Nebraska's first 5-0 start since 2016 sets up Big Noon showdown with defending champ Indiana

Nebraska is 5-0 for the first time since 2016 after pulling away from Maryland 48-23 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. After an uneven first half in which the Huskers managed just 38 yards of offense in the opening quarter, Dana Holgorsen's unit totaled at least 157 yards in each of the final three periods and scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth. Nebraska finished with 447 yards of offense and is 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2017.

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea again carried the load, going 26-of-39 for 238 yards and three touchdowns while adding 10 carries for 108 yards, becoming the first Husker quarterback to top 100 rushing yards since Heinrich Haarberg in 2023. UCLA transfer Kwazi Gilmer caught 11 passes for 147 yards and two scores, his second straight 100-yard receiving game and the first back-to-back effort by a Nebraska wideout since Samori Toure in 2021. Mekhi Nelson, a game-time decision, ran for two touchdowns.

The spotlight shifts to Indiana

The reward for the hot start is the toughest test of the season. The 5-0, 2-0 Huskers host 5-0, 2-0 Indiana, the defending national champion, on Saturday, Oct. 10, with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Fox. Fox's Big Noon Kickoff will originate from Lincoln for the game, only the second time Nebraska has hosted the show on campus — the first came in 2022 before a 49-14 loss to Oklahoma. The Huskers are winless in seven previous Big Noon Saturday appearances. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series 11-9-3 and won the only meeting under Curt Cignetti, a 56-7 rout in Bloomington in 2024.

A win would strengthen Nebraska's College Football Playoff credentials; the Huskers remain unranked, and projections put their CFP chances at just 2.8%. Matt Rhule, in his fourth season, has yet to win more than seven games at Nebraska.

We didn't come to Nebraska to go 7-6. We came to compete for this.

— Matt Rhule, at Big Ten Media Days in July, via 247Sports' Michael Bruntz

Rhule also made headlines off the field, appearing as himself in Sunday night's Season 1 finale of HBO's Lanterns. In a football sequence involving fictional highly recruited quarterback Noah Macon, played by Sean Pritchard, Rhule appeared in the audience and later presented Macon with a Nebraska hat, signaling the character's commitment to the Cornhuskers. The show, based on DC's Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart, features a murder investigation set in Nebraska. The cameo drew wide reaction on social media, with fans alternately celebrating the 'Husker to Hollywood pipeline' and poking fun at their coach's turn as a television actor.

Despite the unbeaten record, questions remain. Nebraska led 16-7 after the first quarter before rallying, and analysts have flagged inconsistency in the running game, penalties on defense, and a lack of ranked wins — the Huskers' last victory over a top-10 opponent came against No. 6 Michigan State in 2015. Rhule has said the program must 'be better in November,' with champions made 'in the cold, on the road, late in the season.' Saturday's game against the Hoosiers will be the clearest indication yet of what kind of team Nebraska has.