The Bowling Green Falcons visit the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026 at 7 p.m. ET from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Bowling Green opened its season with a 20-13 loss to Tarleton State to move to 0-1, while Nebraska is 1-0 by way of a 49-21 win over Ohio. Nebraska's offense set the pace in that opener. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and running back Jamal Rule added 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go with 47 receiving yards and another score.
Bowling Green's opener looked different. Quarterback Jay Kastantin passed for 262 yards without a touchdown or an interception, and running back Austyn Dendy led the ground game with 60 yards and a touchdown in the loss. The Cornhuskers are 29.5-point favorites over the Falcons at DraftKings, with a total of 51.5 and a moneyline of -7143 for the Cornhuskers and +1875 for the Falcons.
Below, we'll give you all the details you need to know about how to watch this game. How to Watch Bowling Green vs. Nebraska Players to Watch Nebraska's offense looked different with Anthony Colandrea running it, and Saturday's opener was proof.
The UNLV transfer completed 18 of 32 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his Huskers debut, adding a rushing score in a 49-21 win over Ohio. He now gets a Bowling Green defense that couldn't hold off FCS Tarleton State in a season-opening loss, a chance for Colandrea to keep spreading the ball to targets like Jacory Barney and Kwazi Gilmer without a slow start to shake off. Another clean, turnover-free outing would put Nebraska's offense ahead of schedule under its new starter.
Bowling Green handed its starting job to Jay Kastantin over Oregon transfer Austin Novosad, and the redshirt passer answered by going 24 of 30 for 283 yards in a season-opening loss to Tarleton State. That kind of efficiency faces a real test against a Nebraska secondary that ranked third nationally against the pass a year ago and returns cover men like Donovan Jones and Rex Guthrie. Kastantin's path to this job is unusual; he didn't take over at quarterback full time until his senior year of high school.
A cleaner outing, without the turnovers that hurt Bowling Green in Week 1, would give the Falcons a real shot on the road. Nebraska found its running back answer in a hurry, and Jamal Rule is why. The true freshman piled up 169 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on just 17 touches in his college debut, rushing for 122 yards and two scores against Ohio to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
He runs behind an offensive line facing a Bowling Green defense that just allowed 250 rushing yards to a single back, Tylan Hines, in the Falcons' season-opening loss to Tarleton State. Another heavy workload for Rule would keep Nebraska's offense balanced and take pressure off Colandrea's arm. Austyn Dendy carries Bowling Green's identity on early downs, and Nebraska's retooled defensive front is the swing factor in whether that holds up on the road.
Dendy scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the Falcons' season-opening loss to Tarleton State, continuing a track record that includes 493 yards and five touchdowns a year ago despite starting only four games. Nebraska added transfer help on the defensive line this offseason, but the group is still unproven against a downhill runner like Dendy. If he can consistently move the pile against the Huskers, Bowling Green has a path to staying competitive into the fourth quarter.
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