A Look at Season Openers over the Years
On 31 Aug 24, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will kick off its 2024 season at home versus UTEP. This will be the first time the Huskers have played their season opener at home since 2019. 2019 also happens to be the last year that Nebraska has won its season opener. The season opener is critical in setting the stage (and confidence) for the coming season. Winning and playing fundamentally sound football this coming Saturday has such importance that cannot be overlooked.
The last time a season open was won was in the 2019 season under Scott Frost, the Nebraska Cornhuskers beat South Alabama at home. That also happened to be on 31 Aug, and the Huskers beat them to the tune of 35-21. Closer than many would have anticipated, but a win, nonetheless. Adrian Martinez was the QB during this game, but never threw a touchdown. He amounted only 178 passing yards and an interception. Dedrick Mills, the lead running back amassed 45 yards on the ground.
The 2020 season opener was under the dark cloud of COVID-19, a delayed start to the season and controversy with the Huskers being vocal in allowing them to play among the pandemic. The Cornhuskers got their wish to play football, but also got rewarded with a season opener against a formidable Ohio State team. The competitive gap was evident from the start, and Nebraska struggled to keep pace. They got beat down 52-17. Ohio State’s QB was Justin Field’s at the time who only missed on one pass all game, going 20-21 passing.
The following year, in 2021, the Cornhuskers faced Illinois in their season opener. Hopes of bouncing back from the previous season’s disappointment were dashed as Nebraska succumbed to yet another loss. This game will forever be burned into my mind as the optimism going into the 2021 season was strong. Many, if not all Husker fans believed that Frost would finally achieve what he was hired to do that year. Yet, Illinois fresh under a new head coaching change gave the Huskers all they could handle and beat them. I’ll never forget the post-game press conference, when Frost said words to the effect of “they lined up in a different defensive front than we anticipated, and it threw out the whole game plan.”
In 2022, the Nebraska Cornhuskers had a unique opportunity to reverse their fortunes when they traveled to Dublin, Ireland for their season opener against Northwestern. The international stage added a layer of excitement and anticipation, but the outcome remained dishearteningly familiar. Despite the unique venue, Nebraska was unable to secure a victory despite having a commanding lead at halftime.
In 2023, the introduction of Head Coach Matt Rhule brought a glimmer of renewed hope to the Cornhuskers’ fan base. Yet, this hope was short-lived as the team’s season opener against Minnesota ended in yet another defeat on the road 13-10. The tough test for the Huskers to start a rebuild year on the road against a conference opponent not only set the tone for the season but exposed the huge error in bringing in Jeff Simms over Casey Thompson to run the offense.
Flashbacks to the Bo Pelini Era: Consistent Success in Season Openers
During the Bo Pelini era, spanning from 2008 to 2014, the Nebraska Cornhuskers enjoyed remarkable consistency in their season openers. Under Pelini’s leadership, the team boasted an undefeated record in these important first games, which set a positive tone for the rest of the season.
The consistency seen under Bo Pelini can be looked back on now as something that most Husker fans would give anything to have back. Pelini not only won his season openers, but he also consistently dominated them.
Coaching Changes and Impact: From Mike Riley to Scott Frost
Following the departure of Bo Pelini, Mike Riley assumed the role of head coach for Nebraska football from 2015 to 2017. Riley’s tenure in season openers was characterized by mixed outcomes, yet he managed to secure a record of 2-1. His ability to secure victories in the majority of these initial games allowed the Cornhuskers to maintain a degree of stability at the beginning of each season.
However, a significant transition occurred when Scott Frost took over as head coach in 2018. To be fair to Frost, his original season opener against Akron was cancelled due to weather. The following week, a tough fought battle against Colorado ensued, but Frost’s team fell short. One will always wonder if they would have beaten Akron, if confidence going into Colorado would have changed not only the outcome of that game but the rest of the season. In the 2019 season opener, Frost squeaked out a victory. Yet, this success proved to be fleeting, as it marked his only win in season openers during his tenure from 2018 to 2023. The inability to perform in these crucial first games highlighted a shift in the program’s capability to handle pressure. Frost’s leadership saw a downturn in the team’s performance, reflecting broader issues within the program during his tenure. This eventually saw the hiring of now HC Rhule, who is looking to start strong on Saturday.
The season opener sets the tone for the season. The final score doesn’t necessarily have to be a blow out, but the Huskers do have to win. They do have to play fundamentally sound football, protect the ball, take away the ball on defense and prove they have improved over the offseason. If not, I fear the 2024 season will continue the trend all seasons have since Pelini was fired at the end of 2014.
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