Author’s note: Thanks to Curt Felton, one of the hosts of the Ski U Pod, for sharing his expertise with the Common Fans. Both the Common Fan Podcast (Nebraska) and the Ski U Pod (Minnesota) are members of The College Huddle, the largest fan-led online college sports podcast community, made up of one podcast from each fan base represented.

Find single game tickets to the Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers college football Week 8 matchup on Friday, October 17, 2025.

Nebraska will try to keep its first national ranking of the season from being a one-week outlier when it visits Minnesota for a Big Ten clash Friday night in Minneapolis.

Nebraska’s No. 1-ranked pass defense got knocked around last week against Maryland and its 19-year-old true freshman quarterback Malik Washington. Washington passed for 249 yards on 27-of-37 passing and one touchdown. Coming into the game, Nebraska had allowed an average of 91.8 yards per game and only one touchdown pass in five games.

On Friday, Johnson will return home to play against the Gophers as one of the best running backs in the Big Ten. With a career high 176 yards on 21 carries in a 34-31 win at Maryland last weekend, the redshirt junior leads the Big Ten in carries (105), sits second in rushing yards (650) and is tied for fifth in touchdowns (seven).

Nebraska won 34-31 over Maryland on Saturday, Oct. 11. Raiola led Nebraska with 260 yards on 20-of-29 passing (69.0%) for four touchdowns and three interceptions. Johnson carried the ball 21 times for 176 yards, adding two receptions for 20 yards. Hunter had five receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

The biggest distraction of them all will be Rhule's connection to the Penn State head coaching vacancy. As a former Nitanny Lions player and good friend of AD Pat Kraft, Rhule will continue to be rumored as a top candidate, which can always be a distraction for a college football team.