​LINCOLN, NEBRASKA – SEPTEMBER 19: Anthony Colandrea #10 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers passes against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks during the first half at Memorial Stadium on September 19, 2026 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) | Getty Images After dropping its first game of the season at Notre Dame, Michigan State must regroup, and recover, before hosting Nebraska in the Big Ten opener for both teams (5 PM ET, Big Ten Network).  Join the conversation!Sign up for a user account and get:Improved notifications system!Fewer adsCreate community postsComment on articles, community postsRec comments, community postsDownload the SB Nation app on iOS or Android.The Spartans, as we know, defeated a pair of MAC teams in Toledo and Eastern Michigan before a 27-10 loss to #3 Notre Dame in South Bend.  Michigan State made a game of it into the fourth quarter but, ultimately, Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback CJ Carr and the suffocating Irish defense were too much for MSU.  A bigger issue for Michigan State than bouncing back from their first loss of the season might be keeping their best players healthy heading into conference play.  Linebacker Jordan Hall went the whole way at Notre Dame but is still dealing with an elbow injury suffered in the opener and kept him out of the EMU game.  Hall’s linemate, Brady Pretzlaff, went out after a massive collision at Notre Dame and did not return.  On offense, leading rusher Cam Edwards had to be helped off the field late in the game after slipping on the turf and appearing to suffer some sort of left ankle injury.  Pretzlaff’s injury certainly seems to be the most serious while Hall and Edwards potentially being hampered would obviously make things much harder for MSU.  Nebraska will come to Spartan Stadium with a 3-0 record but they haven’t seen anything like MSU just did in South Bend.  The Cornhuskers, like MSU, opened with consecutive wins against MAC opponents, 49-21 against Ohio and then 56-7 over Bowling Green.  Nebraska is coming off a 34-7 win against FCS opponent North Dakota.  The trip to East Lansing will be Nebraska’s first road test of the season.  Let’s take a closer look at the MSU – Nebraska matchup.Nebraska CoachingMatt Rhule is in his fourth year in Lincoln and is still working to get Nebraska over the hump in the Big Ten.  Rhule is 22-19 so far with the Huskers, including the 3-0 start to this year.  Nebraska has been to consecutive bowl games, winning the 2024 Pinstripe Bowl and losing the 2025 Las Vegas Bowl.  The Cornhuskers finished 7-6 in both of those years and have yet to finish above .500 in the Big Ten under Rhule.  Nebraska went 4-5 in conference last season, following consecutive 3-6 years in 2023 and 2024.  Rhule first started to gain traction as a head coach at Temple from 2013-2016.  In his last two years in Philadelphia, the Owls went a combined 20-7.  This caught Baylor’s attention, and the Bears hired Rhule