2014–2026 performance history

Nebraska over time

Season-by-season offense and defense game grades, with head-coaching changes placed on the timeline.

Big TenHead coach: Matt RhuleView Nebraska games →
Offense · 2026 estimate62.7/100

94.5 average through 1 game

56.6 prior · 8 equivalent games
Defense · 2026 estimate43.6/100

61.4 average through 1 game

41.4 prior · 8 equivalent games

The trajectory

Game and Season Unit Ratings

Each small dot is one offensive or defensive game rating, arranged in the order played. For completed seasons, the short bar is that season’s average game rating. Both dot and bar values are labeled on a percentile scale. For 2026, the bar is the Bayesian estimate, while the outlined circle is the empirical games-only mean. Labeled background bands show each head coach’s era.

Nebraska individual offense and defense game grades by seasonEach small point is one game. Horizontal bars show completed-season means and the Bayesian estimate for 2026. The outlined 2026 circle is the empirical games-only mean. Alternating labeled bands identify head-coaching eras.PeliniBo Pelini, 2014Riley · ’15–’17Mike Riley, 2015–2017Frost · ’18–’21Scott Frost, 2018–2021JosephMickey Joseph, 2022Rhule · ’23–’26Matt Rhule, 2023–2026offenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Florida Atlantic · W 55–7; offense 98.6 percentile2014 Week 2: Nebraska vs. McNeese · W 31–24; offense 26.3 percentile2014 Week 3: Nebraska at Fresno State · W 55–19; offense 79.4 percentile2014 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Miami · W 41–31; offense 94.1 percentile2014 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Illinois · W 45–14; offense 85.8 percentile2014 Week 6: Nebraska at Michigan State · L 22–27; offense 9.8 percentile2014 Week 8: Nebraska at Northwestern · W 38–17; offense 89.4 percentile2014 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Rutgers · W 42–24; offense 70.9 percentile2014 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Purdue · W 35–14; offense 15.6 percentile2014 Week 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 24–59; offense 18.4 percentile2014 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · L 24–28; offense 76.6 percentile2014 Week 14: Nebraska at Iowa · W 37–34; offense 51.6 percentile2014 Week 1: Nebraska vs. USC · L 42–45; offense 63.3 percentile2015 Week 1: Nebraska vs. BYU · L 28–33; offense 53.0 percentile2015 Week 2: Nebraska vs. South Alabama · W 48–9; offense 92.3 percentile2015 Week 3: Nebraska at Miami · L 33–36; offense 65.1 percentile2015 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Southern Miss · W 36–28; offense 90.7 percentile2015 Week 5: Nebraska at Illinois · L 13–14; offense 28.3 percentile2015 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 21–23; offense 77.1 percentile2015 Week 7: Nebraska at Minnesota · W 48–25; offense 93.9 percentile2015 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · L 28–30; offense 60.3 percentile2015 Week 9: Nebraska at Purdue · L 45–55; offense 58.4 percentile2015 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Michigan State · W 39–38; offense 95.4 percentile2015 Week 11: Nebraska at Rutgers · W 31–14; offense 55.7 percentile2015 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 20–28; offense 48.0 percentile2015 Week 1: Nebraska vs. UCLA · W 37–29; offense 94.9 percentile2016 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Fresno State · W 43–10; offense 78.9 percentile2016 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Wyoming · W 52–17; offense 67.4 percentile2016 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Oregon · W 35–32; offense 25.0 percentile2016 Week 4: Nebraska at Northwestern · W 24–13; offense 84.8 percentile2016 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Illinois · W 31–16; offense 69.0 percentile2016 Week 7: Nebraska at Indiana · W 27–22; offense 46.8 percentile2016 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Purdue · W 27–14; offense 21.6 percentile2016 Week 9: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 17–23; offense 59.9 percentile2016 Week 10: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 3–62; offense 27.8 percentile2016 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · W 24–17; offense 84.9 percentile2016 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Maryland · W 28–7; offense 50.5 percentile2016 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · L 10–40; offense 22.1 percentile2016 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Tennessee · L 24–38; offense 10.8 percentile2017 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Arkansas State · W 43–36; offense 93.5 percentile2017 Week 2: Nebraska at Oregon · L 35–42; offense 67.5 percentile2017 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois · L 17–21; offense 42.7 percentile2017 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Rutgers · W 27–17; offense 39.3 percentile2017 Week 5: Nebraska at Illinois · W 28–6; offense 89.7 percentile2017 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 17–38; offense 74.8 percentile2017 Week 7: Nebraska vs. Ohio State · L 14–56; offense 41.7 percentile2017 Week 9: Nebraska at Purdue · W 25–24; offense 53.2 percentile2017 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · L 24–31; offense 49.7 percentile2017 Week 11: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 21–54; offense 54.1 percentile2017 Week 12: Nebraska