Nebraska looked like it figured everything out. The Blackshirts forced a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, and the offense capitalized with a touchdown drive. A blocked punt not long after put the Huskers up 14-0 early.
However, what followed was nearly two quarters of sloppiness that almost cost them the game. Michigan State began to put points on the board while Nebraska forgot how to execute.
The Huskers eventually shook off the rust and won 38-27, but they can’t feel too happy about what happened on the field. Several glaring issues from the Michigan game reappeared and showed that they are here to stay.
One would think a week off from taking a ranked team to its limit would be good for the team, but the offense looked straight out of last year. Nebraska finished with 261 total yards, with the majority coming in the second half.
After going 48 yards on its opening drive, Nebraska gained just six yards the rest of the first half. This includes a three-play, -32-yard drive that squandered excellent field position from a Jacory Barney Jr. punt return.
The culprits of the drive were offensive tackles Gunnar Gottulla and Elijah Pritchett. On the field at the same time for the first time all season, the two showed that they would not be starting for many other Power Four programs. Pritchett allowed multiple sacks while both committed false start penalties on third down.
The Spartans sacked Dylan Raiola five times, having six total on the year before the game. While the offensive line definitely played a part, Raiola has to do a better job getting the ball out sooner.
“I hate to comment on it,” head coach Matt Rhule said about the offensive line’s play postgame. “There were some things today where it’s probably on the quarterback. There were some things today that were probably on the wideouts in terms of a couple of the sacks.”
Raiola evolved into a star throughout the first four games, but looked like his freshman self on Saturday. Of his 194 passing yards, 158 yards came after the catch. Sophomore receiver Nyziah Hunter made up for 85 of those yards while senior Dane Key was not targeted.
Facing 30-40 mph winds in the second and third quarters, Raiola could not muster up the time to even attempt deep shots. Adding in another brutal interception for the second game in a row, Raiola needs to have better and quicker decision-making going forward.
“I want Dylan angry,” Rhule said postgame. “I want a fired-up, blood-in-his-eyes Dylan, because that is the best Dylan there is and the guys will fight for him.”
Junior running back Emmett Johnson once again dominated carry share with a quiet 83-yard, three-touchdown performance. No other running back had more than three attempts, while the second leading rusher, Kwinten Ives, did not play for the second game in a row. Rhule promised this week for clarity between the offensive tackles and the RB2 role, but that was not the case.
On the other side of the ball, the Huskers still gave up some big plays, including multiple Aidan Chiles rushing touchdowns. But most importantly, the defense played with the intensity expected for a unit that was questioned the past two weeks. Nebraska allowed just 2.2 yards per carry and held Chiles to under 100 yards on nine completions.
Chiles may have used his legs to move the chains multiple times, but the Huskers did improve on limiting the damage and getting to the quarterback. The Blackshirts applied constant pressure, resulting in four sacks and several inaccurate throws from Chiles.
“(Chiles) was just making plays on the scrambles,” Rhule said. “We sacked him a bunch of times, but we probably would’ve sacked him way more if he wasn’t so elusive.”
Tackling was much better this time around, with freshmen linebacker Dawson Merritt and safety Rex Guthrie starting in place of veterans Marques Buford and Marques Watson-Trent. The switch shows that Rhule and defensive coordinator John Butler are not afraid of change and will do whatever it takes to win.
The Husker secondary proved that they are the real deal, even if they surrendered their first passing touchdown of the season. Senior safety DeShon Singleton’s two interceptions served as a reward for a unit that had not gotten a pick since Malcolm Hartzog’s late-game heroics in week one.
In bizarre conditions, the Huskers did just enough to win convincingly over a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team. However, the schedule will only get harder moving forward. At 4-1, Nebraska is set for its first true road games of the season back-to-back. Taking on one-loss Maryland and a Minnesota team on a short week, the Huskers could easily fold in the hostile environments.
Nebraska once again prevailed in a game that could have gone off the rails fast, but in year three under Rhule, they should be better in these situations. After an unpolished performance coming off the bye, this first real road test will tell everyone what to expect out of the 2024 Huskers.
Anthony Rubek is the Senior Sports Editor at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @AnthonyRubek.