Nebraska

How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball in the Diamond Head Classic: Preview, Team Breakdowns, TV Channels

Published

1 year ago

December 22, 2024

How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball in the Diamond Head Classic: Preview, Team Breakdowns, TV Channels

Following a dismal 89-52 loss to Michigan State on the road, the Nebraska men’s basketball team needed a bounce back in a big way.

That bounce back came in the form of a dominant 85-68 victory over a highly-touted Indiana team at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Hoosiers were as hyped as any in the conference, being selected second in the Big Ten preseason poll while bringing in a top-five transfer class in the country over the offseason.

But IU was outclassed by Nebraska, who shot over 65 percent from the field in the first half followed by a defensive effort that stifled the Hoosiers to a 27.8 field goal percentage in the second half to run away. Guard Brice Williams went off with a game-high 30 points with Juwan Gary (14), Connor Essegian (14) and big man Andrew Morgan (10) each reaching double figures to support.

With a momentum-boosting win over a storied program, it gave the Huskers plenty to build on approaching a holiday tournament in the Diamond Head Classic, which features a field that Nebraska can come out on top of.

Here’s all you need to know as NU visits Hawaii for its lone regular-season tournament of the season.

How to Follow Along

Murray State’s Brain Moore Jr. (14) goes up against Evansville’s Chuck Bailey III (4) as the University of Evansville Purple Aces play the Murray State Racers at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. Murray State beat Evansville 81-59. / MaCabe Brown / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Murray State Scout

Head Coach: Steve Prohm | 3rd Season in Second Stint; 7th overall at MSU | 139-68 (.671) at Murray State; 236-163 (.591) Career HC | 3x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 8x NBA Draft Picks, 2x OVC Titles, 2x Big 12 titles | Previous head coach at Iowa State | Previous assistant coach at Tulane, Southeastern Louisiana and Centenary.

2023-2024 Record: 12-20 (9-11 MVC, T-7th) | 1x All-MVC Bench Team | Did not qualify for the postseason.

All-Time Series: Murray State leads 2-0 (Dec. 30, 2000 last match, 79-71 MSU).

Fun Fact: The Huskers and Racers have faced only twice in school history with both matchups going the way of the Racers. MSU won in the title game of the 1990 San Juan Shootout and a regular season win in December of 2000.

Key Returners: JaCobi Wood, G, Sr. | Nick Ellington, F, Sr. | Alden Applewhite, F, Jr. | Justin Morgan, G, Jr.

Key Additions: AJ Ferguson, G, Sr. (Southern Illinois) | Terence Harcum, G, Sr. (Appalachian State) | Kylen Milton, G, Sr. (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) | KyeRon Lindsay, F, Jr. (Texas Tech).

Key Departures: Quincy Anderson, G (Eligibility) | Rob Perry, G (Eligibility) | Brian Moore Jr., G, Sr. (Norfolk State) | Shawn Walker, Jr., G (Eligibility).

Outlook: Murray State enters an important year in the second stint of head coach Steve Prohm. From 2011-2015, Prohm helped the mid-major to new heights, making a pair of NCAA Tournaments – including a win in the First Round in 2012 – winning two Missouri Valley Conference tournament titles and posting a 104-29 record in four seasons. Prohm catapulted that success into a six-year run at Iowa State, taking over for new Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg who went to become the head coach for the Chicago Bulls.

Prohm went 97-95 in Ames before coming back to Murray State. The success hasn’t all been there for the Racers compared to Prohm’s earlier run with a 35-39 record in just over two complete seasons.

Three of the top five scorers from last year’s 12-20 squad moved on from the program, including leading scorer Quincy Anderson (12.6 PPG), Rob Perry (11.9 PPG) and Brian Moore Jr. (9.2 PPG) who transferred to Norfolk State.

However, JaCobi Wood and Nick Ellington both returned, giving the Racers a pair of returners who produced double-digit points. Wood’s game has grown as a senior, leading the team with 15 points per game. Ellington has remained productive as well with 10.3 points per contest, but Prohm went heavy into the transfer portal to supplement his roster.