at Penn State · L 44–56; offense 80.0 percentile2017 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 14–56; offense 24.3 percentile2018 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Colorado · L 28–33; offense 69.9 percentile2018 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Troy · L 19–24; offense 32.3 percentile2018 Week 4: Nebraska at Michigan · L 10–56; offense 15.1 percentile2018 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Purdue · L 28–42; offense 57.8 percentile2018 Week 6: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 24–41; offense 81.0 percentile2018 Week 7: Nebraska at Northwestern · L 31–34; offense 75.5 percentile2018 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · W 53–28; offense 95.7 percentile2018 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Bethune-Cookman · W 45–9; offense 80.5 percentile2018 Week 10: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 31–36; offense 49.4 percentile2018 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Illinois · W 54–35; offense 86.7 percentile2018 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Michigan State · W 9–6; offense 23.0 percentile2018 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · L 28–31; offense 90.3 percentile2019 Week 1: Nebraska vs. South Alabama · W 35–21; offense 2.9 percentile2019 Week 2: Nebraska at Colorado · L 31–34; offense 48.1 percentile2019 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois · W 44–8; offense 78.6 percentile2019 Week 4: Nebraska at Illinois · W 42–38; offense 72.9 percentile2019 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Ohio State · L 7–48; offense 45.7 percentile2019 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 13–10; offense 11.9 percentile2019 Week 7: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 7–34; offense 17.9 percentile2019 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Indiana · L 31–38; offense 85.9 percentile2019 Week 10: Nebraska at Purdue · L 27–31; offense 25.5 percentile2019 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 21–37; offense 93.6 percentile2019 Week 13: Nebraska at Maryland · W 54–7; offense 71.4 percentile2019 Week 14: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 24–27; offense 33.0 percentile2020 Week 8: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 17–52; offense 82.1 percentile2020 Week 10: Nebraska at Northwestern · L 13–21; offense 56.2 percentile2020 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Penn State · W 30–23; offense 51.0 percentile2020 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Illinois · L 23–41; offense 17.1 percentile2020 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · L 20–26; offense 54.6 percentile2020 Week 14: Nebraska at Purdue · W 37–27; offense 44.2 percentile2020 Week 15: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · L 17–24; offense 9.5 percentile2020 Week 16: Nebraska at Rutgers · W 28–21; offense 82.7 percentile2021 Week 1: Nebraska at Illinois · L 22–30; offense 49.2 percentile2021 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Buffalo · W 28–3; offense 76.5 percentile2021 Week 3: Nebraska at Oklahoma · L 16–23; offense 37.0 percentile2021 Week 4: Nebraska at Michigan State · L 20–23; offense 52.4 percentile2021 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 56–7; offense 98.6 percentile2021 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Michigan · L 29–32; offense 74.4 percentile2021 Week 7: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 23–30; offense 54.1 percentile2021 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Purdue · L 23–28; offense 49.1 percentile2021 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Ohio State · L 17–26; offense 19.5 percentile2021 Week 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 28–35; offense 86.2 percentile2021 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 21–28; offense 72.8 percentile2022 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · L 28–31; offense 56.2 percentile2022 Week 1: Nebraska vs. North Dakota · W 38–17; offense 54.9 percentile2022 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Georgia Southern · L 42–45; offense 91.9 percentile2022 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma · L 14–49; offense 31.3 percentile2022 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Indiana · W 35–21; offense 39.4 percentile2022 Week 6: Nebraska at Rutgers · W 14–13; offense 16.5 percentile2022 Week 7: Nebraska at Purdue · L 37–43; offense 74.3 percentile2022 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Illinois · L 9–26; offense 32.4 percentile2022 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · L 13–20; offense 41.8 percentile2022 Week 11: Nebraska at Michigan · L 3–34; offense 18.7 percentile2022 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 14–15; offense 25.5 percentile2022 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · W 24–17; offense 50.5 percentile2023 Week 1: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 10–13; offense 45.6 percentile2023 Week 2: Nebraska at Colorado · L 14–36; offense 3.1 percentile2023 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois · W 35–11; offense 78.0 percentile2023 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Louisiana Tech · W 28–14; offense 64.8 percentile2023 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Michigan · L 7–45; offense 64.5 percentile2023 Week 6: