Nebraska 49-21 Ohio (Sep 5, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Ohio · Nebraska

Ohio0-121

Nebraska1-049Final

Sat, Sep 5 · Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE), Lincoln, Neb. · Crowd 85,577

Nebraska routed Ohio 49-21.

We had Nebraska favored. It won.

Next: Ohio beat Jacksonville State 29-27, Sat Sep 12

Next: Nebraska beat Bowling Green 56-7, Sat Sep 12

Top comment in the game thread

This announcer still thinks there is 3 seconds left...

Q2 0:40 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Sep 5

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Nebraska a 64% chance, and the closing betting line (Nebraska was a 23.5-point favorite) put it at 97%.

FinalNebraska 49-21 OhioNebraska wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

No single play moved the chance by 20 points.

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 10:38Nebraska returner goes backwards on kickoff, drawing widespread mockery from fansGreat 40 yard run there… shame 10 were backwards and 20 were sideways.r/CFB game threadAaaaand he will never return another kickr/CFB game thread
Q2 0:40Quoted at the top of the page.So I see the Ohio coach is also an idiot A good ol fashioned idiot bowlr/CFB game thread

Nebraska’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Nebraska -23.5), at 93% for Nebraska (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Nebraska or Ohio flair (1,258 and 61); both sides share one scale, regulation only.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Nebraska’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Nebraska scored on 7 of its 11 drives; Ohio on 4 of its 12.

Nebraska’s drives are teal, Ohio’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

“Fans in the stadium need to boo louder”

A Nebraska fan

How fans reacted

Quiet

Fans had the most to say in the second quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was quiet; the crowd was steady.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Ohio fans

poulos“Poulos is going to give me a heart attack with these wild drop the ball for an excellent play tactics”

What it cost

Ohio’s chance to make the playoff fell from 1% to 0%.

Make the playoff

Ohio · lost1% → ▼0%

Nebraska · won3% → ▲4%

Win the conference

Ohio · lost10% → ▼9%

Nebraska · won1% → ▼0%

Before the game (September 4, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Nebraska 49, Ohio 21

Nebraska covered −23.5 by 4.5. The total, 70, went over 47.5.

Team totals	Ohio	Nebraska
Total yards	303	523
Passing	14 of 32, 164 yds	18 of 32, 275 yds
Rushing	33 for 139 yds	42 for 248 yds
First downs	17	28
Third down	6 of 15	9 of 14
Fourth down	1 of 1	1 of 2
Turnovers	1	0
Penalties	2 for 30 yds	9 for 65 yds
Time of possession	29:21	30:39

Ohio leaders

Passing Nick Poulos 14 of 31, 164 yds, 1 TD
Rushing Nick Poulos 10 for 70 yds, 1 TD; Duncan Brune 9 for 32 yds
Receiving Riley Neer 6 for 104 yds, 1 TD; Dom Dorwart 2 for 29 yds

Nebraska leaders

Passing Anthony Colandrea 18 of 32, 275 yds, 3 TD
Rushing Jamal Rule 15 for 122 yds, 2 TD; Mekhi Nelson 10 for 64 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Mekhi Nelson 2 for 65 yds, 1 TD; Jacory Barney Jr. 5 for 60 yds

Feels like 96° to 106° through the game

90° at kickoff · feels like 96° to 106° · no rain recorded

A feels-like 106° is hotter than the peak in 99% of games since 2018.

Each gray tick is one game. The black line is the typical game.

Warmer than every one of the 66 other games played at Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE) since 2016 (airport temperature during the game window). The usual here around this date is 74°, with about 7 in 10 games between 65° and 88°.

September game-day temperatures at Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE)

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

First quarter, 14:48 left11:04 a.m.

Ohio 0, Nebraska 0 · Nebraska 93% to win

no rain · 90°, feels like 96°

Poulos 68-yd pass to Neer

Where this weather comes from

Measured at Lincoln airport, 3.1 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games · 2025 season

Ohio · 9-4

Rated 50th in our preseason ratings.

