There were plenty of bumps along the way, but business was handled for the Nebraska football teamin the opening week of the college football season.
A leaky secondary and slippery hands from the wide receivers plagued the Huskers early , who were on upset watch across the country after leading by just 14-13 at halftime over Ohio . However, the Cornhuskers ramped it up in the final 30 minutes by outscoring the Bobcats 35-8 with two big-play scores from Mekhi Nelson.
New Husker signal caller Anthony Colandrea looked as advertised and put together an NU debut that saw him contribute four total touchdowns. The UNLV transfer went 18-for-32 through the air for 275 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 23 on the ground with one score. However, it was true freshman Jamal Rulewho stole the show as the North Carolina native gashed Ohio for 122 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. He also hauled in two catches, including a 24-yard touchdown to put Nebraska ahead midway through the second quarter.
Head coach Matt Rhuleand his staff will look to clean up the mistakes heading into week two as the Huskers welcome another MAC opponent to Memorial Stadium. Here's all you need to know as Bowling Green visits Lincoln for a Saturday night battle.
Matchup:Nebraska (1-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. Bowling Green (0-1, 0-0 MAC)
When:Saturday, Sept. 12
Where:Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
Time:6 p.m. CDT
Watch:FS1
Spread:Nebraska (-30.5) | O/U 51.5
Broadcasters:Eric Collins (PxP) & Spencer Tillman (Analyst)
Bowling Green head coach Eddie George owns a record of 4-9 with the Falcons, who dropped their 2026 season opener. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Eddie George | 2nd season at Bowling Green; 6th as head coach
4-9 (.308) at Bowling Green; 28-31 (.475) as head coach
1x Big South-OVC Coach OTY
Previous head coach at Tennessee State
Did not qualify for the postseason.
Record:4-8 (2-6 MAC, T-11th)
Conference Awards:Freshman of the Year (Cameron Pettaway)
All-MAC:3x First Team, 2x Second Team, 2x Third Team.
First meeting
Bowling Green linebacker Dorian Pringle led all Falcons with 16 total tackles in the season opener against Tarleton State. | Bowling Green Athletics
Austyn Dendy | RB | Soph. | Two-year transfer from Missouri that was preseason All-MAC and started out his season with 60 yards and a touchdown.
Dorian Pringle | LB | Soph. | Led the Falcons in tackles through the first three games of 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury. Started his 2026 campaign by tallying a team-high 16 tackles.
Kal-El Pascal | FS | Jr. | Bowling Green's starting free safety entered 2026 with high expectations after racking up 80 tackles, four TFLs, five PBUs, one interception and two forced fumbles in 2025.
Myles Bradley | DE | Sr. | Preseason All-MAC honors after a redshirt junior campaign in 2025 that saw him lead the Falcons with five sacks and three forced fumbles on the year.
Winn Sharp | WR | Soph. | The 6-foot-5 pass catcher appeared in all 12 games last year and returns in 2026 as one of three starting receivers.
Eriq George | DE | Sr. | The son of head coach Eddie George entered 2026 as preseason All-MAC First Team after making four sacks and four TFLs during the 2025 season as a junior.
Brennan Ridley | WR | Jr. | Named a FCS Freshman All-American at Hampton before transferring to Bowling Green ahead of the 2025 season. Recorded five catches and 44 yards in the season opener against Tarleton State .
Jeremiah Scoby | TE | Soph. | The second-year tight end exploded in his 2026 season debut with a team-leading ten catches for 102 yards versus Tarleton State.
Brody Bolyn | OG | Jr. | Appeared in eight games last season before taking over as the starting left guard for the Falcons in 2026.
Alexis Sanchez | C | Sr. | Spent the spring of 2025 at Tennessee State before joining George at Bowling Green the next semester where he appeared in all 12 games. Now starts at center for the Falcons.
Alex Harris | OG | Soph. | Starting right guard for Bowling Green after appearing in eight games during the 2025 season across 45 snaps.
James Thomas Jr. | OT | Jr. | Entered 2026 as a preseason All-MAC selection after starting in two of his 12 appearances last season for the Falcons.
Bowling Green quarterback Jay Kastantin (17) transferred from Division II Assumption during the offseason to join the Falcons. | Bowling Green Athletics
Jay Kastantin | QB | Jr. | The Falcons' starting quarterback spent three seasons at NCAA Division II Aussumption before transferring in January; passed for 262 yards on 24-for-30 efficiency in the season-opening loss against Tarleton State.
Gabe Funk | OT | Soph. | Joined BGSU in January after transferring from Appalachian State where he appeared in just one game over two seasons.
Drey Braxton | DB | Jr. | One of two starting cornerbacks for the Falcons after spending the past two seasons at NC Central where he compiled 44 tackles. 2.5 TFLs, one ssac, three picks, 11 passes defended and one forced fumble in 19 career games.
Sanders Ellis | LB | Jr. | Started his college career with George at Tennessee State where he was a FCS Freshman All-American. Transferred to Purdue for the 2025 campaign appearing in 11 games before reuniting with George at Bowling Green for 2026.
