Friday Five: Everything and the kitchen sink
Another week and it wasn’t a quiet one for Nebraska.
Another week and it wasn’t a quiet one for Nebraska. It felt like a week where everything AND the kitchen sink was in the news.
Volleyball has clinched a share of the Big Ten title, while men’s and women’s basketball keep winning. Football had an interesting recruiting update, and bowl game options are coming into shape.
Should we recap?
Volleyball keeps rolling
With a 25-15, 25-21, 25-18 sweep against Iowa on Thursday, Nebraska clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title. With one more win this weekend, the Huskers can claim it outright. They’re 17-0 in conference play, with Wisconsin trailing at 14-3.
Coach Dani Busboom Kelly also made Big Ten history in the process, becoming the first coach ever to win a league title in her first season at that school. John Cook won the Big Ten in his first year competing in it (2011), but that was his 12th season coaching Nebraska.
The dominance Wednesday against Iowa looked familiar. The balanced attack, the block numbers, the aces, the suffocating start that pulled the rug out from under the Hawkeyes before they could ever really settle in. Nebraska led in kills (45-29), digs (34-26) and blocks (9-4). Andi Jackson led the way with 11 kills and a .600 hitting percentage, Harper Murray added 10 and Virginia Adriano piled on nine.
Nebraska’s six aces kept the commemorative “ace posters” busy across the arena. It was also Nebraska’s 350th consecutive regular-season sellout, which was celebrated in the third set.
Nebraska is now 41-0 all-time against Iowa and has swept the last 10 matchups. Bigger tests are ahead — including Saturday at No. 17 Indiana — but this team looks ready for post-season play.
Men’s basketball extends the nation’s longest winning streak
The Nebraska men’s basketball team is 5-0 after an 84-72 win over New Mexico at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, and if you haven’t heard it anywhere else yet: Nebraska now holds the longest active win streak in Division I at nine games.
It wasn’t perfect — and might’ve been more dramatic than needed — but the Huskers moved on to the championship game thanks to a night where their best players stepped up in the right moments.
Braden Frager continues trending upward, finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds and a blistering 4-for-6 from deep. Jamarques Lawrence put together a career night of his own, dropping 21 on 6-of-9 shooting with four threes. Rienk Mast added 17, including 10 in the second half.
The first half looked like a blowout brewing. Nebraska hit 5-of-7 from deep in the opening 10 minutes while New Mexico started 1-for-7. Things got chippy late in the half when Deyton Albury — New Mexico’s leading scorer — threw a punch at Connor Essegian and was ejected after a flagrant two. Nebraska led 43-25 at the break.
Then came the wobble: a 19-5 New Mexico run to open the second half that forced the Huskers to reset. The good news? They did.
Nebraska never trailed, never fully lost control and never let the game slip into upset territory.
They’ll now face Mississippi State/Kansas State in Friday’s title game, with a chance to win the tournament for the first time.
Britt Prince explodes for 30
The women’s team didn’t just beat Oral Roberts. They dominated them.
Nebraska poured in 103 points in a 103-58 win, improving to 5-0 and showcasing exactly how dangerous this roster can be.
Britt Prince had one heck of a night too: 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 4-of-6 from three, plus five boards and four assists. She looked entirely in control from the moment she stepped on the court and got to 30 points with nearly six minutes left before checking out.
Eliza Maupin added 17 efficient points (5-for-5 in the first half), Jessica Petrie added 10 more with six rebounds and four assists and Nebraska got scoring from 11 different players.
The numbers say everything:
51.4% shooting
39.1% from three
94.7% at the line
49-27 on the boards
99 starter minutes, 101 bench minutes
Also, the bench produced 47 points. That’s pretty solid.
Nebraska now heads to the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida next week.
Another Raiola recruiting plot twist
There’s no way around it: a Raiola decommitment is going to make noise, even if the impact on Nebraska’s quarterback room isn’t that significant.
Three-star 2026 quarterback Dayton Raiola — the younger brother of Dylan — has decommitted from Nebraska. The news came Wednesday, weeks before Signing Day, and leaves the Huskers with nine commits in the class.
Dayton originally chose Nebraska over Appalachian State and Charlotte, and while his recruiting ranking sits at No. 76 nationally among QBs, the name is what pushes the headlines.
Nebraska’s quarterback picture is still stable though. Consider this:
TJ Lateef just delivered a three-touchdown debut in a road win at UCLA.
Marcos Davila, a former four-star transfer from Purdue, is developing behind him.
Nebraska already holds a 2027 commitment from four-star Trae Taylor.
Dylan’s injury this month doesn’t change the long-term outlook for the room. And with the 2026 class intentionally small because of roster caps, Nebraska doesn’t appear to be scrambling.
But losing a Raiola will always look bigger than the actual roster math. That’s just how it goes.
Where Nebraska stands in the bowl picture heading into Penn State
Back-to-back road wins and a bye week have Nebraska squarely in the Big Ten’s upper bowl tier. However, November decides everything.
Here’s where the national outlets slot the Huskers heading into Week 13:
ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa vs. Tennessee) — Athlon, Sports Illustrated
Music City Bowl (Nashville vs. Tennessee or Memphis) — CBS Sports, College Football News
Las Vegas Bowl (vs. Utah or Arizona State) — ESPN, USA Today
The ranges are all over the map but it appears likely that Nebraska is in a warm-weather bowl, against a recognizable opponent, in a TV slot that matters.
Penn State and Iowa are still ahead so we can’t get too ahead of ourselves just yet. A win this weekend doesn’t just help the résumé. Time will tell.
We’ve had weeks where the Friday Five felt like five versions of the same story. This wasn’t one of them. Every corner of Nebraska athletics is moving right now and they’re all pulling weight in different ways.
The joys of a busy November. Better than a quiet November, right?