Nebraska's big bet
Lately the Big Ten has been No Conference for Running QBs. The Huskers are headed that direction anyway.
Seventeen quarterbacks over the past five seasons have earned first-, second- or third-team All-Big Ten honors. That group combined for 1,323 yards rushing. Just one all-conference quarterback, Ohio State’s Will Howard in 2024, carried the ball1 more than 100 times, and he was at 105 attempts over 16 games. Just one quarterback, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy in 2022, topped 300 rushing yards, and he was only one sack away from being under at 306.
Post-pandemic, the Big Ten has not been a league for QBs who use their legs a lot.
So, it stands out that two teams entering pivotal seasons literally put their money down on quarterbacks whose best traits might be their ability to generate offense while holding the ball rather than letting it go.
Wisconsin needs to win now or Luke Fickell (16-21)2 is likely out. The Badgers scored what’s touted as a portal win by landing Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph, the 14th-best QB available per McIllece Sports.
The stakes aren’t quite as high for Matt Rhule at Nebraska in 2026, but they’re pretty high. The Huskers need to show progress after consecutive 7-6 seasons. As is becoming increasingly apparent, NU is going to be handing the offense over to UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea, the 23rd-best available by McIllece’s NetWins.
Colandrea and Joseph—the Offensive Players of the Year in the Mountain West and Sun Belt respectively—combined for 1,656 rushing yards last season, more than the last 17 All-Big Ten quarterbacks combined.
This is a pretty big bet for two programs that need to be right. Right now.
