Nebraska

Nebraska experiences déjà vu during ongoing battle over school choice

Published

1 year ago

July 3, 2024

Nebraska experiences déjà vu during ongoing battle over school choice

LINCOLN – On a warm Monday evening, volunteers in a church parking lot passed large clipboards to drivers of minivans and pickup trucks, all part of a petition drive. Their objective: block a new measure that would introduce private school vouchers in the state. However, this campaign stirred a sense of déjà vu among Nebraskans. It marked the second ballot initiative within a year by the group Support Our Schools, a public school advocacy organization, following the state Legislature’s recent override of their initial effort.

As the national debate around school vouchers plays out across the country, the Cornhusker State is in a heated tug-of-war between school choice supporters and public school advocates over the passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act in 2023. The Act allocates $25 million from state coffers to tax credits for private school scholarship donations.

“If it gets on the ballot, you can vote whatever way you want. It’s just signing it to give the people a voice that belongs in public schools,” Nebraska State Educators Association President and Support Our Schools sponsor Jenni Benson said. “If you get public funds, you have to be accountable just the same way any other public entity would be if you’re giving them to a private school.”

If the current referendum is successful, it will end both the tax credit and the state appropriation of private school scholarship funds.

While some argue the law was a workaround for the initiative, state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, a sponsor of both bills, said this year’s law was crafted with the public’s response to the initial tax credit in mind.

“They said it was too much money, so we addressed both those things,” Linehan said. “We took it from 25 million to 10 with no escalator, and it’s no longer a tax credit. That’s what they said the problem was. … we listened, and we adjusted to what they said was problematic.”

She added that the state is already adequately funding public schools, pointing to a $1 billion funding boost for public education approved by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen last year, raising special education funding to 80%.

The debate plays out in Nebraska

Currently, 29 states and DC operate some form of school voucher system. While some states have more expansive programs than others, Nebraska’s is one of the newest. It was previously one of two states, including North Dakota, that didn’t offer some form of public funding for private school tuition.

In the days leading up to the Opportunity Scholarship application deadline for the next academic year, approximately 2,000 students had submitted applications, according to Lauren Gage, the Director of Marketing and Outreach at Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska. The program gives priority to students from low-income families, those who have experienced bullying, children of military personnel, foster care students, and those with an Individualized Education Program.

“The core of this program is to help give more kids a chance who are struggling to get their needs met in the school that they’re zoned for,” Gage said. “A lot of families in Nebraska do have school choice because they’re able to afford it. But for those families that are more disadvantaged, more low-income, that’s who this program is really targeting to help.”

While supporters argue that private school voucher programs help underprivileged kids access better resources and educational opportunities, opponents say they deprive public schools of funding.

Between collecting signatures in the church parking lot, June Pederson, a volunteer and League of Women Voters member, brought up a point that many against private school vouchers highlight. She finds putting public funding towards private school scholarships troubling because these are less accountable for discriminating against LGBTQ+ students and staff.

“If you want your child to have education other than a public school, wonderful, but don’t ask me to pay for it,” Pederson said. “Particularly if they have the option to say, ‘as a teacher, we heard you’re gay, and we don’t want you here,’ or ‘you have to follow our rules regarding abortion.’ We don’t do that in public schools.”

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Nebraska

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

Published

7 hours 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.

MORE UTAH NEWS & ANALYSIS

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Nebraska Looks for Answers at Linebacker

Published

19 hours ago

December 28, 2025

Press Room

Nebraska Looks for Answers at Linebacker

The Las Vegas Bowl offers a spotlight for Nebraska players looking to further cement themselves with the current coaching staff or showcase their abilities for future ones, potentially in the transfer portal.

That makes the New Year’s Eve bowl game an important one for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the Huskers having a chance to end the season on a strong note after back-to-back ugly losses to Penn State and Iowa to close the regular season.

A lot of focus will be on Nebraska’s offense, as the Huskers have plenty of questions about how TJ Lateef plays with more lead time, how they replace All-American running back Emmett Johnson and what offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen can cook up after an up-and-down season. But some of the most interesting players for the bowl game are on the defensive side, including freshman linebacker Dawson Merritt.

2025 stats

Eight tackles
One tackle for loss

Linebacker Dawson Merritt should see a much bigger role in 2026. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

What to know

It isn’t a new feeling for Nebraska fans to be excited about seeing a true freshman linebacker get more opportunities in a bowl game. Just a year ago, Vincent Shavers was in the same spot Merritt is now and turned in a strong performance during the Pinstripe Bowl. Merritt has had plenty of time to get healthy and to learn more of what Rob Dvoracek wants. Could that put him in a position to play more in Las Vegas?

