November 1, 2026, 5:07 a.m. ET
A grueling three-game losing streak has dropped Nebraska to the bottom of the Big Ten and will elevate the focus on coach Matt Rhule to new heights heading into another make-or-break November.
Last year, the team went 6-2 before losing four of five, the last three by a total of 73 points.
After starting this season 5-0, the Cornhuskers are reeling as they head into one of the most important final months in recent program history.
Nebraska dominated No. 4 Indiana at home on October 10, but lost 20-17. (Minnesota can sympathize.) A week later, former starting quarterback Dylan Raiola threw the game-winning touchdown for Oregon with 28 seconds left.
On Saturday, the Cornhuskers led Washington 7-0 after the first quarter and 7-3 with just over a minute to play before Demond Williams Jr. came off the bench to tip off the game. Given a chance to respond, Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw a pick six for good measure.
Things could get worse. This century tells us that things will actually get worse.
Now 5-3, Nebraska heads to Illinois and Rutgers to open in November. Getting out of Lincoln could be good for the Cornhuskers, although Big Ten road games are a recipe for disaster.
They finish the year against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 24 Iowa. If 5-5 at this point, Nebraska won’t even make a bowl game. You can see why November could determine the future of the program.
Southern California, Ohio State and Oklahoma lead this week’s biggest winners and losers:
Winners
Lincoln Riley
No. 25 Southern California’s 30-18 win over Ohio State could knock Riley out of the hot seat. Whether that keeps him with the Trojans is another thing entirely. But it was by far the program’s best win since joining the Big Ten and a potentially important victory in determining the conference and the College Football Playoff. The Trojans’ offense was very good on a play-by-play basis and the defense held off Jeremiah Smith and new quarterback Luke Fahey, limiting Smith to 8.3 yards per catch and Fahey to 6.8 yards per attempt. If things hadn’t gone so badly in recent weeks, this could have been the type of victory that solidified Riley’s future.
Texas Technology
The No. 14 Red Raiders’ 34-26 win over No. 21 Arizona was quite the response after last week’s ugly loss to Cincinnati. Facing one of the most underrated teams in the Power Four, Texas Tech turned the offense over to transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who threw for 144 yards, ran for 117 yards and scored three times with no turnovers. In addition to giving the offense a different look, Castellanos delivered the type of spark that was missing behind former starter Will Hammond. A second straight conference loss would have been a death sentence for Tech’s playoff hopes. Instead, the Red Raiders pulled off the type of victory that should put them in the top half of the early playoff standings.
Iowa
The 30-0 win over Wisconsin on Saturday speaks to Iowa’s chances of winning a regular season with two losses and a playoff berth. Facing an opponent climbing the Big Ten ranks thanks to four wins in five games, the Hawkeyes allowed just 52 rushing yards and nine first downs while quarterback Hank Brown nearly had a perfect day, connecting on 20 of 24 throws for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Iowa now heads to a November slate that includes Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska.
Waking up forest
This is a very good team that will almost certainly be underseeded in the early playoff rankings. This will be attributed to a weaker schedule: Wake Forest has only played two teams with a winning record, Miami and No. 1 Louisville, playing the Hurricanes closer than most and beating the Cardinals by a field goal. But the No. 15 Demon Deacons are just destroying teams, including the bottom four by a combined score of 187-31. Against Virginia, Wake rushed for 538 yards and scored 24 points in the third quarter to escape with a 51-7 victory.
Penn State
Running backs Cam Wallace and Carson Hansen combined for 231 yards and Penn State beat Purdue 31-17 to avoid what would have been a fifth straight Big Ten loss to open the Matt Campbell era. Amid some legitimate questions about the status of the roster, the Nittany Lions played their most complete game of the year rushing for 269 total yards on 5.3 yards per carry, holding the Boilermakers to just 2.8 yards per play and avoiding any turnovers for the first time in conference play. Penn State can advance to bowl eligibility by splitting games against Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers and Maryland. Despite a rough start, getting six wins would help the program gain some momentum heading into the offseason.
