A game seven years in the making is finally set to be played.
Around this time in 2018, the two programs were set to meet for a season-opening contest. However, adverse weather conditions cancelled the game early. Eventually, Nebraska opted to schedule Bethune-Cookman as a replacement game— which led to Akron’s then-athletic director to call Nebraska out publicly for refusing their offer for a rescheduled game and not paying for their initial appearance.
The issue was eventually litigated and summarily
settled, with $650k paid upfront (approximately half of what the game check for 2018 would have been) and, crucially, a future matchup in 2025 to pay $1.45 million.
Now, seven years later, clear skies and 70 degree temperatures are expected when the two teams are scheduled to appear for kickoff on the Memorial Stadium turf.
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, September 6th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska
- TV network options: The game will be aired nationally on the Big Ten Network; a valid cable subscription is required for viewing. Coverage by Mark Followill (play-by-play) and Anthony Herron (color analyst).
- Radio options: David Skoczen (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (color) will provide the Akron call for WHLO-AM 640; Kyle Crooks (play-by-play) and Damon Benning (color) will provide the Pittsburgh call for the Huskers Audio Network.
- Gambling considerations: Nebraska favored by 34.5 points, with an over/under of 47.5, per FanDuel.
- All-Time Series: Nebraska won the only official meeting between the two teams in 1997 by a final of 59-14.
About the Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Huskers are fresh off a wild neutral-site win in Kansas City over the Cincinnati Bearcats in Week 1. The contest was one which required basically every tick of the clock to clinch, but it was one that counts the right way nonetheless.
Their obvious point of interest is the true sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola. The former five-star prospect was handed the keys to the offense in 2024, finishing with 2,819 passing yards and 13 touchdowns on a 67.1 completion percentage. Raiola’s statline vs. Cincy (33-of-42 for 243 yards and two touchdowns) seem to suggest he’ll continue his pace or improve it.
The young Raiola will have a pair of transfer receivers with starting experience to toss the ball to in former Kentucky Wildcat Dane Key (132 career receptions, 1,921 yards, 15 touchdowns) and former Cal Golden Bear Nyziah Hunter (40 receptions for 578 yards and five touchdowns in 2024), as well as an experienced offensive line which has 227 combined games and 123 combined starts— good for 10th and 13th in the NCAA respectively. Tight end Luke Lindenmeyer will be a name to look for in the middle of the field after collecting five catches for 47 yards last week. Junior halfback Emmet Johnson is the bellcow, with 25 carries for 108 yards and seven receptions for 27 yards in the season opener.
On defense, Nebraska stifled the Bearcats on neutral ground, limiting Cincy to 271 total yards of offense— including a paltry 69 yards passing.
The unit is going to rely a lot on transfer talent, with fifth-year linebacker Marques Watson-Trent (367 career tackles), formerly of Georgia Southern, leading the middle of the defense in 2025. Watson-Trent will be joined by former Oklahoma Sooner Dasan McCullough (100 career tackles, 12.5 TFLs, four sacks.) Williams Nwaneri, who joined from Missouri, was a high-impact player last week at defensive end, with six tackles, a PBU, a QB hit and a fumble recovery.
Corners Ceyair Wright (79 tackles, two TFLs, sack, three interceptions, 11 PBUs) and Andrew Marshall (72 career tackles, 1.5 TFLs, eight PBUs, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in two seasons at FCS Idaho) join defensive back Malcolm Hartzog Jr. (108 career tackles, 4.5 TFLs, eight interceptions, 13 PBUs) to man the secondary for the Huskers.
About the Akron Zips
The Zips, in their fourth season under the care of Joe Moorhead, went stumbling out of the gate in a season-opener at home, falling to the Wyoming Cowboys in a 10-0 rock fight.
It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.
Akron’s defense was a bend-and-break unit which excelled in situational play in Week 1, allowing only one touchdown late in the fourth quarter while also keeping the Cowboys to 9-of-20 on third-down attempts and 1-of-2 on redzone attempts (yielding a single field goal.) Akron also managed to nab an interception on Wyoming to help their case— though they did give up a less-than-ideal 426 yards of total offense.
The Zips collected six tackles-for-loss and six pass break-ups as a unit vs. Wyoming, finding opportunities here and there for plays. Shammond Cooper (10 tackles, half-TFL) and Division II up-transfer Julien Laventure (four takcles, 1.5 TFLs, one QB hit) are highlight players in the run game, while the defensive back trio of Malcolm DeWalt IV (two PBUs), Justin Anderson and Alex Branch (nine tackles each) lead the passing game effort.
Offense, which has normally been a decent unit for past Akron teams under Moorhead, looked pretty woeful in the first week, and it won’t be getting any easier against a Nebraska team sitting just outside of the AP Top 25.
Quarterback Ben Finley was 16-of-38 for 139 yards and an interception, while the rushing attack combined for 89 yards on 28 carries. The receiver corps is also a work-in-progress, with eight receivers getting at least one reception. Redshirt freshman running back Sean Patrick (four catches, 47 yards) led the receiving attack last week, an indication work needs to be done in that department.
Special teams was also below-average for Akron, with Owen Wiley missing a chip-shot field goal near the end of the first half. Brayden Johnson and Joseph Castle split punting duties, averaging 47 net yards over eight punts.
Final Thoughts
If Akron had looked a bit more punchy on offense, there would be some belief they could at least keep the game within a few scores. However, as with most sports, you have to see it on the field before you can believe it, and so far, Akron hasn’t shown the ability to not beat themselves, much less other teams.
Nebraska has re-loaded in the offseason with the aim of being an outside contender for a Big Ten title, and at are bigger, stronger and faster than the Zips at every positional unit. It’s hard to see Akron to be in fighting distance unless the Huskers absolutely fail to execute— which would say more about the Nebraska coaching staff than anything else.
The Zips will have to be near-perfect to pull off an upset, and after seeing their performance against Wyoming, it’s hard to feel optimistic.
