Husker Big Red Daily: SEC teams targeting Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska injuries pile up, more

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule spent more than 30 minutes at the podium Monday covering a wide range of topics.

Rhule talked at length about the loss to Oregon. He said the Huskers were two plays away from being 7-0 and ranked in the top 10. He’s not wrong about that.

Rhule talked about accountability for all the players. He said he wasn’t the one on the field at the end of the game, but that it was all on him. However, it was also on him, as well as every coach and player, to get it right.

Plenty of clips are circulating about what Rhule said. Listen to the press conference for the full context. One thing that stood out to me, though, was that Rhule brought up the fact that SEC teams are making overtures to quarterback Anthony Colandrea.

That’s not really shocking. Colandrea can play another year thanks to the five-for-five rule. There was chatter that a deal with Nebraska for him to return next season was close to being done. This shows the urgency.

The Huskers would be in a world of hurt if they were forced to play Trae Taylor next season. They have been down that road. So have Michigan and many other programs. It’s very risky to play a five-star quarterback as a true freshman, so Nebraska needs to do everything possible to keep Anthony Colandrea in Lincoln next season.

The injury report is getting long for Nebraska football

Running back Isaiah Mozee, who ripped off a 26-yard run against Oregon on Saturday, left the game with an injury and will be “out for a while.” Jamal Rule has a “chance” to return for the Washington game. Vincent Genatone is also out for the season, so Mekhi Nelson is the only healthy running back at this point. Kwinten Ives and Connor Booth might have a role.

Anthony Jones, one of Nebraska’s starting edge players, has a broken foot. Rhule said he will be “out for a while,” too. Gunnar Gottula suffered a head injury. Rhule said he “hopes” Gottula will be back. Brendan Black has a hand injury.

Nebraska basketball is not ranked in the AP poll

The first AP college basketball poll was released Monday. Despite reaching the Sweet 16 last season and returning an All-Big Ten performer and the Sixth Man of the Year from 2025-26, Nebraska basketball isn’t ranked.

Polls mean nothing in college basketball, so they don’t really matter. It seems disrespectful, though. The Huskers are ranked 17th in the preseason KenPom rankings.

Big Ten Volleyball players of the Week

Two Nebraska volleyball players earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for their position: More from Huskers.com:

“Nebraska volleyball’s Teraya Sigler and Olivia Mauch earned Big Ten weekly conference awards on Monday. Sigler was named Big Ten Player of the Week, while Mauch was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Sigler led the Huskers to a 2-0 week against Northwestern and No. 13 Purdue, averaging 3.29 kills per set on .391 hitting with 2.57 digs per set across the two matches. Sigler tallied a career-high 15 kills in Nebraska’s 3-1 win vs. No. 13 Purdue on Saturday, hitting .355 on 31 swings while adding six digs and a block.

Mauch anchored an NU defense that held the Wildcats and Boilermakers to a combined .091 hitting percentage last week. Mauch recorded a career-high 21 digs and helped the Huskers limit No. 13 Purdue to .133 hitting on Saturday night. Along with the 21 digs, Mauch posted eight assists and an ace to become the first Husker libero since Lexi Rodriguez in 2023 with at least 20 digs and eight assists in a match.”

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