Dave Feit: It Wasn't Pretty, But We Should Embrace Nebraska's Win Over Rutgers

The Huskers have a laundry list of flaws to correct. But in today's college football world, we no longer need to apologize for ugly wins.

Nebraska defenders celebrate after their third-quarter goal line stand against Rutgers. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The local media was not fond of Nebraska's 14-7 win.  Check out these quotes about the game:   

• "exceedingly ragged"
• "Line play disappointing"
• "Attempts at forward pass flunk"
• "A pitiful exhibition of football that the famed Nebraskans put up" 

Wow.  I'd hate to see what they'd say if Rutgers had won.  

Oh wait … those quotes are from a different 14-7 Nebraska win:  a 1914 win over Washburn College, the first of Nebraska's sixteen games to end up 14-7.  I happened upon that game (and the quotes from the Omaha Bee and Omaha World-Herald) while updating the Huskerigami section below.  I thought they provided a good historical perspective.   

It appears that even 110 years ago, there were plenty of pundits picking apart wins that weren't perfect.  While we may have an anthropologic inclination to focus on the negative, I'm still going to be evangelical for change in this current era of college football.     

It is not 1914, 1994, or even 2014.  We no longer have to apologize for wins.  

The days of yore are no more.  Everybody playing football - especially in a power conference - not only wants to win but is more than capable of doing it.  Just ask Alabama.   

If my math is correct, only 50% of the college football teams who play each week are lucky enough to walk out with a win.  When your team wins, own it.  Celebrate it.  Just do not apologize for it.  

Yes, there were many, many things Nebraska either did not do on Saturday - or did poorly.  At the risk of hypocrisy, I will bring up several of those for dissection and discussion.  That's what we do here.  But understand that there is a difference between acknowledging a flaw exists and describing the special teams as "a pitiful exhibition of football that the famed Nebraskans put up".   

We have reached halftime of the 2024 season.  Nebraska is - warts and all - a 5-1 team whose lone loss was in overtime to a ranked team.  Especially after the last seven seasons, I'm not interested in talking about this team like they're a hopeless bunch of losers, or suggesting that assistant coaches be fired. 

Like the 1914 team that "only" beat Washburn 14-7, the current Cornhuskers have flaws.  But it's worth noting the 1914 team was better than their critics gave them credit for, and got better as the year went on (they finished 7-0-1).   

Former Nebraska football great Ndamukong Suh (93) runs the Tunnel Walk for homecoming weekend against Rutgers. / Amarillo Mullen

Things I believe 

NU's offense cost the defense a shutout.  On Saturday, the Huskers were led out of the tunnel by the legendary Ndamukong Suh.  On Saturday, the Blackshirts should have recorded their first shutout since the 2009 Holiday Bowl - Suh's final game as a Husker.   

After turning away several Scarlet Knight scoring threats - including an epic five-play goal line stand - the Huskers finally allowed Rutgers to score with 4:08 left in the game.  Even on the touchdown, cornerback Marques Buford Jr. almost broke up the pass.     

But the defense had little to no help from the offense.  

Nebraska's lone first down in the fourth quarter came on Brian Buschini's fake punt.  Remove that 30-yard completion and Nebraska's first eight offensive plays in the fourth quarter resulted in a net loss of five yards.  Dylan Raiola was 1-4 passing for zero yards and was sacked twice.  Dante Dowdell ran the ball twice - inside NU's five-yard line - for a total of four yards.  If NU could have gotten a couple of first downs, I think we're talking about a shutout.  

Even without the shutout, tip your cap to the Blackshirts.  They shut down Kyle Monangai, an excellent running back, and Athan Kaliakmanis will be seeing pass rushers in his sleep for weeks.  It was one of the finest defensive performances in the Tony White era.   

Apparently, Dylan Raiola is human.  After several excellent outings, Nebraska's five-star quarterback finally looked like a true freshman.  While his stat line (13 of 27 for 134 yards with one interception and no touchdowns) isn't horrible, it is below the high bar he's set so far. 

