Nebraska football 2026 schedule release
Nebraska football now has its full 2026 slate officially on the docket.
The Huskers have their official 2026 schedule in hand after the Big Ten Conference released this upcoming fall’s slate of games on Tuesday.
The Huskers already knew the 12 opponents they would be facing in Year 4 of the Matt Rhule Era. The non-conference foes are Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota over the first three weeks of the season.
Then, they will open up Big Ten play with a nine-game schedule. That conference slate features four home games against Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State and Washington. The road games will be trips to face Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Oregon and Rutgers.
Those matchups have been set for a while now, but the conference announced the 2026 football season schedule with dates for the entire 18-team league live on the Big Ten Network on Tuesday.
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Nebraska will open the season with three consecutive home games, which was already known entering Tuesday. The Huskers will host Ohio at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln on Sept. 5, and then they will welcome their second straight MAC opponent, Bowling Green, to town the following Saturday on Sept. 12.
Then, Nebraska wraps up the non-conference slate against an FCS opponent in Week 3 for the third consecutive season. The Huskers hosted Northern Iowa and Houston Christian, respectively, in Week 3 to close out their non-conference schedules in 2024 and 2025. This season, they will wrap against North Dakota on Sept. 19 in Lincoln.
Nebraska will then open up Big Ten play against Michigan State, going on the road to square off with the Spartans on Sept. 26 in East Lansing, Mich.
After the conference opener, the Huskers will have back-to-back home games before hitting the road again. They will face Maryland at home on Oct. 3 before getting set for what will almost certainly be the most difficult two-game stretch of the season – home against Indiana on Oct. 10 and then a road matchup at Oregon on Oct. 17 in Eugene, Ore.
The 2026 campaign will feature just one bye week, rather than two, across college football. Nebraska’s bye week is sandwiched between the road game against the Ducks and a home tilt with Washington on Halloween (Oct. 31).
Then, the Huskers will have a two-game road trip as they travel to face Illinois on Nov. 7 in Champaign, Ill. and then travel to the East Coast for a matchup with Rutgers on Nov. 14 in Piscataway, N.J.
Nebraska will wrap up the regular season with a home showdown against Ohio State on Nov. 21 and the annual Black Friday rivalry game at Iowa on Nov. 27 in Iowa City.
Here is a quick look at the 2026 schedule for Nebraska. Games in bold italics are the road games.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| Sept. 5 | Ohio | Home* |
| Sept. 12 | Bowling Green | Home |
| Sept. 19 | North Dakota | Home |
| Sept. 26 | @ Michigan State | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Oct. 3 | Maryland | Home |
| Oct. 10 | Indiana | Home |
| Oct. 17 | @ Oregon | Eugene, Ore. |
| Oct. 24 | BYE WEEK | – |
| Oct. 31 | Washington | Home |
| Nov. 7 | @ Illinois | Champaign, Ill. |
| Nov. 14 | @ Rutgers | Piscataway, N.J. |
| Nov. 21 | Ohio State | Home |
| Nov. 27 (Black Friday) | @ Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa |
*Memorial Stadium/Lincoln, Neb.
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