A tale of two halves.
The Cornhuskers finally pulled away in a close matchup in the fourth quarter, beating the Boilermakers 28-10.
“It was a close game in the fourth quarter,” Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said postgame. “The narrative is always; we can’t win close games, it was a close game, we won it. It didn’t look like a close game at the end, but we made the plays in the fourth quarter to win the game, and proud of the guys for that.”
The first half was disappointing to watch. Other than true freshman wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr.’s two carries for 38 yards, the Huskers’ running backs had 10 carries for 19 yards, against the 131st-ranked rushing defense out of 133 FBS teams. The first half was painful to watch, missed opportunity after missed opportunity.
“About everything that could go wrong, went wrong in the first half,” Rhule said postgame.
Nebraska’s lack of a competent kicker could cost them wins, if not corrected. In the NIL era, the Huskers lack someone who can make a kick or two, which is astounding at this level of play. The Huskers may want to avoid attempting a field goal again this season. To describe the execution in the red zone for the first half in one word: pathetic. Rhule defended redshirt freshman John Hohl after the game.
“The first one he just missed,” Rhule said postgame. “He’s about 50-50 from the 15-yard line, but he’s also about 50-50 from the 45-yard line. He’s a young developing kicker, who’s got a big, big leg, had a great week of practice and he just missed that first one. The second two were just bad snaps that were in the ground, so you can’t put those on him.”
Either way, Nebraska is going to need to fix this kicking fiasco, or they will be in big trouble against better teams.
The Cornhuskers finally showed coach Rhule some blue-collar second-half football. Purdue took eight minutes off the clock to open the third quarter and got a field goal. After that, it was all Nebraska.
“At halftime, I told our team I felt this where I wanted to be,” Rhule said postgame. “To come off the heartbreak of last week, a game that nothing went right in terms of: one play goes right we might win that game last week.” “I thought for our team to bounce back, Tommi tried to go, couldn’t go, guys stepped up and things did not go exactly right. I thought it was exactly what we needed, to be quite honest. I’m glad it ended up 28-10, but that was a game we had to fight for.”
The Blackshirts looked to play to their standard on Saturday. The pass rush was key in rattling Purdue quarterback Hudson Card. They finished the game with five sacks and only gave up 50 rushing yards to a Purdue team that ran for 263 yards the week prior.
Senior linebacker John Bullock got a pick-six late in the fourth quarter, pretty cool to see the Nebraska native get in the endzone. Bullock thought the Blackshirts played to its standard versus the Boilermakers.
“I think we all came out with the right mindset,” Bullock said postgame.
Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola continues to light up the air, making the Huskers’ offense explosive. Raiola finished the day going 16-26 for 244 yards and a touchdown pass to senior wideout Jahmal Banks. It sure is nice to see Nebraska have an elite talent under center, that takes care of the football.
“We got back to what we do and know,” Raiola said postgame.
Sophomore running back Emmett Johnson made crucial runs out of the backfield. His eight carries for 50 yards significantly helped NU drive the football down the field. Johnson might be Nebraska’s best all-purpose back.
Freshmen on the offensive unit played key roles in the Huskers’ victory. Redshirt freshman tackle Gunnar Gottula continues to step up in the wake of injuries. And Barney Jr. is so much fun to watch. Barney Jr. brings electricity on offense that Big Red has lacked. He finished the day with four carries for 66 yards and two catches for 28 yards.
“I thought Jacory, obviously gave us a lift on offense, with the speed sweeps and reverses,” Rhule said postgame. “When he’s out there, people are defending us differently, because of his speed and explosiveness.”
Coach Rhule received an unsportsmanlike personal foul during the second half. The Big Ten officiating has been questionable thus far and Rhule wants his players and Husker fans to know that he is sticking up for Nebraska.
“I threw my headset and I was on the white, so I was under the impression on the white I could throw my headset,” Rhule said postgame. “The referee said I looked at him, so he knew I was upset. I was just mad, so I’m not here to complain about officials. I’ll turn them in, I’ll get the responses on Monday or Sunday. I think we had a tough go of it last week and here’s what I know; someone’s going to have to start to fight for Nebraska, I’m here to fight for Nebraska. I wanted the fellas to see me out there fighting for them today, and I think that’s my third penalty ever, there’s not been many.”
This means a lot for a coach to have his team’s back like this. Nebraska struggles to get the benefit of the doubt with Big Ten officials. For Rhule’s players, this proves how tight the culture is, that he has built. For Husker fans, you have got to love a coach who steps up and not be pushed around.
Overall, I agree with Rhule. The tale of two halves today was important. We saw a Husker team struggle against a weak Purdue team, but in the second half, they showed their culture on the field. Blue-collar football, wearing down the opponent. Now, Nebraska will have its hands full, when they welcome a 4-0 scary Rutgers team next week in Lincoln.
