It's not a surprise that the Nebraska football team wasn't ranked in the AP Top 25. It also doesn't feel like the Huskers will be especially angry, at least not publicly, that the hype that's surrounded them all season wasn't reflected in this first official poll of the 2025 season. Matt Rhule is plenty confident in his squad. That doesn't mean he wants a target on its back.
While six Big Ten teams made the Associated Press Top 25, the Huskers play just one of them. Just another reminder that if Nebraska is going to make a surge in Year 3 of the Rhule era, they've got the kind of schedule that should allow them to do so.
Penn State (No. 2), Ohio State (No. 3), Oregon (No. 7), Illinois (No. 12), Michigan (No. 14), and Indiana (No. 20), mark the only Big Ten squads ranked to open the season. That means that the Nebraska football program isn't the only noteworthy conference team missing the cut.
Texas is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time, just ahead of No. 2 Penn State.
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 11, 2025
See where other top teams rank. https://t.co/qXJ5AkXKho
The Huskers are unofficially ranked No. 34, a nice spot to start the season as it means a 3-0 start to the season will almost certainly see them in the Top 25 when they take on the Wolverines to open B1G play. Meanwhile, USC (unofficially No. 30) and Iowa (No. 44) are the only other Big Ten teams to receive votes.
The Nebraska football team has the best of both worlds with this ranking. They're under the radar as the season begins. However, they don't have a long climb, should things go as well as people think they might.