We recently covered how the Iowa Hawkeyes are infamous for the grief they often give their opponents, but it isn’t just dumb luck that’s given them that infamy. At the end of the day, the Hawkeyes may not play the prettiest football out there, but it’s been enough to produce several objectively solid seasons. The same, of course, cannot be said about the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
That’s not what we’re here to discuss today though, as not only have I realized that picking apart the Huskers’ failures still manages to feel like “punching down,” but also because their 2026 schedule is built in such a way that I fear no one could prosper with it.
Instead, I’d much prefer to look on the bright side for a change, and how do you do so with heavy underdogs? By looking at their potential to cause some mayhem, which is precisely what makes the 2026 Cornhuskers special, and how? By the Big Ten’s scheduling being done so perfectly that Nebraska is in place to spell disaster for every—yes, every—foe on its conference agenda.
It starts with Michigan State hosting the Huskers between road games against Notre Dame and Wisconsin, which is then followed by Maryland heading into Lincoln right before a trip to Columbus. From there, Indiana does the same before hosting OSU, and Oregon welcomes Nebraska to Eugene while looking on to Illinois.
Following their bye, the Cornhuskers are home for a meeting with Washington, which it will have to endure as Penn State sits on the horizon. After that they go to Illinois before the Illini travel across the country to battle UCLA, to Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights prepare for Happy Valley, then host Ohio State right in front of rivalry week—something we all know the Buckeyes to prioritize a bit more than your average team.
Speaking of rivalries, all that leaves is Iowa. More often than not, even a pathetic Nebraska is able to give the Hawkeyes a run for their money, so one doesn’t really need to insist it’s scheduling that makes this matchup difficult for both parties.
However, I would have to assume the Hawkeyes coming in fresh off a road game against Illinois doesn’t make things any easier, so they, too, are seemingly doomed to have an external factor add riskiness to their run-in with the Huskers.
Again, I cannot stress enough how hard this schedule will be for Nebraska, and fans will likely be in for another year of sorrow as a consequence, but at least the stars have aligned to where the Cornhuskers have a better chance to share the misery this time.