Nebraska

Who is John Butler and what should Nebraska fans expect of him?

Published

9 months ago

June 13, 2025

Who is John Butler and what should Nebraska fans expect of him?

Going into his 31st season as a coach, John Butler brings over a decade of professional football experience as coached in the National Football League and more than 20 years in college football.

Butler got his first coaching breakthrough at Texas, where he came in as a graduate assistant in 1997 after serving as the defensive coordinator at his alma mater, The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., since 1995. While Butler only spent two seasons at Texas, he was on the sidelines for the Longhorns’ 38-11 win over Mississippi State in the Cotton Bowl.

Shortly after, Butler accepted a full-time position as Midwestern State’s defensive coordinator, where he spent two years before going back to Texas to become Texas State’s new special teams coordinator. In 2003, Butler was appointed as Harvard’s new special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, where he spent the next three seasons with the Crimson and helping them go an undefeated 10-0 season and win the Ivy League title.

Butler’s first major coaching gig came in the fall of 2007, where he served as Minnesota’s special teams coordinator and linebackers coach during a Big Ten era defined by legendary head coach Jim Tressel. In his second season, the Golden Gophers earned the 20th spot in AP rankings, as Butler’s strategic mindset ranked Minnesota inside the top 10 across all special teams categories.

After only four seasons with the Golden Gophers, Butlers became South Carolina’s special teams coordinator in 2011, helping lead the Gamecocks to one of their best seasons in program history. That year, The Gamecocks finished their season ranking inside the top 10 nationally and finished with a 11-2 record. Butler’s early success in South Carolina caught the attention of other programs, as after just one season in Columbia, he would go on to become Penn State’s secondary coach in 2012, and eventually get promoted to defensive coordinator by the following year.

Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler meets with the media after Tuesday's practice.

Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler meets with the media after a practice. / Kaleb Henry

Under head coach Bill O’Brien, Butler thrived defensively, making the Nittany Lions one of best defenses in the nation-both against the run and the pass. During his time in University Park, his defense consistently ranked among the highest-scoring defenses across the nation, catching the eye of coaches in the National Football League.

In 2014 Bill O’Brien became the new head coach for the Houston Texans, bringing in his Penn State coaching staff, including Butler. For three seasons, Butler served as the Texans’ secondary coach, helping transform the Texans into one of the NFL’s best defenses and winning two AFC South titles. His defensive impact on the sidelines spoke for itself, ranking inside the top five for fewest yards allowed, fewest completions, and in the top three for forced turnovers.

In 2018, Butler was named the Buffalo Bills’ defensive backs coach, where he spent the next four seasons before becoming the team’s passing game coordinator from 2022 to 2023. During his six years in Buffalo, the Bills continued to display their defensive success under Butler, who developed a young talented defense into a secondary filled with All-Pro players on the defensive end. His success in Buffalo came with five consecutive playoff appearances and AFC East titles and a trip to the AFC Championship in 2020.

Ranking in the top three in least total yards allowed per game, touchdowns allowed, and turnovers forced in each of his season, Butler’s impact in Buffalo’s secondary was inevitable-and the Cornhusker took notice. Butler joined Nebraska’s staff as their pass game coordinator in 2024, helping elevate an already much improved defense into one of the best units in the country.

The departure of Tony White to become Florida State’s new defensive coordinator, left Nebraska with a vacancy in their coaching staff. Head coach Matt Rhule appointed Butler as the new defensive coordinator, where he made his play-calling debut in the Pinstripe Bowl game against Boston College.

Butler’s defense held the Eagles to just two points in the first half, showcasing relentless and aggressive attitude on the defensive side of the ball. The Cornhuskers would go on to win 20-15 against the Eagles, marking their first Bowl win since 2015, making Butler’s debut a memorable moment in both his coaching career and school’s history.

While fans only got a small glimpse of Butler’s defense, they can expect a blitz-heavy scheme, with as many as six rushers-confusing opposing quarterbacks and creating constant pressure in the pocket. Butler’s NFL experience provides complex, disguised coverages that create mismatches for offenses while trusting his defensive backs in man-to-man coverage. His exotic, big-play approach will be on full display in second and third downs, where Nebraska’s new-look defense will need to be aggressive and unpredictable to disrupt opposing offenses. Butler will continue to build on Nebraska’s recent defensive success, forcing turnovers both on the ground and through the air, allowing this young, talented defensive unit to thrive in Butler’s high-risk, high-reward playing style.

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

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

Published

10 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

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.”

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Nebraska

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

Published

23 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

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.

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Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

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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