Matt Rhule made many pronouncements that Nebraska wouldn’t miss a beat after special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler left NU for USC. That promise is just the latest prognostication that Rhule has made that has been dead wrong. It’s been especially inaccurate regarding the placekickers and the field goal team.
Kyle Cunanan, who was very, very good in 2025, seems to have the yips this year. Those yips got so bad that he lost his starting job after hitting just 4 of 9 field goals and even missing an extra point, despite going 45-for-45 on extra points last season. John Hohl replaced Cunanan as the starter in the Washington game, but Hohl has struggled too, going just 1-for-3 so far in 2026.
Meanwhile, the kicker Nebraska let walk this offseason after getting buried on the depth chart, Tristan Alvano, is having a heck of a comeback campaign. Alvano transferred from Nebraska to South Dakota State, and he’s hit 15 of 20 field goals for the Jackrabbits.
That accuracy rate certainly isn’t among the best in the sport, but it’s been good enough that Husker fans have to wonder why things went so wrong in Lincoln. Some of that had to be simply a lack of chemistry with Ekeler. It’s unfortunate Nebraska couldn’t convince Alvano to stick around when talk about Ekeler leaving started up.
.@AlvanoTristan making 50 yards look easy 😮💨
— SDSU Football (@GoJacksFB) November 7, 2026
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Tristan Alvano resurgence highlights Nebraska football kicking struggles after Mike Ekeler exit
Of course, it’s also hard to foresee the collapse that Cunanan has gone through this fall after he hit 16 of 19 field goals. He was even 1-for-2 on kicks over 50 yards. This year, he’s 0-for-3 from over 50 yards and 1-for-5 from 40 yards or longer, with a long of exactly 40 yards.
Alvano is 4-for-8 on kicks from 40 yards or longer and has a season-long make of 50 yards. The Nebraska-born kicker went just 9-for-15 in his first year in Lincoln, but in 2024 he was 3-for-4 with a career long of 55 yards. He did not attempt a field goal or an extra point in 2025.
It’s not like Alvano is kicking better simply because he’s facing FCS opponents. Against Northwestern, the Jackrabbits’ kicker hit 4 of 5 field goal attempts in SDSU’s 34-18 loss.
In Alvano’s most recent game, the former Nebraska product hit his longest field goal of the season. He was 2-for-2 on field goals and scored 11 points in the Jackrabbits’ 41-15 win. In addition to the 50-yarder, he also hit a 42-yard kick and then went 5-for-5 on extra points.
At this point, it seems unlikely that either Hohl or Cunanan will be Nebraska's starting kicker in 2027. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the native son will get a look from the Husker coaches, assuming he enters the transfer portal again for his final year of college football.
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