Vegas Hangover: Where Does Nebraska Go Next After 7-6 Season?

The hype was palpable in Lincoln. After a busy offseason spent building around future star sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola with a new look offense and Matt Rhule’s “Year Three” hype running wild, the excitement was completely understandable. Even though the first six games were with a 5-1 record, the Nebraska Cornhuskers still had an opportunity to meet their lofty goals of getting back into contention. However, a 2-5 finish killed any momentum gained in the first half of the season. That included three blowout losses to end the season. So after a 44-22 loss to the No. 15 Utah Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl, where do the Huskers go next?

What’s Next For the Huskers?

Roster Overhaul in Portal and QB Hunt

There is a reasonable expectation that the Huskers will be a major player in the Transfer Portal when it opens on January 2, looking back on how busy they’ve been the past few years. It is also reasonable to expect some more players to enter from Nebraska when it opens. However, the biggest change that is coming is at quarterback.

QB Hunt

Former five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola announced his intentions to enter the portal when it opens. Raiola’s recruitment to Nebraska was a major win for Rhule, going into his second season of the rebuild in Lincoln. The quarterback had high expectations to be the “savior” of the once great program. Obviously, those expectations were too big. After Raiola went down with a season-ending fibula injury, true freshman TJ Lateef was thrown in. He has had some major ups and downs. The question is, do you stick with Lateef as the starting quarterback? Or do you go after a veteran in the transfer portal? There will be a lot of options to choose from. But we’ll see how aggressive Rhule and his staff will be when the portal “opens” when looking at quarterbacks.

Roster Overhaul Elsewhere

Outside of quarterback, Nebraska will have to address obvious holes at the offensive and defensive line. It has some depth in spots on the offensive line. But will need more veteran presence to go along with tackle Elijah Prichett and center Justin Evans. The Huskers could use some help at all positions on the defensive line, especially in the middle to fit new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme. Hypothetically, it should be easier to recruit defensive lineman that fit Aurich’s scheme compared to the 3-3-5. But it will be seen what they can do in the portal and even high school recruiting still. Realistically, they could use help everywhere on the defensive side of the ball, especially at defensive back. Nebraska is losing DeShon Singleton and Ceyair Wright to the NFL, most likely, and Malcolm Hartzog Jr. to the portal, with potentially more over the next few days. The Huskers also could use another running back, with star Emmett Johnson heading to the NFL. Isaiah Mozee and Mekhi Nelson have had some limited playing time when Johnson needed a break for a few snaps. However, with the amount of potential prospects in the portal, it wouldn’t hurt to dip into the portal for a potential bell cow back.

Coaching Staff Changes to Address Issues

Immediately after losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 40-16, changes to the coaching staff were expected. Rhule did not wait until after the bowl game to make them. On December 1, defensive coordinator John Butler was fired, and Aurich was brought in from San Diego State. However, Phil Snow was the interim defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Bowl. We all saw how that turned out with the Utah offense putting up 500 + yards and 44 points. It makes it seem that Aurich has his work cut out for him with rebuilding the defensive back to some of the success it had in 2023 and 2024. Five days after Butler was fired, offensive line coach and run game coordinator Donovan Raiola was let go, and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets offensive line coach Geep Wade was hired. The offensive line needed to take the next step as a whole position group, and overall, it didn’t show development. The offensive line was taken advantage of by opposing pass rushers many times throughout the season. However, it did find some improvement in run blocking, but a lot of that was thanks to Pritchett and senior guard Rocco Spindler. The hope is that Wade will help continue to have more success on the line, especially in pass protection and the development of the youth in the group.

Pressure Building for 2026

Back-to-back seasons of seven wins are beginning to not be considered “progress” but more of a disappointment. Especially looking at this season’s schedule compared to 2026. A lot of that has to do with the Rhule “Year Three” jump that has been prophesied from tenures at Baylor and Temple. It obviously didn’t materialize this season, and some major jumps next season are needed to even sniff 9+ wins. It all has to do with the schedule. Non-conference should be manageable with matchups with the Ohio Bobcats and Bowling Green Falcons before closing out against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. However, the concern is the conference schedule. The Huskers host Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, and Washington. All the while, they travel to Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Oregon, and Rutgers. Rhule and Nebraska will have their work cut out for them and will find it tough to improve their record from 2024 to 2025. Regardless, it will be a busy offseason, and it begins on January 2 when the transfer portal window opens. Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images