Expect Fireworks to Finally Fly in 2025

However, there have also been more years than we may like to admit where our wild cousin Ricky accidentally kicked over the firework after lighting it, and it’s a few seconds from shooting a bottle rocket into Uncle Charlie’s garage. (The onside kick with the lead before losing to Northwestern in Ireland comes to mind).

Each season comes with its ups and downs, which for the sake of the holiday season, we’ll call fireworks. Sometimes it’s a single play that causes us to drop our jaw in awe. Other times, it’s coaches being both fired and hired or players transferring both in and out of the program.

Let’s just say, the twists and turns of a college football season (and offseason) in Lincoln lately has felt more like fireworks that are getting too close for comfort – the ones that make you think you should pick up your chair and scoot back just a little bit.

When assessing the 2024 season, there were several moments to stand in awe…and a few where we needed to take cover.

The year started as you would hope every fireworks show (or season) does – with a bang! Quarterback Dylan Raiola arguably entered the season as the most anticipated freshman quarterback in program history, and he didn’t disappoint early.

The Huskers shot out to a 3-0 start with a soul-cleansing win over Colorado and very forward-facing head coach Deion Sanders. Nebraska even cracked the AP Top-25 Poll for the first time since 2019 and matched their best opening stretch since 2016. Red Kool-Aid sold out statewide, and drywall insurance skyrocketed. Okay, that last part wasn’t true, but with how the fan base was feeling, it isn’t that far-fetched.

So after starting the 2024 “Fireworks Show” with a solid round of artillery shells lighting up the sky, the Big Red Faithful also got a dose of fireworks you expect every year, which in football lingo is consecutive sellout games. Nebraska increased the record number to 403 this pas year, although there was a solid stretch where the Nebraska Athletic Department had to do some stretching to keep that bad boy intact. We’ll call that the sparklers you expect kids to wave around every year.

Then came the adversity in 2024. After the hot 3-0 start, some of the show was diffused by the rain of a 3-6 finish to the year. Enter the “rain on your parade” analogy here. Emotions and aspirations couldn’t have been higher after throttling Colorado and re-entering the national rankings.  

Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema (as he always does) found a way to shine a bright light on Nebraska’s weaknesses. His Fighting Illini rolled in to Lincoln and left with a 31-24 overtime win over Nebraska, putting the first dent on the campaign.

Although the team responded quickly with wins over Purdue and Rutgers to shoot to 5-1, there was still plenty of doubt if the team had made it over the hump. Then came that firework I warned you about - the one cousin Ricky knocked over toward the garage. Unfortunately, that firework did go off on October 19 last year when undefeated and 16th-ranked Indiana absolutely dominated the Huskers 56-7.

The loss completely derailed any semblance of confidence for the fan base as they marched toward a showdown with eventual national champion Ohio State. The Huskers fought hard in Columbus, but fell 21-17. Then came the spiral.

Two-win UCLA came in and beat them. Big Red then went to California to get handed a loss at the hands of USC. With two games left, a team that started the year 5-1 didn’t know if it was going to make it to a bowl game after all… again. It was that calm in a fireworks show where you’re saying, “Welp, that must be it.” Then, you see that one firework shoot back up into the sky to suggest…”not yet.”

Last season, Wisconsin was that firework. The Badgers entered Lincoln in as bad of shape as Nebraska. Both teams sat at 5-5, desperate to get that bowl-clinching sixth win. Fortunately, the firework wasn’t a dud, and Nebraska overcame a world of low fanbase morale to oust Wisconsin 44-25, marking the first time Nebraska beat the Badgers since 2012. Afterward, coach Matt Rhule said, “This is not the same old Nebraska. We’re building something real.”

In otherwords…boom!

The win catapulted Nebraska into the Pinstripe Bowl (we won’t talk about the Iowa game..you’re welcome) where Nebraska outlasted Boston College 20-15, notching the first Husker bowl game win since 2015. Let’s also not forget, we got just a short glimpse of what this team looks like with Dana Holgorsen running the offense. Rhule demoted previous OC Marcus Satterfield after the offense sputtered during the stretch mentioned above.

The overall review of the 2024 “fireworks show” has mixed reviews. When you end so many disheartening streaks like missed bowl games, winless streaks against Wisconsin and so forth, the year was a huge success. However, the team did still fight tooth and nail just to make a bowl game (again) for a fan base that thinks 1997 was just a few years ago. In that mindset, the show had its moments, but wasn’t anything to write home about.

