Big Ten announces full slate of dates, matchups for Year 3 of Matt Rhule Era

The Nebraska football schedule for the 2025 season was released on Wednesday afternoon by the Big Ten.

It’s pretty darn favorable for those Husker fans who want to attend a game at Memorial Stadium before the calendar turns and the temperatures begin to dip.

The Huskers already knew their 12-game schedule for Year 3 of the Matt Rhule Era. Now, however, they have the dates for their 2025 slate as the Big Ten revealed the full path for quarterback Dylan Raiola, new full-time coordinator Dana Holgorsen and the offense, plus new coordinator John Butler leading the defense.

Nebraska’s home and away games for the 2025 season – plus one neutral-site matchup – were already locked in and known publicly, including the dates for its three non-conference games to open the season against Cincinnati (Aug. 30), Akron (Sept. 6) and Houston Christian (Sept. 13). Plus, Nebraska and Iowa already had their annual Black Friday rivalry game set for Nov. 28 next year.

HOME: Akron (non-conf.), Houston Christian (non-conf.), Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, USC

AWAY: Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State, UCLA

NEUTRAL: Cincinnati (Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)

Following the three non-conference matchups to open the season, the Huskers will remain in town for two more home tilts.

Nebraska will host Michigan on Sept. 20 as the Huskers open their Big Ten schedule at home for the second consecutive season. Prior to hosting Illinois at Memorial Stadium in 2024, the Huskers had played their Big Ten opener on the road for seven straight seasons (2017-23) dating back to a win over Rutgers in September 2017.

After that four-game run to kick things off, the Huskers will hit their first of two bye weeks (OFF Weeks) as they get to relax a bit during the weekend of Sept. 26-27.

Then, they return to the field with yet another game at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 4 against Michigan State.

That gives Rhule and Co. four consecutive home games right out of the gate – including two Big Ten home games in a row to start the conference slate – following the neutral-site game versus Cincinnati in the season opener.

Making that initial six-week start even more home-friendly for Nebraska: Husker athletic director Troy Dannen said in November that he anticipated the game with the Bearcats being moved from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs. While that news has not been made official as of yet, that change would certainly offer up an even more friendly first half of the fall for the Huskers if it does indeed take place.

Following their battle with the Spartans, the Huskers will hit the road for the first time with back-to-back away games at Maryland on Oct. 11 and at Minnesota on Oct. 18.

Then, the Huskers follow up that two-week road trip with a two-week staycation: Nebraska will play back-to-back home games against Northwestern on Oct. 25 and against USC on Nov. 1 before hitting the final three-game stretch.

The rest of the November slate features a road game at UCLA on Nov. 8, their second-and-final bye week, and then what will be their most difficult matchup of the season (on paper as we sit here in December 2024) at Penn State on Nov. 15. Then, the Huskers will wrap the regular season as they always do with the Black Friday rivalry game against Iowa, this one coming on Nov. 28 inside Memorial Stadium.

All kickoff times and TV information for Nebraska’s 2025 matchups will be determined at a later date.