Common Fan

Former Michigan Tight End and current Big Ten Network analyst Jake Butt joins the Common Fans to discuss Nebraska’s season to date and the upcoming game against USC. Jake shares some fantastic stories about his time as a player. -Overlooked by Ohio State and Notre Dame, even though he grew up 15 minutes from Columbus. -Coming face-to-face with Urban Meyer for the first time. -Winning the John Mackey Award as college football’s best Tight End. Jake sees Nebraska as having made huge strides in several critical areas: -Winning one score games. -Improvement in turnover margin. -Special teams is so vastly improved, the third phase is likely responsible for at least two of Nebraska’s wins this year. -Jake calls out Mike Ekeler in particular as a massive addition to Rhule’s staff over the offseason. That said, the Huskers need to develop in the one area that is most important for winning in college football: the trenches. -Missing Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson on defense. -Offensive line has sustained some injuries, but they still need to be better. -Jake sees winning in the trenches as the next step Matt Rhule’s program needs to take to get over the hump and start playing at an elite level. Assessing Dylan Raiola eight games into his sophomore year: -Dylan likes to make the huge play, but sometimes that can come back to bite you. -With maturity comes understanding about when it’s appropriate to make the big play, and when you need to throw it away. -Jake would put Dylan definitely in the top half of Big Ten quarterbacks, and possibly in the top quarter. -Dylan’s leadership has been a huge intangible benefit to the 2025 Nebraska football team. Looking ahead to USC: -November is championship football season. It’s when the contenders get separated from the pretenders. -This game will be a huge separator for both programs. -Key for this game: the run game for both teams. USC’s run game is much improved over previous years. -For Nebraska to win, they have to stop the run, and be able to run the ball. -Like the Common Fans, Jake is a huge fan of Emmett Johnson. Feed Emmett!!! This and so much more on the latest episode of the Common Fan Podcast! As always, GBR for LIFE! Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@commonfanGBR Check out our website: www.commonfan.co Our Partners: You can now find all Common Fan videos and articles on www.huskermax.com as well as www.si.com/college/college-football/team/nebraska-cornhuskers. For more Husker coverage, check out Carriker Chronicles: https://carrikerchronicles.com/ For more college football coverage, check out The College Huddle: https://thecollegehuddle.com/ #nebraska #nebraskafootball #nebraskacornhuskers #huskers #huskerfootball #huskerpower #collegefootball #collegefootballplayoff #collegefootballpodcast #bigten #bigtenfootball #big10football #blackshirts #mattrhule #dylanraiola #danaholgorsen #uscfootball #football #podcast #michigan #michiganfootball #ohiostatefootball #nebraska #podcast

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s win over Northwestern and celebrate getting to bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season. Huskers get up off the mat after Minnesota: -After a disappointing performance in Minneapolis last Friday night, the Big Red brought more fight and energy to the game against the always-pesky Northwestern Wildcats. -It wasn’t always pretty–it rarely has been in 2025–and the officiating was some of the worst we’ve seen in a long time. -But the Huskers found a way to get the W. Is it actually better? -The Common Fans do an exercise to go through the different phases of the game to examine if–and how much–the team has actually made progress this season. -Special teams is so clearly better in every way that Mike Ekeler might be the most important hire of the last 10 years for Nebraska football. One could argue the third phase is the difference between Nebraska being 6-2 and 4-4 this year. -Offense and defense are more of a mixed bag. -The offense as a whole is better, although their inconsistency drives Husker fans crazy. -Quarterback play is better overall, running back play is better (we love you Emmett!), wide receiver play is better, but the unit stalls all too often and the offensive line needs work. -The defense has probably taken a step back given all that they lost, but the pass defense is still strong and a plethora of young talent gives hope for the future. -Other things that are better: winning close games, making late stops, and putting together game winning drives. Husker teams of recent years have simply not done these things. -Ultimately, the Common Fans conclude that Nebraska football is in fact better; they are making progress. -That said, it is often not as consistent, or not as good, as Husker Nation would like to see. -At 6-2, we’ve gotta celebrate all the Ws, and hope 2025 will still see a breakthrough win for the program. Celebrating the Common Fan tailgate: -Thanks to all those who came out to say hi (or in some cases, hang out all day) at the Common Fan tailgate. -It was awesome to have Husker legend Steve Taylor and longtime sports talk radio guys Mike’l Severe and Gary Sharp hang out with us. -Equally as awesome was to see so many friends, family, and listeners. We love the Common Fan community! This and so much more on the latest episode of the Common Fan Podcast! As always, GBR for LIFE! Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@commonfanGBR Check out our website: www.commonfan.co Our Partners: You can now find all Common Fan videos and articles on www.huskermax.com as well as www.si.com/college/college-football/team/nebraska-cornhuskers. For more Husker coverage, check out Carriker Chronicles: https://carrikerchronicles.com/ For more college football coverage, check out The College Huddle: https://thecollegehuddle.com/ #nebraska #nebraskacornhuskers #nebraskafootball #huskers #huskerfootball #collegefootball #collegefootballplayoff #collegefootballpodcast #podcast #bigtenfootball #bigten #football #mattrhule #dylanraiola #GBR #gbr4life #cfp #cfb25 #nebraskawins #huskerpower #commonfanpodcast #commonfan #nebraska #podcast