W 17-10 vs UNLV #65 of 667

won by 7 as a 6.5-point underdog

W 31-26 @ Buffalo #146 of 667

won by 5 as a 7.5-point favorite

W 42-14 vs Massachusetts #263 of 667

won by 28 as a 34.5-point favorite

L 13-17 @ Western Michigan #94 of 667

lost by 4 as a 1.5-point underdog

W 24-20 vs Miami (OH) #81 of 667

won by 4 as a 2.5-point favorite

W 28-21 @ Eastern Michigan #167 of 667

won by 7 as a 13.5-point favorite

W 48-21 vs Northern Illinois #164 of 667

won by 27 as an 11.5-point favorite

L 14-20 @ Ball State #159 of 667

lost by 6 as a 14.5-point favorite

W 35-20 vs Bowling Green #105 of 667

won by 15 as a 7.5-point favorite

W 52-35 vs Gardner-Webb #167 of 667

won by 17 as a 29.5-point favorite

L 9-37 @ Ohio StateTop 25 #1 of 667

lost by 28 as a 28.5-point underdog

W 17-10 vs West Virginia #56 of 667

won by 7 as a 3.5-point underdog

L 31-34 @ Rutgers #58 of 667

lost by 3 as a 15.5-point underdog

Last three games · 2025 season

Nebraska · 7-6

Rated 40th in our preseason ratings.

L 22-44 @ UtahTop 25 #12 of 667

lost by 22 as a 13.5-point underdog

L 16-40 vs IowaTop 25 #27 of 667

lost by 24 as a 5.5-point underdog

L 10-37 @ Penn StateTop 25 #13 of 667

lost by 27 as a 7.5-point underdog

W 28-21 @ UCLA #62 of 667

won by 7 as a 2.5-point underdog

L 17-21 vs USCTop 25 #14 of 667

lost by 4 as a 4.5-point underdog

W 28-21 vs Northwestern #61 of 667

won by 7 as a 7.5-point favorite

L 6-24 @ Minnesota #53 of 667

lost by 18 as a 6.5-point favorite

W 34-31 @ Maryland #52 of 667

won by 3 as a 6.5-point favorite

W 38-27 vs Michigan State #70 of 667

won by 11 as a 12.5-point favorite

L 27-30 vs MichiganTop 25 #15 of 667

lost by 3 as a 1.5-point underdog

W 59-7 vs Houston Christian #206 of 667

won by 52 as a 46.5-point favorite

W 68-0 vs Akron #158 of 667

won by 68 as a 33.5-point favorite

W 20-17 @ CincinnatiTop 25 #51 of 667

won by 3 as a 5.5-point favorite

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Nebraska’s explosive plays against Ohio, 59 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Nebraska’s explosive plays against Ohio’s defense
Nebraska offense, 93rd percentile · Ohio defense, 34th
Ohio’s passing EPA against Nebraska’s defense
Ohio offense, 42nd percentile · Nebraska defense, 92nd
Nebraska’s EPA/play against Ohio’s defense
Nebraska offense, 83rd percentile · Ohio defense, 47th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

OhioNebraska

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Nebraska fans are feeling it about like the typical fanbase this week (47th among FBS fanbases), and the other side is no happier.

Nebraska favored by 23.5 · Total 47.5

How games like this usually go

Nebraska by 23.5, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 411 games since 2025 with a favorite of 21.5 points or more.

The market

The books’ cut: 3.8%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Hot and dry. Feels like 100° at kickoff.

Ohio at Nebraska · Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 · Memorial Stadium, Lincoln

100°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
45weather score, Harsh
3rdbest of the day's 7 kickoff times

At kickoff, Sept. 5, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Kickoff times that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 7 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was the third best of the day's seven kickoff times. At Memorial Stadium that day, a 7 pm kickoff would have scored 67, against 45 at 11 am.

11 am: 45, Harsh (this game)
noon: 40, Harsh
2:30 pm: 36, Harsh
3:15 pm: 37, Harsh
4 pm: 37, Harsh
6 pm: 55, Rough
7 pm: 67, Rough

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Sept. 5, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

Nebraska is worth +5.2 points (±3.9) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 69th percentile.

47% at home, 28% on the road against FBS opponents (24-27 home, 11-29 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.2 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±5.9 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 778 miles to get here.

The story going in

Nebraska adds transfer RB Tikey HayesJul 15, 2026

Nebraska routs Ohio 49-21