Nebraska at Illinois · W 20–7; offense 9.8 percentile2023 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 17–9; offense 35.4 percentile2023 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Purdue · W 31–14; offense 61.4 percentile2023 Week 10: Nebraska at Michigan State · L 17–20; offense 11.2 percentile2023 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Maryland · L 10–13; offense 42.4 percentile2023 Week 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 17–24; offense 86.6 percentile2023 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 10–13; offense 44.0 percentile2024 Week 1: Nebraska vs. UTEP · W 40–7; offense 89.2 percentile2024 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Colorado · W 28–10; offense 52.9 percentile2024 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Iowa · W 34–3; offense 59.1 percentile2024 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Illinois · L 24–31; offense 63.7 percentile2024 Week 5: Nebraska at Purdue · W 28–10; offense 28.5 percentile2024 Week 8: Nebraska at Indiana · L 7–56; offense 31.7 percentile2024 Week 9: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 17–21; offense 61.4 percentile2024 Week 10: Nebraska vs. UCLA · L 20–27; offense 43.0 percentile2024 Week 12: Nebraska at USC · L 20–28; offense 44.6 percentile2024 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · W 44–25; offense 90.8 percentile2024 Week 14: Nebraska at Iowa · L 10–13; offense 37.9 percentile2024 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Boston College · W 20–15; offense 77.7 percentile2025 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Cincinnati · W 20–17; offense 21.4 percentile2025 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Akron · W 68–0; offense 97.4 percentile2025 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Houston Christian · W 59–7; offense 84.3 percentile2025 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Michigan · L 27–30; offense 38.5 percentile2025 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Michigan State · W 38–27; offense 17.9 percentile2025 Week 7: Nebraska at Maryland · W 34–31; offense 88.7 percentile2025 Week 8: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 6–24; offense 10.7 percentile2025 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 28–21; offense 66.5 percentile2025 Week 10: Nebraska vs. USC · L 17–21; offense 34.6 percentile2025 Week 11: Nebraska at UCLA · W 28–21; offense 93.6 percentile2025 Week 13: Nebraska at Penn State · L 10–37; offense 17.8 percentile2025 Week 14: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 16–40; offense 69.5 percentile2025 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Utah · L 22–44; offense 53.9 percentile2026 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Ohio · W 49–21; offense 94.5 percentile2014 offense season mean: 64.1 percentile2015 offense season mean: 75.1 percentile2016 offense season mean: 49.8 percentile2017 offense season mean: 61.7 percentile2018 offense season mean: 66.2 percentile2019 offense season mean: 47.7 percentile2020 offense season mean: 48.8 percentile2021 offense season mean: 64.8 percentile2022 offense season mean: 44.7 percentile2023 offense season mean: 42.5 percentile2024 offense season mean: 58.6 percentile2025 offense season mean: 56.6 percentile2026 offense Bayesian estimate: 62.7 percentile2026 offense empirical mean: 94.5 percentiledefenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Florida Atlantic · W 55–7; defense 91.4 percentile2014 Week 2: Nebraska vs. McNeese · W 31–24; defense 28.0 percentile2014 Week 3: Nebraska at Fresno State · W 55–19; defense 95.0 percentile2014 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Miami · W 41–31; defense 38.6 percentile2014 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Illinois · W 45–14; defense 72.7 percentile2014 Week 6: Nebraska at Michigan State · L 22–27; defense 93.0 percentile2014 Week 8: Nebraska at Northwestern · W 38–17; defense 66.6 percentile2014 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Rutgers · W 42–24; defense 63.4 percentile2014 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Purdue · W 35–14; defense 71.7 percentile2014 Week 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 24–59; defense 6.0 percentile2014 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · L 24–28; defense 8.0 percentile2014 Week 14: Nebraska at Iowa · W 37–34; defense 76.0 percentile2014 Week 1: Nebraska vs. USC · L 42–45; defense 43.0 percentile2015 Week 1: Nebraska vs. BYU · L 28–33; defense 41.0 percentile2015 Week 2: Nebraska vs. South Alabama · W 48–9; defense 85.5 percentile2015 Week 3: Nebraska at Miami · L 33–36; defense 24.2 percentile2015 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Southern Miss · W 36–28; defense 84.6 percentile2015 Week 5: Nebraska at Illinois · L 13–14; defense 82.7 percentile2015 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 21–23; defense 53.7 percentile2015 Week 7: Nebraska at Minnesota · W 48–25; defense 48.1 percentile2015 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · L 28–30; defense 30.2 percentile2015 Week 9: Nebraska at Purdue · L 45–55; defense 14.0 percentile2015 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Michigan State · W 39–38; defense 29.1 percentile2015 Week 11: Nebraska at Rutgers · W 31–14; defense 88.8 percentile2015 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 20–28; defense 83.0 