What to know about the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2025
Here's a look at the Cornhuskers heading into the 2025 season.
2024 in review
Nebraska made its first bowl appearance since 2016 after failing to reach the postseason for the entirety of Scott Frost's tenure. The cherry on top was winning the Bad Boy Mower's Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, earning some momentum heading into 2025. First-year starting quarterback Dylan Raiola showed flashes of his 5-star rating, but turnover struggles kept the Cornhuskers from winning more games. However, his two leading receivers are off to the NFL, meaning he'll need new names to step up if he wants to replicate his passing production.
Head coach profile
Rhule has famously rebuilt college football programs in a three-year window, including Temple (2-10, 6-6, 10-4) and Baylor (1-11, 7-6, 11-3). His first two seasons with Nebraska were 5-7 and 7-6, setting the stage for another jump if the pattern holds. Rhule also had a three-year stint in the NFL coaching the Carolina Panthers, but he was fired after a 1-4 start in 2022.
Top offensive player
To replace the departing wide receivers, Nebraska needed to bring in a replacement and found a possible answer in Kentucky transfer Dane Key. Through three seasons as a starter, Key went over 500 yards each year. He peaked last season with 47 receptions for 715 yards and two touchdowns despite poor quarterback play with the Wildcats. Joining a pass-heavy offense in Lincoln and having a talented quarterback could result in career highs and possibly a 1,000-yard campaign for Key.
Top defensive player
Safety Deshon Singleton considered declaring for the draft this offseason, but opted to return and potentially boost his draft stock. He has good physical traits and was productive last season, ranking second on the team with 71 tackles and adding three passes defended and two takeaways. The junior college prospect will likely be a leader of the defense and continue to put up big numbers in 2025.
2025 schedule
Nebraska gets many of its toughest games (Michigan, Iowa, USC) at home, but it'll have to travel to take on Penn State in what looks to be the toughest game of the season for the Cornhuskers. The Nittany Lions will hope to pull closer in the all-time series with a win in late November, but Rhule and Company will attempt to play spoiler. The clash of historic programs may be a ranked matchup, and could be one of the best uniform matchups of the year.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chargers training camp: Rookie wide receiver has come out of the gates hot
Training camps around the league are beginning to open everywhere, but the Los Angeles Chargers, who will play in the preseason Hall of Fame Game, were given a jumpstart to their training camp, opening it up last week. The team needs a player to step up at the wide receiver position following the sudden retirement of Mike Williams, and early on in camp, fifth-round pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith has been that guy. Lambert-Smith figured to be nothing more than added depth in his rookie year and possibly a guy who would just be stashed on the practice squad, but he has the talent to be a key contributor as a rookie. Justin Herbert stated that the rookie has picked up the offense quickly and this catch on Tuesday was the highlight of the day. Lambert-Smith began his college career at Penn State before transferring to Auburn. He had 176 receptions for 2,702 yards and 19 touchdowns during his college career. Still, he didn't garner a lot of attention in the pre-draft process. The Chargers need a player to step up in the passing game after last year's playoff loss showed Ladd McConkey to be about the only player Herbert had any real confidence in. Quentin Johnston and Derius are still there. Tre Harris was selected in the second round and stands to have a big role as a rookie, but don't overlook Lambert-Smith. He has stood out amongst the crowd in camp thus far and when the Chargers take the field next Thursday night in Canton, Ohio, keep an eye on No. 84. READ MORE CHARGERS CONTENT Reliving the best game in the career of retired Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams Chargers agree to deal with free-agent running back out of the league for two full seasons Chargers just had door swing wide open to make major offensive addition Would Keenan Allen even want to come back to the Chargers? Keenan Allen is not the only former player Chargers should bring back to complete roster
USA Today
9 hours ago
- USA Today
'A freak athlete,' Ernest Hausmann hypes Jaishawn Barham for Michigan football in 2025
