Nebraska has been one of the biggest surprises of the first month of the college football season. The Cornhuskers are undefeated at 5-0, including back-to-back wins over Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Maryland. But even after blowing out their opponents in all five games, there's still some concern over how legit this team really is, with the first three wins coming against Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota.
That's not Nebraska's fault. The Huskers have done their job to this point. But Saturday brings the first real test, as No. 7 Indiana flies to Lincoln for a showdown between two undefeated Midwest programs.
ESPN's Rece Davis made it clear that the pressure is on Matt Rhule to walk out of Memorial Stadium with a win. "I like Indiana a lot in this game, and I am impressed with them. Nebraska has had a few games here where they've just stumbled out of the gate and then have shown the ability to turn it on and pull away at the end," Davis said on Tuesday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show." "This is sort of a landmark opportunity for Nebraska to show, even after the loss of Dylan Raiola, after the Matt Rhule era hasn't really started as quickly as many of us, myself included, anticipated.
This is a chance for them to prove that they are back on the road to being competitive at an elite level. It's a great measuring-stick opportunity for Nebraska." More news: Ryan Day Has Simple Message for Julian Sayin on Forcing Ball to Jeremiah Smith Rhule has a reputation for turning programs around. He took Temple from 2-10 in his first year to a 10-win team two years later in 2015, then helped Baylor rebound from a rough 1-11 start in 2017 to an 11-3 season in 2019.
That was enough to earn him a big NFL job with the Panthers, but it ended in an 11-27 record and a midseason firing in 2022. He then took over at Nebraska. His first three seasons went 5-7, 7-6 and 7-6, giving him a 19-19 record heading into this season, though he did end the program's bowl drought with back-to-back bowl appearances in 2024 and 2025.
Nebraska still gave him an extension through 2032 worth about $87 million, with a massive buyout of around $63 million. More news: Nick Saban Sounds Alarm on NIL’s Impact on College Football Coaches More news: Oregon Gets Good News on QB Dante Moore After Scary Concussion That's why the pressure has been on Rhule this season, and so far he has lived up to it, with the Huskers off to their best start in years. Indiana enters Saturday's game as a 7.5-point favorite, but while the Hoosiers are the defending champions, they haven't been truly tested either, with their five wins coming against North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky, Northwestern and Rutgers.
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