Kickoff announced for Nebraska at Michigan State in Week 4

Michigan State will open Big Ten play against Nebraska on Sept. 26 when the Cornhuskers visit Spartan Stadium. Kickoff was announced by the Big Ten on Sept. 14 for 5 p.m. Eastern Time. The kick time was announced by the conference on Monday afternoon along with the rest of the conference's Week 4 slate, and the broadcast will be carried on the Big Ten Network.

It's an unusual slot for the Spartans, landing in between the traditional 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET windows the league typically favors with no immediate reason provided for the odd selection.

The game will also mark the first Big Ten test for new head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has started his tenure 2-0, with the Spartans opening the season with a 30-20 win over Toledo before a 35-7 victory over Eastern Michigan this past weekend. Before facing UNL, MSU still has to get through a road trip to No. 3 Notre Dame this coming Saturday, Sept. 19, in the Battle for the Megaphone.

The Huskers will hope to enter the matchup on a clean start under fourth-year coach Matt Rhule, having notched wins over Ohio and Bowling Green to sit at 2-0. UNL closes out its non-conference slate against North Dakota this weekend before making the trip to East Lansing, where it'll try to open Big Ten play with a road win.

The Huskers a 10-4 edge in the all-time series, but trails MSU 3-2 in East Lansing. UNL took the most recent meeting a year ago in Lincoln, 38-27, snapping a two-game Spartan win streak in the series. However, NCAA sanctions technically removed that most recent win in 2023, but until Michigan is forced to remove wins it gained from cheating this author refuses to acknowledge any MSU sanctions.