Nebraska
Tad Stryker: Huskers Clowned by Minnesota
Was this a audition for the Penn State job? If so, P.J. Fleck looks like he just may be ready to be added to the Nittany Lions’ list of candidates.
That other head coach? The one largely responsible for a distracted, disinterested effort by a poorly prepared Nebraska football team? He’s still got enough problems to solve in Lincoln, and needs to stay right where he is.
If you were worried about Matt Rhule going home to Happy Valley, take heart. It’s unlikely he improved his chances for the job by taking a whipping in Minneapolis.
Displaying all-too-familiar softness in the trenches and poor tackling at the second and third levels of the defense, Nebraska lost to Minnesota 24-6 and looked increasingly inept as the second half unraveled.
They may deny it till they’re Nittany Lion blue in the face, but the Huskers looked like they were badly shaken by nationwide reporting that Rhule is a major candidate to take the place of James Franklin at Penn State.
There were several demons the Huskers had a chance to slay during a rare Friday night game in Minneapolis. They fed and nurtured those demons instead.
They had a chance to prove they can play in Minneapolis, where they haven’t won there since 2015. Instead, they threw another loss on the pile.
They could’ve poured cold water on the Surrender Whites Curse. Instead, they carefully saturated it with gasoline and lit a match. The Surrender Whites Curse is flaming hotter than ever.
In what was rightfully billed as a tough turnaround, with back-to-back road games scheduled at College Park and Minneapolis just six days apart, Nebraska looked clueless on the field. On a night where offensive guard Rocco Spindler ended up in the hospital, the Huskers are just lucky that Dylan Raiola didn’t follow him there. Raiola spent most of the night running for his life.
Nebraska lost to Minnesota despite committing no turnovers, which is typically the Huskers’ downfall. NU just got thoroughly outplayed, showing none of the “next-play” mentality that had bailed it out of tough spots in recent weeks.
Giving up nine sacks was disgrace enough, but the Huskers had fewer total yards, fewer first downs, twice as many penalties, lost the time-of-possession battle, failed to score touchdowns on both their trips to the red zone and converted a miserable 3 for 11 on third downs. They loudly proclaimed to the college football world that they don’t deserve to be rated in the top 25. There’s really not much solid evidence that the Husker coaching staff and players took this game seriously.
For the sixth time in a row, a Minnesota team with arguably less talent on the roster beat Nebraska. Minnesota won its previous four decisions by close scores. However, on this night, the Gophers clowned the Huskers, made them look foolish. If that were Curt Cignetti on the other side of the field instead of Fleck, who’s a friend of Rhule’s, he would’ve found a way to make the score more one-sided.
Rhule’s postgame assessment was blunt and to the point. “Just overall, I thought they were the more physical team tonight,” he said.
No, it was not a good night for the Nebraska coaching staff. John Butler was helpless in the second half. And has Dana Holgorsen ever looked worse trying to direct an offense? It’s tempting to blame Holgorsen for abandoning the run game (Husker running backs ran the ball just 16 times), but then again, the lack of dependable blocking tends to make you shy away from pounding the rock. When your quarterback is sacked nine times, you spend most of the night trying to pass your way out of trouble. And even so, Holgorsen/Raiola got the ball to Jacory Barney only once. One stinking time.
I had an old friend check in with me after this one ended. Glass-Is-Three-Quarters-Empty Husker Fan got in touch, although he didn’t have much to say. He seemed down. “Don’t know if I have ever seen a worse performance by an offensive line in any Nebraska game,” said my good friend. “Offensive tackles are incredibly bad. So disappointing.”
A Nebraska running game that seemed to be coming into its own, featuring Emmett Johnson, a jilted hometown boy coming back with something to prove to his friends in the stands, instead fell flat to the tune of 36 net yards rushing (although EJ did what he could, with 100 total yards on 14 carries and five receptions), while a Minnesota running game that had been on life support somehow got up out of its hospital bed and started to dance all over the Blackshirts with 186 net yards. Minnesota’s Darius Taylor, plagued by injuries much of the season, got well just in time to drop 148 yards rushing, including a touchdown, on the Big Red. His 71-yard run in the first half was the play that set Nebraska on its heels for the rest of the night.
Losing Spindler to injury and Elijah Pritchett to ejection for a targeting call certainly played a role in the defeat, but that doesn’t account for a Husker defense that wilted pitifully in the second half, giving up a 98-yard touchdown drive that put the Gophers firmly in the driver’s seat.
Meanwhile, Raiola had one of his most painful nights as a Husker. Although he was a fairly respectable 17 of 25 passing with no interceptions, only 64 of his 177 passing yards came in the second half as he was pressured all over the field. One catch-and-run by freshman Quinn Clark was responsible for 20 percent of Nebraska’s total offense output. It was a miserable offensive performance, which may turn out to be just what the doctor ordered to get Rhule’s name run out of Happy Valley on a rail.
