Rece Davis Names Sleeper Team With Coach He’s a ‘Big Believer’ In for 2025 Season

Rece Davis Names Sleeper Team With Coach He’s a ‘Big Believer’ In for 2025 Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

With the month of August set to begin on Friday, anticipation for the return of college football is growing by the minute. Every day brings us closer to the start of the season at the end of the month.

It's the perfect time of year, as every team—regardless of what happened in 2024—enters the season with a clean 0-0 record and hopes of making noise, possibly even earning a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Of course, it doesn't take long for reality to set in. But one team that "College GameDay" host Rece Davis has his eye on as a potential sleeper is the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After a disappointing 2024, Nebraska looks to bounce back with a veteran head coach and several key returners in place.

With proven head coach Matt Rhule leading the way, Davis said he’s a “big believer” in Rhule’s ability to build a program. He also pointed to the return of quarterback Dylan Raiola and the addition of several key transfers—like wide receiver Dane Key and Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Watson-Trent—as reasons for optimism. Nebraska opens its season against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Aug. 28 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

“One of the teams in that category—sleeper teams—now I kind of have Nebraska as a borderline sleeper,” Davis said. “I am a big, big believer in Matt Rhule. You want to talk about a guy that can build an organization? I think he's the guy."

Davis continued, "He's got a quarterback to build around, they’ve brought in wide receiver transfers—most notably Dane Key from Kentucky. They also added Marcus Watson-Trent, who was the Sun Belt Player of the Year at Georgia Southern. Plus, they’ve got a couple of offensive linemen from Notre Dame and Alabama. I can buy Nebraska as a sleeper in the Big Ten.”

Matt Rhule is entering his third season leading the program, and it will mark former five-star Dylan Raiola’s sophomore campaign. Raiola was named the starter as a true freshman in 2024 and showed flashes of why he was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the country.

The Cornhuskers finished the 2024 season with a 7-6 overall record, but struggled in Big Ten play, going just 3-6. While they were solid at home with a 5-2 mark, they had a tough time on the road, finishing just 1-4 away from Lincoln.

Ironically, their most impressive showing may have come in a game they lost—taking the powerhouse Ohio State Buckeyes down to the wire in Columbus before falling in a 21-17 heartbreaker.

Related: Matt Rhule Agrees With Scott Frost That Nebraska Wasn't a Good Job

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.