Everybody has an opinion on Nebraska.

That is part of what makes the program fascinating.

The Cornhuskers have not really been what people remember them being since the 1990s, but the expectations have never fully gone away. The fan base is still massive. The attention is still there. The pressure is still there.

And now Matt Rhule is entering year four.

Nebraska went 7-6 last season and 4-5 in the Big Ten. The Huskers were good enough to be respectable, but not good enough to feel like they had truly turned the corner.

That has been the issue.

Nebraska can beat teams it should beat. It can look the part for stretches. It can create belief in September.

But when the better teams show up, the Huskers still have not proven they can consistently win those games.

That is the next step.

And with Dylan Raiola gone to Oregon, Nebraska now tries to take that step with a new quarterback and a new defensive coordinator.

HEAD COACH:

• Matt Rhule, entering year four at Nebraska
• Rhule is 19-19 with the Huskers.
• Nebraska went 7-6 last season.
• The Huskers finished 4-5 in the Big Ten.
• Rhule is 66-62 in 10 years as a college head coach.

This feels like a big year for Rhule.

That does not mean Nebraska has to win the Big Ten. That is not realistic.

But the Huskers do need to show they are moving past the “just good enough to make a bowl” stage. At some point, Nebraska has to beat a team that makes people sit up and pay attention.

Last year had a chance to become that kind of season.

Nebraska started 3-0 and had Michigan at home. The Huskers lost 30-27, and from there, the season started to feel like a missed opportunity. Losses to Minnesota, USC, Penn State, Iowa and Utah in the bowl game kept Nebraska from taking the step fans wanted.

That is the challenge now.

Be more than competitive.

Win one of those games.

The schedule gives Nebraska a chance to build confidence early, but the back half is rough. If the Huskers want to be taken seriously, they need to be ready when the schedule turns.

QUARTERBACK

The offense now belongs to Anthony Colandrea.

And that changes the feel of everything.

Colandrea comes in from UNLV after being the Mountain West Player of the Year, and he gives Nebraska a very different kind of quarterback than Raiola. He is not just a passer. He is a runner, a creator and a player who can make something happen when a play breaks down.

That can be good.

It can also be dangerous.

Colandrea has 49 touchdown passes and 29 interceptions in his career. He has also rushed 328 times for 1,151 yards and 12 touchdowns.

So the mobility is real.

The playmaking is real.

But Colandrea has been sacked 85 times in his career, and that is the number Nebraska has to reduce. Some of that is offensive line. Some of that is scheme. Some of that is the quarterback trying to extend plays.

Whatever the cause, it has to be better.

The pressure numbers tell the story. When kept clean last season, Colandrea threw 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. Under pressure, he threw five touchdowns and five interceptions.

That is the entire season right there.

If Nebraska protects him and keeps him in rhythm, Colandrea can make this offense dangerous. If he is constantly under pressure, the turnovers and negative plays can show up quickly.

The good news is he gives Nebraska something it badly needs: an edge.

He can stress defenses with his legs. He can create explosive plays. He can make the run game more difficult to defend.

But Nebraska cannot ask him to be the entire run game.

That is where the rest of the offense has to help.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

The biggest loss is Emmett Johnson.

Johnson was the do-everything back for Nebraska last season. He rushed for 1,451 yards and also caught 46 passes. That is a lot of production to replace.

The question is who becomes the new answer in the backfield.

Mekhi Nelson is one of the key names to watch. Nebraska does not need him to be Johnson right away, but the Huskers need someone who can give the offense a dependable rushing option that is not just Colandrea scrambling.

That matters because Nebraska ran the ball on 52% of its plays last year.

That is not extreme, but it does show the Huskers want balance. If the running backs cannot carry enough of the load, Colandrea may end up being asked to do too much.

The receiver room is the reason for optimism.

Nyziah Hunter is back after catching 43 passes for 617 yards and five touchdowns. Jacory Barney also returns after catching 45 passes for 484 yards and five touchdowns.

That gives Colandrea two proven targets right away.

Then Nebraska adds Kwazi Gilmer from UCLA, who had 50 catches for 535 yards and four touchdowns. Quinn Clark is another young receiver to watch.

That is a good group.

It may be the strength of the offense.

The tight end spot also has a proven piece with Luke Lindenmeyer, and the offensive line has several important names in the projected mix, including Elijah Pritchett, Justin Evans, Brendan Black, Paul Mubenga and Tree Babalade.

