Nebraska, chasing third straight winning season, faces revamped Ohio

Jul 30, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule speaks during Big Ten Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images A pair of schools linked by a common former head coach meet to open the 2026 season when Nebraska hosts Ohio in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb. Frank Solich, whom Ohio's field is named after, is the winningest coach in Bobcats history, going 115-82 from 2005-20. Before that he was in charge at Nebraska, going 58-19 from 1998-2003 following a long tenure as an assistant for the Cornhuskers under legendary coach Tom Osborne. "Coach is just a wonderful man and a tremendous example to all us young coaches," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said of Solich. "Obviously he'll be very neutral for this game." Nebraska is coming off a 7-6 campaign in 2025, its second consecutive winning season under Rhule. Prior to that, the Cornhuskers had not finished above .500 since 2016. However, they lost four of their last five in 2025 after a 6-2 start and have to replace Big Ten rushing leader Emmett Johnson and quarterback Dylan Raiola, among others. UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea will start at QB for Nebraska. Coincidentally, his last game with the Runnin' Rebels was a 17-10 loss to Ohio in the Frisco Bowl. Colandrea completed 19 of 30 passes for 184 yards with an interception in that game after throwing for 3,275 yards and 23 touchdowns with eight interceptions in the regular season. Ohio went 9-4 last season, its fourth consecutive year with at least nine victories. But between the regular season and the bowl game, coach Brian Smith was placed on leave and eventually fired, with assistant John Hauser taking over for the bowl game and getting the head-coaching job permanently. The Bobcats are in the midst of a major rebuilding project, as only five starters return including one on offense. Nick Poulos, who threw for 290 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in limited duty the past two years, is the new starting quarterback. "As coaches we're trying to figure out what we're really good at, what we've got to keep getting better at, because every team is different," Hauser said. "I think we have a focused group that want to do it, so that's fun." Nebraska is 5-0 against current Mid-American Conference schools, though it did fall at home to Northern Illinois in 2017 when the Huskies played in the MAC. Ohio's most recent win over a Big Ten team came against Penn State in 2012. --Field Level Media