HuskerOnline Show - Sept. 15, 2026

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

This is HuskerOnline, your authority on Nebraska Athletics. In this weekly show, the HuskerOnline team will give you the latest insight on Husker football, basketball, baseball, and of course, recruiting. Now, here's your host, HuskerOnline publisher, Sean Callahan.

Sean Callahan (0:18)

Hello there, and welcome to another edition of the HuskerOnline show. Sean Callahan, Steve Sipple, Robin Waschet, we're gonna get you ready for Saturday night's game against North Dakota. But before we do that, we are brought to you by our presenting sponsor of Sodder Heyman Jewelers. We're also brought to you by Emeritus. In every city, every town, there's a Husker fan. You show up, you stand out no matter where the road takes you. And wherever Husker Nation goes, life does not slow down. That's why Emeritus makes dental and vision coverage simple. Quick quotes, affordable options and nationwide access for fans everywhere.

Choose the coverage that fits your journey. Emeritus, fulfilling life, fueled by Husker pride. Go to emeritus.com/huskerdental to view plans. Thanks again to Emeritus for sponsoring us here on the Husker Online Show. But let's get into it guys. North Dakota comes to town and I think you could make a case that this is as difficult of any of the three opponents Nebraska has played in the non-conference. This is a North Dakota offense. It's put up 42 points and a half twice.

They're led by a quarterback Jerry Kaminsky, who won the college quarterback challenge at the Manning Passing Academy in Tibbitt, Louisiana in July. It's all the best college quarterback. So he's a savvy veteran. They've got an offensive line with seven of their eight top returners back and they're ranked number six in the FCS poll. I mean, these are the kind of games you can't look past.

Steve Sipple (1:47)

No, it would be between North Dakota and Ohio. I will tell you, I'd be shocked if North Dakota's not better in the poll and green. Which is the toughest non-conference foe on Nebraska's slate? It's either North Dakota or Ohio. I'll reserve judgment until I see the game about that.

As far as North Dakota goes, what's enticing to me is what rule Matt said about them on Monday, that they mix power with spread effectively. They have to do that because why? They're in the north. You better be able to run some power when it gets cold, right? But they also can spread you out and whip it around the yard. It's a test. Sean, who's the left tackle from Millard West?

Sean Callahan (2:29)

Trace Staden.

Steve Sipple (2:30)

You know that guy?

Sean Callahan (2:31)

Well, he's a tight end from Millard West. He's 6'7, 309, 306 weight-wise.

Steve Sipple (2:35)

Yeah, he's a big one.

Sean Callahan (2:37)

He is a captain on that team and a pro prospect.

Steve Sipple (2:40)

Yeah. So rule said it's the most well-coached offensive line he's maybe ever seen. I think that's what he said, something like that.

So offensive line, very technical, precise, that's, he didn't, you know, the one thing I noticed on Monday is rule didn't talk much about North Dakota's defense. Was it an offensive-oriented program?

Sean Callahan (3:03)

Well, that's where they're...

Steve Sipple (3:04)

Eric Schmidt's our defensive coach. He's their head coach.

Sean Callahan (3:06)

That's where they're, they lost a lot on defense. And Lance Rucker, their best player, the All-American from Millard South is out.

He's a pass rusher that had 11.5 sacks a year ago. He hurt his foot, so he's unavailable. But yeah, a lot of familiarity, a lot of scheme crossover with Rob Orch, because he worked under Eric Schmidt.

Robin Washett (3:28)

At San Diego State. And they had known each other since Schmidt was at Washington and Orch was at Idaho. So they go way back. A lot of mutual respect there. And it's interesting that Dana said there's a lot of similarities between what they expect to see from North Dakota on Saturday and what they see every day in practice from Rob Orch's system. So I'm wondering how much of an advantage that's going to be that you're probably not going to see a lot of wrinkles that you're not expecting.

So you can maybe game plan a little more accordingly. But to me, this game is all about Nebraska. I mean, I'm sure you can make up or you come up with all the ways that North Dakota is going to challenge Nebraska. But I think if Nebraska shows up and play the way that it's capable of, they should win this one rather convincingly. The question is, where is their heads going to be in this one coming off two straight big wins? People are starting to kind of get some buzz around you, some optimism going. You better show up because as we talked about, if you don't show up and try to go through the motions, look what happened a few years ago when North Dakota came in the stadium and took Nebraska into the fourth quarter in a game that was way closer than anybody thought. So this is a game that I think is going to test Nebraska mentally just as much as it will, X's and O's.