Nebraska
Keeler: When will CU Buffs, Nebraska renew football rivalry after Saturday night? “It’s going to be a while,” Cornhuskers AD says
Fun fact: New Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen is the proud father of a CU grad. Heck, he even watched his daughter’s commencement ceremonies at Folsom Field recently from the comfort of Buffs AD Rick George’s office.
“She loved it. She loved (CU),” Dannen said by phone earlier this week.
“Pretty good view of the stadium from RIck’s office,” I said.
“It’s a great view of the stadium from Rick’s office,” Dannen replied. “It’s a really, really good view of a lot of things from Rick’s office.”
This week is personal for Dannen, but in a good way. He likes George. He likes Boulder. Heck, he likes CU-Nebraska, and what it means to two fan bases who love to hate on one another.
Saturday night’s Buffs-Cornhuskers tussle at Memorial Stadium marks the end of a four-game, twin home-and-home contract between CU and Nebraska. Alas, it takes two to tango when it comes to keeping a rivalry series going.
And right now, the Huskers administrator told me, the Big Red’s dance card doesn’t have much wiggle room.
“Obviously now, with nine Big Ten (conference) games, and we’ve got Tennessee and Oklahoma on the schedule in years to come, it’s going to be a while before (CU-Nebraska) could potentially fit into anybody’s schedule,” said Dannen, who replaced Trev Alberts in March.
“But I think that in this era of the 12-team (College Football Playoff) bracket, (what) I’m particularly curious about right now is how the playoff selection committee views good nonconference games. How important are they? And I think we’ll learn a lot this year and next year. Which I think is going to really dictate for a lot of us how we schedule out moving forward.”
Simply put, Dannen and Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to any scheduling beyond the next few years. Specifically, they want to see how the CFP selection committee treats September tests before locking up any more dates with fellow Power 4 schools — or old Big Eight/Big 12 peers.
“I think for Nebraska fans, anytime we play a school that we were in the Big 12 with, there’s a sense of rivalry,” Dannen continued. “The greatest years in our history were against those Big 12 schools. And so I think there is that sense of rivalry, obviously, with Oklahoma, with Colorado — but really with anyone in the Big 12. But I know (CU-Nebraska) is a game, when you get a former Big 12 partner, and you’re at home, it’s special to the fan base.”
The Big Ten’s nine-league game schedule is one hurdle, Dannen said. Another is his desire to maintain seven home dates per season as a baseline. The next five pre-conference Septembers for the Huskers stick largely to formula: one Power 4 opponent (the Buffs at home in ’24; Cincy in Indianapolis in ’25; Tennessee at home in ’26; the Vols on the road in ’27; Arizona at home in ’28) and at least two Memorial Stadium dates out of three available slots.
“The financial model is always going to be built around seven home games, so that limits your ability to go on the road in certain years,” the Nebraska AD said. “So not only do you have to have the opening, but it also has to sync with when you can be at home and when you have the ability to travel.”
Based on reported schedules, the earliest the Buffs and Huskers both have concurring open dates is the third week of September 2029. But that also seems an unlikely fit given that Nebraska is visiting Oklahoma on Sept. 15 of that year and would probably prefer a home game. CU’s non-conference slate is currently booked up for 2030 and 2031.
The Buffs and Huskers have matching open dates the third weekend of September in 2032 and in ’33. Nebraska’s only published nonconference September obligations after that are a home-and-home series with Oklahoma State on Sept. 16, 2034 (Lincoln) and Sept. 15, 2035 (Stillwater).
“We’re really on hold right now, I think, through the end of the season,” Dannen stressed. “Until … we see how the selection committee looks at nonconference games, and then we’ll kind of regroup and strategize. But (Rhule and I) haven’t talked any specifics at all on non-conference scheduling.”
He hasn’t gone into many specifics with George, either, despite a friendship that dates back to Dannen’s previous tenures as the AD at Washington (’23-’24) and Tulane (2015-23).
“He’s one of the most highly respected (administrators) in the business,” Dannen said of the CU AD. “And over the years, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to learn a lot from Rick. I think very, very highly of him.”
He thinks very, very highly of Buffs-Huskers, too.
“You’d watch the Detroit Lions game and the Dallas Cowboys game on a (Thanksgiving) Thursday and you’d watch (CU-Nebraska) on a Friday, right?” Dannen said. “And so it means something.
“Because for a lot of us, it brings back great memories — whether you watched it with your dad, or everybody went over to somebody’s house, and there were multiple families there, (or) your friends were around. And that’s how you watched the game at that time.”
Per SportsMediaWatch.com, last September’s showdown between the old Big 12/Big Eight rivals drew a reported 8.73 million eyeballs on Fox. The 2019 meeting at Folsom drew 3.45 million viewers. The 2018 game in Lincoln registered 3.394 million viewers. And if we know anything about where big-time college sports is parked, it’s that if the TV networks want something bad enough, it’ll happen.
“Obviously with Oklahoma and Tennessee on our schedule, if the SEC were to go from eight to nine (conference) games, that (could open up dates),” Dannen noted. “There are a lot of dominoes that haven’t fallen that could potentially fall that would impact how you look at scheduling going forward. Things outside of your control may arise.”
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The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.
The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.
Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.
“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”
Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.
“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”
Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.
“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”
Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.
“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”
This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).
“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.
UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).
The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.
“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”
UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.
Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.
Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.
UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.
“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”
People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.
A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.
But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.
Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.
Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.
The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing
21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
7-5-8
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-09-17-25
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing
Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing
Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23
Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing
28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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