Did Coach Prime see that one coming?
It’s a great day to be a Husker. NU faithful did their part in making Memorial Stadium Colorado’s worst nightmare. Nebraska didn’t just beat CU, they obliterated them. Talk about blue-collar, smash-mouth football. The Cornhuskers not only showed up, they kicked tail in their 28-10 win over the Buffaloes.
The statistics below were gathered from espn.com.
“Our defense is a star,” Coach Rhule told NBC after the game, and they sure were. The Cornhuskers just proved to not only be a good team but a team to look out for. My prediction of the Blackshirts dominating was fulfilled.
Ty Robinson followed through, and his fellow defensive lineman made Sheduer Sanders exit before time even expired. Robinson had himself a night, finishing with four quarterback hurries and a sack, adding a tipped pass and a blocked field goal, I could strongly argue Robinson was the MVP on the field. When Robinson addressed the media, he said, “I knew how I was going to be approaching this game. Last year, they didn’t get all of 60 minutes, but this year I was going to make sure they knew where I was.” They sure knew where he was the whole night: in the backfield causing havoc.
The Blackshirts finished with six sacks and 28 total hurries, making the CU quarterback have a rough night. When Tommi Hill got his pick-six, I knew this momentum would lead to a win for NU. This is the way Husker football should be played. After the game, Hill said, “I called it before we went to the game, I said I was going to have a pick-six.”
Running the football was a key focus for Big Red on Saturday. Dante Dowdell led the way with 17 carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns. It appears that Dowdell is the top ballcarrier, after carrying the ball on 49 percent of the Husker run plays. Rahmir Johnson may have only had 33 yards rushing, but he finished the night as the leading receiver for the team with 49 yards and a touchdown. These two have now solidified themselves as the top two, with a nice downhill presence from Dowdell and shifty evasiveness from R. Johnson, making the perfect mix.
Quarterback Dylan Raiola had a great performance commanding the offense. After the game, Raiola said, “This one meant a little more to us, a rivalry game, things that were said last year. I’m proud of our guys going out there and handling what needed to be handled.” He completed 77 percent of his passes and had no turnovers. The mature play of the true freshman in a big game is fun to watch. Raiola’s improvising was big in keeping plays alive like his scamper on the first drive or the 36-yard throw to Jaylen Lloyd.
The offensive line did a pretty good job. They wound up giving up only four quarterback hurries and one sack the entire night. The push off the line of scrimmage was solid, as a team they averaged 4.3 yards per carry. The improvement up front in the pass blocking is huge for their offensive balance. Other than the four penalties, they did a solid job on Saturday night.
Punter Brian Buschini had a great performance. He averaged 50.8 yards per punt, pinning the Buffaloes deep. Kicking field goals still is a concern for NU. Tristan Alvano missed his only attempt, from only 32 yards. This is going to need to be cleaned up immediately if Nebraska wants to be a serious contender in the Big Ten.
When addressing the media, Coach Rhule said, “This was a big moment, it was really big for us to show up and not back down from their stars, because we’re a little different. Our team is our star.” The Husker football team was indeed a star as a whole against Colorado. The Cornhuskers did exactly what they needed to do to get CU ready to get on the bus. The 35 and a half minutes of possession, no turnovers, defensive touchdown, punt returns, blocked field goal and quarterback pressure, ensured a convincing domination for Nebraska.
This was a program-changing win. Yes, CU was 4-8 last year, but a guy has to remember that Nebraska just dominated Colorado on national television. They didn’t allow stars Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter or Jimmy Horn to get hot. The defense did their part, stuffing the run as the Buffaloes averaged 0.7 yards per rush, for 16 yards and were around the negative 20 mark for three quarters. The offense protected the football and had balance, with 185 yards passing and 149 rushing. Blue-collar football still beats plug-and-play for clicks.