Nebraska

Nebraska Football Preview: UCLA

Published

2 years ago

November 1, 2024

With their backs against the wall and the crumbling reality of a successful 2024 season starting to unravel, the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team stepped up, pushing No. 4 Ohio State to the brink with a stingy defense and a hunger to create a shocker in the college football world.

Unfortunately, the Huskers’ morning matchup against the Buckeyes ended in a 21-17 loss with a game-sealing interception of freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola with 1:16 left near midfield. However, the impression was felt and Nebraska created momentum going into a four-game stretch that will come to define its season with either disappointment or playing in the postseason.

Here’s all you need to know as the Huskers battle for bowl eligibility.

How to Follow Along

• Matchup: Nebraska (5-3, 2-3 B1G) vs UCLA (2-5, 1-4 B1G)
• Line: Nebraska (-6.5), 40.5 O/U (BetMGM)
• Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
• Time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Broadcast Crew: Guy Haberman (PxP), Yogi Roth (Color) & Rhett Lewis (Sideline)
• Radio: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

UCLA Head Football Coach DeShaun Foster.

Sep 21, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster looks on during the first half against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

UCLA Scout

Head Coach: DeShaun Foster | 1st season | 2-5 UCLA Record | Former Bruin RB who’s second all-time with 44 touchdowns and third on the all-time rushing list with 3,194 yards.

2023 Record: 8-5 (4-5 Pac-12, T-7th) | One Consensus All-American | Pac-12 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year | One All-Pac-12 First Team selection, Two All-Pac-12 Second Team selections, Six All-Pac-12 Honorable Mentions | 35-22 win over Boise State in LA Bowl.

All-Time Series: Nebraska leads 7-6 (2015 Foster Farms Bowl last meeting, 37-29 NU).

Fun Fact: There are plenty of connections between this Husker coaching staff and UCLA. Head coach Matt Rhule was an assistant with the Bruins in 2001 when Bruin head coach DeShaun Foster was a senior. Plus, NU defensive coordinator Tony White was teammates with Foster for three seasons from 1998 to 2000.

Outlook: UCLA was put into a tough position with the departure of former head coach Chip Kelly, who took his offensive mind to Columbus to become the offensive coordinator for his former quarterback Ryan Day at Ohio State. Kelly did a decent job with the Bruins, collecting at least eight wins in his final three seasons, but the vibe and connection between Kelly and the program wasn’t there. Reportedly, boosters weren’t thrilled with his approach and the embracement of NIL was lackluster.

To bridge that gap to boosters and fans, the UCLA administration hired one of their own in running backs coach DeShaun Foster, who is one of the school’s top tailbacks in history and brings a more youthful energy to the program. The first-year coach sought experience in his coaching staff and did so in hiring Eric Bieniemy as the OC and Associate Head Coach. Bieniemy made his name known with Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs as its offensive coordinator.

Oct 19, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; UCLA Bruins tight end Moliki Matavao (88) gains yards after catch as Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Desmond Igbinosun (4) during the second half at SHI Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

And despite Foster’s background, the Bruins have leaned into the passing game behind returning starter Ethan Garbers, who’s passed for 1,484 yards this season, but that’s with more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8). The passing game is 60th in the country with 237.6 yards per game, which is respectable, but everything else falls short. UCLA is last in the Big Ten and 133rd in the country with 64.6 rushing yards per game, and that’s not even mentioning that the Blackshirts are one of the top rushing defenses in the nation, allowing only 98 yards per game which ranks 12th in the country.

Returning back TJ Harden rushed for over 800 yards last season while sharing the backfield with future NFL running back Carson Steele, but the junior only has 180 yards on 62 carries this season with only one score. Although, he’s been effective in the passing game with a team-leading 26 receptions and 238 yards. Second-year Oregon transfer tight end Moliki Matavao has been Garbers’ safety blanket with a team-high 251 yards on 20 receptions.

Redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger is the leader of the Bruins defense with 72 tackles on the season, which is 32 more than second-place Kain Medrano with 40. Schwesinger’s tackle tally is third-highest in the conference while also contributing 6.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. UCLA has sorely missed the contributions of NFL first-round draft pick Laiatu Latu who recorded more sacks (13.0) last season than the Bruins have right now (10.0) as a team. That figure is last in the league while UCLA is 16th in the conference in interceptions with four.

Sitting at 2-5, it’s hard to envision the Bruins knocking off a Husker team hungry and desperate to earn its first bowl berth since 2016. Ultimately, the team who has better production passing the ball should come out on top, and that should favor Nebraska and Dylan Raiola, despite the downturn in performance since entering conference play. Malcolm Hartzog being ruled out for Saturday and Tommi Hill still being gimpy hurts NU, but one of the key storylines this season has been the emergence of depth in the secondary and that will be tested this week. There’s a good reason why Nebraska is the favorite. If the Huskers don’t psych themselves out, and play like they did against No. 4 Ohio State last week, Nebraska will enjoy the postseason for the first time in eight seasons.