While the hype train for Michigan football surrounds around either Bryce Underwood or the defensive line, there's more than enough optimism emanating from Schembechler Hall about the linebacking corps. We've already seen solid play over the course of two seasons by Ernest Hausmann, who started his career at Nebraska before coming to Ann Arbor. But so much hype surrounded Maryland transfer Jaishawn Barham last year, though the expectations did not match the on-field results for about two-thirds of the season in 2024. This year promises to be different. Barham started to figure things out in Wink Martindale's defense as the season wore on. And now, Hausmann says, everyone is excited to see what Barham does now that he knows what he's supposed to do and where he's supposed to be. "Jaishawn's a freak athlete. You can see that just looking at him," Hausmann said at Big Ten media days. "You can see how he plays. I think what I really appreciate about playing with Jaishawn is he trusts me. He trusts me to allow to navigate that defense, and he trusts me to communicate to him. And as we've been able to play together more comfortably, our trust has grown. And our comfortability has grown. And I think it's going to be awesome to see what we do in year two together. I'm very excited about it." Barham knows the expectations and what he's capable of. That has not only him salivating, but also his teammates. Despite heightened expectations for him, the linebacking corps, and the whole defense, they're feeling like they've got a chip on their shoulder. Hausmann says that he, Barham, and the rest of the unit are excited about the prospects of improving upon last year and showing the world that it's still the best defense in the country. "It seems like he's so hyped," Hausmann said. "He knows it. Everybody knows -- the whole program. We're just so excited to see what he can do. He has something like that gift, that size, that ability. All we have to do is put him in a position to make plays, and he's going to make that play. "It's not pressure. The thing is about Michigan, there's a standard when we play. It's a foundational principle of how we play defense. And we don't care when or how, when the ball is lined up, no, no, we don't care. If the ball is lined up outside of the center, we're going to play defense. We're going to play how we play defense. So we don't care how it is, what it is. We have a job to do. With the ball at the 30-yard line going in, we have to get a stand. We don't worry about where the ball is at. We worry about what we've got to do this series. We've got to do this play to make sure we execute our job." Fall camp for the Wolverines is set to begin next Wednesday with the season opener slated for August 30 against New Mexico.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
College football betting: Odds for every team to win the College Football Playoff
The Ohio State Buckeyes (+525 at BetMGM) are looking to defend their national championship, but it's the Texas Longhorns at +500 who are the favorites to win the College Football Playoff at BetMGM sportsbooks. Arch Manning is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, and expectations are high in Austin for Steve Sarkisian's team — one that is coming off of a playoff appearance last season. Georgia and Penn State have the next-best odds at +700, which represent the best odds for Penn State to win a national championship since at least 2001, according to Sports Odds History. We've already seen some big futures wagers as well, with one BetMGM bettor in Arizona waging $615,000 across three teams to win the title. Where does your favorite team stack up in terms of national championship odds? Glad you asked, since we took the time to organize them in descending order and alphabetically for your enjoyment. Here are the odds for every college football team listed at BetMGM to win this year's College Football Playoff. College Football Playoff odds Texas: +500 Ohio State: +525 Georgia, Penn State: +700 Oregon, Clemson: +900 Alabama, Notre Dame: 12-1 LSU: 15-1 Ole Miss, Michigan: 25-1 Florida: 28-1 Texas A&M, Miami (FL): 30-1 Tennessee, South Carolina: 40-1 Oklahoma: 50-1 Auburn: 66-1 Arizona State, Louisville, SMU: 80-1 100-1 Florida State, Indiana, Nebraska, Texas Tech, USC 125-1 Baylor, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah 150-1 BYU, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, TCU, Tulane, Wisconsin 200-1 Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Minnesota, UNLV, West Virginia 250-1 Boise State, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Oklahoma State, Pitt 300-1 Memphis, NC State, Texas State 500-1 Arizona, Cal, Louisiana, Maryland, UCF, UCLA, Vanderbilt 1000-1 Air Force, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Colorado State, Connecticut, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, FAU, FIU, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Hawaii, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Kent State, UL Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, Miami (OH), Mississippi State, Navy, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Nevada, North Texas, Ohio, Oregon State, Purdue, Rice, Sam Houston State, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Alabama, Southern Miss, South Florida, Stanford, Temple, Toledo, Troy, Tulsa, Utah State, UTEP, UTSA, Wake Forest, Washington State, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wyoming
