Nebraska bye weekend: Setting up the final two weeks for the Huskers
As Nebraska football sits in its second bye weekend, here are some final questions for Matt Rhule and the Huskers to close out the 2025 regular season.
NU takes the field next week at Penn State. We’ll learn the kickoff time later Saturday night.
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Nebraska bye weekend: Final questions for the Huskers to answer
Can Nebraska build a winning plan around TJ Lateef?
With a road trip to Penn State and a Black Friday game in Lincoln against Iowa, what type of plan can Nebraka offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen build around quarterback TJ Lateef?
At UCLA, they did a great job of putting a plan in place that allowed Lateef to play with great confidence. Now he’ll be facing off against two of the best defensive minds in college football – Penn State’s Jim Knowles and Iowa’s Phil Parker. You can be assured they will have a much better handle on Lateef and his tendencies than the UCLA interim coaching staff did.
How far can Emmett Johnson take this team?
Nebraska pushed Emmett Johnson to 28 carries at UCLA. To beat both PSU and Iowa, how far can they push Johnson’s workload?
Is a 30 carry effort in the cards, especially as NU pushes Johnson for several post-season accolades? It’s going to take a big finish from Johnson to lock up All-American honors and a chance at the Doak Walker Award. Most importantly, it’s going to take a big effort from Johnson for the Huskers to come out on top.
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Can anything be done to shore up some of the run defense issues?
Both Iowa and Penn State are going to come at Nebraska with physical downhill running attacks. For the Huskers to have success in either game, they must be better up front against the run.
What adjustments will NU make, especially against teams like Iowa, who will also attack the Huskers with a mobile quarterback?
Will the bye week get this team healthy?
How healthy will Nebraska get over the bye week? The biggest question probably revolves around the health of Jack linebacker Dasan McCullough, who did not travel to UCLA. Freshman linebacker Dawson Merritt is another player the Big Red would like to have back.
Then you have offensive lineman Rocco Spindler and linebacker Vincent Shavers, who have played the last few weeks with a cast on their hand. How much will the extra time off help their situations?
HuskerOnline Week 12 Score Predictions
| Week 12 | Sean Callahan | Steven Sipple | Robin Washut | Andy Kendeigh | Jim Rose | Mike’l Severe |
| Michigan at Northwestern (+11.5) | 31-21 Michigan | 27-21 Northwestern | 31-17 Michigan | 22-17 Michigan | 28-14 Michigan | 27-17 Michigan |
| Iowa at USC (-6.5) | 23-20 USC | 28-21 Iowa | 28-21 USC | 20-17 Iowa | 24-14 USC | 27-24 USC |
| Penn State at Michigan State (+7) | 27-17 Penn State | 24-21 Penn State | 24-19 Penn State | 27-17 Penn State | 28-10 Penn State | 31-14 Penn State |
| Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (+10.5) | 34-17 Notre Dame | 37-20 Notre Dame | 26-20 Notre Dame | 31-23 Notre Dame | 30-20 Notre Dame | 28-27 Notre Dame |
| Oklahoma at Alabama (-6) | 37-30 Alabama | 31-27 Alabama | 30-27 Alabama | 34-27 Alabama | 35-31 Alabama | 30-27 Oklahoma |
| Texas at Georgia (-6) | 27-23 Georgia | 34-28 Georgia | 38-35 Georgia | 37-35 Texas | 31-27 Georgia | 30-28 Georgia |
Overall standings
| Picker | Straight Up | Vs. Spread | Cumulative |
| Robin Washut | 50-16 | 35-30 | 85 |
| Sean Callahan | 46-20 | 30-36 | 76 |
| Jim Rose | 42-24 | 34-32 | 76 |
| Mike’l Severe | 40-26 | 35-31 | 75 |
| Andy Kendeigh | 41-25 | 31-35 | 72 |
| Steven Sipple | 42-24 | 29-37 | 71 |
Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
