Ranking Nebraska's five remaining opponents for the 2025 season

Nebraska suffered its second loss of the season in brutal fashion, a 24-6 beatdown against Minnesota. Now, the Huskers stand at 5-2 heading into their final five games of the season. Each of Nebraska’s remaining opponents continue to shake up the rankings, while the Huskers themselves also fluctuate.

Though none of Nebraska's upcoming opponents are ranked, the way the Huskers lost to Minnesota line up with many of these teams’ styles of play, controlling the line. If Nebraska doesn’t rebound from its loss to the Golden Gophers, then seeking win number six will once again become a daunting task.

The Huskers return home following two straight road games and will host Northwestern on Saturday morning. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on FS1.

Here are the rankings of Nebraska's five remaining opponents.

5: UCLA Bruins (Nov. 8)

UCLA falls back to the bottom of the list following a nail-biting win. The Bruins escaped Maryland 20-17 with a last-second field goal after spending most of the game struggling to score. Once again for the Terrapins, it came down to the fourth quarter, and once again, they failed to finish.

UCLA scored 13 points in the final 15 minutes, earning 216 of its 414 total yards in the process.  Nico Iamaleava led this run, earning 143 of the 216 yards in the quarter, after tossing two interceptions earlier in the game, one being taken back for touchdown. Though he finished 21-of-35 for 221 yards and suffered an injury, Iamaleava’s fourth-quarter rally is certainly a notable feat.

The Bruins also put up yardage on the ground, earning 193 yards on 35 carries. But of the 15 total drives for UCLA, the team only scored on four of them. The Bruins finished the night with 10 penalties, seven punts, three turnovers and a missed field goal.

At the same time, the Bruins did hold Maryland’s Malik Washington to a season-low 210 passing yards. But they also surrendered 127 yards on 26 carries and didn’t sack Washington once. This season, UCLA only produced six total sacks.

Nebraska’s main issue remains at the line, which the Bruins offensively could work with, especially with their running backs stepping up. But if UCLA’s defense cannot put the pressure on a quarterback or slow down the run, then Nebraska could match or even surpass the Bruins’ offense.

4: Penn State Nittany Lions (Nov. 22)

The post-James Franklin era started on a rough note for Penn State with a 25-24 loss to Iowa after holding a 21-10 lead early in the third. However, the Nittany Lions didn’t exactly get 24 points without the Hawkeyes slipping up.

An interception led to Penn State’s first touchdown, but it took 10 plays for the Nittany Lions to go 35 yards to get it. Iowa also lost six potential points with a missed field goal and a blocked kick that Penn State turned into a touchdown.

The Nittany Lions did put together a few drives, scoring a touchdown to start the second half and a field goal in the fourth. But they also lost a drive that went into Iowa territory due to an interception. The Hawkeyes then scored a touchdown off another interception, after setting the team up on the goal line in the second quarter.

To top it all off, the Hawkeyes finished with 245 rushing yards on 33 carries. Ethan Grunkemeyer also finished 15-of-28 for 93 yards along with his two interceptions, forcing Penn State to rely on the run.

But the Nittany Lions did earn 173 yards on 46 carries and held onto the ball for over 36 minutes. Kaytron Allen single-handedly tallied 145 rushing yards on 28 carries. The team also finished with a possession time of over 36 minutes.

Penn State could improve from here, and if it continues to put up yards on the ground and control the clock, then Nebraska’s November matchup in Beaver Stadium will become the brutal showdown it originally was slated to be.

But with the Nittany Lions entering a gauntlet that contains No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, it’s hard to say what that team will look like coming out the other side.

3: Northwestern Wildcats (Oct. 25)

The Wildcats rise up on the list following both their win over Purdue and Nebraska’s loss to Minnesota. Much like the Golden Gophers, Northwestern beat the Boilermakers by controlling the clock and the line of scrimmage.

The Wildcats tallied 232 rushing yards on 50 carries, leading to a possession time of over 37 minutes. Northwestern’s defense meanwhile held Purdue to just 87 rushing yards on 26 carries, produced five tackles for loss and two sacks. Even with the Boilermakers finishing with 218 passing yards, eclipsing the Wildcats’ 132, three costly turnovers negated it.

So far this season, in each of its power four wins, Northwestern ran the ball between 42 to 50 times and held a time of possession of at least 34 minutes. This is the Wildcats’ bread and butter for the season, and with Nebraska coming off a loss to a similar approach, Northwestern becomes a more formidable opponent than in past weeks.

Minnesota is undoubtedly tougher than the Wildcats, and the Huskers may fare better than Purdue. Nebraska is safer with the football, which could allow more drives to move up and down the field. But their failure to battle in the trenches, allows Northwestern to beat them by keeping the offense off the field.

2: Iowa Hawkeyes (Nov. 28)

As mentioned earlier, Iowa came back to defeat Penn State by cleaning up its first half miscues and keeping up the run game. With the Hawkeyes’ defense only really allowing 10 points, while mishaps on offense and special teams led to the other 14, Nebraska is in for another Black Friday nightmare.

Iowa’s run game remains strong with the aforementioned 245 rushing yards on 33 carries. Mark Gronowski led the Hawkeyes on the ground, earning 130 yards on just nine carries. Though he earned a bulk of his yards off two runs, a game-changing surge for 67 and a solid 38 takeoff, his tough ground-attack could spell trouble for the Blackshirts. Kamari Moulton also rushed for 99 yards off 17 carries, with a long of 21, which could be amplified against Nebraska’s subpar run defense.

The Hawkeyes’ defense is also remaining at the forefront after finishing with two interceptions and six tackles for loss. Though it only earned one sack in the win, Iowa still brought the pressure against the Nittany Lions.

Though the Hawkeyes’ offense is dominating games on the scoreboard, they’ll certainly continue to frustrate teams on the ground and in the trenches. This matched with their defense only gives the Huskers a steeper hill to climb.

1: USC Trojans (Nov. 1)

Despite the Trojans suffering their second loss of the season, they remain atop the rankings for Nebraska. USC fell to Notre Dame 34-24 in a soaked-filled Saturday night road match, which did play a part in the Trojans defeat.

Jayden Maiava tossed for 328 yards despite going 22-of-42 and throwing two interceptions. But a few of his throws are more likely than not ending up in the hands of a receiver, instead of slipping off them were it not for the rain.

Notre Dame took advantage of the conditions, tallying 306 rushing yards on 40 carries, running all over USC en route to a victory. USC couldn’t get the run going, due to injuries and a strong front set up by the Fighting Irish.

The Trojans are without their top two running backs for at least a month, which could be an advantage for Nebraska. But freshman King Miller could certainly take off against the Huskers’ weak run defense. Miller only tallied 70 yards on 18 carries against Notre Dame, but Nebraska is not as strong as Notre Dame.

With USC resting up on a bye week, the Huskers are in for a tough showdown the day after Halloween.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Ranking Nebraska's five remaining opponents for the 2025 season