percentile2015 Week 1: Nebraska vs. UCLA · W 37–29; defense 55.6 percentile2016 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Fresno State · W 43–10; defense 78.9 percentile2016 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Wyoming · W 52–17; defense 73.0 percentile2016 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Oregon · W 35–32; defense 26.1 percentile2016 Week 4: Nebraska at Northwestern · W 24–13; defense 62.6 percentile2016 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Illinois · W 31–16; defense 32.3 percentile2016 Week 7: Nebraska at Indiana · W 27–22; defense 76.1 percentile2016 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Purdue · W 27–14; defense 54.6 percentile2016 Week 9: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 17–23; defense 62.1 percentile2016 Week 10: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 3–62; defense 6.9 percentile2016 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · W 24–17; defense 68.4 percentile2016 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Maryland · W 28–7; defense 95.3 percentile2016 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · L 10–40; defense 21.2 percentile2016 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Tennessee · L 24–38; defense 30.4 percentile2017 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Arkansas State · W 43–36; defense 55.4 percentile2017 Week 2: Nebraska at Oregon · L 35–42; defense 28.6 percentile2017 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois · L 17–21; defense 92.4 percentile2017 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Rutgers · W 27–17; defense 78.7 percentile2017 Week 5: Nebraska at Illinois · W 28–6; defense 71.1 percentile2017 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 17–38; defense 19.5 percentile2017 Week 7: Nebraska vs. Ohio State · L 14–56; defense 7.7 percentile2017 Week 9: Nebraska at Purdue · W 25–24; defense 49.4 percentile2017 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · L 24–31; defense 27.1 percentile2017 Week 11: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 21–54; defense 0.2 percentile2017 Week 12: Nebraska at Penn State · L 44–56; defense 1.8 percentile2017 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 14–56; defense 4.7 percentile2018 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Colorado · L 28–33; defense 63.9 percentile2018 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Troy · L 19–24; defense 91.7 percentile2018 Week 4: Nebraska at Michigan · L 10–56; defense 38.9 percentile2018 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Purdue · L 28–42; defense 27.4 percentile2018 Week 6: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 24–41; defense 6.1 percentile2018 Week 7: Nebraska at Northwestern · L 31–34; defense 48.1 percentile2018 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · W 53–28; defense 50.7 percentile2018 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Bethune-Cookman · W 45–9; defense 33.4 percentile2018 Week 10: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 31–36; defense 58.2 percentile2018 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Illinois · W 54–35; defense 6.2 percentile2018 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Michigan State · W 9–6; defense 74.8 percentile2018 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · L 28–31; defense 14.6 percentile2019 Week 1: Nebraska vs. South Alabama · W 35–21; defense 50.0 percentile2019 Week 2: Nebraska at Colorado · L 31–34; defense 48.8 percentile2019 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois · W 44–8; defense 92.9 percentile2019 Week 4: Nebraska at Illinois · W 42–38; defense 44.8 percentile2019 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Ohio State · L 7–48; defense 5.6 percentile2019 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 13–10; defense 67.9 percentile2019 Week 7: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 7–34; defense 19.8 percentile2019 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Indiana · L 31–38; defense 17.9 percentile2019 Week 10: Nebraska at Purdue · L 27–31; defense 19.1 percentile2019 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 21–37; defense 19.7 percentile2019 Week 13: Nebraska at Maryland · W 54–7; defense 87.4 percentile2019 Week 14: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 24–27; defense 61.4 percentile2020 Week 8: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 17–52; defense 14.8 percentile2020 Week 10: Nebraska at Northwestern · L 13–21; defense 62.7 percentile2020 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Penn State · W 30–23; defense 32.6 percentile2020 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Illinois · L 23–41; defense 5.6 percentile2020 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · L 20–26; defense 74.8 percentile2020 Week 14: Nebraska at Purdue · W 37–27; defense 83.9 percentile2020 Week 15: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · L 17–24; defense 71.1 percentile2020 Week 16: Nebraska at Rutgers · W 28–21; defense 67.9 percentile2021 Week 1: Nebraska at Illinois · L 22–30; defense 63.4 percentile2021 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Buffalo · W 28–3; defense 72.4 percentile2021 Week 3: Nebraska at Oklahoma · L 16–23; defense 60.4 percentile2021 Week 4: Nebraska at Michigan State · L 20–23; defense 95.9 percentile2021 