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Teams / Big Ten / Nebraska
Index · this season
80
▲ Above its 5-year level +11▲ Up 3 this season
Career76since 1936
Peak991971
Last 569seasons
#13 nationally · 5-1 (2-1 conf)
Résumé #27 · better than its record
Schedule so far #78
Margin ±5 pts (tightens with games)
Why 80? →

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Big Ten · Lincoln, NE · Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE) · Head coach Matt Rhule
Rival
Iowa · also Minnesota
Established rivalry
26-20-1 all time (47 meetings since 1899)
Nebraska leads
Last: lost 40-16 (2025) · Iowa has won 3 straight
Wants it back
5 claimed national titles and 30 AP top-10 finishes since 1936Blue Blood3 Heisman winnersHeisman House217 NFL draft picks (top 10% of FBS)NFL Factory47 consensus All-AmericansAll-American Factory
Recognized national titles: 1997 (shared), 1995, 1994, 1971, 1970 (shared). Counted: AP poll champion, a coaches-poll champion, or the BCS / playoff title-game winner; a split year counts for both.5national titles
Heisman Trophy winners3Heisman
Seasons finishing in the AP top 10 since 193630AP top-10
Consensus All-Americans since 193647All-Americans
NFL draft picks since 1967217NFL picks
Winning percentage since 193664.3%win pct
History since 1936 · football since 1892. Every season →
Chemistry
Chem 72: strong72
Chem 75: strong
75Foundation
Chem 68: typical
68Gel
gel counts 45% so far
▲ Above its norm +6Trending up
early · #8 of 138
HC year4
Ret. starters50%
QB yrs w/ OC1
View chemistry →
Team chemistryearly · #8 of 138 FBS teams
Chem 75: strongFoundation75+Chem 68: typicalGel68=Chem 72: strongChem72Gel counts 45% so far (it grows as games are played, up to half)
Foundationwhat the program has built · moves over seasons
Foundation75Staff stability — Coach and coordinator tenure, staff who came along, assistant turnoverStaff stability52Roster continuity — Returning starters and the lineup's experienceRoster continuity86Unit cohesion — QB & coordinator, QB & receivers, offensive line, defense: how long each unit has played togetherUnit cohesion69Administration — Athletic director continuity and coach-AD alignmentAdministration56Investment — Commitment to football: its share of the department's spending and whether that is growing, plus spending and recruitingInvestment83Fan base — How passionate and loyal the fan base is: how often it sells out, and whether it sells out games that don't matterFan base99
ContinuityClimate
Continuity · who has played and coached togetherlive

Who has played and coached together, and for how long, ranked against every FBS team at the same point of the season.

▸Staff stability
Coach and coordinator tenure, staff who came along, assistant turnover
52
Staff cohesion55
HC year 4 · OC year 2 · DC year 1
Assistant turnover50
56% of on-field staff new this season (FBS average about 45%)
▸Roster continuity
Returning starters and the lineup's experience
86
Returning core80
50% of last season's starters · FBS median 32%
Experience93
20 career starts per starter · FBS median 12
▸Unit cohesion
QB & coordinator, QB & receivers, offensive line, defense: how long each unit has played together
69
QB & coordinator55
1st season together · same as 76% of FBS teams
QB & receivers76
5.8 games started together on average · FBS median 3.9
Line cohesion73
6.8 games per linemen pair · FBS median 5.2
Defensive cohesion77
5.7 games per defensive pair · FBS median 4.5
Climate · around the programlive

The administration, money and fans around the team: athletic director continuity, willingness to invest, and crowds.

▸Administration
Athletic director continuity and coach-AD alignment
56
AD continuity56
Troy Dannen · year 3 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
▸Investment
Commitment to football: its share of the department's spending and whether that is growing, plus spending and recruiting
83
Football's share76
36% of department spending goes to football
Investment trend93
+114% over three years
Football investment85
$70.6M on football (2024-25 federal report)
Recruiting spend72
$2.40M men's recruiting
Department resources84
$206M athletic department revenue
▸Fan base
How passionate and loyal the fan base is: how often it sells out, and whether it sells out games that don't matter
99
Sellouts99
sellout crowds (95%+ of capacity) at 51 of 51 home games (last 8 seasons)
Sells out anyway99
sellout crowds at 47 of 47 games that didn't matter: cupcakes, or a team expected to lose or having a losing season

Finances: U.S. Department of Education athletics disclosures, as reported by each school. Athletic directors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Attendance: reported crowds vs stadium capacity.

