5 things to know about Nebraska football vs. Cincinnati

Believe it or not, game week has arrived for Nebraska football. The Huskers will play the Cincinnati Bearcats on Thursday in the Kansas City Classic.

The offseason is over. Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Friday, the same day the Huskers released their depth chart for the game against the Bearcats.

There were some interesting decisions, such as Elijah Pritchett being third string, but the depth chart is fluid, and things will change.

Looking ahead to Thursday night, here are five things to know about Nebraska football vs. Cincinnati.

The Odds

Let’s start with how Vegas sees this playing out. Nebraska is a 6.5-point favorite. The over/under is 53.5, and the moneyline for Nebraska football is -258, while it’s +210 for the Bearcats.

Many Nebraska fans are hoping for a lopsided victory. It might not come that easily. The Bearcats are hungry and fresh off a season in which they missed the postseason.

On Friday, Rhule talked about how he thinks Nebraska has a really good team; they just need to show it on the field. That starts Thursday, and covering the spread would be a good way to start.

In the opener, any win is a good win, but from a betting perspective, I’d be confident betting on Nebraska.

Two quarterbacks making millions

Both teams, Nebraska and Cincinnati, have million-dollar quarterbacks. Dylan Raiola, the Huskers’ starter, is slated to make over $3 million in revenue share and endorsement deals, according to Pete Nakos of On3.com.

Nakos laid out the highest-paid quarterbacks in college football this season. Cincinnati’s Brenden Sorsby made the list, too. He will also be making over $1 million this season. Sorsby rushed 447 yards and nine touchdowns, in addition to 18 touchdown passes, 2,813 yards, and just seven interceptions.

Sorsby wasn’t the reason the Bearcats didn’t go bowling in 2025, and he’ll present a big challenge for the Blackshirts on Thursday night, maybe even bigger than some fans realize.

Two big-time backs

The Bearcats are one of the few programs to have two players named to the Doak Walker Award Watch list, as Wisconsin transfer Tawnee Walker was named to the list, along with returner Evan Pryor.

Walker had 885 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns for the Badgers last season, along with an average of 4.5 yards per attempt. Pryor was even more dynamic with 418 total yards for Cincinnati, but an average of 7.5 yards per attempt to go along with six touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown.

The run defense is a question mark with some of the D-line departures, but we’ll find out quickly how the Huskers will hold up.

The Bearcats’ defense is the weakness

Cincinnati will score some points in this game. Matt Rhule alluded to the quality of their offense. Nebraska has struggled to defend dual-threat quarterbacks, so there is some concern with Sorsby.

Yet, the Bearcats haven’t been good on defense. They forced just 1.2 takeaways last season, and allowed 30 points or more six times in each of the past two seasons.

There are quality players, such as defensive tackle Dontay Corleone, who had 26 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and five tackles for loss. He’s the Bearcats’ best defensive player. The good news for Nebraska football is that the strength of the offensive line is the interior with Justin Evans, Rocco Spindler, and Henry Lutovsky.

Cincinnati graduated its top pass rushers, so Raiola should have plenty of time to throw, and 30 points feels well within reach in the season opener.

Special teams could be the X-factor

Just like Nebraska, Cincinnati has a new special teams coach in Luke Paschall. The Bearcats ranked 80th nationally in net field position. The Bearcats have a new punter like Nebraska, as well as a new kicker after Nathan Hawks, who was 13-of-17 a year ago, graduated.

The return game was also ineffective for the Bearcats, who didn’t have a punt return of 20 yards or a kickoff return of 30 yards. Nebraska football wasn’t much better. When you factor in the field-goal kicking, it was worse.

Kelly-Ford released its 2025 preseason rankings for special teams, with the Bearcats ranking 99th and Nebraska football 116th. Surely, Mike Ekeler will have the Huskers ranked higher by season’s end, but in the season opener, mistakes in the kicking game could absolutely have a big say in the outcome.

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