Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 56-7vs Bowling Green | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 34-7vs North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#31
Mario Buford
Sophomore cornerback on Nebraska's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 185 lb · Desoto, TX · DeSoto (Texas)
Recruiting
4★
CB recruit
No. 395 nationally · Signed with Nebraska
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Sophomore cornerback on Nebraska's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Nebraska in 2024.
Mario Buford
He has spent two seasons in the Nebraska secondary. The receipt on tape: 1 tackles against North Dakota, Week 3, 2026.
1 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
20244 games
- Signed with Nebraska4-star out of DeSoto
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Nebraska
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Career stats
Game log
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 34–7
vs North Dakota
1 tackles · 1 solo tackles
Dominant 27-point win at home against North Dakota.
With A. Colandrea — 195 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 86.6 · 19 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD · J. Rule — 119 rush yds (15 car) · 2 TD
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +1 tackle.
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Matt Rhule — 10-6 over that span.
2024Nebraska7-6HC: Matt Rhule · Balanced
2026Nebraska3-0HC: Matt Rhule · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 0.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Rhule
Pass share
42.7%
90 pass / 121 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
3.2%
95 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
The secondary · Nebraska
- #21Rex Guthrie63 tackles · 2025
- #37Donovan Jones59 tackles · 2025
- #26Dwayne McDougle47 tackles · 2025
- #10Andrew Marshall45 tackles · 2025
- #31Mario Buford2 games · 2026
16 more on the roster · Nebraska team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology