The Fallout: Nebraska football a big underdog, 2026 class takes a hit, more

For the most part, it was a non-eventful bye week for Nebraska football. It felt like a perfect week for the Huskers to recharge for the final two games of the regular season.

The first of those is Saturday night against Penn State. It’s another road game, at night, and with the Iowa game next Friday, it’s another quick turnaround.

At this point, it is what it is. It will be a fun atmosphere on national television. As a football player, you can’t ask for more than that, especially for Emmett Johnson.

Nebraska football spent the last week pumping up Johnson as a legit Heisman candidate, which I think he is. Not a favorite, mind you, but someone in the mix with two weeks to go. If Johnson wants to get his name out there more, another game like the one against UCLA against the Nittany Lions would do it.

It won’t be easy, though. Penn State is a heavy favorite. The line has ballooned to 10.5 in some places. That seems high. Penn State has a big-time running game, and they just crushed Michigan State on the road, while rushing for 245 yards.

Penn State also needs two wins to reach a bowl game. Nebraska and a road game at Rutgers stand in the way. Nebraska has already clinched a bowl game, but could have a shot at the ReliaQuest or Citrus if it wins out.

Nebraska football fans should also be interested in what TJ Lateef does this week. Playing well against UCLA was impressive, but it will be entirely different against a tough Penn State defense, which is 36th in scoring defense.

Matt Rhule has already talked about Lateef getting interest from other programs. The whole situation will get more interesting if he has another great game at Penn State.

Nebraska football takes a hit on the recruiting trail

The Huskers are working to add to their 2026 class, with a three-star wide receiver (Quayd Hendryx) committed to UConn, visiting for the Iowa game, along with the JUCO EDGE (Taylor Schaefer), who has offers from Arkansas and Kentucky.

However, three-star commitment Leon Noil, out of New Orleans, decommitted on Sunday. He just visited Mississippi State, so it appears as though he will flip to the SEC program.

Nebraska is down to 10 commitments. The Huskers rank 90th in the 2026 class, via the 247 Sports team rankings. It’s not ideal, but it is what it is. Hopefully, Nebraska can close strong before signing day. The Huskers might even add some recruits after signing day, but the big focus is on the portal and 2027.

Noil was a low three-star. He’s a solid, developmental prospect, but as long as Nebraska hangs on to Danny Odem, who shut down his recruitment this week, and blue-chip tackle Claude Mpouma, both ranked in the top 200 overall, then the class will be just fine.

The Huskers will need to do extra work in the portal down the road to make up for it, but it also clears the way for a bigger 2027 class. There are also so many young players on the roster that there isn’t as big a need for an influx of high school talent.

Those things can all be true, but it’s still disappointing to see Nebraska ranked 90th in recruiting.

Nebraska volleyball streak ends

The Huskers’ winning streak didn’t end. Nebraska volleyball defeated UCLA 3-1 on Friday night, which ended their streak of consecutive sets at 48. Andi Jackson dominated the match with 15 kills (.625). She didn’t have a single hitting error. Harper Murray added 14 kills. Rebekah Allick also managed 13 kills and seven blocks.

After a 3-1 win over the Bruins, Nebraska improved to 26-0 and 18-0 in the Big Ten with a sweep of the Trojans (25-13, 25-16, 25-20). Nebraska hit .412. That was its best hitting match of the season. Murray led the way with 10 kills.

Nebraska needs two more wins to clinch the Big Ten title outright.

Nebraska basketball teams win

The Huskers won a thriller against Oklahoma on Saturday. Pryce Sandfort and Rienk Mast combined for 54 points as they improved to 4-0 on the season. Nebraska basketball has the longest winning streak in the country, with eight.

After an 80-54 beatdown of Creighton earlier this week, the Nebraska women’s basketball team also improved to 4-0 after a win over South Dakota State at the Sanford Pentagon on Sunday.

Amiah Hargrove scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the way in an 82-70 win. Britt Prince added 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Jessica Petrie pitched in with 12 points and four assists.

Nebraska wrestling

The Nebraska wrestling team finished fourth in the national dual tournament, losing to Ohio State and Oklahoma State after defeating two ranked opponents, Lehigh and Michigan. The Buckeyes beat Nebraska 33-3. Oklahoma State won 33-6.

National champion Antrell Taylor was defeated twice.