Common Fan - A Nebraska Football Podcast

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s comeback win against Maryland on Saturday. 

• The Huskers give up two 10 point leads, and were losing with under two minutes to go, before pulling out a 34-31 victory.
• HUGE PROGRESS: Putting together not one but two 4th quarter scoring drives to ultimately propel the team to victory. 
• SPECIAL TEAMS AGAIN! The kickoff return team has entered the chat.

Brandon Vogel from The Counter Read joins the Common Fans to talk about the win over Michigan State and look ahead to Saturday’s game vs. Maryland.  

• Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the win over Michigan State was the huge step forward taken by the defense. 
• Blackshirts becoming a havoc defense. 
• The way the Huskers finished–scoring 24 unanswered points even after stalling in the middle part of the game–makes the 2025 squad seem...

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s roller coaster win over the Spartans.  

• Nebraska looked like they were going to cruise to victory after opening a 14-0 lead early in the game.
• After MSU scored 21 unanswered points, the Big Red appeared lost.
• Huskers come roaring back to take over the game and ultimately win comfortably, 38-27.
• Breakthrough game for the defense.
• Special teams comes up huge. 
• Dylan doesn’t quit.
• Discussing Nebraska’s ...

The Omaha World Herald’s Evan Bland joins the Common Fans to talk about the Michigan game, the first third of the season, and reasons for optimism for the Huskers in 2025. 

Reasons for optimism in 2025:

• Dylan Raiola is playing at an elite level. 
• Best group of wide receivers Nebraska has had in years. 
• Pass defense is the best in the nation. 
• Special...

The Common Fans are spicy as they discuss Nebraska’s frustrating loss to Michigan. 

• Nebraska lost–at times badly–at both lines of scrimmage. 
• The Nebraska run defense was gashed to the tune of almost 300 yards. 
• The Husker offensive line could not contain Michigan’s defenders, and the offense didn’t do much of anything in the 2nd half.
• Special teams bugaboos rear their ugly ...

Brian Christopherson joins the Common Fans to discuss the big game against Michigan and Nebraska’s 2025 season to date. 

• How much can we take from Akron and HCU?
• Trying to contain the running threat posed by Michigan’s Bryce Underwood and Justice Haynes. 
• Looking at Nebraska’s strengths vs. the Wolverines.
• Still no clarity at RB after Emmett Johnson.
• Will Nebrask...

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s dominating win over Houston Christian and look ahead to the long-awaited Michigan game. 

• For an 11am kickoff after a massive win over Akron last weekend, both the team and the crowd still brought the energy. 
• The Dane Key coming out party. 
• Defense dominates, but much stiffer tests await.
• Do we need to worry about the front seven on defense going into Big Ten play?  
• Starters out by halftime. 
• Is Kw...

Adam Carriker joins the Common Fans to discuss the wins over Akron and Cincinnati and the road ahead for the Big Red. 

• Matt Rhule’s fiery halftime speech and what it indicates about Rhule as a head coach. 
• How critical it was for Nebraska to get the W over Cincinnati.
• The huge benefit of three weeks of practice (and two likely wins) in the time between Cincinnati and Michigan. 
• What to make of Nebraska’s Big Ten schedule. 
• Can we be...

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s dominating win over Akron.

• Not much went wrong for the Big Red on Saturday night, as Nebraska dominated Akron in every facet of the game. 
• While the Zips are clearly not very good, it was still a sign of progress for this program to put away a team in such an overwhelming fashion. 
• A win like this was what everyone needed: the team, the program, the entire fan base, all of Husker Nation. 
• Six diff...

Gary Sharp joins the Common Fans to share his reactions to the Cincinnati game and talk about what’s next for Nebraska football.

• Gary saw plenty of issues for the Huskers to fix, but the game didn’t fundamentally change his outlook for the Big Red in 2025.
• Defensive line, depth at running back are obvious areas in need of improvement. 
• Gary also mentions the linebacker play as something...

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s thrilling win over Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium. 

• The Huskers showed plenty of promise on Thursday night, but the team also has lots to work on. 
• The Nebraska team that showed up at Arrowhead Stadium does not look like a playoff team…but that doesn’t mean the Big Red can’t still put together a special run in 2025.
• The most important thing was gettin...

The Common Fans celebrate the end of the offseason and the beginning of another season of Nebraska football! Before getting to their bold predictions, there is much to discuss regarding the latest and greatest surrounding Husker football: 

• The debate over whether or not you can be a fan of more than one college football team. 
• National commentators predicting Nebraska in the playoffs.
• Josh Pate, Phil Steele, Geoff Schwartz, Brando...

Mike’l Severe joins the Common Fans for the third of a three-episode series, breaking down every game on Nebraska’s schedule. The episodes will be released Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week, in anticipation of Nebraska’s first game next week. 

Today, Mike’l and the Common Fans go through the final four games on the Huskers’ schedule. 

On the game against USC in Lincoln:

• With US...

Mike’l Severe joins the Common Fans for the second of a three-episode series, breaking down every game on Nebraska’s schedule. The episodes will be released Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week, in anticipation of Nebraska’s first game next week. 

Today, Mike’l and the Common Fans go through the middle four games of the Huskers’ schedule. 

On the game against Michigan State:

• The c...

Mike’l Severe joins the Common Fans for the first of a three-episode series, breaking down every game on Nebraska’s schedule. The episodes will be released Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week, in anticipation of Nebraska’s first game next week. 

Today, Mike’l and the Common Fans go through the first four games of Nebraska’s schedule. 

On the opener against Cincinnati:

• The crew se...

Broadcasting legend Tim Brando joins the Common Fans to discuss the upcoming season, the outlook for Nebraska, his favorite to win the Big Ten, his old friend Lee Corso, plus much more! 

Brando sees the Huskers taking another step forward in 2025:

• Last year, Brando came on the Common Fan Podcast and correctly predicted Nebraska would make a bowl game and have a winning season in 2024. 
• ...

The Common Fans discuss the impact offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen and special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler will have for Nebraska football in 2025. 

• In order to take the patented Year 3 leap under Matt Rhule, the Huskers will almost certainly need to win close games. 
• What can turn close losses into wins? Improvement on offense and special teams. 
• Holgorsen brings swagger and a s...

Tom Osborne biographer Henry Cordes of the Omaha World Herald and Brandon Vogel of the Counter Read Newsletter join the Common Fans for the final episode of the Tom Osborne series. 

• Simply put, TO is the best coach in Nebraska football history, and one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. 
• Beloved by his players to this day.
• Deep and lasting connection to his players, built on a concern for them first as people an...

College Football Hall of Famer Grant Wistrom and Omaha World Herald legend Tom Shatel join the Common Fans for the fifth episode of the Tom Osborne series. This episode focuses on the 1995-1997 seasons. 

• The dominance of the 1995 team.
• Averaged over 53 points per game; gave up just 14 and a half.
• They averaged more than 556 rushing yards per game. 
• No team came ...