 Dylan was impacted by number of different things:  A relentless wind that took away his deep ball.  A porous offensive line that allowed four sacks and three hurries.  And a stout Rutgers defense that shut down Nebraska's running attack, making the Huskers one dimensional.  As a result, Raiola's accuracy and confidence were noticeably impacted.  It was most visible on his interception - thrown into the chest of a player that I don't think he saw until it was too late. 

 Personally, I'm not at all worried about a bad game, especially going into an off week.  My only concern is if those around him aren't able to execute their roles.  Because as good as Raiola is - and he's pretty darn good - he can't do it all by himself.   

Call us Iowa, because the punter was the MVP.  At the end of pregame warmups, when the team went back to the locker room, Brian Buschini stayed out on the field to get some extra punts in. Presumably, he was trying to get a feel for what the ball was going to do in the gusty, swirling winds.  He stayed out there so long, I thought the band was going to have to march around him. 

 On his first kick in the game, Rutgers overwhelmed his protection and blasted him, causing his body to bend like a scorpion.  As he laid motionless on the turf, I assumed his day (if not season) was done.  Before Nebraska's next series, his backup (true freshman Kamdyn Koch) was getting warmed up in a hurry. Also, the backup holder, Koch spent most TV timeouts working with NU's long snappers. 

 However, Buschini played the rest of the game, even surviving getting a second kick blocked.  For most of the game, he looked like a 50-year-old with a chronically bad back (he typed, with first-hand knowledge).   

 Consider what Buschini did after that second blocked kick:  four punts for an average of 47.5 yards, two of which came out of his own end zone, and two that were downed inside the 11-yard line.  Oh yeah, he also had a 30-yard pass on a fake punt, the fourth-longest completion of the day.  At Iowa, they build statues for days like that.     

Nebraska defensive back Ceyair Wright breaks up a pass to Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff during the fourth quarter. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Things I don't know 

How much of the offensive struggles should be chalked up to weather?  Two things are true:  1) Nebraska's offensive output (261 yards on 70 plays, resulting in 14 points) was anemic.  2) The weather - 95 degrees with a gusting, swirling wind - was a factor.  But I'm unsure how much those two things are related.   

The wind definitely appeared to impact Raiola, especially on longer throws.  But it should not have impacted NU's ground game.  And yet, the Huskers only had one quarter where they ran for more than 31 yards (60 yards in the second quarter).   

  Did Rutgers want Raiola to beat them with his arm on a windy day?  Did Marcus Satterfield call too many passing plays?  Or did he have to call passes because the ground game was ineffective?  Should Heinrich Haarberg have come in for one of the series that started in the shadow of NU's goalpost?  This won’t be the last windy game Nebraska plays in this year.  Hopefully they’ll have better answers next time.   

Which special team will falter next?  Think of Nebraska's special teams as a dam with a leak.  Ed Foley puts his metaphorical finger in the dike to stop the leak, but another one opens up.  He moves over and plugs the new hole and a third one appears. 

  Pick any of the numerous issues within the special teams unit (place kicking, long snapping, punt coverage, punt protection, kick returns, etc.).  Every effort to shore up a leaky aspect of the special teams, seems to reveal a new leak somewhere else.  At this point, the question seems to be which one will fall apart next.   

  I don't want to speak future failures into existence, so I'll let you speculate on your own.     

What are the biggest priorities for the off week?  Nebraska gets a week off to rest, recover, and rejuvenate for the stretch run.  I'm sure Matt Rhule's to-do list is a mile long, but what are the most pressing concerns?  Here’s what I see:   

• Special teams.  Specifically, field goals, long snapping, punt protection, and kickoff return.  But it probably wouldn't hurt to dedicate time to every aspect of the third phase. 
• Get healthy.  By this point in the season, everybody has aches and pains, even if they're not on the injury report.
• Running game.  Nebraska is struggling to consistently run the ball with their running backs, especially when everybody in the stadium knows what is coming.  Just like field goal kicking, the issues are not isolated to one part of the operation.
• Tackling.  Rutgers's baffling decision to stop giving the ball to Kyle Monangai allowed us to forget that he broke a lot of tackles.  He hasn’t been the only one.
• Shotgun snaps.  Did you notice the number of high snaps on Saturday?  I don't know what that was about, but now is the time to shut it down.    

