Previous Nebraska teams might not win games like this. Nebraska teams of recent vintage certainly don’t win these games by 18 on the road.

But that’s what THIS Nebraska team accomplished on a sunny Saturday in East Lansing.

The 31-13 win wasn’t without faults. Ill-timed penalties, a running game that was its least effective of the season, a near-disaster on special teams nullified by a Michigan State mistake, and another sluggish 3rd quarter opening. But Nebraska not only survived but thrived thanks to its rapidly improving defense and a quarterback who faced his most resistance of the young season but came through with another turnover-free performance.

Anthony Colandrea had to carry the load after Jamal Rule was first ineffective in limited action and was taken out altogether with an undisclosed injury. Jacory Barney Jr. was also knocked out of this game, keeping two of the best weapons this team has out of a game on the road. Yet Nebraska never flinched in the way previous teams did. They made plays on defense and enough on offense to never let Michigan State be within threatening distance.

The fact that it wasn’t pretty and still yielded an 18-point win might be as encouraging as if Nebraska had won going away with few stresses. Because this is a program that has far too often melted under the heat of pressure. A program that must have everything go just right to win in the B1G.

To me, that’s growth. No, you’re not going to win having Colandrea lead the team both with his arm and his legs. But that you can throw the switch on that reserve tank when the engine starts sputtering is the primary difference between this offense and all other Rhule offenses at Nebraska. Hopefully Rule and Barney are back next week because neither of those rooms appear very deep at the moment. Good news is that Maryland’s tire fire has gone five-alarm and threatens to burn down the Terrapins season so next week should be much more manageable at home, even if short-handed.

But that is next week. For now, enjoy the first 4-0 start, the longest win streak since 2016 and Matt Rhule’s first 1-0 start in the B1G, a conference that suddenly doesn’t look like the big, bad grizzly bear we all assumed it would be at the start of the season. Bigger things are coming for Nebraska. 

And this time, they look ready to meet the challenge with eyes open.

Season lows almost across the board on offense. Some of that is to be expected with the start of conference play after an easy non-conference slate. With just 3.8 yards per carry, it’s the lowest in a Nebraska win since last year’s Michigan State game, so perhaps that’s not as big a concern.

But the offensive line did not allow a sack for a second game in a row, and for the season, they’ve only allowed three sacks. After giving up 33 sacks a year ago, this is a very positive step.

Thanks to six sacks, Nebraska held Michigan State to just 39 yards on the ground and a 1.2 yards-per-carry average. This season, Nebraska’s 2.72 YPC is more than two full yards below last year’s season average. With Maryland’s 91st-ranked rushing offense coming to town, there is potential for these numbers to stay ultra-low for at least another week.

With eleven sacks in the last two games and 15 through four games, Nebraska is only seven sacks shy of last year’s season total. Rob Aurich’s willingness to bring extra pressure with the confidence he has in his secondary has made this defense a HAVOC generator. The Huskers are generating HAVOC at a 28.5% rate, that’s 12 percent better than last season. Nebraska has had a 25% or better HAVOC rate in each of the four games this season, a mark they only found twice all of last year.

Numbers That Might Only Interest Me

The streak of Nebraska’s opponent running the ball more than throwing it extends to four straight, even though NU is 4-0. This has never happened in four straight going back to 2004. Prediction: Maryland will be the first team to pass more than run against the Blackshirts next Saturday.

Red Zone Efficiency

The Huskers were finally stopped in the red zone, but only on a technicality, as they were in kill-the-clock mode at the end of the game. Nebraska had 3 touchdowns and a field goal in the red zone, bringing their season numbers to 14 touchdowns and 2 field goals on 17 trips inside the opponent’s 20.

Defensively, the Huskers got their second red zone stop of the season on Andrew Marshall’s interception. The Blackshirts have now had more RZ stops (2) in four games than they had all last season.

Turnover Margin

Two picks and an incredible individual effort by nickel corner Donovan Jones to get the trifecta: sack, strip, recovery meant Nebraska was +3 in turnover margin. It’s the first time since 2022 (Iowa) that Nebraska had a +3 on the road and the best turnover margin in a game in the Rhule Era.

Nebraska still has only one giveaway this season and that must be considered one of the bigger upsets of the year so far.

Colandrea Offensive Rate

For the first time this season and first since 2023, Nebraska’s quarterback led the team in rushing. Colandrea gained 66 yards on the ground, along with 212 passing yards, for a total of 278 of Nebraska’s 369 yards, a 75.3% offensive rate, his highest of the season.

Season total: Colandrea 1045 total yards; Nebraska 1931 total yards = 54.1% Colandrea offensive rate

Point Spread Differential

Nebraska was a 5.5-point road favorite and came through for their bettors with an 18-point win. The Huskers are now 3-1 against the spread, and their differential is up to +35, in other words they are covering the spread by an average of almost 9 points a game, a very respectable margin. With Maryland’s embarrassing collapse at home to UCLA, don’t be surprised if the Huskers are at least a two-touchdown favorite over the Terps. Nebraska has not been more than a two-touchdown favorite in a B1G game since 2020.

Owen Chambliss: A team-high 8 tackles and an athletic interception in the second quarter. There is no coincidence that the defense has looked its best since he entered the starting lineup after missing the Ohio game. Nebraska’s defensive quarterback doesn’t get the headlines of its offensive one, but he is every bit as important.

Donovan Jones: The Omaha product is having an incredible season so far. Two huge pass breakups in the opener, an interception in the 2nd game and then the fantasy football trifecta as mentioned above. 

Andrew Marshall: The captain of the Husker “No Fly Zone” had one pick and should have had a second that could have been a house call. Michigan State has one of the weaker receiving corps in the conference, but that still didn’t stop Marshall from scoring his best Pro Football Focus coverage grade of the season (80.3). It was believed in the preseason that the secondary might be the best, deepest unit on the defense. They are playing like it so far in 2026.

Just when you thought you were safe from hearing about the ex, Dylan Raiola had the relief appearance of the weekend for Oregon Saturday night in the LA Coliseum. After Dante Moore was taken out with one of the most unnecessary, ugly hits of the season, Nebraska’s former quarterback led the Ducks on four straight scoring drives en route to the two-score win over the USC Trojans. 

Stop me if you heard this one: Raiola had a high completion percentage (19 of 25) for 289 yards and two scoring tosses. NBC analyst Todd Blackledge commented on how much more poised and decisive Raiola looked from where he was in Lincoln last year. While there is still three weeks before Nebraska visits Eugene, it is not known when Dante Moore will be cleared for play from his concussion. It is something worth watching, especially if Raiola continues to play well in relief.

It is early, but suddenly the defending “conference of champions” is starting to look very vulnerable in defending their three-year crown.

While Ohio State still very much looks the part, a brutal B1G schedule starting this week in Iowa City could still be a minefield for the Buckeyes to navigate. Indiana is still undefeated, but they were given all they could handle from Northwestern, and their pass defense looks very suspect. Penn State losing to Wisconsin is a huge blow, as the Nittany Lions schedule is very weak, so a second loss might be fatal to CFP hopes. Oregon’s margin for error in-league is also thin, with games against Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska still to come.

The conference is going to have to have someone out of the “B1G Mid” (Iowa, UCLA, Nebraska?!?!) rise up and survive with a 10-2 or better record, or this league could be a three-bid conference.