Mike’l Severe joins the Common Fans to discuss Nebraska’s meltdown in Minneapolis, the chatter among Husker Nation this week, and the coming battle against Northwestern. What went wrong against Minnesota: -Mike’l suggests the number one difference between the two teams on the field on Friday night was not anything related to blocking or tackling, or throwing or catching the football. It had everything to do with culture. -Minnesota knows exactly who they are and what they want to do. While Matt Rhule has established a culture in Lincoln, the Huskers appear to be lacking an identity. -Still, Huskers should not have been pushed around in the way that they were. Sacks and Dylan Raiola’s struggles: -The sack problem lands on everybody’s feet. -The offensive line needs to be better, running backs need to be better in pass protection, and Dylan needs to have better pocket awareness. -Raiola missed Dane Key twice on Friday, both of which would have been touchdowns and possibly changed the game. He needs to be better in those situations–especially throwing the deep ball. Checking the pulse if Husker Nation: -There seems to be a broad cross-section of reactions among the fan base after Saturday’s loss, everything from calm and collected to full meltdown mode. -How concerned should we be about Matt Rhule’s program a little more than halfway through Year 3? Troy Dannen’s comments about being in year three of a rebuild: -Is Dannen right? Do Husker fans need to be just a little more patient? Or, in the era of Curt Cignetti completely flipping the Indiana program, should we expect more success sooner? -Mike’l suggests Cignetti is an outlier, and Rhule is still on track to have success at Nebraska. The importance of the Northwestern game to the remainder of the season: -The entire crew agrees the coming game against Northwestern is absolutely pivotal for Nebraska’s outlook the remainder of the season. -The team needs to show they can bounce back and beat a physical Big Ten opponent. -Mike’l suggests everything from 1-4 to 5-0 are on the table for this team. Northwestern could go a long way toward determining how the remaining five games play out. This and so much more on the latest episode of the Common Fan Podcast! As always, GBR for LIFE! Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@commonfanGBR Check out our website: www.commonfan.co Our Partners: You can now find all Common Fan videos and articles on www.huskermax.com as well as www.si.com/college/college-football/team/nebraska-cornhuskers. For more Husker coverage, check out Carriker Chronicles: https://carrikerchronicles.com/ For more college football coverage, check out The College Huddle: https://thecollegehuddle.com/ #nebraska #nebraskafootball #nebraskacornhuskers #huskers #huskerfootball #collegefootball #collegefootballplayoff #collegefootballpodcast #bigten #bigtenfootball #big10football #podcast #football #footballpodcast #mattrhule #dylanraiola #blackshirts #sports #nebraska #podcast