What’s at stake

Merritt could go a long way in helping fans and coaches feel better about a linebacker room that wasn’t Nebraska’s biggest problem, but was far from the level of play the Huskers received in Matt Rhule’s first two seasons.

Merritt has shown himself to be an intriguing player who has flashed when he’s been in games, but clearly also needs more time and more reps to fully become the player he was recruited to be after the Huskers flipped him from Alabama last fall.

Merritt’s bowl game and expected ascension make for an interesting picture at linebacker. The Huskers have to see what the portal holds, both in terms of linebackers leaving and the need to add veterans for depth, as players like Merritt, Christian Jones and others continue to grow and develop.

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Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule Says TJ Lateef is ‘Going to Play Great’ in Bowl Game

Published

1 day ago

December 28, 2025

Press Room

Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule Says TJ Lateef is ‘Going to Play Great’ in Bowl Game

Something that might have been overlooked in the aftermath of Nebraska’s devastating, 40-16 loss to Iowa in the season finale was that starting quarterback TJ Lateef suffered a hamstring injury.

As if the Huskers hadn’t endured enough problems, now their starting quarterback was hurt. His availability for the bowl game was unknown.

The Huskers (7-5) now are in Las Vegas preparing for their bowl game against Utah (10-2) on New Year’s Eve. And Nebraska coach Matt Rhule reported some rare good news on Saturday afternoon when he declared Lateef ready to go against the Utes.

“I think TJ is going to play great,” Rhule said about his true freshman at a press availability for the Las Vegas Bowl. “It’s been good for Jalyn [Gramstad] and Marcos [Davila] to get a bunch of reps early. TJ took a bunch of reps that didn’t require him moving.

“There’s something really cool about when you’re the starter and you’re not getting reps because of an injury, which you don’t love, but just the paying attention to the things you have to notice.

“It really accelerates your development and your learning. I think he’s learned from that. I think he looks good out there at practice so I’m excited for him to play.”

Getting Lateef ready

With the quarterback being the most important player on the field, the Huskers don’t want to be hamstrung — so to speak — heading into a meeting with No. 15 Utah.

Rhule said the Huskers have been careful in getting Lateef up to full speed.

“Yesterday, he had a couple of rep caps on him [at practice],” Rhule said. “Hey, we’re not going to take more than 300 [reps]. Then today he just took every rep.

“We’ve been cautious with him because obviously we have a game, we want to get him to the game.

“He looks fast, he looks like he can run the football. The entire offense is up with him. We’ll run him, we’ll move him around and we’ll play.”

Lateef started three games after sophomore Dylan Raiola suffered a broken fibula against USC on Nov. 1.

When healthy, Lateef can be a dual-threat quarterback. He has the ability, speed and inclination to tuck the ball away and run. He completed 59-of-95 passes (62.1 percent) for 722 yards, with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also gained 98 yards on 27 carries with four touchdowns. He scored the Huskers’ only touchdown in a 37-10 loss at Penn State on an 11-yard run in the third quarter.

Lateef’s leadership skills

Rhule was asked about Lateef’s leadership skills, as he has stepped into Raiola’s big shoes.

“Just being himself, just being one of the guys,” Rhule said. “At the end of the day you’re always looking for a quarterback who has ‘it’.

“Steve Addazio [head coach at Temple when Rhule was an assistant coach there in 2011 and 2012] used to say to me, ‘You can’t even describe what “it” is but you know it when you see it.’

“I want TJ to go out there and play with joy, practice and prepare to be coachable. I think even in the Penn State game — the game didn’t go our way — out there with that crowd, that noise, that duress. You know, every snap, every motion, silent cadence, he’s getting guys lined up.

“He doesn’t have to be guy being the spokesperson, giving a bunch of speeches. He just has to do his job at a high level and prepare and coach the guys in terms of, hey, be here and do this.

“He’s doing it at a really high level right now. I learned over the years I can’t control what I can’t control. We gave Jayln and Marcos a bunch of reps. [The doctors] told me they felt like he [Lateef] would ready by the bowl game.

“We did two game weeks. Get him to the first week, give him limited reps here. Get him to this week here, get him full reps. The plans worked.

“TJ told me very early on, ‘I’ll be full go.’ But if Jalyn goes into the game, I expect Jalyn to play great. Everybody on this team loves Jalyn. If he goes out there, they’ll be ready to go. But TJ told me he’d be ready and he looks great.”

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