Never let it be said that new Nebraska football quarterback Anthony Colandrea is short on confidence. He showed the kind of swagger the Husker program desperately needs as its lead signal-caller during a recent interview with On3’s Pete Nakos. Colandrea talked about his personal expectations for his new team in 2026. He showed off that swagger. While most people believe that NU will be lucky to win six or seven games this season, the former UNLV star and Mountain West Player of the Year isn’t having it.
Anthony Colandrea has Nebraska football thinking bigger than eight or nine wins
"You’re not here to just not win a national championship. I’m not coming here to just win eight or nine games. I want to win a national championship; I want to go to the playoffs. I have high expectations, and we have high expectations as a team. When I first got here, it felt like the bar was eight or nine wins, and I was like, no — we want to win 11, 12 games. We’ve got to go win. That’s the biggest thing."
Unsurprisingly, most people around the country want to try to tamp down those kinds of predictions and make the Nebraska quarterback more realistic. Part of the reasoning behind that is that, while he’s got serious skill making plays off schedule, he had some turnover problems the last time he played for a Power 4 team.
Colandrea is considered someone who might fit what Dana Holgorsen wants to do on offense more than Dylan Raiola ever did. He’s still someone who showed he can dominate minor conferences but struggles against Power opponents. Among most national analysts, he’s considered a sort of middle-of-the-road quarterback in most rankings of Big Ten signal callers.
Some Nebraska fans are sick of hearing Huskers talk about how good they expect to be. There’s been a lot of hype during the offseason, especially during the Matt Rhule era. And so far, the best they’ve done is 7-6. Nebraska has not won eight or more games since 2016, when the team went 9-4 and lost the Music City Bowl. They have not played for a conference title since 2012, their second year in the Big Ten, when they won the Legends division and went 10-4. Even when they did win the division, they went on to get absolutely spanked in the Big Ten Conference Championship game.
Anthony Colandrea gives Nebraska football swagger, but the Huskers must back it up
On the other hand, fans wanting players to tamp down their enthusiasm continue to miss the point. While they might think they don’t want to hear it, the fans need to understand that the only way Colandrea and the rest do any better than 7-6 is by believing in themselves and each other. Furthermore, it helps absolutely no one for the newest quarterback to be shouted down and told to be quiet.
The Huskers need players who enter a game believing they’re going to win, not hoping they don’t lose. There have been far too many of the latter, especially in the Rhule years. If there was one singular complaint about Anthony Colandrea’s predecessor, it was that he was too worried about making a mistake that would cost his team the game.
Nebraska needs Colandrea’s mindset. They also need to back it up. But the frustration over his comments is misplaced. Fans should be ready to run through a brick wall.
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