The Common Fans discuss Nebraska’s disappointing performance against the Minnesota Gophers on Friday night. -The Huskers were outcoached, outhit, and outplayed against the Gophers. Whether they were tired or felt like it would be an easy win, Nebraska simply didn’t show up against Minnesota. -It’s Lucy with the football once again–every time Nebraska feels like it’s about to turn a corner, we see a performance like this. It’s incredibly frustrating for fans. -Yes, there is more parity than ever before in college football. Yes, every team is investing in players, coaches, and facilities now. But Husker fans deserve to see the upside of that investment and not just the pain. -Nebraska fans could have told you exactly the kind of game P.J. Fleck wanted to play, and that’s exactly what we saw. The Gophers had an answer for the Nebraska offense, they had an answer on 3rd down, they seemed to have all the answers all night. -The offense has to figure something out. Commit to the run, and come up with some better options when the straight drop-back game isn’t working. If you’re going to run this kind of pro-style offense, the line play and the quarterback play both need to be better. -At this point, the sacks are on everybody. With all the frustration from Friday night, the Common Fans are not giving up hope. -We only get to do this 12 Saturdays a year, and we’re going to enjoy it. There’s still nearly half the season left. -The team still has the opportunity to prove itself; the game against Minnesota is not predictive of the remainder of the season. -This week’s game against Northwestern is now crucial for getting the boys in red back on track. If this team has improved to the extent that we want to believe it has; if this program is in a different and better place, as we’ve been told, then Northwestern is exactly the kind of game they need to win. -Beat Northwestern, get to 6-2, and then see what happens in November. The life of being a fan: -While it’s exciting to see the basketball team beat preseason #8 BYU in an exhibition game, it does not take away the sting of a Nebraska football loss. -Most fandom is pain: only one team ends the season with a championship. -But you don’t only show up when things are going well. Speaking of, hats off to Nebraska fans. -In the words of Tom Shatel, Husker fans are undefeated against apathy. -Husker Nation showed up at Maryland, they showed up at Minnesota, and we know they are going to show up to fill up the stadium once more against Northwestern. This and so much more on the latest episode of the Common Fan Podcast! As always, GBR for LIFE! Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@commonfanGBR Check out our website: www.commonfan.co Our Partners: You can now find all Common Fan videos and articles on www.huskermax.com as well as www.si.com/college/college-football/team/nebraska-cornhuskers. For more Husker coverage, check out Carriker Chronicles: https://carrikerchronicles.com/ For more college football coverage, check out The College Huddle: https://thecollegehuddle.com/ #nebraska #nebraskacornhuskers #nebraskafootball #huskers #huskerfootball #collegefootball #podcast #collegefootballpodcast #collegefootballplayoff #college #bigten #bigtenfootball #big10football #mattrhule #dylanraiola #football #blackshirts #podcasts #sportspodcast #commonfanpodcast #commonfan #nebraska #podcast

Josh Peterson joins the Common Fans to discuss all the latest with Husker football. The Penn State question: -Would Matt Rhule leave for Happy Valley? -How high would he be on PSU’s list? -Does anybody really know anything? -What Penn State needs to show their fans. -What Matt Rhule needs to hear to stay. On the upcoming game against Minnesota: -Would Husker fans actually like P.J. Fleck if he was Nebraska’s coach? -Assessing where quarterback Drake Lindsey fits among the QBs the Blackshirts have faced this season. -Nebraska looks like the better team–but are they ready to take the next step and get the Gopher off their back? The big picture: -Did the Maryland game indicate a renewed commitment to the run game for Nebraska? -Is this defense just getting better and better? -And finally, discussing the ceiling for this 2025 Nebraska squad. This and so much more on the latest episode of the Common Fan Podcast! As always, GBR for LIFE! Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@commonfanGBR Check out our website: www.commonfan.co Our Partners: You can now find all Common Fan videos and articles on www.huskermax.com as well as www.si.com/college/college-football/team/nebraska-cornhuskers. For more Husker coverage, check out Carriker Chronicles: https://carrikerchronicles.com/ For more college football coverage, check out The College Huddle: https://thecollegehuddle.com/ #nebraska #nebraskafootball #nebraskacornhuskers #huskers #huskerfootball #huskerpower #husker #huskernation #corn #collegefootball #collegefootballplayoff #collegefootballpodcast #cfp #cfb25 #podcast #bigtenfootball #big10football #bigten #football #blackshirts #lnk #oma #minnesotafootball #mattrhule #dylanraiola #pennstatefootball #commonfanpodcast #commonfan #podcast #nebraska