Gelhow it is working right now · moves week to week
Gel68Playing above its parts — Results vs what its preseason projection expected, game by gamePlaying above its parts77Settled & sharp — A settled starting lineup and clean execution (penalties, turnovers) vs its own normalSettled & sharp63Alignment — Coaches and players telling the same story; the staff on one pageAlignmentsoonResilience — Confidence, and how the team sounds after adversityResiliencesoonFan & media mood — Expectations met or missed this season (preseason rank vs now), stronger for fan bases that react hard; fan and media sentiment joins laterFan & media mood78Coach security — The hard-facts hot seat, inverted: results vs expectation, recent seasons vs the program's norm, stakes, a new ADCoach security60
InternalOn-field fitExternal
Internal · how the program talkscoming

How the team talks in press conferences and interviews, each program against its own normal, so a naturally terse coach isn't read as upset. Being built program by program, Big Ten first.

▸Alignment
Coaches and players telling the same story; the staff on one page
soon
Coming: measured from press conferences and interviews.
▸Resilience
Confidence, and how the team sounds after adversity
soon
Coming: measured from press conferences and interviews.

Readings are team-level; we don't publish psychological readings of individual players.

On-field fit · how it is playing togetherlive

How the team is playing together this season: beating or missing its preseason expectation, a settled lineup, clean execution.

▸Playing above its parts
Results vs what its preseason projection expected, game by game
77
This season77
+5.6 points a game vs its preseason projection (5 games)
▸Settled & sharp
A settled starting lineup and clean execution (penalties, turnovers) vs its own normal
63
This season63
88% of starters kept game to game
External · pressure from outsidelive

Pressure from outside the building: the hard-facts hot seat now; this season's fan and media mood as it is measured.

▸Fan & media mood
Expectations met or missed this season (preseason rank vs now), stronger for fan bases that react hard; fan and media sentiment joins later
78
This season78
outside the AP poll: projected #25 preseason -> #13 in our Index now · results 5-1 (+9, recent games count more)
▸Coach security
The hard-facts hot seat, inverted: results vs expectation, recent seasons vs the program's norm, stakes, a new AD
60
This season60
Matt Rhule, year 4 · 83% wins so far · +5.6 pts a game vs preseason expectation · last two seasons +10% vs the program's norm · impatient fan base

Dashed gold ring = typical (62). 20-50 is the warning zone; under 10 is a collapse. Spokes with no data yet are dashed and left out until they fill in. Chem blends the two halves, then places the blend among this season's teams.

Trend · Foundationeach program year runs Feb 1 to the title game
'1679'1768'1862'1971'2061'2167'2260'2358'2469'2565'262016 wk 1 vs Fresno State: 84 · W2016 wk 2 vs Wyoming: 90 · W2016 wk 3 vs Oregon: 76 · W2016 wk 4 vs Northwestern: 78 · W2016 wk 5 vs Illinois: 81 · W2016 wk 7 vs Indiana: 82 · W2016 wk 8 vs Purdue: 82 · W2016 wk 9 vs Wisconsin: 84 · L2016 wk 10 vs Ohio State: 83 · L2016 wk 11 vs Minnesota: 77 · W2016 wk 12 vs Maryland: 78 · W2016 wk 13 vs Iowa: 76 · L2016 wk 1 vs Tennessee: 79 · L2017 wk 2 vs Oregon: 63 · L2017 wk 3 vs Northern Illinois: 65 · L2017 wk 4 vs Rutgers: 66 · W2017 wk 5 vs Illinois: 65 · W2017 wk 6 vs Wisconsin: 67 · L2017 wk 7 vs Ohio State: 67 · L2017 wk 9 vs Purdue: 67 · W2017 wk 10 vs Northwestern: 69 · L2017 wk 11 vs Minnesota: 67 · L2017 wk 12 vs Penn State: 66 · L2017 wk 13 vs Iowa: 68 · L2018 wk 3 vs Troy: 59 · L2018 wk 4 vs Michigan: 58 · L2018 wk 5 vs Purdue: 60 · L2018 wk 6 vs Wisconsin: 59 · L2018 wk 7 vs Northwestern: 60 · L2018 wk 8 vs Minnesota: 60 · W2018 wk 9 vs Bethune-Cookman: 61 · W2018 wk 10 vs Ohio State: 62 · L2018 wk 11 vs Illinois: 62 · W2018 wk 12 vs Michigan State: 62 · W2018 wk 13 vs Iowa: 62 · L2019 wk 2 vs Colorado: 68 · L2019 wk 3 vs Northern Illinois: 69 · W2019 wk 4 vs Illinois: 69 · W2019 wk 5 vs Ohio State: 69 · L2019 wk 6 vs Northwestern: 70 · W2019 wk 7 vs Minnesota: 71 · L2019 wk 9 vs Indiana: 63 · L2019 wk 10 vs Purdue: 66 · L2019 wk 12 vs Wisconsin: 70 · L2019 wk 13 vs Maryland: 70 · W2019 wk 14 vs Iowa: 71 · L2020 wk 10 vs Northwestern: 63 · L2020 wk 11 vs Penn State: 64 · W2020 wk 12 vs Illinois: 57 · L2020 wk 13 vs Iowa: 58 · L2020 wk 14 vs Purdue: 60 · W2020 wk 15 vs Minnesota: 64 · L2020 wk 16 vs Rutgers: 61 · W2021 wk 1 vs Fordham: 65 · W2021 wk 2 vs Buffalo: 65 · W2021 wk 3 vs Oklahoma: 67 · L2021 wk 4 vs Michigan State: 67 · L2021 wk 5 vs Northwestern: 67 · W2021 wk 6 vs Michigan: 62 · L2021 wk 7 vs Minnesota: 66 · L2021 wk 9 vs Purdue: 66 · L2021 wk 10 vs Ohio State: 66 · L2021 wk 12 vs Wisconsin: 66 · L2021 wk 13 vs Iowa: 67 · L2022 wk 1 vs North Dakota: 62 · W2022 wk 2 vs Georgia Southern: 59 · L2022 wk 3 vs Oklahoma: 63 · L2022 wk 5 vs Indiana: 64 · W2022 wk 6 vs Rutgers: 65 · W2022 wk 7 vs Purdue: 66 · L2022 wk 9 vs Illinois: 55 · L2022 wk 10 vs Minnesota: 65 · L2022 wk 11 vs Michigan: 58 · L2022 wk 12 vs Wisconsin: 62 · L2022 wk 13 vs Iowa: 60 · W2023 wk 2 vs Colorado: 61 · L2023 wk 3 vs Northern Illinois: 61 · W2023 wk 4 vs Louisiana Tech: 61 · W2023 wk 5 vs Michigan: 56 · L2023 wk 6 vs Illinois: 60 · W2023 wk 8 vs Northwestern: 59 · W2023 wk 9 vs Purdue: 57 · W2023 wk 10 vs Michigan State: 45 · L2023 wk 11 vs Maryland: 59 · L2023 wk 12 vs Wisconsin: 58 · L2023 wk 13 vs Iowa: 58 · L2024 wk 2 vs Colorado: 71 · W2024 wk 3 vs Northern Iowa: 72 · W2024 wk 4 vs Illinois: 72 · L2024 wk 5 vs Purdue: 72 · W2024 wk 6 vs Rutgers: 69 · W2024 wk 8 vs Indiana: 70 · L2024 wk 9 vs Ohio State: 69 · L2024 wk 10 vs UCLA: 71 · L2024 wk 12 vs USC: 70 · L2024 wk 13 vs Wisconsin: 71 · W2024 wk 14 vs Iowa: 71 · L2024 wk 1 vs Boston College: 69 · W2025 wk 2 vs Akron: 72 · W2025 wk 3 vs Houston Christian: 72 · W2025 wk 4 vs Michigan: 71 · L2025 wk 6 vs Michigan State: 70 · W2025 wk 7 vs Maryland: 68 · W2025 wk 8 vs Minnesota: 69 · L2025 wk 9 vs Northwestern: 70 · W2025 wk 10 vs USC: 70 · L2025 wk 11 vs UCLA: 70 · W2025 wk 13 vs Penn State: 66 · L2025 wk 14 vs Iowa: 64 · L2025 wk 1 vs Utah: 65 · L2026 wk 2 vs Bowling Green: 72 · W2026 wk 3 vs North Dakota: 73 · W2026 wk 4 vs Michigan State: 73 · W2026 wk 5 vs Maryland: 73 · W2026 wk 6 vs Indiana: 74 · L2026 wk 7 vs Oregon: 75 · next gametypical 62

Every game since 2016, one continuous line; thin rules separate seasons and the chip is where each season finished. Navy dot = win, red = loss. Big drops usually mean a new staff, a new quarterback or a rebuilt line.

