Sports
Ohio Football falls to Big Ten opponent, Nebraska, in season opener
By: Reece Merkel
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LINCOLN, Neb. (WOUB) — The Ohio Bobcats (0-1) traveled to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0) for the opening game of the 2026 season. The Huskers would take the season opener, 49-21.
Coming into this game, Ohio only had one returning starter on offense, which was receiver Dom Dorwart. Dorwart will have a new quarterback throwing to him in Nick Poulos. Poulos is making his second career start with the Bobcats, with the first coming in the 2024 season against Kentucky.
To lead up to the action, former head coach of both teams, Frank Solich, flipped the coin to start the college football season for both programs.
The Bobcats started the season with the ball, and on the first play from scrimmage Poulos connected with Riley Neer for a 68-yard reception, which immediately put Ohio inside the Cornhuskers’ seven-yard-line. Again, Poulos found Neer in the right side of the endzone for the first touchdown of the season, giving the Bobcats the lead, 7-0.
Nebraska also has a new quarterback this season, but the Bobcats are already familiar with him. UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea is with the Cornhuskers, making his first start with them.
Now Colandrea has his chance to get his get back against Ohio, which started with 24-yard hand off to running back Isaiah Mozee.
The Huskers glided down field, ending up inside the Ohio five-yard line. Nebraska would tie up the game on a one-yard rush by freshman Jamal Rule, 7-7.
Poulos had found his footing, as he gained 28-yards using his feet. The Bobcat offense was right on the edge of the redzone, but the Cornhuskers’ defense was just too strong, making the Bobcats settle for a field goal, which gave them the lead again, 10-7.
Colandrea and the Nebraska offense went back on the field, looking to respond to the Ohio score. They did just that, starting the drive with a 27-yard completion to Jacory Barney Jr., already putting them past midfield. That would be the last big play from the Cornhusker’s offense, as they would be derailed by two false start penalties, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Bobcats.
To end the first quarter, Poulos would connect with Dorwart for 20 yards, putting them eight yards away from midfield. Immediately, Poulos and the Bobcats would find themselves in a third and long situation, but a personal foul on the Huskers would give them an automatic first to keep the drive going. That penalty would be crucial as it would lead to three points for Ohio as they grew their lead, 13-7.
Nebraska’s offense came out fired up behind the home crowd of 85 thousand people, letting the air raid go wild on the Bobcat defense. Kendall Bannister would make a costly mistake, with a penalty, that led to a 24-yard touchdown for the Huskers to take the lead, 14-13, going into half.
Coming back from half, neither team would be able to pick up where they left off, as the Huskers went three-and-out, and Will Hryszko would miss a game leading field goal, wide right.
That missed kick was all Nebraska needed, as they would march down the field the next drive to extend their lead even further off a quarterback keeper by Colandrea, making it 21-13.
That momentum shift gave the Cornhuskers the energy they needed, as the defense would shut down the Bobcat offense forcing a three-and-out. The Huskers’ offense would jog right back on the field and make quick work of the Ohio defense, finishing the drive with a 24-yard rushing touchdown by Mekhi Nelson, pushing the lead further, 28-13.
The beginning of the fourth quarter saw a surge from the Bobcat offense, after a muffled snap that turned into a 14-yard reception by AJ Miller, Ohio drove down to the Nebraska one yard line; trying to mount a comeback. Poulos would finish the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown, and the two-point conversion would make this a one score game, 28-21.
The offense scheme for the Cornhuskers was simple, wear down the defense. They started that scheme but also scored quickly on a 51-yard pass to Mekhi Nelson for his second touchdown of the day, extending the lead once more, 35-21.
After a quick three-and-out, the Nebraska offense would score once more, extending the lead by 21, 42-21. Head coach John Hauser would change up the offense for the next drive, bringing in the transfer quarterback, Matt Vezza. The drive would be short, as Vezza would throw his first interception as a Bobcat. The Huskers would capitalize on the mistake, scoring one last time, to bring the score to 49-21.
Ohio would run out the rest of the clock, ending the season opener with a loss to Nebraska, 49-21.
Despite the loss, coach Hauser was pleased with Poulos’ play in the game, “I thought he did an unbelievable job of composure, of deciding to run… just unbelievable effort by him,” said Hauser.
Ohio has their home opener next week, Sept. 12, against Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. Nebraska looks to start 2-0, when they face Bowling Green State on Sept. 12, at 7 p.m.