Game Day Guide: Nebraska at Minnesota
Nebraska’s first night game in Big Ten play comes with all the usual late-October weight.
Nebraska’s first night game in Big Ten play comes with all the usual late-October weight. We’re talking a short week, a ranked number next to the Huskers’ name and another chance to prove this season’s progress isn’t a fluke.
The Huskers (5-1, 2-1 B1G) head north to Minneapolis for a Friday matchup with Minnesota (4-2, 2-1 B1G), a team that’s made Nebraska pay for mistakes too many times before.
The setting is familiar. The stakes feel a little higher.
Nebraska at Minnesota
When: Friday, Oct. 17 | 7 p.m. CT
Where: Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
TV: FOX (Tim Brando, Devin Gardner, Josh Sims)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Kyle Crooks, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
Streaming audio: Huskers.com / Official Huskers App
Series: Minnesota leads 37-25-2 (25-13-2 in Minneapolis)
Last meeting: Minnesota 13-10 (2023)
Let’s set the scene
It’s been a quick turnaround from last week’s wild finish at Maryland, where Nebraska rallied late for a 34-31 win that nudged the Huskers back into the national rankings. The program’s first AP Top-25 appearance in nearly a year comes with a reminder: staying there requires stacking results.
This trip also revisits the site of Matt Rhule’s first game as Nebraska’s head coach — a 13-10 loss to the Gophers in August 2023. Two years later, the Huskers return with a stronger identity, steadier quarterback play and a chance to flip the narrative.
Nebraska hasn’t beaten Minnesota since 2018. Every loss since has been by one score.
“It’s a 5-1 vs. 4-2 game. That’s a heck of a matchup,” Rhule said this week. “We’re ready for a great football game.”
Rhule on the moment
Noise, focus and what comes next. That’s been Rhule’s refrain this week.
He’s spent the days leading up to Friday pumping artificial crowd noise into practice, reminding players what a hostile Friday night feels like and how easily one mistake can swing momentum.
“It was an elite environment,” he said of Minnesota’s stadium. “The crowd was electric. We’ve prepared all week with insane crowd noise, and we’re counting on Husker Nation to show up and even it out a little. When the game starts, it’s going to be who blocks and tackles better.”
This week also offers a homecoming for running back Emmett Johnson, a Minneapolis native whose Friday walk-through will take place at his alma mater, Academy of Holy Angels.
“I’m just excited for him to have a chance to go back home,” Rhule said. “He’s the kind of guy who could easily be a captain. He’ll be one next year. My message to him is just keep it football. Don’t get too high or too low.”
Rhule brushed off outside noise about his name surfacing in coaching rumors, calling Nebraska a “destination job” during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show and reiterating his focus on the team in front of him.
“I refuse to be distracted,” he said. “We’ve spent a couple years building the culture up. Now it’s time to keep going.”
Storylines to remember
Same field, new team
Rhule’s first Nebraska game came in this same building, ending in heartbreak. Two turnovers inside the red zone, missed tackles and a walk-off field goal. This trip doubles as a measuring stick: are the Huskers still learning or are they built to finish?
Protecting the pocket
Quarterback Dylan Raiola continues to take more hits than Nebraska would like (13 sacks in Big Ten play). The offensive line cleaned up some of that against Maryland, but Minnesota’s front seven has generated steady pressure with 10 takeaways and three defensive scores through six games. If Raiola stays upright, Nebraska’s offense can again find rhythm through Nyziah Hunter, Dane Key and Jacory Barney Jr., each with multiple touchdown catches this year.
Emmett Johnson’s return home
Johnson’s 176 rushing yards and a pair of scores last week came on patience and vision, all traits he’ll need again against a Gopher defense allowing barely 100 rushing yards per game. Nebraska averaged 7.1 yards per carry from its running backs over the past two weeks. A similar effort would go a long way Friday night.
Minnesota’s quarterback question
P.J. Fleck’s offense has leaned on redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey, who’s still learning the ropes. Minnesota ranks outside the top 100 nationally in yards per carry, so expect Nebraska to crowd the line and dare Lindsey to attack the nation’s top pass defense. The Gophers’ best path might be trying to grind it out — if they can.
Mistake-free football
Those odd, momentum-swinging plays that have doomed Nebraska before? They seemingly happen against the Gophers. From fourth-and-goal slips to late-half turnovers, Minnesota has thrived off Husker miscues. The simplest way to end the streak: avoid the self-inflicted wounds that have defined too many of these matchups.
At the crossroads of trajectory and the recent past
Nebraska’s Friday trip to Minnesota was the game I had circled all offseason as a potential problem for the Huskers. That was before I knew NU would get thrown a State College curveball this week, and before I knew the Gophers weren’t going to be as good as I expected.
What the numbers say
10 — Straight games Nebraska has led or been tied at halftime, dating back to 2024.
5 — Consecutive Minnesota wins in the series, all by one score.
3 — Husker receivers (Hunter, Key, Barney Jr.) with at least three touchdown catches.
4 — Teams nationally with a rusher and passer both ranked in the top 20; Nebraska is one of them (Johnson and Raiola).
7.1 — Yards per carry from Husker running backs over the last two games.
25 — Nebraska’s first AP poll ranking of the season, its first since early 2024.
Health, availability, odds and ends
>> Nickelback Malcolm Hartzog Jr. remains out for the fifth straight game.
>> Minnesota’s Darius Taylor, the dynamic sophomore running back who ran for 144 yards against USC last season, continues to work back from injury but remains limited.
>> Nebraska is a slight favorite — hovering around 7.5 points — in a matchup expected to be close(ish?) again.
>> The Huskers’ Friday walk-through will be held at Johnson’s former high school, a fitting full-circle moment before kickoff under the lights.
Nebraska’s trip to Maryland showed poise. The trip to Minnesota will test staying power.
The Huskers have won five of six by doing the simple things right, like protecting the ball, playing suffocating defense and letting Raiola settle into the moment. Friday night brings all the familiar hazards: short week, hostile crowd and a team that loves dragging Nebraska into one-score games.
See you tonight.