Four of the top six scorers came to Murray State from other schools. 6-foot-7 senior guard AJ Ferguson has had the biggest impact with 12.3 PPG for second on the team alongside a team-leading six rebounds per game. He’s exploded on the scene after spending two seasons at Southern Illinois. Senior guard Terence Harcum was an All-Sun Belt Third Team pick last season with Appalachian State, and is now averaging 12.0 PPG. Kylen Milton rounds out the transfer trio with 11.2 points per game after three seasons at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and one year at Western Kentucky. He brings plenty of experience with now 107 games of college basketball experience. Even Texas Tech transfer KyeRon Lindsay brings a spark with 8.3 points per game.

This is a balanced team across the board with its scoring, but it emphasizes three-point shooting with a 38.6 percent mark through nine games this season. The Racers are actually better in defending the three, however, with a 27.9 three-point shooting percentage from opponents.

The Racers don’t have any bad losses on its resume, but going into Sunday they are riding a two-game losing streak with consecutive defeats to Western Kentucky (81-76) and Indiana State (84-74). If Nebraska plays up to its ability, the Huskers should take care of business while having a great chance to win the whole tournament.

Tournament Capsules

February 22, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle (right) instructs center KC Ibekwe (24) against the California Golden Bears during the second half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Oregon State

Head Coach: Wayne Tinkle | 11th Season at OSU; 19th as Head Coach | 148-179 (.453) at Oregon State; 306-270 (.531) as Head Coach | 5x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 4x Conference titles, 2x Big Sky Coach OTY | Previous head coach at Montana.

2024 Record: 8-2 (0-0 Pac-12) | Wins: Utah Tech, Weber State, Western Oregon, Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis, Idaho, UC Irvine, Sacramento State | Losses: Oregon, North Texas.

Key Contributors: Michael Rataj, F, Jr. (16.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG) | Parsa Fallah, F, R-Jr. (12.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG) | Nate Kingz, G, R-Jr. (11.0 PPG) | Damarco Minor, G, Sr. (9.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG | Liutauras Lelevicius, G, R-Soph. (7.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG) | Josiah Lake II, G, Soph. (7.4 PPG).

Xavier Musketeers head coach Chris Mack calls out a play in the first half of the NCAA Big East Conference basketball game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Georgetown Hoyas at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018.

020318 Xavier / Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK

Charleston

Head Coach: Chris Mack | 1st Season at Charleston; 13th as Head Coach | 286-135 (.679) as Head Coach | 1x Final Four, 9x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 3x Conference titles, 1x Big East Coach OTY, Atlantic 10 Coach OTY | Previous head coach at Louisville and Xavier.

2024 Record: 8-2 (0-0 CAA) | Wins: Southern Illinois, South Florida, Florida Atlantic, The Citadel, Northern Kentucky, Tusculum, Saint Joseph’s, Wofford. | Losses: Liberty, Rhode Island.

Nov 22, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Loyola (Il) Ramblers coach Drew Valentine on the sidelines during the first half against the Creighton Bluejays at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images / William Purnell-Imagn Images

Loyola Chicago

Head Coach: Drew Valentine | 4th Season at LUC | 67-40 (.626) as Head Coach | 1x NCAA Tournament Appearance, 1x MVC title; 1x Atlantic 10 title | Previous assistant at Oakland and Michigan State.

2024 Record: 9-1 (0-0 A10) | Wins: Chicago State, Detroit Mercy, Eureka, Princeton, Southern Utah, Tulsa, Eastern Michigan, South Florida, Canisius | Losses: San Francisco.

Oct 20, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Oakland Golden Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe on the sideline in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Oakland

Head Coach: Greg Kampe | 41st Season at Oakland | 703-544 (.564) at Oakland & Career | 7x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 7x regular season conference titles, 4x tournament conference titles | 4x Summit League Coach OTY, 1x GLIAC Coach OTY. | Longest current tenured men’s basketball coach; Third active coach with 600 or more career wins; Fourth-most active career wins.

2024 Record: 3-7 (1-2 Horizon League) | Wins: Defiance College, Toledo, Wright State | Losses: (RV) Boise State, (RV) Illinois, No. 1 Kansas, Eastern Michigan, Youngstown State, No. 20 Michigan State, Cleveland State.