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 56–7; defense 42.2 percentile2021 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Michigan · L 29–32; defense 69.0 percentile2021 Week 7: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 23–30; defense 60.5 percentile2021 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Purdue · L 23–28; defense 73.5 percentile2021 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Ohio State · L 17–26; defense 94.5 percentile2021 Week 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 28–35; defense 15.9 percentile2021 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 21–28; defense 9.0 percentile2022 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · L 28–31; defense 9.7 percentile2022 Week 1: Nebraska vs. North Dakota · W 38–17; defense 19.2 percentile2022 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Georgia Southern · L 42–45; defense 3.3 percentile2022 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma · L 14–49; defense 10.2 percentile2022 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Indiana · W 35–21; defense 63.2 percentile2022 Week 6: Nebraska at Rutgers · W 14–13; defense 56.3 percentile2022 Week 7: Nebraska at Purdue · L 37–43; defense 10.1 percentile2022 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Illinois · L 9–26; defense 30.4 percentile2022 Week 10: Nebraska vs. Minnesota · L 13–20; defense 57.0 percentile2022 Week 11: Nebraska at Michigan · L 3–34; defense 34.7 percentile2022 Week 12: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · L 14–15; defense 40.8 percentile2022 Week 13: Nebraska at Iowa · W 24–17; defense 47.8 percentile2023 Week 1: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 10–13; defense 82.9 percentile2023 Week 2: Nebraska at Colorado · L 14–36; defense 30.0 percentile2023 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois · W 35–11; defense 95.3 percentile2023 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Louisiana Tech · W 28–14; defense 75.2 percentile2023 Week 5: Nebraska vs. Michigan · L 7–45; defense 10.5 percentile2023 Week 6: Nebraska at Illinois · W 20–7; defense 96.3 percentile2023 Week 8: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 17–9; defense 63.9 percentile2023 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Purdue · W 31–14; defense 68.9 percentile2023 Week 10: Nebraska at Michigan State · L 17–20; defense 48.1 percentile2023 Week 11: Nebraska vs. Maryland · L 10–13; defense 36.7 percentile2023 Week 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin · L 17–24; defense 54.4 percentile2023 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 10–13; defense 50.4 percentile2024 Week 1: Nebraska vs. UTEP · W 40–7; defense 32.9 percentile2024 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Colorado · W 28–10; defense 77.3 percentile2024 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Northern Iowa · W 34–3; defense 31.2 percentile2024 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Illinois · L 24–31; defense 33.7 percentile2024 Week 5: Nebraska at Purdue · W 28–10; defense 63.4 percentile2024 Week 8: Nebraska at Indiana · L 7–56; defense 2.3 percentile2024 Week 9: Nebraska at Ohio State · L 17–21; defense 61.5 percentile2024 Week 10: Nebraska vs. UCLA · L 20–27; defense 17.5 percentile2024 Week 12: Nebraska at USC · L 20–28; defense 33.4 percentile2024 Week 13: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin · W 44–25; defense 31.2 percentile2024 Week 14: Nebraska at Iowa · L 10–13; defense 99.8 percentile2024 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Boston College · W 20–15; defense 94.4 percentile2025 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Cincinnati · W 20–17; defense 59.4 percentile2025 Week 2: Nebraska vs. Akron · W 68–0; defense 99.2 percentile2025 Week 3: Nebraska vs. Houston Christian · W 59–7; defense 54.5 percentile2025 Week 4: Nebraska vs. Michigan · L 27–30; defense 26.5 percentile2025 Week 6: Nebraska vs. Michigan State · W 38–27; defense 83.7 percentile2025 Week 7: Nebraska at Maryland · W 34–31; defense 46.0 percentile2025 Week 8: Nebraska at Minnesota · L 6–24; defense 31.5 percentile2025 Week 9: Nebraska vs. Northwestern · W 28–21; defense 40.0 percentile2025 Week 10: Nebraska vs. USC · L 17–21; defense 68.3 percentile2025 Week 11: Nebraska at UCLA · W 28–21; defense 19.4 percentile2025 Week 13: Nebraska at Penn State · L 10–37; defense 0.4 percentile2025 Week 14: Nebraska vs. Iowa · L 16–40; defense 14.8 percentile2025 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Utah · L 22–44; defense 15.1 percentile2026 Week 1: Nebraska vs. Ohio · W 49–21; defense 61.4 percentile2014 defense season mean: 59.5 percentile2015 defense season mean: 57.0 percentile2016 defense season mean: 53.5 percentile2017 defense season mean: 27.4 percentile2018 defense season mean: 40.6 percentile2019 defense season mean: 43.8 percentile2020 defense season mean: 49.6 percentile2021 defense season mean: 62.1 percentile2022 defense season mean: 27.8 percentile2023 defense season mean: 62.7 percentile2024 defense season mean: 52.0 percentile2025 defense season mean: 41.4 percentile2026 defense Bayesian estimate: 43.6 percentile2026 defense empirical mean: 61.4 percentile2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Individual gameSeason bar · 2026 is the estimate2026 empirical meanCoaching-era band
2015Mike Riley
2018Scott Frost
2022Mickey Joseph / Scott Frost
2023Matt Rhule

