Can Nebraska use Michigan's slight as fuel to snap an unfortunate streak?

New York Times

14-05-2025

LINCOLN, Neb. — On Nebraska's climb back to national relevance, or simply its quest to achieve a winning regular season, a hurdle stands in front of the Huskers that might be cleared early next season.
And if it happens, if the Huskers beat Michigan in the Sept. 20 Big Ten opener for both schools and if the Wolverines are nationally ranked at the time of their visit to Memorial Stadium, the end of a depressing, nine-year streak would come for Nebraska with a sweet side dish of validation.
Advertisement
Nebraska has lost an unthinkable 27 consecutive games against opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, dating back to a 2016 win against Oregon. It's the second-longest active streak in the Power 4 and the longest for the Huskers since the 1936 introduction of the poll. The previous mark of 15 games extended from 1941 until a 1952 win against Kansas.
No, the streak did not end last year when Nebraska beat Colorado. The Buffs finished the 2024 season ranked in the final six polls, but they were unranked at the time of kickoff.
And Michigan is no lock to enter the Week 4 clash with a number beside its name. The Wolverines checked in at No. 18 in The Athletic's way-too-early Top 25. But a Week 2 loss at Oklahoma could knock Sherrone Moore's team — which capped an 8-5 record last year with wins against Ohio State and Alabama — out of the rankings.
Ranked or not, Michigan ought to draw extra ire from Nebraska for a move that came to light last week. Michigan is pushing to suspend Moore for the Week 3 and Week 4 games against Central Michigan and Nebraska for his misdeeds in the sign-stealing saga that occurred on the watch of former coach Jim Harbaugh.
The NCAA accused Moore, then the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, of deleting text messages in 2023 from Connor Stalions, the former staffer at the center of the investigation into allegations of improper advanced scouting.
Moore's punishment is not final. Michigan officials won't comment on an active investigation. The NCAA could rule that a two-game suspension is not sufficient. The organization could hit Moore with a longer suspension and order him to serve it from the start of the season.
In one scenario, he'd get three games and return to the sideline on Sept. 20.
Regardless, the damage is done. The insult has been delivered. Moore and Michigan picked Nebraska over Oklahoma to sit the coach.
Advertisement
Moore played at OU. The Sooners plan to recognize him as part of Michigan's first trip ever to Norman. But would Michigan have done the same if its conference opener came at Oregon or Penn State?
To arbitrarily select the third and fourth games, knowing the stakes of a league game are higher, is an affront to Matt Rhule and the Huskers.
Michigan is essentially saying, 'We can handle Nebraska without Moore.'
Maybe the Wolverines don't need their coach. They've got an edge in talent. Michigan won at Penn State and beat Ohio State without Harbaugh in 2023. It won all six games, in fact, in which he was suspended, then carried the momentum to a national championship.
Nebraska may possess the final opportunity to make Michigan pay on the field.
The two most recent meetings in this series ended in 45-7 and 34-3 Michigan wins. The next game sets up more like 2021 in Lincoln, when the ninth-ranked Wolverines eked out a 32-29 victory.
Memorial Stadium, no matter the streaks in play, poses a stumbling block for any QB in his first Big Ten game. Bryce Underwood, the hyped freshman who's vying for the top spot in Ann Arbor, could stand to have his coach alongside, especially if the Wolverines' visit is selected to kick off under the lights.
The entire episode elicits the kind of pompous stench that has long prompted ill feelings toward Michigan — a sentiment magnified by the actions and attitudes that led to the investigation at hand.
For Nebraska, the stench comes from those 27 consecutive losses against ranked foes. Michigan is the third most common opponent in the streak, responsible for four of the Huskers' defeats. Wisconsin has done it five times, and Ohio State has seven wins as a ranked Nebraska opponent since 2016.
Some other data on the streak:
• Twenty-four of the 27 losses came against Big Ten opponents. Colorado (once) and Oklahoma (twice) have also contributed. Fourteen came on the road, 13 at home. Nebraska has suffered a loss in every game window. The fifth game of a season is the most common place for a defeat against a ranked opponent. It's happened four times.
Advertisement
• Two came in overtime: The first loss, in 2016 at No. 11 Wisconsin, and the 25th, against No. 24 Illinois last season, after the Huskers missed an open receiver in the end zone and shanked a field goal in the final three minutes of regulation.
• Nebraska was ranked in three games involved in the streak. Four games were played on Friday.
• Eleven of the 27 defeats came by 8 points or fewer; eleven came by 21 points or more. The average margin of defeat is 20.2 points.
• Rutgers owns the longest active streak among P4 teams at 41 games. It dates back to 2009. After Nebraska, Indiana (14 games), Cal (13) and Northwestern (11) complete the top five.
• Historically, the Huskers are aiming to avoid more dubious achievements. Kansas State lost 33 consecutive games against ranked opponents from 1981 to 1993. Iowa State was 0-42 from the start of the AP poll until 1972. Northwestern lost 46 consecutive games, from 1972 to 1991. Duke lost 47 straight, from 1995 to 2012. Vanderbilt lost 56 in a row, from 1992 to 2006. It beat No. 16 Georgia on the road to snap the skid.
Comparatively, the task for Nebraska appears manageable.
The streak needs to end in 2025 for Rhule to stay on track in building the Huskers. To snap it against Michigan would deliver delight in Lincoln — and perhaps at various stops around the Big Ten.
(Photo of Sherrone Moore: Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images)