Matt Rhule, Nebraska aim to end 31-game losing streak to ranked opponents vs. No. 7 Indiana

It's been more than 10 years since the Huskers beat a ranked opponent, as the reigning national champion Hoosiers come to Lincoln

Oct 6, 2026 at 11:27 am ET • 2 min read

Ten years and 31 straight losses. 

Nebraska's drought against ranked opponents has gone from frustrating to staggering, and Saturday's showdown with No. 7 Indiana gives the unbeaten Huskers a chance to finally bury it.

Nebraska hasn't beaten a ranked team since Sept. 17, 2016, when Mike Riley's Huskers toppled No. 22 Oregon during a 7-0 start that pushed the program into the top 10. 

Every opportunity since has ended the same way. Now comes Matt Rhule's chance to change that -- and extend Nebraska's best start in a decade.

Rhule carries his own baggage into this one. He entered the season with a 2-25 career record against ranked opponents, a .074 winning percentage that ranked fourth-worst among Big Ten coaches with at least nine such games.

Seven of Rhule's nine losses with the Huskers against top-25 teams have come against league competition, including a pair of narrow setbacks last fall against USC and Michigan.

Nebraska vs. top-25 teams under Matt Rhule

Season	Opponent	Result
2025	vs. No. 15 Utah (Las Vegas Bowl)	L 44-22
2025	vs. No. 23 USC	L 21-17
2025	vs. No. 21 Michigan	L 30-27
2024	at No. 4 Ohio State	L 21-17
2024	at No. 16 Indiana	L 56-7
2024	vs. No. 24 Illinois	L 31-24
2023	vs. No. 17 Iowa	L 13-10
2023	vs. No. 2 Michigan	L 45-7
2023	at No. 22 Colorado	L 36-14

This is where the schedule begins to tighten up for the Huskers, who's two Big Ten victories have come against Michigan State and Maryland -- opponents with combined records of 4-6 this fall without a league win.

After Saturday's game with the Hoosiers, Nebraska travels to No. 13 Oregon and still has to play No. 5 Ohio State and No. 20 Iowa in November.

Indiana hasn't lost a football game since its first-round playoff exit at Notre Dame on Dec. 20, 2024. Curt Cignetti's program has won 21 consecutive contests, including the program's first national championship last season.

The Hoosiers clubbed the Huskers by 49 points en route to their first CFP appearance during the 2024 season, a five-turnover beatdown that Rhule hasn't forgotten.

"I hope it has grown," Rhule said when asked this week if his program has changed since that matchup. "I think we were ranked in one of the polls at that point, right? So, I guess maybe not that far, but I think we've grown. We're just a better football team. I hate looking back, but I guess I should.

"I went back and watched it this week. So, I always look back. I like to feel the pain myself and relive the pain… It was, I think, just poorly done by us as coaches. You know, not giving our guys the best chance. And then kind of maybe panicking a little bit."

Rhule signed a two-year extension through 2032 last October, and this is his first chance during the 2026 season to prove that the investment was worth it.