The players, the staff, the fans, the national media, and Matt Rhule all have high expectations for the upcoming season. Some of that is due to Rhule often mentioning the jump his teams make in year three. That, plus the fact that anybody who has been paying attention knows this coaching staff is significantly better, and the talent level is far superior to what we’ve seen in previous years. Another glaring positive you can add is a culture and attitude that resembles something Husker fans saw from their beloved teams of the past. It all adds up to fans anticipating a 9 to10 win season.
But even with all that, for the Huskers to have the kind of season they want they’ll need to be great in two of the three phases of the game and at least solid in the third.
The three things that need to happen are defensive line development, Dana Holgorsen’s player-focused strategy, and Mike Ekeler’s special teams becoming an asset rather than a liability. Previously I covered defensive line development. Now I’ll cover offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen and why Husker fans are excited about the 2025 season.
Holgorsen’s Player-focused Strategy
When I talk about player-focused strategy, I’m talking about Dana Holgorsen putting players in a position to be successful. Holgorsen is recognized as an offensive guru and has been around long enough to understand how to utilize players and get maximum production from their strengths. No matter where he’s been he’s had the ability to evolve to his personnel.
For proof of what I’m talking about, look no further than Dylan Raiola and Emmett Johnson as examples of what Holgorsen can do with this offense.
Last season in the first eight games Emmett Johnson had 58 carries for 264 yards and 1 TD. He also had 16 catches for 98 yards, and 1 TD. That averages out to 45.25 total yards per game. However, with the arrival of Holgorsen, Johnson’s role increased. In the last four games including the bowl game, Johnson had 59 carries for 314 yards and 23 catches for 170 yards and 1 TD, which averages out to 121 yards per game. Johnson became a threat in the short passing game and his yards per carry increased as well, all due to how Holgorsen used him.
At quarterback Dylan Raiola had what many would consider a successful freshman campaign. He completed 275 passes on 410 attempts for 2,819 yards, for a 67.1% completion rate,13 TD’s and 11 interceptions. He was credited with 50 carries for -65 yards. The negative rushing yard total is a result of being sacked 27 times.
In the second game of the season against Colorado, Raiola went 23/30 for 185-yards for a season high 76.7% completion rate and was never sacked. But by the ninth game of the season against UCLA he was 14/27 for 177-yards for a 51.9% completion rate with 1 interception and was sacked 3 times. Both he and the offensive line had regressed. But once again, there was a noticeable change in Raiola’s play over the last four games of the season with Holgorsen at the helm.
Statistically the jump looks small. But when you consider Holgorsen hit the ground running and never fully implemented his offense, the fact the numbers got better is impressive. One must believe a large amount of that is due to his coaching style.
In the first nine games the offense averaged 213.4 yards per game passing. That improved to 224.5 yards per game over the last four games. Raiola’s completion percentage also went from 64.6% to 71.7% under Holgorsen. The offensive line gave up 20 sacks (2.2 per game) in the first 9 games and 7 in the last 4 games (1.7 per game). The running game improved, with an average of 124.8 yards a game to 143.5 yards per game. Again, the numbers don’t jump off the page, but considering the small sample size Holgorsen was given, it certainly looks promising to Husker fans.
And the improved numbers won’t stop there. Look for Holgorsen to find ways to get the ball down field to wide receivers Dane Key, Nyziah Hunter and Jacory Barney, all talented receivers who can break press coverage.
He’ll also work Haarberg, Lindenmeyer, and Janiran Bonner into the short passing game and mix up alignments. I also look for Holgorsen to use Haarberg in the same fashion Penn State used Tyler Warren las t season, he’ll line him up everywhere on the field to confuse defenses. And don’t forget what Haarberg did when starting at quarterback, he has the speed and ability to take it to the house in the open field.
I also anticipate seeing more swing passes or screens out of the backfield. Holgorsen’s playbook won’t be bulky or confusing trying to do too much, but he’ll show multiple sets and run the same plays out of different sets to keep the defense guessing. He’ll design run plays to this offensive line’s strengths and capabilities. He won’t ask anyone to do more than they are capable of which should lead to fewer sacks.
Rhule once mentioned that with all the offensive talent on this team there was a chance there wouldn’t be enough balls to go around. But Holgorsen will mix it up and won’t be a quick strike offense, he’ll take what he’s given but he’ll also use the clock and control the ball by putting together multi-play drives. It’ll be all about controlling the ball.
I fully expect Nebraska’s offense to look completely different from what we saw last season, not because Holgorsen installed a new offense, but because both Holgorsen and the players have been given time to get comfortable with the play design, tempo, and play calling.
As a Husker fan, if you aren’t excited you should be.
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