That line is going to define the offense.

If it protects Colandrea and helps Nebraska establish a real running game, the Huskers have enough skill talent to be dangerous.

If not, this could become too boom-or-bust.

DEFENSE

The defensive side is fascinating.

Nebraska brings in Rob Aurich from San Diego State to be the defensive coordinator. At SDSU, he helped lead one of the best defenses in the country. That hire matters because Nebraska’s defense had a clear split last season.

The Huskers were excellent against the pass.

They were not good enough against the run.

Nebraska finished near the top of the country in pass defense, but opponents ran the ball on 58% of their plays. That was one of the highest rates in the country, and it tells you what opponents thought.

They did not want to throw into that secondary.

They wanted to run at Nebraska.

That has to change.

The defensive front has pieces. Cam Lenhardt is back. Williams Nwaneri is part of the projected front. Jahsear Whittington and Riley Van Poppel are also names to watch inside.

At linebacker, Vincent Shavers Jr. is a key returning piece, and Owen Chambliss and Dexter Foster are expected to help after coming in as transfers.

That group has to be better against the run.

The secondary should still be one of the strengths.

Rex Guthrie, Donovan Jones and Andrew Marshall are back, and Dwayne McDougle is part of the projected lineup as well. If Nebraska can stay strong on the back end while improving up front, this defense can take a real step.

That is the key.

Nebraska does not need to go from good pass defense to bad pass defense while trying to fix the run. The Huskers need to keep the secondary as a strength and become more physical at the point of attack.

If Aurich can do that, Nebraska’s defense could be better than people expect.

SCHEDULE

The schedule gives Nebraska a chance to start fast.

The Huskers open with three straight home games against Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota. Then they go to Michigan State before hosting Maryland.

That means five of the first six games are at home, with Michigan State being the only road game in that stretch.

Nebraska has to take advantage of that.

A 5-0 start is on the table.

That does not mean it is automatic. Maryland could be dangerous. Michigan State has a new coach. Road games in the Big Ten are never free.

But if Nebraska wants this to be a true step-forward season, it probably needs to handle that opening stretch.

Then everything changes.

Indiana comes to Lincoln on Oct. 10. The Hoosiers are the defending national champions, and that game will tell us a lot about where Nebraska actually stands.

One week later, the Huskers go to Oregon.

That is the measuring-stick stretch.

If Nebraska starts 5-0, the Indiana-Oregon back-to-back becomes one of the biggest two-week stretches of Rhule’s tenure.

After the bye, Nebraska hosts Washington, then goes on the road to Illinois and Rutgers. The Illinois game is a Friday night game. The Huskers then host Ohio State before finishing at Iowa on Black Friday.

That back half is much tougher than the front half.

Four of the last six are on the road: at Oregon, at Illinois, at Rutgers and at Iowa.

That is where the season will be decided.

Nebraska can build the record early.

But the Huskers have to prove themselves late.

OUTLOOK

Nebraska is one of the more interesting teams in the Big Ten because there are two different ways to look at this.

The optimistic case is pretty easy to see.

Anthony Colandrea gives the offense more playmaking. The receiver room is good. The offensive line has enough pieces to be solid. The secondary should be strong again. Aurich gives the defense a fresh voice. The early schedule allows Nebraska to build momentum.

If all of that hits, the Huskers can win eight or nine games.

Maybe they can steal one they are not supposed to win.

That is the version Nebraska fans want to believe in.

The concern is just as obvious.

Colandrea has been sacked too much and has thrown too many interceptions in his career. The run game has to replace Emmett Johnson. The offensive line has to protect better than his previous stops did. The defense has to fix the run problem. And the schedule gets nasty after the first month.

The best-case scenario is that Colandrea becomes the spark Nebraska needs, Nelson or another back emerges, Hunter, Barney and Gilmer give the passing game real juice, and the defense becomes more balanced under Aurich.

If that happens, Nebraska can finally feel like a program moving forward.

The worst-case scenario is that the offense becomes too dependent on Colandrea’s improvisation, the sacks and turnovers show up, the run defense remains an issue, and the late schedule drags the Huskers back toward the middle.

A bowl game is not enough anymore.

Not for Nebraska.

Not in year four under Rhule.

The Huskers do not have to win the Big Ten, but they do have to show they are capable of climbing out of the middle of it.

If Colandrea is the right quarterback and the defense gets tougher against the run, this could be the season Nebraska finally starts to feel dangerous again.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.