends. The 3-3-5 wasn’t necessarily a problem, but the players on the defensive line will fit a four-man front better.

Nebraska football did use plenty of four-man fronts in the old defense. They didn’t always line up in the 3-3-5, but there will be more even fronts this season, which is a positive.

Rob Aurich has a strong record of turning around defenses. He did it at Idaho and San Diego State. John Butler was a poor fit. He belongs in the NFL.

Nebraska has a college defensive coordinator who is viewed as an up-and-comer. It would be great to see Aurich deliver on that promise. If you look at all three levels of the defense, there is some solid depth and a wealth of experience.

More playmakers need to emerge. Transfers like Owen Chambliss, Dexter Foster, Dwayne McDougle, Anthony Jones, and Jashear Whittington could be among those who will step up this season, along with five-star freshman Danny Odem. There are breakout candidates too like Vincent Shavers, Kade Pietrzak, and Williams Nwaneri.

It feels like there is enough talent and experience to have a top-25 defense, which could go a long way when it comes to beating a team like Washington or Iowa. Illinois is another.

Nebraska might only get seven or eight wins this season, even if it is a ‘breakout season”, but the Huskers have a chance to score some signature wins, and getting one or two of those this season is critical.

In the eyes of Nebraska fans, as far as Rhule is concerned, it’s far past time for more tangible success.

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