Trend · Gelthis season, after each game
typical 62wk 1 · on-field 57 · fan mood 66611wk 2 vs Bowling Green · W · on-field 52 · fan mood 68582wk 3 vs North Dakota · W · on-field 68 · fan mood 72693wk 4 vs Michigan State · W · on-field 71 · fan mood 79744wk 5 vs Maryland · W · on-field 65 · fan mood 81715wk 6 vs Indiana · L · on-field 66 · fan mood 77706

How the team is working right now, rebuilt after each game from only the games so far: on-field fit (results vs preseason expectation, lineup settling, execution) and that week's fan & media mood. Coach security is part of today's Gel number but isn't rebuilt week by week yet. Navy frame = win, red = loss.

Continuity facts
Head coach
Year 4
at this school
Offensive coordinator
Year 2
at this school
Defensive coordinator
Year 1
new this season
HC & OC together
2 seasons
working together
QB with his OC
1 seasons
same play-caller
QB & receivers
5.8 games
started together, average
Offensive line pairs
6.8 games
started together, average
Returning starters
50%
from last season
Starter experience
20 starts
career average
Internal facts
Pressers read
soon
this season, coaches and players
Coach tone
soon
vs his own normal
"We" vs "I"
soon
share of team language
Owning mistakes
soon
vs pointing outward
Same story
soon
coaches and players agree
After losses
soon
how fast tone recovers
Leaders named
soon
players teammates point to
Newcomers
soon
transfers talked about as part of it
Openness
soon
forthcoming vs guarded
Measured from press conferences and interviews, program by program.
Climate facts
Athletic director
Troy Dannen
year 3
Football spending
$70.6M
2024-25 federal report
Spending trend
+114%
over three years
Department revenue
$206M
all sports
Recruiting spend
$2.40M
men's teams
Home crowds
—
of capacity
Staff turnover
56%
on-field staff new this season
Fan mood
soon
fans and local media
Coach & AD
soon
on the same page
Finances: U.S. Department of Education athletics disclosures. Athletic directors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Offense · games started togetherlatest lineup · 11 starters
Colandrea
Rule
Hunter
Barney
Gilmer
Lindenmeyer
Pritchett
Evans
Gottula
Black
Babalade
QBAnthony Colandrea63566666652
RBJamal Rule33233333331
WRNyziah Hunter52171751713171242
WRJacory Barney Jr.63172362015231752
WRKwazi Gilmer63566666652
TELuke Lindenmeyer63172062715211552
OLElijah Pritchett6313156151515952
OLJustin Evans63172362115322252
OLGunnar Gottula6312176159222252
OLBrendan Black53455555551
OLTree Babalade21222222212

Each square: games the two players have started together at this school (darker = more). Gray diagonal: the player's own starts here.

Defense · games started togetherlatest lineup · 11 starters
Stoudmire
Jones
Nwaneri
Whittington
Chambliss
Foster
Evans
McDougle
Jones
Conn
Marshall
DLOwen Stoudmire66465655666
DLAnthony Jones Jr.66465655666
DLWilliams Nwaneri44134444413413
DLJahsear Whittington66465655666
LBOwen Chambliss55455555555
LBDexter Foster66465655666
DBVictor Evans III55455555555
DBDwayne McDougle III55455555555
DBDonovan Jones66136565517617
DBJamir Conn66465655666
DBAndrew Marshall66136565517619

Each square: games the two players have started together at this school (darker = more). Gray diagonal: the player's own starts here.

Chemistry is Scorebook's own rating of how well a program fits together, on the same all-time 0-99 scale as our other ratings (compared with every FBS team since 2016; 62 is typical, 20-50 signals something is wrong, and single digits are reserved for true collapses; each season is compared with its own era). This early version blends continuity (who has played and coached together, and for how long; it counts most) with the climate around the program; how the program talks joins as it is measured. Within continuity, quarterback-centered pairings count most because they held up when we tested them against results. How our ratings work →