Dylan Raiola
Since replacing the injured Dante Moore last month, the former Nebraska transfer has provided relief to beat No. 25 Southern California, put up an all-time stinker in a loss to UCLA, kicked the game-winning score against the Cornhuskers and led Oregon into the end zone just once in a loss to Illinois. That up-and-down run stabilized with his best performance yet — and one of the best of his career — against Northwestern, going 22 of 31 for 336 yards and three touchdowns with several key throws as the Ducks came out of a 20-6 deficit and won 34-26.
Losers
Ohio State
The loss will force OSU to run the table to secure a spot in the Big Ten championship game and a playoff berth overall. It also revealed how things will change with Julian Sayin out of the lineup. On one hand, the Buckeyes aren’t going to be a team that can commit 11 penalties, turn the ball over and win on the road against a tough opponent. (Before, they were among the few with power.) The offense will not have the same explosiveness. The defense will have to carry more of the load, but gave up 6.9 yards per play and 9.7 yards per attempt to the Trojans.
Oklahoma
The Sooners fell to 4-4 with an incredibly ugly 42-25 loss at home to South Carolina, showing not only the same putrid lack of offensive production, but also a surprising collapse on defense. Oklahoma was under 300 offensive yards until a minute remained and scored only two offensive touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter with the game out of control. LaNorris Sellers did his Cam Newton impersonation with 397 total yards of offense and five scores, while the Gamecocks had over 300 yards at halftime and finished with 521 total yards. After opening the year ranked 9th in the preseason U.S. LBM Coaches Poll, there is no valid excuse for the Sooners to be this terrible. But it’s something that’s happened before: South Carolina won 35-9 in Norman two years ago.
Indiana
Things get shakier Saturday for the defending national champions, who needed a 60-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime against Minnesota — after the Gophers made a 60-yard field goal of their own to take the lead with 19 seconds — before winning 23-16 in the first extra frame. There are obvious issues with quarterback Josh Hoover, whether due to injuries or general ineffectiveness. He went just 8 of 19 for 119 yards before being replaced by backup Grant Wilson, who totaled 156 passing yards and won the game against Charlie Becker in overtime. The decision Curt Cignetti makes at quarterback will decide the Hoosiers’ season.
EMS
We can eliminate #16 SMU from the overall playoff discussion. The Mustangs lost 30-27 to Syracuse after giving up the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left and now have only one realistic way to get back into the tournament: by winning the ACC. Getting there will take home wins against Virginia Tech and No. 15 Wake Forest, and that might be too much to ask of a team that has struggled to put things together despite spending most of the regular season in the coaches’ poll. The loss, however, fits a larger theme. Since joining the ACC three years ago, four of the Mustangs’ five conference losses have come by a field goal.
Wisconsin
Needless to say, Wisconsin won’t be in this week’s rankings. The Badgers not only exposed by the Hawkeyes, but will also come out of Saturday with a quarterback dilemma, having pulled transfer Colton Joseph in favor of backup Ryan Hopkins in the third quarter. Hopkins did better, completing 8 of 13 attempts for 93 yards and an interception on Joseph’s 92 yards on 5 of 14 passing, although Hopkins’ numbers came with the game already in doubt. The big picture is even worse: Wisconsin has lost its four matchups against Iowa under coach Luke Fickell by a combined score of 124-16.
Central Florida and Cincinnati
From the highs of last Saturday — the Bearcats beat Texas Tech and the Knights stunned No. 9 Brigham Young — to the lows of lopsided losses: Cincinnati fell behind No. 5 Utah 42-6 at halftime en route to a 49-25 loss and UCF lost 41-9 to Baylor on Friday night. UCF probably got the Cougars at the right time, fresh off an emotional win over No. 6 Notre Dame, and was always going to slide back into mediocrity. But the Bearcats are strong, so the Utes’ dominance solidifies their place as the Big 12 leader.
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