Game Day Guide: Nebraska vs. Houston Christian
After a 68–0 dismantling of Akron, Nebraska stays home and turns the page to Houston Christian for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff.
After a 68–0 dismantling of Akron, Nebraska stays home and turns the page to Houston Christian for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff. It’s also the final matchup for the Huskers before the Big Ten grind begins.
HCU arrives from the FCS ranks with a defense-first profile and a head coach that Matt Rhule respects. The leap in competition is real but so is Nebraska’s need to keep sharpening.
Morning game. New week. Same expectation to improve.
Nebraska vs. Houston Christian
When: Saturday, Sept. 13 | 11:00 a.m. CT
Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
TV: FS1 (Eric Collins, Spencer Tillman)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Kyle Crooks, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
Radio Streaming: Huskers.com / Huskers App
This is the first-ever meeting between the programs. Nebraska is 15–0 all-time against FCS opponents and closes nonconference play Saturday with a shot at a second straight 3–0 start.
A quick note for fans in the building: because of expected heat, Nebraska Athletics is allowing one sealed bottle of water per person. Empty personal bottles are always permitted for refills inside the stadium.
Also, six Huskers join the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame and will be recognized on Saturday: Bob Nelson, Tom Welter, Derek Brown, the late Dahrran Diedrick, Brett Maher and Kenny Bell.
Rhule on Houston Christian
On putting less focus on point spreads and more about precision:
“Not letting up, that’s an outside thing. For us, we’re just trying to get better. Let’s all continue to improve.”
On HCU:
“They’re going to challenge you with different looks. They’re not going to come out there and just let you line up; you’re going to have to get in the right play because they show you different pictures. Offensively, I like what they do… They can both run the football and they have athletes on the outside.”
On the standard:
“I’m expecting us, no matter what the score is, I’m expecting us to play better than we played last week. If we don’t play better than we did last week, then we wasted a week.”
Early signs of progress for NU's offense
Turns out the computers love it when a team beats an opponent by nearly twice as much as expected, no matter who that opponent is. Following its 68-0 win over Akron, Nebraska jumped 19 spots to 28th in the SP+ ratings, 20 spots in FPI to 12th and a relatively subdued 10 spots to 34th
Storylines to remember
A morning standard
Morning kickoffs mean no light shows. It’s all about execution.1
Nebraska hammered Akron, then spent the week emphasizing that the standard doesn’t change with the time slot or the logo. Saturday puts that to the test.
Raiola’s command keeps leveling up
Two games, six touchdowns, zero turnovers, 78% completions and a school-record 20 straight completions spanning Weeks 1–2. The leap isn’t just arm talent. It’s also pre-snap control and post-snap timing.
Keep an eye on how quickly protections and checks get Nebraska into the right play against HCU’s shape-shifting fronts.
Keeping it up on defense
Nebraska’s defense has held back-to-back opponents under 70 passing yards. No explosive completions allowed (20+). No first-half touchdowns allowed over the last four games.
More specifically, the secondary has smothered opponents but the next step is finishing plays at the line of scrimmage. The Huskers have pressured consistently but haven’t always cashed in with sacks. Houston Christian’s reshuffled offensive line has already given up plenty of pressure and this is a chance for Nebraska’s edge rushers to finally close the deal.
An opportunity for non-starters
The Akron game let the twos and threes show they can keep the bar high. Expect to see younger defenders like Gabe Moore, Dawson Merritt and Jamir Conn, along with backup running backs, get extended reps.
How early those snaps arrive will say a lot about how clean the starters operate.
Special teams turning from liability to leverage
Kicker is steady, punter has shown field-flipping ability and Jacory Barney Jr. just posted 87 punt return yards. If there’s a week when a return breaks, it might be this one but HCU has already tried fakes and tricks, so no promises here.
“Blood Moon” look
Nebraska confirmed a rare uniform combo: red home jerseys with red road pants, the first all-red look in nearly four decades. Branded as the “Blood Moon” theme, it ties to Sunday’s lunar eclipse and the folklore Rhule referenced about a symbol of battles ahead.
Basically, don’t adjust your screens if things seem different than usual.
Saturday morning in Memorial Stadium. What could be better?2
The expectation is a comfortable win but the how still matters. Does the defense keep constricting? Do the Huskers keep the gas down without sloppiness? Does the depth chart earn trust beyond garbage time? Those answers are pretty important too.
Same standard, new test. You know the drill by now.
Although I’d still argue that Nebraska does need to figure out something to do between the third and fourth quarter for day games.
Breakfast pizza, but I have no idea if that tradition will remain with the new food vendors.