Key Contributors: DQ Cole, G, Sr. (12.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG) | Allen Mukeba, F, Gr. (12.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG) | Buru Naivalurua, F, Sr. (11.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG) | Malcolm Christie, G, Sr. (8.0 PPG) | Jayson Woodrich, G/F, Gr. (5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG) | Jaylen Jones, G, Soph. (5.0 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.8 RPG).

Jan 6, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte 49ers head coach Aaron Fearne during the second half against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Dale F. Halton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Charlotte

Head Coach: Aaron Fearne | 2nd Season at Charlotte; 15th as Head Coach | 25-16 (.610) at Charlotte | NBL Coach OTY, 2z QBL Coach OTY 2x QBL Champion |Charlotte Interim HC for 2023-2024 season before being elevated; 13 years as head coach in Australian Professional Basketball.

2024 Record: 6-4 (0-0 AAC) | Wins: Presbyterian, Richmond, Gardner-Webb, Livingstone, Georgia State, West Georgia | Losses: Utah State, Long Island, ETSU, Davidson.

Key Contributors: Nik Graves, G, Jr. (16.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.2 APG) | Robert Braswell IV, G, Gr. (13.9 PPG, 46.3 3P%) | Giancarlo Rosado, F, Gr. (12.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG) | Jaehshon Thomas, G, Jr. (10.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG) | Rich Rolf, F, R-Soph. (5.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG) | Dean Reiber, F, R-Sr. (5.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG) | Kylan Blackmon, G, R-Sr. (5.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG) | Isaiah Folkes, G, Sr. (4.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG).

March 20, 2016; Spokane , WA, USA; Hawaii Rainbow Warriors head coach Eran Ganot speaks to players during a stoppage in play against Maryland Terrapins during the first half in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Hawaii

Head Coach: Eran Ganot | 10th Season at Hawaii | 162-105 (.607) at Hawaii; 165-107 (.607) Career record | 1x NCAA Tournament Appearance, 1x Big West Regular Season & Tournament title, 1x Big West Coach OTY | 3-2 as acting HC for St. Mary’s (CA.) in 2013-2014.

2024 Record: 6-3 (0-1 Big West) | Wins: Life Pacific, San Jose State, Pacific, Weber State, Hawaii Pacific, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Losses: North Carolina, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State.

Key Contributors: Gytis Nemeikša, F, Sr. (14.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG) | Tanner Christensen, C, Gr. (12.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 69.0 FG%) | Marcus Greene, G, Sr. (11.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.4 APG) | Kody Williams, G, Jr. (8.2 PPG, 51.4 3P%) | Tom Beattie, G, Soph. (7.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG) | Akira Jacobs, F, Soph. (7.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) | Ryan Rapp, G, Sr. (7.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG) | Harry Rouhliadeff, F, Jr. (5.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG).

MORE: Lexi Rodriguez Expresses Gratitude as She Says Goodbye to Nebraska Volleyball

MORE: Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

MORE: Nebraska Women’s Basketball Falls at No. 17 Georgia Tech

MORE: Dave Feit’s Historical College Football Playoffs: The Post-Osborne Nebraska Teams

MORE: Purdue Transfer Quarterback Marcos Davila Commits to Nebraska

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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Nebraska

Challenging Week Ahead in Nebraska Men’s Basketball

Published

6 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Challenging Week Ahead in Nebraska Men’s Basketball

If this were a football road trip for Nebraska, yikes. The Huskers this week visit Ohio State and Indiana.

But maybe, given Nebraska’s 14-0 basketball start, it’s the Buckeyes and Hoosiers who should be concerned.

The basketball version of the Buckeyes and Hoosiers is difficult enough, as both Nebraska opponents are formidable, both are capable of making the NCAA Tournament and both are capable of pinning that first loss on the Huskers.

Nebraska has played one true road game, a victory at Illinois. The Huskers play Ohio State on Monday and Indiana on Saturday, Jan. 10. The No. 13 Huskers are flying, coming off a 58-56 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Friday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Defeating the Spartans was the kind of tense victory over a legitimate basketball powerhouse that could define the Huskers’ season.

Back to reality for Huskers

“Everybody that played, I think, made a big contribution,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said at a postgame news conference about the victory over Michigan State.