How to read 2026

The current-season estimate intelligently blends last season with new data.

The 2026 estimate is a Bayesian weighted average of normal-score Z-values. The 2025 season mean counts like 8 games of prior evidence; each completed 2026 game counts once. The result is then translated back to the 0–100 percentile scale.

2026 Z = (8 × 2025 mean Z + games played × 2026 mean Z) ÷ (8 + games played)

Season record

Every annual grade and coach

Retrospective rows average the available single-game grades in normal-score space. The result is shown as a percentile. Roughly speaking, a 95th-percentile season corresponds to about the eighth-best team in a 160-team field.

SeasonHead coachGamesOffenseDefense
2026Live estimateMatt Rhule1
62.7 estimate94.5 games-only average
43.6 estimate61.4 games-only average
2025Matt Rhule1356.641.4
2024Matt Rhule1258.652.0
2023Matt RhuleCoaching change1242.562.7
2022Mickey Joseph / Scott FrostCoaching change1244.727.8
2021Scott Frost1164.862.1
2020Scott Frost848.849.6
2019Scott Frost1247.743.8
2018Scott FrostCoaching change1266.240.6
2017Mike Riley1261.727.4
2016Mike Riley1349.853.5
2015Mike RileyCoaching change1375.157.0
2014Bo Pelini1364.159.5