Kade Kostus | DL | R-Sr. | Spending his final season with BGSU after appearing in 28 games and 15 starts across four years at Central Michigan.
Selah Brown | DL | Gr. | The Falcon's starting nose tackle transferred from Louisville where he was limited to 16 games and two career tackles from 2022-2025.
Cameron Pettaway | RB | Transfer | Joined Jimmy Rogers and the new staff at Iowa State over the offseason after winning 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year honors when he led the nation in kick return average (33.0) and totaling 365 rushing yards on 72 attempts.
Jyrin Johnson | TE | Graduated | Capped off his college career with First Team All-MAC honors and owning the No. 1 active reception streak in the country at 45 games. Led the Falcons and all MAC tight ends with 466 receiving yards on 37 catches and two scores.
Gideon ESPN Lampron | LB | Transfer | Now at Colorado after being named First Team All-MAC in 2025 and being the only player in the country to record over 100 tackles and more than 15 TFLs. Totaled 119 tackles, 17.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a PBU on the season.
MJ Cannon | CB | Transfer | The former Illinois State transfer earned Third Team All-MAC recognition in 2025 after posting 57 tackles, seven TFLs, two sacks, three PBUs and two interceptions. Now at Cincinnati after transferring over the offseason.
Tunde Fatukasi | OT | Graduated | The former Rutgers transfer started all 12 games as a senior in 2025 with 689 snaps at left tackle and 72 at center.
Jake Burns | OG | Graduated | Started in all 11 appearances he had in 2025 at left guard with 33 snaps coming on special teams.
Nate Pabst | OT | Graduated | The 6-foot-5 starting tackle for the Falcons earned All-MAC Second Team honors after allowing just one sack across 354 pass plays in 2025 for his final college season.
Cameron Pettaway transferred to Iowa State after winning 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year honors as the country's leading kickoff returner. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Eddie George era at Bowling Green didn't get off to the best start in 2025. With four different quarterbacks receiving starting reps, the lack of consistency doomed the Falcons to a 4-8 record in the first campaign under George. Expectations weren't much higher entering 2026 as Bowling Green were tabbed to finish ninth in the MAC preseason poll. Those sank even lower following the Falcons' brutal season-opening loss to Tarleton State 20-13 at home.
Looking for a silver lining, Bowling Green may have found their answer at quarterback. Six-foot-4 signal caller Jay Kastantin appeared in 22 career games with Division II Aussumption, where he racked up over 3,600 passing yards and 28 touchdowns. Plus, he racked up over 700 yards and nine scores on the ground while winning 2025 Northeast-10 MVP honors. He was really efficient against Tarleton State in going 24-for-30 with 262 yards. BGSU had to rebuild its pass catching group over the offseason after losing First Team All-MAC tight end Jyrin Johnson to graduation, but Kastantin has already found chemistry with his new tight end. Sophomore Jeremiah Scoby hauled in a game-high 10 catches for 102 yards on Saturday and looks to be the Falcon's biggest receiving threat.
Returning running back Austyn Dendy proved to have some juice in his first game of the season after leading the Falcons with 60 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown. However, the depth behind him is limited after 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year Cameron Pettaway joined the new staff at Iowa State over the offseason.
Bowling Green also lost a lot defensively, including leading tackler Gideon ESPN Lampron. He transferred to Colorado after a standout campaign that saw him be the only player in the country to tally over 100 tackle and more than 17.5 TFLs. Plus, All-MAC corner MJ Cannon transferred in-state to Cincinnati.
Bowling Green tight end Jeremiah Scoby exploded in the 2026 season opener with 102 yards on 10 catches versus Tarleton State. | Bowling Green Athletics
The Falcons did receive a huge lift in the return of Dorian Pringle. He was leading the team in tackles through the first three games of 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury. He was back in time for the 2026 season opener and ended the game as the team's leading tackler with 16. Starting free safety Kal-El Pascal entered 2026 with high expectations after racking up 80 tackles, four TFLs, five PBUs, one interception and two forced fumbles in 2025.
The defensive line is in good shape with the return of 2025 leading sack artist Myles Bradley who also added three forced fumbles. Eriq George - son of Eddie - is also back for his final college season after four sacks and four TFLs in 2025. Louisville transfer Selah Brown made four tackles at nose tackle against Tarleton State while Central Michigan transfer Kade Kostus also starts on the defensive front. Sanders Ellis was a FCS Freshman All-American with George at Tennessee State in 2024 before spending 2025 at Purdue. He reunited with George at Bowling Green after transferring over the offseason.
You can see the pieces for an intriguing defense, but they fell flat in the loss to Tarleton State when allowing 464 yards of offense, including 258 on the ground. Kastantin and Scoby have already found chemistry, but it's hard to think that the Falcons will have any success in the running game after just 104 yards last week. Based off of last week, expect to see Bowling Green come out throwing the football with Kastantin to test the adjustments made from Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich.
However, with it being a night game and a much worse MAC opponent, put me down for big Husker victory and another standout performance from Jamal Ruleon the ground.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/nebraska as How to Watch Nebraska Football vs. Bowling Green with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel .
