Holgorsen Helps Huskers Bash the Beleaguered Badgers and Become Bowl-Bound

ThotDoc's Brain Droppings on the Nebraska-Wisconsin game.

Nebraska cheerleaders perform during the third quarter against Wisconsin. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

On an absolutely lovely late November afternoon, the Nebraska Cornhuskers blasted the Wisconsin Badgers 44-25 to snap a 10-game losing streak to the visitors and become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2016. The longest bowl-less streak in the FBS is no more. The Cornhusker Curse has been curtailed. The Huskers secured the “Freedom Trophy” for the first time and Coach Matt Rhule said that Nebraska will have to find a place for it as they had never seen it before. 

For the first time in 11 games, the Husker offense played well for four quarters and racked up 473 yards of total offense, including 293 through the air and 180 on the ground. The influence of new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, in just his second game with the Huskers, is obviously apparent. One wonders how many more wins this team may have garnered if the move had been made earlier. Rhule noted that Holgorsen has “brought some swagger and aggressiveness”. He also has made some fairly simple adjustments that have boosted quarterback Dylan Raiola’s confidence and the offense’s effectiveness. He saw the importance of scheming Jahmal Banks open over the middle rather than relying on him to beat single coverage on the outside. Raiola is releasing the ball quicker, the Huskers are playing with pace, and he showed them how to make screen plays work as evidenced by Emmett Johnson’s 27-yard pass followed by Jacory Barney taking a jet touch pass 21-yards with downfield blocking leading the way. We were seeing pancake blocks from linemen caving in the Wisconsin defense leading to Dante Dowdell scores and we saw an excellent block on the perimeter by Jahmal Banks that helped spring Dowdell for his second quarter 12-yard touchdown run. He also found that the Huskers could run three times after a 2nd and 10 and be successful.

The Badger defense was missing its leading tackler and the Husker line further thinned the Badger ranks by dominating the line of scrimmage. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing 310-pound defensive lineman Ty Robinson line up as a fullback on goal line runs? Who wasn’t thrilled to see the Huskers score on six consecutive possessions and 7 of 8 series from the beginning of the second quarter through the final period? Nebraska punted just twice in 12 possessions and gained a 29-15 edge in first downs. Oh, and so much for the bugaboo problems in the red zone – the Huskers went 7 for 7 with five touchdowns and two field goals inside the 20.  Nebraska’s 44 points were its most in a Big Ten game in two seasons under Coach Matt Rhule and the 24 first-half points were its most in a Big Ten game in three years.  Nebraska also finished the game well owning a 11:29-3:31 advantage in the fourth quarter time of possession.

Dylan Raiola completed 28-of-38 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown distributing the ball to eight different receivers. It marked his sixth 200-yard passing game of the season and his first in four games. It was his third game with at least 250 passing yards. Raiola has completed 72.3 percent of his passes in the past two games, after a 27-of-38 effort at USC last week. He looks more like the kid we saw earlier this season and he even thrilled the crowd with a bowling simulation as the Huskers were kneeling at game’s end. Here’s hoping the Huskers win out, the Huskers sign Holgorsen for next year and Raiola ignores the interest he will get from other programs pushing him to the portal.

True freshman receiver Jacory Barney Jr. caught nine passes for 85 yards in the game, setting career highs in both categories and marking his fourth game this season with at least five catches. Barney increased his season receptions total to 49, setting a school record for catches by a true freshman, bettering the 40 receptions by Wan’Dale Robinson in 2019. Barney’s 49 catches rank second overall among all freshmen in school history, trailing only JD Spielman who had 55 receptions as a redshirt freshman in 2017. Jahmal Banks caught his third TD pass of the season in the second quarter and his first TD catch in six games (thank you Dana). Isaiah Neyor added 4 catches for 22 yards.

Did you notice that after tight end Thomas Fidone false started in Nebraska’s second possession, he didn’t see the field again. Enter Nate Boerkircher (2 catches for 29 yards) who had 32 yards after catch, and Luke Lindenmeyer (1 catch for 8 yards) who was a warrior in the trenches and on the edge.

The offensive MVP was undoubtedly Emmett Johnson who rushed 16 times for a career-high 113 yards, a 7.1 yards per carry average. It marked the first time all season that a Husker has bettered 100 yards and the first time since quarterback Chubba Purdy rushed for 105 yards at Wisconsin last season. Johnson also caught six passes for a career-high 85 yards, eclipsing his previous high of 48 receiving yards at Purdue earlier this season. Johnson finished with a career-high 198 yards from scrimmage. He has responded well to Holgorsen’s influence as Johnson put the Huskers in position to score and Dante Dowdell (10 carries for 41 yards) finished the job with three rushing touchdowns. Dowdell now has 10 rushing TD’s this season.

Defensively, the Blackshirts were pretty leaky, surrendering 407 yards with 292 yards through the air. They were gashed for three touchdown passes, two of them from 24 and 58 yards. They gave up four pass plays over 20 yards and three runs over that mark with a long rush of 32 yards. On the plus side, the defense forced a fumble to set up a field goal at the end of the half when Nebraska scored 10 points in 17 seconds. DeShon Singleton also picked off a pass as Nebraska won the turnover battle 2-1 and John Bullock stuffed the Badgers on a 4th and 2 for a turnover on downs. Wisconsin also helped by missing two field goals. Wisconsin also failed to score a rushing touchdown creating an oddity in the Nebraska record book as the Huskers did not allow a rushing touchdown in their seven home games this season, the first time that has happened since 1939.

In addition to his fourth quarter pick, DeShon Singleton tied Isaac Gifford with the team lead in tackles with six. Ty Robinson (5 tackles) also forced a fumble and had at least one quarterback hurry. Stefon Thompson (3 tackles) recovered the fumble for the turnover. Princewell Umanmielen (3 tackles) had significant stops for no gain. John Bullock (4 tackles) had the big 4th down stop and totaled 1.5 tackles for loss. Blye Hill and Malcolm Hartzog had a tough outing in the secondary.

Special team play was more good than bad as place-kicker John Hohl made a 37-yard field goal to conclude the first-half scoring, connected on a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, and a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. After beginning the season 1 for 5, Hohl has now connected on eight straight field goals. Brian Buschini averaged 50.5 yards on two punts with one punt going out of bounds at the Badger 3-yard line. Buschini is now averaging 46.54 yards per punt this season, just ahead of the school record of 46.51 yards per punt by Sam Koch in 2005. That’s pretty lofty company.  Jacory Barney began the game with a 45-yard kickoff return and later returned a punt for 9 yards. On the downside, the kickoff return team gave up returns of 44 and 32 yards, while Buschini had just 4 touchbacks on 9 kickoff boots.

You knew the monkey was off their backs when the Husker public address system started trolling Wisconsin by playing “Jump Around" in the stadium allowing the students to join in the fun. It is a great relief to finally dominate the four-legged omnivores and get the needed sixth victory. Next Friday, Nebraska finishes the regular season in Iowa City against a 7-4 Iowa club who cruised past Maryland on Saturday 29-13. If the Huskers can upset the Ditch Chickens and nab a bowl victory, imagine how much better the offseason will feel going 8-5 on the year, and that is with four one score losses. We aren’t there yet, but the Huskers are much closer to turning the corner than they were a couple of weeks ago. Go Big Red!!

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