BASED OFF THE FRUITFUL THREE SHOW- AUTHORS- LEVI KEILWITZ, ISAIAH KEILWITZ, AND CHRISTOPHER MONDELICE

Let's talk about the season nobody wanted to hype up.

Heading into 2026, the national consensus on Nebraska football was about as flat as it gets: 6-6. CBS Sports had us there. Other projections landed in the exact same spot. Win total sitting around 6.5. No "this is the year" circus, no preseason Big Ten title buzz, none of the usual noise that follows this program into August. And honestly? I get why that quiet actually feels kind of refreshing.

Here's the thing about that consensus, though — it was built off Matt Rhule's previous years, previous records, the whole track record. Fair enough. But I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: this team has more than a 6-6 ceiling. If Nebraska can steal one or two games it's "not supposed to win" against a brutal slate of Indiana, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Ohio State, and Iowa, that 6-6 turns into 8-4 real fast. My own numbers on this team have always been: floor of 5-7, most likely 7-5, sleeper case 8-4, dream scenario 9-3.

And then they went out and played their opener.

The Kickoff Game: Nebraska 49, Ohio 21

I'll be straight with you — it did not start pretty. The Huskers came out rough in the first half. Looked disconnected, looked like a team still finding its footing, and Ohio took full advantage, dominating that first half.

Then the second half happened, and it was like someone flipped a switch.

Nebraska came out swinging and stole the entire show. Everything that wasn't clicking in the first half suddenly clicked. The defense woke up and started forcing three-and-outs on repeat. And that speed — this team's team speed is legitimately different this year, and it's not just the skill guys. The quarterback has real breakaway speed too, which gives this offense a sneaky extra dimension that a lot of teams just aren't built to handle.

By the end, Nebraska was doing what old-school Husker teams used to do best: running the clock down, imposing their will, making the other sideline feel every second of it. Final score: Nebraska 49, Ohio 21.

Let's look at how that actually played out on paper:

A 7.1 yards-per-play average against 4.7 tells the real story here — Nebraska wasn't just winning, they were winning efficiently once things clicked. The 9 penalties for 65 yards is the one thing I'd flag as a "clean it up before conference play" note, but a 28-16 first down advantage and zero turnovers on offense is exactly the kind of complete performance you want heading into a brutal schedule.

If this is what "quiet hype" looks like walking into Memorial Stadium, I'm okay with everyone outside the program continuing to sleep on us. Former Husker defensive lineman Adam Carriker has already pushed back on the lazy "just another 6-6 team" take, and after Week 1, I'm inclined to agree with him more than I was a week ago. The dark-side defensive mentality the new coordinator has been preaching all camp? We saw a real flash of it in that second half.

One game doesn't make a season. But it's a lot easier to believe in the sleeper case after watching this team erase a 28-point-swing kind of deficit in mentality between halves and blow the doors off in the second half.

Now Let's Talk NFL — Because This Might Be the Most Loaded Storyline Season in Years

Aaron Donald Is Back, and It's Not Even Fair

I don't say this lightly: Aaron Donald coming out of retirement to sign a one-year, $20 million deal (up to $30 million with incentives) with the Rams might be the most unfair defensive move of the offseason. The Rams already had Myles Garrett. Now you're asking an offensive line to deal with Garrett and Donald on the same front? That's borderline cruel.

The honest question isn't whether Donald still has the talent — a diminished Donald might still be a top-10 defensive tackle in this league. The real question is what percentage of vintage Donald we're actually getting. He's 35, he hasn't played since 2023, and there's a real gap between looking unstoppable in a training video and actually getting doubled-teamed on third-and-long in Week 8. But this is a guy who walked away with 111 sacks, eight First-Team All-Pro nods, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, ten Pro Bowls, and a ring. If he's even 75% of himself, that Rams defense is going to be a nightmare to prepare for.

The Giants Just Hired a Real Head Coach

John Harbaugh landing in New York on January 20th is one of those hires that actually changes the conversation around a franchise. This is a guy with a Super Bowl, 180 regular-season wins, and 13 postseason wins on his résumé — that's not a "let's see if this works out" hire, that's a "we're serious about building a culture" hire.

And you could already see it in the preseason. The Giants went 3-0, finalized their 53-man roster with actual competition for spots, and Odell Beckham Jr. earned his way back onto the team with seven catches for 76 yards in preseason play. That's not nothing.

Here's my honest take, though: I don't think this is an overnight fix. Harbaugh isn't turning the Giants into a Super Bowl contender by September. This reads like a multi-year rebuild to me. But New York is going to look more disciplined this year than it has in a long time, and if you're a Giants fan, this is probably the most credible sign of real change this franchise has had in years.

Mahomes Is Back — But How Much of Him?

This might be the single biggest storyline of Week 1 across the entire league. Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL last season — a season-ending injury — and he's been ahead of schedule basically the entire offseason. Chiefs fully cleared him for training camp back in July. He's said over and over his goal was Week 1, and here we are.

So the real question isn't "will he play." The evidence says yes. The real question is how close to 100% he actually is, because "medically cleared" and "fully back to normal" are two very different things — especially for a quarterback who leans on his lower body for absolutely everything: throwing power, escaping pressure, changing direction on a dime, absorbing hits. And he opens against Denver, which is not a gentle re-introduction.

My take: he starts, and Kansas City plays it smart and conservative with his mobility early on rather than letting him scramble like it's 2022. Re-injury risk is a little elevated just given the nature of the surgery, but this is a guy who's missed remarkably little time to injury across his entire career. If he gets through the first month clean, I'll feel a lot better about the Chiefs' whole season.

The Ravens Might Be the Most Interesting Team in Football Right Now

Baltimore fired John Harbaugh after 18 seasons and handed the keys to Jesse Minter — a massive philosophical shift for that organization. And then the preseason happened: 24-7 over Philadelphia, 13-3 over Minnesota, 41-3 over Washington. A 3-0 preseason with a 78-13 combined scoring margin, and the defense gave up just 13 total points across three games.

Now, the caveat has to be said — starters barely played in a lot of these preseason snaps, and half the roster was just guys fighting for a job. Preseason dominance doesn't automatically carry into the regular season. But the early signs of the Minter era are genuinely, legitimately encouraging.

And then there's the question that actually decides Baltimore's season: can Lamar Jackson stay healthy through January? He's one of the most dangerous players in the sport when he's on the field — the issue has never been talent. The encouraging part is he's clearly bought into the new system, calling the changes under Minter and OC Declan Doyle a "breath of fresh air." He didn't play a single preseason snap, and honestly, that's the right call. Why take unnecessary hits in games that don't count when you've already proven exactly what you can do?

The Ravens' whole season doesn't hinge on scheme. It hinges on having their best player available when it matters most.

The Big Questions I'm Carrying Into This Season

College Football

Is the NCAA eligibility system completely broken?
Will the Power Four conferences actually succeed in keeping former NFL players out of college locker rooms?
Does Nebraska really have a shot to be the surprise team of the Big Ten — and does Week 1 confirm it?

NFL

4. How much does Aaron Donald genuinely have left in the tank?

5. Can John Harbaugh change the Giants' culture immediately, or is this a slow burn?

6. Is Patrick Mahomes actually going to be 100% coming off the ACL/LCL injury?

7. Does the Ravens' preseason dominance under Jesse Minter carry into games that count?

8. And most importantly — can Lamar Jackson stay healthy through January?

We've got a full season to find out. Buckle up.

Nebraska Football 2026: Is This Big Ten's Sleeper Team? Plus NFL Week 1 News