MORE: Female Nebraska Husker Athletes, Led by Jordy Bahl, Featured in Political Ad

MORE: Big Ten Football Game of the Week: No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 4 Ohio State

MORE: SMQ Invades California for Nebraska’s UCLA/USC Takedowns!

MORE: Husker Dan Ponders If Nebraska Football Will Get Bowl Eligible Against UCLA

MORE: McMaster’s Big Ten Football Power Rankings After Week 9

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

Nebraska woman faces 41 charges after numerous dogs rescued from home

Published

28 minutes ago

June 12, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska woman faces 41 charges after numerous dogs rescued from home

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (KOLN) – A Nebraska woman faces 41 charges after dozens of dogs were rescued June 5 from her home in Scotts Bluff County.

The Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home east of Scottsbluff around 2 p.m. for a report of possible animal abuse. According to court records, a dog from the home had been seen on Highway 26.

When deputies arrived, they contacted the owner of the dogs, 75-year-old Jody Staman. While speaking with Staman outside the home, a deputy saw numerous small dogs in wire cages. Further investigation found some of the dogs did not have food or water, and several were breathing heavily and appeared stressed. Dogs that did have water had bowls filled with algae, vegetation and mud. The dirt floors were covered in dog feces.

Staman told deputies she used to sell the dogs but stopped around 2020. She said she originally had 30 dogs and one puppy.

Deputies later returned with assistance from Nebraska Game and Parks and members of the Panhandle Humane Society. Court records state 40 live dogs and one dead puppy were collected from the property. Another puppy, which was in poor health, was taken to the Wildflower Animal Cottage.

Deputies and PHS staff described the conditions as “deplorable,” with the residence covered in dog and rodent feces. In some areas, animal feces were more than one foot deep. In most areas, it was impossible to take a step without stepping in feces.

Staman was charged with 40 counts of cruel neglect of an animal and one count of cruel neglect of an animal resulting in death.

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Nebraska

Bullerman follows a family legacy into Nebraska’s prairies

Published

11 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Press Room

Bullerman follows a family legacy into Nebraska’s prairies

Emma Bullerman is spending her summer riding around in fields with her dad, and she’s thrilled about it. It’s not just for fun, either — she’s interning for the Prairie Plains Resource Institute and working alongside her father to conserve Nebraska grasslands.

“Prairie Plains has literally been in my life since I was born. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a grasslands nepo baby,” Bullerman said. “My dad is the restoration director, so even as a kid I would be out helping him in the field.”

Today, Emma is taking a more active role in aiding her dad’s work to restore native prairies.

“A lot of my summer will be in the truck with him driving across Nebraska to collect the native grassland seeds that we put into our restoration sites,” she said. “Basically, I’m just learning the ropes of everything that goes into grassland restoration.”

As a teen, Bullerman thought she wanted to do anything but follow her dad’s footsteps. Eventually, a few stalled paths helped her rediscover her love for her hometown.

“In high school and coming into college, I really thought I wanted to leave Nebraska and do something totally different from my dad,” she said. “I tried a few other directions, but pretty quickly could tell that I wasn’t passionate about them. I took a semester off, and then my boss at Prairie Plains reached out about helping with social media.”

It didn’t take long for Bullerman to catch the bug for conservation work and switch her major to fisheries and wildlife, the same degree program her father graduated from in 1995. In fact, she is a fourth-generation Husker with strong ties to ag and food science. Her grandfather is Dr. Lloyd Bullerman, a former a professor of food science, microbiology and food safety at the university, and her aunt studied food science at NU as well.

Getting back to Prairie Plains in her early college years helped Bullerman realize that she, too, had a calling toward this field.

“Being out in the field with my dad one day, I had a moment where I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been looking for. This is what I want to do.’ Finding my way back has been really, really beautiful.”

Working with her dad, she’s is feeling better than ever about her direction, her hometown and her future in Nebraska.

“Doing this work and studying at UNL has given me a whole new perspective on the state,” she said. “I used to be someone who was like, ‘I want to get out of here after I graduate.’ Restoring prairies and traveling all over Nebraska has helped me see that it’s so beautiful here, I just didn’t take the time to see it before.”

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Nebraska

Data centers take center stage at North Omaha townhall

Published

21 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Press Room

Data centers take center stage at North Omaha townhall

The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.

The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.

Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.

“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.

The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.

“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.

Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.

The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.

“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.

At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”

“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”

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