Now that the bye week is over, the Nebraska football team's second half of the season has officially begun. After a 5-2 start to the year, the Huskers could finish strong and maybe even end the year ranked, with a long shot at an at-large bid in the College Football Playoffs.
On the other hand, the short history of the Matt Rhule era has been one filled with frustration and questions once the season is over. So what questions do the Huskers need to answer correctly to make the season, or break it?
Can Nebraska's offense find its mojo in the third quarter?
Over the last two weeks, the fourth-quarter fade against Indiana and Oregon was bad enough, but the Huskers have been a pretty solid fourth-quarter team for most of the season. By contrast, Nebraska has been absolutely dreadful on offense in the third quarter almost all year.
Nebraska performances in the third quarter in 2026:
- Ohio: 14 points in a 49-21 win
- Bowling Green: 0 points in a 56-7 victory
- North Dakota: 7 points in a 34-7 win
- Michigan State: outscored 3-0 in a 31-13 win
- Maryland: 0 points in a 48-23 win
- Indiana: outscored 3-0 in a 20-17 loss
- Oregon: 7 points in a 17-14 loss
For those following along at home, Nebraska has scored just four touchdowns in the third quarter all season, and half of those came against Ohio in the season opener. Yes, the Huskers had a lead going into the fourth against the Ducks and Hoosiers and lost it there, but in both games, just an extra field goal in the third period would have at least forced overtime in both losses.
The bottom line is that Nebraska has led at half in all seven games its played this season. They haven't been able to keep things going coming out of half. If they can figure out why the offense stalls after halftime, they could forge a very good final five games. 9-3 or 10-2 is entirely possible. But third quarter play needs to be better to even sniff that kind of record.
Can Rob Aurich fix the recent 4th quarter defensive lapses?
While the Huskers' offense has struggled in the third quarter, the Blackshirts have been very, very good out of halftime. In fact, NU has allowed 16 points in the third quarter all season. Defensive coordinator Rob Aurich's group has shut out three opponents outright in the third period and North Dakota is the only team this year that's scored a TD in that quarter.
The fourth quarter has been a different story entirely, especially lately. Againt Oregon and Indiana, the Huskers' still didn't give up a ton of points, but the Hoosiers hit two wide open very long touchdown passes on blown coverage. Against Oregon, Nebraska allowed a 20 play 82 yard drive that ate away almost all of the last six minutes of the fourth quarter to win the game.
Heading into the bye week, Nebraska was outscored 25-7 in the fourth quarter. The final period didn't used to be an issue. They shut out both Maryland and Michigan State in that period. So can Aurich find a way to lock down the field the way he did most of the time this season?
Was Nebraska's running game a non-conference mirage?
After three weeks, freshman running back Jamal Rule led the nation in rushing yards among freshmen. Mekhi Nelson was a great complementary option in an effective 1-2 punch. Since the Big Ten conference schedule started, not only hasn't a running back had a 100 yard game, but quarterback Anthony Colandrea was the leading rusher in three of the four conference games.
Colandrea also has the only 100 yard rushing game in that span and was just seven yards short of being the Huskers' leading rusher in all four games. The biggest problem there is that quite a bit of Colandrea's rushing yards were on scrambles. In other words, broken plays accounted for far too much of the team's yards on the ground.
Can Nebraska find a way to create a running game on designed plays? If it can, the offense could go back to being one of the most effective in the country. If it can't, the last five games are going to be a slog.
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