The victory led to a wild, court-filled celebration at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

But, now, back to the harsh reality of life in the difficult Big Ten. There’s not much turnaround time for Nebraska before the Ohio State game.

“We’ve got to bounce back [Saturday, Jan. 3] with a good mental day [of] prep and get one more day,” Hoiberg said.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg has led his team to a 14-0 record with road games this week at Ohio State and Indiana. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“We’ll practice a little bit, and travel day, but it was a hell of a tough turnaround to play back-to-back 8 o’clock games with two days’ prep, and now you go on the road for two.

“So, it’s a great win for us. I’m not going to discount that. Huge win for our program but we got to get past it and move on to Ohio State.”

The Huskers are tied for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan and Purdue at 3-0. One of these teams is not the like the others, at least based on preseason projections and historical precedent. Purdue and Michigan were expected to be Big Ten contenders. Nebraska was not, but has become one of the best national college basketball success stories so far this season.

‘It’s been a fun ride’

“We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in this program ever … running the table in the non-conference hasn’t been done in almost 100 years,” Hoiberg said. “So, there’s a lot of things these guys can be proud of, but at the same time, the most impressive thing to me about this group is how they’ve handled it. They haven’t gotten big-headed.

“You know, a lot of things have been written and listen, if it flips, it’s going to go the other way and they got to handle that well.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t, but it’s been a fun ride with this team and they’ve seen how much effort and time you’re putting into it to go out and execute game plans, get chewed out at halftime and handle it and respond.

“Again, I’ve talked a lot about this group. They’ve been a joy to be around and they’ve been fun because of their daily approach …

“When you go on the road, you got to be fresh physically and mentally as much as possible. Had guys play a lot. Rienk [Mast] hadn’t played this amount of minutes in awhile. So, it’s going to be important to get him back fresh and go out and hopefully play well on the road.”

Nebraska at Ohio State

When: Monday, 5:30 p.m. CT
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus
Records: Nebraska 14-0, 3-0 in Big Ten; Ohio State, 10-3, 2-1 in Big Ten. The Buckeyes are 7-1 at home.
TV: FS1

Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.

Ohio State rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: Not ranked
* NCAA Net Ratings: 46 (dropped two places)
* USA Today Coaches Poll: Not ranked
* Kenpom.com: 39
* ESPN Power Rankings: 36
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 62

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections, Ohio State is an 11-seed as one of the “last four in” for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: 13 (new poll is released Monday)
* NCAA Net Ratings: 11 (improved four places)
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 13
* Kenpom.com: 22
* ESPN Power Rankings: 26 (dropped one place)
* Top 25 and 1: 9 (improved four places)
* Team Rankings.com: 7 (improved one place)

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections, Nebraska is a 4-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska-Ohio State analysis

Something to watch: How Nebraska bounces back from a highly emotional win over Michigan State. The Ohio State crowd will be revved up at the sight of the 14-0 Huskers. The Buckeyes can enhance their NCAA resume with a win over the Huskers. If Hoiberg has his team focused and the players are “business-like” as the coach says they are, Nebraska could be in good position to keep the winning streak going. Last season, the Huskers lost in Columbus, 116-114, in double overtime on March 4, a defeat that likely hurt their NCAA chances.

Nebraska at Indiana

When: Saturday, 11 a.m. CT
Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington
Records: Nebraska 14-0, 3-0 in Big Ten; Indiana, 10-3, 1-1 in Big Ten. The Hoosiers are 9-0 at home.
TV: BTN

Indiana rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: Not ranked
* NCAA Net Ratings: 33
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 39
* Kenpom.com: 28
* ESPN Power Rankings: 17 (improved by two places)
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 68 (dropped three places)

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections, Indiana is an 11-seed as one of the “last four byes” for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska rankings

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections, Nebraska is a 4-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson is averaging 20.2 points in home games. Nebraska is at Indiana on Saturday. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Nebraska-Indiana analysis

Indiana is 9-0 at home and has two games before Nebraska comes to Bloomington — Sunday vs. Washington (the Hoosiers’ first game since Dec. 22), and Wednesday at Maryland.

If the Hoosiers can stay focused and not be distracted by the football team’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinals, IU won’t be easy for Nebraska.