Huskerigami Update 

A “Huskerigami” is a final score combination (win or lose) that has never happened in the 130+ year history of Nebraska football.   

Final score:  14-7   

Is that a Huskerigami?  No.  It has happened 15 times before, and is now tied (with 0-0) for the fourth most common final score in NU history.  The first 14-7 game was a 1914 win over Washburn referenced at the top.  The most recent was a win at Kansas in 1964, featuring a (then) school record 92-yard TD pass.     

Nebraska defensive end James Williams hurries Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis into an incomplete throw on a fourth down during the fourth quarter. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

5 Things I loved   

1. Brian Buschini.  My absolute favorite part of his fake punt:  Apparently, a few eagle-eyed fans knew it was coming.  At halftime, they saw the punt team repping it on one of the practice fields from the northern edge of the 600 level.
2. James Williams.  Big Game James, aka Sack Man, aka the Energizer Bunny of speed rush, had his best day as a Husker.  Five tackles, including two sacks, and three quarterback hurries.  If you've been watching his growth this season, you weren't surprised.  He has a bright future.
3. Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher.  Once the big defensive tackles started dominating the line of scrimmage, Rutgers was finished.  Aside from helping to shut down Monangai, their relentless pressure created opportunities for other pass rushers.  They each had a sack, plus a QB hurry, with Robinson adding a pass deflection.
4. Ceyair Wright.  He's filling in for a projected first round draft pick and has shown little to no drop off.  Two pass breakups plus a high degree of difficulty interception that did not get enough love.
5. Goal line stand.  A blocked punt is returned to the two-yard line (great hustle by Nate Boerkircher to prevent the touchdown).  Five plays later - including three rush attempts by a very good back - Nebraska gets a turnover on downs.  That was the difference in the game.   

Honorable mention:  Jacory Barney's block, 3rd & 4th down defense, Janiran Bonner, DeShon Singleton, Elijah Jeudy, Rahmir Johnson, Riley Van Poppel, John Bullock, Isaac Gifford, John Hohl, George Darlington throwing the bones, Ndamukong Suh, and a very happy birthday to Greg Sharpe!   

5 Areas for improvement 

1. Offensive Line.  I was not enamored with the performance of the offensive line.  Raiola was sacked four times, and pressured several other times.  I'll listen to the argument that the running backs didn't have a great game, but aside from the second quarter, the line wasn't creating big holes for them to run through.  Plus, there were probably a half dozen snaps that Raiola had to catch at or above his eyes.  Those will almost always disrupt the timing of the play. 
2. Running Game.  Take away the sacks and end of game kneel downs, and Nebraska's running backs totaled 124 yards on 33 carries (3.75 yards per rush).  When Nebraska was trying to salt the game away, the backs totaled 12 yards on their last six carries.
3. Player Safety.  In the second quarter, a Rutgers player launched into Jaylen Lloyd with the crown of his helmet as he went up for a pass.  There was no flag, nor review from the booth.  In the fourth quarter, Rahmir Johnson got hit in the head as he slid.  The replay official apparently did not watch the angles shown in the stadium, as the penalty was waved off.  I don't understand the purpose of these player safety rules if they're never going to be enforced.
4. Special Teams.  Saying the special teams need improvement is one of the most evergreen statements of the last decade.  Unfortunately, on Saturday, that evergreen fell over and landed on Brian Buschini's back.
5. City of Lincoln.  The number of streets - especially arterial routes to and from the stadium - under construction is ridiculous.  As a Lincoln resident, I'm all for well repaired and maintained streets.  But maybe we could time projects so they're not starting during football season. 

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