Nebraska
Nebraska is 5-4 and No. 23 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 12.7 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: lost 24-13 at Illinois in Week 10.
Week 11: at Rutgers, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Nebraska is No. 23
- Nebraska's rating is 12.7: the machine's estimate that Nebraska is 12.7 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 23 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 8.8, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 3.9.
- The biggest weekly moves: +3.6 after Week 2 (W 56-7 vs Bowling Green) and +1.4 after Week 6 (L 17-20 vs Indiana).
- Its record is 5-4. The 4 losses were to No. 9 Indiana, No. 13 Oregon, No. 42 Illinois, No. 47 Washington, by 6.0 points on average. The 5 wins came by 29.4 points on average; the best was over No. 58 Michigan State. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 58 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 22 BYU (13.1); just below is No. 24 Oklahoma State (12.3).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Matt Rhule is in his 4th season at Nebraska (since 2023). This season: 5-4. At Nebraska overall: 24-23, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 202-322 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2189 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 17-7 |
| Yards per attempt* | 6.7No. 105 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 8.9%No. 104 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 5.0%No. 58 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 330-1635 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 5.0No. 32 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 17.5%No. 12 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 15.3%No. 35 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 30.2No. 54 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.93No. 59 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 49.2%No. 16 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 79.3%No. 5 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 7No. 21 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 16.6No. 17 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 4.72No. 17 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.2No. 24 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 3.1No. 18 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 7.0%No. 39 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 10No. 84 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 25.4%No. 1 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Anthony Colandrea193-306, 2108 yds, 16 TD, 7 INT
- TJ Lateef8-11, 82 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- Jamal Rule88 carries, 532 yds, 5 TD
- Anthony Colandrea84 carries, 381 yds, 4 TD
- Mekhi Nelson78 carries, 348 yds, 5 TD
Receiving
- Kwazi Gilmer46 catches, 603 yds, 7 TD
- Jacory Barney Jr.41 catches, 536 yds, 3 TD
- Luke Lindenmeyer32 catches, 281 yds, 1 TD
Tackles
- Dwayne McDougle55
- Owen Chambliss55
- Donovan Jones38
Sacks
- Jahsear Whittington4.5
- Riley Van Poppel2.5
- Vincent Shavers Jr.2.5
Interceptions
- Dwayne McDougle2
- Andrew Marshall1
- Donovan Jones1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Anthony ColandreaMost passes in the last game9 games306 attempts96%
- TJ Lateef2 games11 attempts3%
Carrying
- Jamal Rule8 games88 carries36%
- Mekhi Nelson9 games78 carries32%
- Isaiah Mozee9 games52 carries21%
- Vincent Genatone4 games7 carries3%
Catching
- Kwazi Gilmer9 games46 catches23%
- Jacory Barney Jr.9 games41 catches20%
- Luke Lindenmeyer9 games32 catches16%
- Nyziah Hunter9 games28 catches14%
Tackling
- Dwayne McDougle9 games55 tackles11%
- Owen Chambliss8 games55 tackles11%
- Donovan Jones9 games38 tackles8%
- Vincent Shavers Jr.9 games37 tackles7%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 49–21 vs Ohio. The run game was the strength: 5.9 yards a carry, 1.8 more than Ohio usually allows.
- Week 2 W 56–7 vs Bowling Green. The run game was the strength: 7.8 yards a carry, 3.1 more than Bowling Green usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 3 W 34–7 vs North Dakota. North Dakota is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against. The defense had 5 sacks.
- Week 4 W 31–13 at Michigan State. The run defense was the strength: Michigan State got 1.2 yards a carry, 2.1 under what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 5 W 48–23 vs Maryland. The run defense gave ground: Maryland got 5.6 yards a carry, 2.2 over what it usually gains. The most yards a carry it has allowed all season.
- Week 6 L 17–20 vs Indiana. The pass defense gave ground: Indiana got 12.0 yards an attempt, 3.6 over what it usually gains. The offense gave up 5 sacks.
- Week 7 L 14–17 at Oregon. The pass defense was the strength: Oregon got 3.0 yards an attempt, 4.9 under what it usually gains. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 9 L 10–17 vs Washington. The run defense was the strength: Washington got 1.7 yards a carry, 1.8 under what it usually gains. The machine had Nebraska by 14.2 (81%), so this was a loss it did not see coming; Nebraska lost the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 10 L 13–24 at Illinois. The run defense was the strength: Illinois got 2.9 yards a carry, 2.1 under what it usually gains. The machine had Nebraska by 5.8 (64%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.