Indiana features balanced scoring. Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson — no relation to the legendary Hoosier Bobby Wilkerson of the 1976 NCAA championship team — should be the focus of the Huskers’ defense. Wilkerson, a 6-foot-6 senior, can light it up, averaging 20.2 points in home games and 19.0 points overall.

Nebraska

So Far, so Good for Huskers in the Transfer Portal

Published

18 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

So Far, so Good for Huskers in the Transfer Portal

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College Football’s 2026 transfer portal process is in its very early stages. Right now, we’re in the period where teams are losing players into the portal, while hosting visitors they hope to sign and bring in sometime in the next couple of weeks. So pretty much everyone is a net negative at this moment.

With that being the case, the negative impact of the portal for Nebraska so far has been minimal…if you consider losing your former five-star, two-year starting quarterback minimal.

Dylan Raiola is the only Husker of real note to enter the portal thus far. Former starting kicker Tristan Alvano and legacy defensive lineman Maverick Noonan announced early, along with several others. The small number (13 so far) is a win. Several starters and reserve contributors have also confirmed they are staying put, while the reserve players who are leaving are presumably looking for a chance at more playing time and/or a slightly bigger payday.

Next season will be the second year of college football under the NCAA mandated roster limit of 105. Teams will still be allowed to go slightly over that limit to accommodate returning players being “grandfather in.” This exception is for players who have been in their program prior to last season when the rule took effect. It allows them to exhaust their eligibility. Right now, Nebraska still has over 100 players on the roster, so depending on how many players stay and how many more they sign out of the portal, some level of roster reduction will still likely need to take place.

As for who head coach Matt Rhule and his staff are targeting, that list starts with now-former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey. Minchey lost out on the starting job for the Fighting Irish last preseason and played only sparingly 2025. He’s set to visit Lincoln soon.

With only TJ Lateef returning as a scholarship QB, Rhule will likely need to also bring in a second transfer portal signal caller for depth purposes. Nebraska has not signed a quarterback in it’s 2026 high school recruiting class.

Also targeted and set to visit are several of the defensive players transferring from San Diego State, where new Husker Defensive Coordinator Rob Aurich coached last season. At the top of that list is All-Mountain West Linebacker Owen Chambliss. Chambliss racked up 110 tackles during his Aztec career, plus 9.5 tackles for loss that includes four sacks. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining. Chambliss was one of six Aztecs to garner All-MW honors last season, and at least two of these former SDSU standouts are set to visit Aurich at his new job site.

Right now, the visitor list is extensive, which is a good thing for Rhule considering the players he’s chasing will all have multiple other offers. When his contract extension was announced back on October 30^th, Rhule pointed out that he expected Nebraska to have a good deal more financial resources available to help lure transfers to Lincoln starting this off season. That time has arrived.

Mark Knudson Mark is a former MLB pitcher for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies. He’s the only person ever to play high school, college and professional baseball in Colorado. Mark earned a BA in Technical Journalism from Colorado State University and has worked in radio, television and print sports media since 1994. He’s the co-author of “Pitching to the Corners” with former teammate Don August and the author of “Just Imagine,” a historical fiction novel about The Beatles.
Mark is currently a feature writer and columnist for Mile High Sports in Denver and recently joined the team at Heavy.com. Mark is also a high school baseball coach in the Denver area. More about Mark Knudson

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What to watch for in Las Vegas Bowl game between Utah and Nebraska

Published

7 days ago

December 29, 2025

Press Room

What to watch for in Las Vegas Bowl game between Utah and Nebraska

The stage is set for Utah and Nebraska to go toe-to-toe in the 2025 Las Vegas Bowl.

The Utes (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) and Cornhuskers (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten) are set to kick off from Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 31 at 1:30 p.m. MT. Fans not making the trip to Las Vegas will be able to tune in via ESPN.

With several bowl game opt-outs and a significant head coaching change headlining the major storylines, here’s what to watch for when Utah and Nebraska take the field on New Year’s Eve.

Morgan Scalley Takes The Wheel

Kyle Whittingham’s expedited takeover in Ann Arbor, Michigan, puts Utah’s longtime defensive coordinator, Morgan Scalley, at the helm of the Utes for the first time as the head coach.

