Game Day Guide: Nebraska vs. Utah
Nebraska’s season ends this afternoon, on a neutral field and against a ranked opponent that knows exactly who it is.
Nebraska’s season ends this afternoon, on a neutral field and against a ranked opponent that knows exactly who it is.
The Huskers arrive in Las Vegas coming off a bruising finish to November. However, the Huskers also arrive with something they haven’t had in some time: consecutive bowl appearances. That’s a positive.
With that said, No. 15 Utah waits. The Utes are a physical, veteran team with a clear identity. They are also stepping into the moment with a new head coach.
It’s one game but it’s also a chance—for both teams—to show what they are made of before heading into a long offseason.
Nebraska vs. No. 15 Utah
When: Wednesday, Dec. 31 | 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Dawn Davenport)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Kyle Crooks, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
Streaming audio: Huskers.com / Official Huskers App
Records:
Nebraska 7-5 (4-5 Big Ten)
Utah 10-2 (7-2 Big 12)
Rankings: Utah: No. 15 (AP / Coaches / CFP)
Series: Nebraska leads 4-0
Last meeting: Nebraska 49, Utah 22 (1992)
Setting the scene
Las Vegas doesn’t ease you into anything. The lights, the noise and the spectacle of it all.
Nebraska and Utah have spent the week navigating it, with marching bands stacked on balconies, showgirls posing outside ballrooms (as well as on tarmacs to greet them) and trombone players dancing through pregame luncheons.
“It’s just kind of crazy, the showmanship of the city. All the lights, all the performances, the casinos,” right guard Henry Lutovsky said. “There’s a lot happening. There’s a lot going on.”
For some Huskers, it’s overwhelming. For others, it feels familiar. But once kickoff arrives, none of that matters.
After all, this isn’t about the city or even the bowl game. It’s about the matchup and the reality Nebraska faces.
Utah enters as a two-touchdown favorite, ranked in the top 15, armed with one of the nation’s most punishing run games and a defense that thrives on discipline and pressure. Nebraska arrives shorthanded, coming off two decisive losses, starting a true freshman quarterback in his fourth career game.
On paper, the math is unkind. Nebraska knows that.
“We enter this game knowing a lot of people don’t give us much of a chance,” Matt Rhule said. “But that has nothing to do with us.”
Nebraska’s side of the table
The Huskers’ bowl roster looks different than the one that carried them through most of the season.
Running back Emmett Johnson opted out. Defensive starters Dasan McCullough and DeShon Singleton are unavailable due to injury. Quarterback TJ Lateef is still early in his career and still learning what it takes to manage games like this.
That said, Nebraska also has something that matters in these moments: players who’ve lived through worse and stayed.
“We have a bunch of football players who are hungry and who hated the way we ended the season,” Rhule said.
Lateef is central to everything. After dealing with a hamstring issue late in November, he enters the bowl healthy and ready.
“(It’s been) good just because he can run,” offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said. “We wouldn’t let him run at all up until a couple of days ago… He’s fired up to play football.”
Holgorsen put the moment into perspective, pointing toward Lateef’s starts at Nebraska.
“I was thinking about this (Monday), it’s pretty cool that your first four college starts are at the Rose Bowl, Memorial Stadium, Happy Valley and Allegiant,” Holgorsen said.
Nebraska’s offense will need mobility. Utah’s coverage is tight, aggressive and physical. Screens, quick throws, quarterback movement and patience will all matter. So will ball security and situational awareness.
At running back, the workload will be shared.
“It’ll be committee,” Holgorsen said. “They’re all gonna have an opportunity.”
The same goes for the receivers, where veterans and younger players will rotate.
“Anybody that’s been practicing should expect to have an opportunity to go out and play,” Holgorsen said.
Utah’s moment of transition
Utah arrives in Las Vegas in the middle of its own shift. Kyle Whittingham’s departure to Michigan closed one chapter and accelerated another. Morgan Scalley, Utah’s longtime defensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting, now leads the program into the bowl.
Scalley joked he was new to this when meeting with the media, but the tone underneath his humor was steady.
“This is not only a program, it’s a family,” Scalley said. “And that’s going to continue.”
Utah hasn’t changed who it is. The Utes still run the ball relentlessly. They still defend with physicality. They still expect to win.
Quarterback Devon Dampier called the bowl “one last ride for the boys.” Linebacker Lander Barton described the shift as “a new energy and a new life.”
They’re here to finish something, even in the midst of their own change.
Where the game turns
Utah averages nearly 270 rushing yards per game, while Nebraska’s run defense has struggled all season. Utah converts red zone trips into touchdowns at one of the highest rates in the country, while Nebraska has allowed touchdowns at one of the highest rates in the country.
The math is obvious. The solution is not.
“We want to stop the run and force people to be in situations where they have to pass the ball,” interim defensive coordinator Phil Snow said earlier this week. “We’re going to be sound.”
For Nebraska, this game likely hinges on a few things:
– Can Lateef extend plays without forcing them?
– Can Nebraska survive early downs and avoid third-and-long situations?
– Can special teams tilt field position in a fast, indoor environment?
– Can younger players handle meaningful snaps under pressure?
Mike Ekeler boiled it down.
“Scared money don’t make money,” he said. “Double down.”
Meaning beneath the outcome
For Nebraska’s seniors, this game isn’t just another postseason appearance.
“This game means the world to me,” Lutovsky said.
He remembers where this program was when he arrived. He knows what it took to move it forward.
“Leaving the place better than we found it is so much more than our record,” he said.
That’s the undercurrent of this bowl. The result isn’t guaranteed. Nebraska knows that, but the Huskers also see it simply as a final test.
“I don’t really deal in the business of underdogs,” Ceyair Wright said. “It’s about what happens in the moment… At the end of the day, it’s about who shows up to play.”
The Huskers don’t need Vegas to believe in them, but they do need to believe in themselves. They need to play clean, fast and connected for three hours.
The odds are not in Nebraska’s favor, but that doesn’t mean a win is out of reach. The lights might be bright, but what Nebraska does with the moment is still up to them.