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Nebraska
Nebraska State Patrol troopers find 242 pounds of cocaine during commercial truck inspection
LEXINGTON, Neb. (KOLN) – Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested one person after finding more than 240 pounds of cocaine during a commercial vehicle inspection.
On Tuesday afternoon, an NSP Carrier Enforcement trooper conducted a commercial vehicle inspection on a semi tractor/trailer driven by Arwinderjit Singh, 30, of California, near mile marker 254 on Interstate 80.
During the inspection, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity. An NSP K-9 detected the odor of a controlled substance inside the cab of the semi, troopers said.
After searching the cab, troopers located 242 pounds of cocaine concealed underneath the sleeper bed, NSP said.

Singh was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver, possession of an open alcohol container, no drug tax stamp and displaying a fictitious license plate.
Singh was lodged in Dawson County Jail, and his bond was set at 10% of $2 million. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Athlete of the Week: Creighton Prep boys wrestling’s Zaiyahn Ornelas
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Creighton Prep senior Zaiyahn Ornelas won his fourth consecutive Nebraska state wrestling title on Saturday.
According to NSAA records, he joins 39 other wrestlers in state history to accomplish the feat.
“It’s a great feeling,” Ornelas said. “It’s a feeling everybody wants.”
Ornelas won three Class C state titles at Wilber-Clatonia at 106, 113 and 120 pounds before transferring to Creighton Prep for his senior season, where he competed in Class A at 126 pounds.
“Three state titles there and then just thought I could bump up my competition,” Ornelas said.
“Zaiyahn is one of the cleanest technicians I’ve ever seen. That’s a huge testament to his coaching staff at Wilber,” Fisher added.
Ornelas was one of four Creighton Prep wrestlers to win state titles this season, helping lead the Jr. Jays to the Class A team title. Teammates said his presence in the practice room raised their level of competition.
“I could never slack off just because my competition in the state was easy. I always had to come in this room and get better or else I was going to get beat,” said sophomore Cruzer Dominguez, a two-time Class A state champion at 106 and 120 pounds.
Sophomore Kameron Green, the Class A 144-pound state champion this year, also credited Ornelas for aiding in his development.
“Zaiyahn being a training partner has helped me in tremendous ways,” he said. “When he wrestles, he’s not the nicest or shyest kid, but he’s tenacious and tough.”
Junior JT Smith, a two-time state champion at 175 and 190 pounds, said the achievement carries weight for the entire team.
“It’s something really special to have a teammate that’s a four-time state champion,” he said. “That’s something everyone wants to be.”
Fisher said Ornelas’s attitude set the tone from the start.
“He has so many skills and then coming into our room, he’s extremely coachable. Every time he came in here he was humble, ready to work, wanting to get better and that’s why he is as good as he is,” Fisher said.
Ornelas signed to wrestle at the University of Nebraska in November. He said the move to Creighton Prep delivered what he was looking for.
“This is the reason why I came here. I went out to explore, to find the best, and this is the territory that I found. If it wasn’t for these guys — the push — I would have not been there,” Ornelas said.
“It’s hard to believe. That’s kind of what I wanted since the beginning, freshman year,” he said.
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Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Nebraska Chamber taps former state senator to lead during leadership transition
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry has selected a former state senator and longtime board member to lead the chamber while it searches for a new president and CEO.
Board of Directors Chair Pat Keenan said Thursday that Matt Williams of Gothenburg agreed to serve as interim president.
ALSO READ: Nebraska Chamber president and CEO resigns after less than a year
“The Board is grateful to Matt for stepping into this role during a very active and productive time for the Nebraska Chamber,” Keenan said. “He has steady leadership, strong relationships and trust from his many years of advocacy for economic development, and decades of experience working with the legislature and state government on tax policy and economic development incentives.”
Williams represented District 36 in the Nebraska Legislature from 2015 to 2023.
The chamber said Williams has had a lifelong career in banking and serves as chairman of Flatwater Bank. He previously served as chair of the Nebraska Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association.
His long involvement with the chamber includes membership on the Board of Directors; he currently serves as director for District 6. In 2025, he was named to the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame.
“The Nebraska Chamber is on rock-solid footing, with the clear vision of the Board, and talented and hard-working staff hitting its stride in legislative policy and advocacy, technology, manufacturing, leadership-development, fund-raising and membership. The success of cutting-edge initiatives like 6 Regions, One Nebraska, the launch of the Go Big Future series, and the strong member engagement across the state demonstrate the success and strength of this organization. I’m excited to lend my support in whatever way I can for the Chamber. I know how strong businesses and communities make for a stronger Nebraska, and I’m glad to be part of that.”
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
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