Four Fundamentals To Decide Nebraska’s Opener vs. Ohio

Matt Rhule and his coaching staff have had the entire offseason to build Nebraska’s plans for Ohio this Saturday, but when the Huskers finally take the field, the outcome could hinge less on scheme than on how well his team handles four fundamentals that routinely become magnified in the opening week of a college football season.

In no specific order, they are:

The reason those areas will hold more importance is simply because Ohio's a bit of a wildcard for the Huskers this weekend. The Bobcats have changed considerably since finishing 9-4 last season, with new personnel throughout their offense. In turn, Rhule said Nebraska's prepared for multiple defensive structures and offensive approaches because there simply isn’t enough current film to know exactly what the Huskers will see.

That uncertainty has led Nebraska’s prep back toward the things it can control.

“If you guys watched college football this weekend, first games are usually either won or lost in four areas,” Rhule said while referencing the above categories. "You see a lot of bad tackling out there.”

It's more than a generic opening-week checklist. The numbers from Ohio’s 2025 season illustrate why giving the Bobcats additional opportunities could become dangerous.

Ohio finished 9-4 while averaging 27.8 points and 411.5 yards of offense per game. Its offense was particularly effective on the ground, producing nearly 3,000 rushing yards while averaging 227.4 per game and gaining 5.3 yards per carry. When you run well, you also control the clock.

On average, Ohio held on to the rock for a little over 32 minutes a game, but if you ask their opponents, it felt like a lot longer. For a Nebraska defense preparing to play its first game under coordinator Rob Aurich, missed tackles and extended drives could become a problematic combination.

“In the first game you see everyone overrunning tackles because they’re running to where they think they’re going to be,” Rhule said. “Then all of a sudden, by game three, all the tackling in college football kind of settles down.”

Pursuit and physicality has been a point of emphasis during camp, and Rhule said he's seen defenders taking better angles, creating what he described as “dominant contact” and getting off blocks. He also likes the communication developing within the unit, repeatedly describing the defense as “connected.”

Whether that translates when tackling becomes live remains one of the questions Nebraska can’t answer until Saturday. The challenge, however, is compounded by how little Nebraska knows about exactly what Ohio will put on the field.

With five new receivers and five new offensive linemen, Nebraska can only study the tendencies of Ohio’s coaching staff and prepare for its systems. Overall, the film from 2025 won't provide any personnel clues, which is forcing NU into its "us not them" plan.

Rhule said the Huskers have to be ready if Ohio lines up defensively in a 4-2-5 or 3-3-5, and they also have to account for the possibility of pressure similar to what the Bobcats showed against Rutgers in their opener last year.

“You want to have a plan,” Rhule said. “At the end of the day, you also have to manage the things you can control, like tackling and your ball security.”

The latter could prove particularly significant because Ohio was not a team that consistently handed opponents extra possessions last season. The Bobcats threw just 11 interceptions and lost eight fumbles across their 13 games. 

Penalties were a different story.

Ohio was flagged 80 times for 628 yards last season, an average of 48.3 penalty yards per game, so they're not perfect. That little nugget offers Nebraska (and its louder-than-most fan base) an opportunity if the Huskers can play cleaner football, but it also reinforces Rhule’s larger point. An opener between two teams adjusting to new personnel could be decided by which side forces its opponent to repeatedly earn yards rather than giving them away.

Special teams adds another layer of uncertainty.

Fortunately for NU, they enter the season with experience at the two specialist positions most directly involved in field position and scoring. The Huskers return both their starting punter and place-kicker from 2025. Ohio, meanwhile, made only seven of its 12 field-goal attempts last season, and a net punting average of 36 yards per boot isn't going to turn too many heads.

Those numbers don’t predict what will happen Saturday, but they illustrate why Rhule included special teams among the areas capable of swinging an opener. One coverage breakdown, mishandled snap or missed kick can change field position without either offense or defense determining the outcome.

Rhule has seen enough opening weekends to know that those mistakes don’t occur in isolation. A missed tackle can turn a short gain into an explosive play. A penalty can extend a drive that should have ended. A turnover erases a scoring opportunity, while a special teams mistake can create one without the opposing offense earning it.

It's expected that Ohio will see its share of adversity in Lincoln on Saturday, but Rhule pointed specifically to the Bobcats’ game at Rutgers to kick off last season. Ohio fell behind 17-7, then faced a 31-17 deficit before rallying to tie the game at 31. Rutgers eventually won, but the response left an impression on Rhule as he studied the Bobcats.

“They just kept coming back,” Rhule said. “Unbelievably well-coached football team, great players.”

That performance fits a larger run of sustained success. Ohio has won at least nine games in each of the past four seasons, going 10-4 in 2022, 10-3 in 2023, 11-3 in 2024 and 9-4 last season. Nebraska, on the other hand, enters from a different position.

The Huskers have finished 7-6 in consecutive seasons under Rhule and are trying to move beyond the narrow margins that have frequently defined their results. Nebraska’s six losses last season included a three-point defeat against Michigan and a four-point loss to USC. Also of note, four of its six losses came against ranked opponents.

The experience level on the roster should give Nebraska a better chance to navigate the unpredictability of an opener. The Huskers return six starters on offense and six on defense, along with 10 additional players who made at least one start last season.

None of that, however, changes Rhule’s fundamental premise for Week 1.

The transfer portal has made opening-game scouting increasingly imperfect. The Huskers will certainly prepare for different fronts, pressures, personnel packages and formations, but it's just as likely that Ohio has built something NU won't expect.

What Nebraska can do is protect the football, stay out of costly penalty situations, handle its special teams assignments and get ball carriers on the ground when it has the opportunity.

For Nebraska, that makes Saturday’s first examination relatively straightforward. Before the Huskers find out how good they can be in 2026, Rhule needs to find out if they can avoid beating themselves.