Scalley was previously in charge of the Utah defense for 10 seasons, helping reaffirm the same principles Whittingham established when he was the team’s defensive coordinator; relentless, smart, tough and not prone to giving up a lot of points.

Since 2019, the Utes have held opponents to 15 points or fewer in 36 games, including seven times during the 2025 regular season. Scalley’s defense in 2025 ranked No. 5 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing efficiency defense, No. 15 in interceptions (14) and No. 16 in scoring defense, allowing just 18.7 points per game. Utah was No. 2 in the Big 12 in passing yards, allowing 177.5 per game.

It’s safe to assume the transition to Scalley — a Salt Lake City native who’s been on the Utes’ sidelines in some capacity since 2007 — will be seamless for the most part, and that Utah’s defense will continue to be stout as it faces a Nebraska offense that’s being led by a true freshman making his fourth career start. How the Utes as a whole come out of the gate and their intensity and focus on both sides of the ball after the abrupt head coaching switch, will be worth monitoring, though.

Utah’s Bowl Game Opt-Outs

From the sidelines to the field itself, Utah will be without several key figures for its postseason game.

The offensive line, especially, won’t look the same, as both Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu have opted out of the Las Vegas Bowl while declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft.

It’ll be interesting to monitor how the Utes — who averaged the second-most rushing yards per game (269.8) in the Football Bowl Subdivision in the regular season — function without their two best offensive linemen bookending their front line against a Cornhuskers defense that allowed the third-highest yards per carry average in the Big Ten (4.8).

According to reports, Keith Olsen and Zereoue Williams will fill in for Fano and Lomu along the offensive line. Olsen, a 6-foot-6 junior, started at right tackle for the Kansas game and has allowed one pressure and one hurry in 64 pass blocking opportunities this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Williams, a 6-foot-8 Arizona native, played in all 12 regular season, mainly at left tackle, and recorded 79 total snaps, including 59 on run plays.

As for the other side of the ball, Utah will be down without its main edge rushers in John Henry Daley and Logan Fano. Daley’s absence has been felt since his season-ending injury against Kansas State in November; Logan, meanwhile, recently announced with his brother that he’ll be entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

Utah’s Offensive Play-Calling

First-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck has orchestrated the Utes offense to the tune of 41.1 points per game — the third time since 1930 that Utah averaged over 40 points per game — and 478.6 total yards of offense per game, ranking No. 6 in the Football Bowl Subdivision. He’s been creative, too; from wildcat packages, flea flickers, defensive players lined up at skill positions and designed run plays for both the starting and backup quarterback.

A standalone postseason game to cap off the 2025 campaign will give Beck more opportunities to show what he’s got up his sleeves as a play-caller. And given his name has been attached to the list of assistants Whittingham will reportedly target to join him at Michigan, it’ll be interesting to see how Beck approaches what could be his final game as the Utes’ offensive coordinator.

Not to mention, Utah won’t have its top two tackles leading the way in the run game. If the Utes can’t move the ball with the same consistency they had in the regular season, it’ll be worth monitoring how Beck adjusts.

Will Ryan Davis Play?

Utah’s top receiver wasn’t involved during the home finale against Kansas State and was ruled out for the Kansas game in the days leading up to kickoff. It’s unclear what sort of ailment Davis has been dealing with, though he’d certainly like to be on the field for what will likely be the final college football game of his career.

Davis, a New Mexico transfer who began his career at UAB in 2019, led Utah with 659 receiving yards on 57 receptions, hauling in four touchdowns across 11 regular season appearances.

Nebraska Without Emmett Johnson

The Cornhuskers were middle of the pack in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 144.7 yards per game during the regular season, due in large part to Emmett Johnson’s success on the ground. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound junior from Minnesota was named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year after totaling 1,451 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, plus 46 catches for 370 yards and three more touchdowns. His 1,821 scrimmage yards ranked No. 2 in the country.

The Utes won’t have to worry about trying to slow down Nebraska’s dynamic tailback, though, given he’s already declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Utah struggled defending the run down the stretch of the regular season, giving up 275.3 rushing yards per game and yielded 7.1 yards per carry in November, including 472 yards on the ground to Kansas State on Nov. 22.