When pivoting from last season to 2025, it becomes a guessing game. Just a few weeks ago, I encouraged Husker fans to only sip the Kool-Aid this offseason because there are so many unknowns heading into the upcoming campaign. What will the offense look like with Holgorsen getting a full offseason to work with Raiola? Will new defensive coordinator John Butler be able to fill the huge shoes left by Tony White? How will the highly-touted transfers actually perform?  

The answers to these questions will all be “fireworks” in 2025. The trick is knowing if it will be one of those perfectly round artillery shells that really draws out the “ooohs and aaaahs” or if it’s a punk that won’t even light.

Since we’re celebrating the Fourth of July, and I want everyone to leave reading this with “happy thoughts,” here are four positive fireworks I genuinely think will happen in 2025.

1. Nebraska will beat a ranked team

It hasn’t happened since a 35-32 win over No. 22 Oregon in 2016. Last year, the team ended some pretty bad streaks dating back to 2015 and 2016, so why not add one more. Their likely matchups against ranked foes will come September 20 against Michigan, November 1 against USC, November 22 against Penn State and maybe November 28 against Iowa…maybe.

Of those, I think Nebraska’s best chance would be when they welcome USC to town, but don’t rule out one of the teams on the schedule not mentioned to sneak into the rankings and give NU a crack at a No. 24 or No. 25 ranked team. It would feel like cheating, but it could happen.

2. Nebraska will finish with 8+ wins

This is a significant take simply because the team just ended its bowl game drought last year. Yes, this is calling for a jump in team performance and coaching, but it’s also acknowledging a fairly friendly schedule in 2025.

Pro Football Network has Nebraska sporting the 64th toughest schedule in the country, and the 16th toughest schedule (of 18 teams) in the Big Ten. The ball is already on the tee for an improved year, even if the team doesn’t take major steps forward.

3. Matt Rhule will be a Coach of the Year Finalist

It’s one thing to be as relatable as he has been to his recruits and coaching staff in his short time here, but it’s another to pair that lovable personality with wins. Rhule has been the media darling amidst a few downtrodden years so far, so if he rights the ship to the tune of 8 or 9 wins in Lincoln this year, his stock as one of the best coaches in the Big Ten and even the country soars.

Rhule and his staff have a legitimate chance to upset the apple cart this year in the Big Ten. The softer conference schedule could put Nebraska in play for some unexpected rewards at the end of the season.

4. Nebraska will be ranked – and stay there!

So often the national polls have been kind to some otherwise rough Nebraska football teams. The Huskers went 4-8 in 2018, so logically they started 2019 ranked No. 24. The polls WANT Nebraska to be good at football, and this year I think the team obliges.

If the team can manage a 3-1 start through the first four, they have a legitimate chance to be 7-1 entering that showdown with USC on November 1. To get the confidence of the national polls, NU will likely need to start 3-0 to get into the conversation, then let the chips fall where they may against Michigan. I think they do, and unlike previous seasons, I’m not feeling the midseason doldrums coming on like they have in years past.

Will there be negative fireworks this season as well? We’d be naïve to think otherwise. Will fans be calling for a player or position coaching change at some point in the year even if they don’t know anything and are dead wrong? It’s what fans do…so yep.

Ultimately I think the Big Red Faithful will enjoy the 2025 fireworks show more than usual, even if there are a few duds mixed in.

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

• Aug. 28 (Thursday) vs. Cincinnati (Kansas City) 8 p.m. CDT on ESPN
• Sep. 6 vs. Akron 6:30 p.m. CDT on BTN
• Sep. 13 vs. Houston Christian 11 a.m. CDT on FS1
• Sep. 20 vs. Michigan 2:30 p.m. CDT on CBS
• Oct. 4 vs. Michigan State 11/2:30/3 CDT
• Oct. 11 at Maryland TBA
• Oct. 17 (Friday) at Minnesota 7 p.m. CDT on FOX
• Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern TBA
• Nov. 1 vs. USC TBA
• Nov. 8 at UCLA TBA
• Nov. 22 at Penn State TBA
• Nov. 28 (Black Friday) vs. Iowa 11 a.m. CST on CBS

Home games are bolded.

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