Huskers' Long Home Losing Streak Ends

Matt Rhule gets his first win as the Nebraska head coach and earns a game ball

Jason Wessendorf

Question: How long has it been since the Husker football program last celebrated a home victory?

If you answered 350 days, you get to go to the head of the class. If anyone had made that sort of prediction back in the '90s, people would have thought you were crazy.

Amazing as it sounds, the last time the Huskers registered a home win was Oct. 1, 2022,  when Nebraska defeated Indiana 35-21 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Indiana would go on to post a 4-8 record. 

NU downs Northern Illinois 35-11

Head Coach Matt Rhule was awarded a game ball for his role in Nebraska's win over the Huskies Saturday night. Now some people (and you know who you are) have been trying to downplay Nebraska's first win of the season saying, well, it was just NIU.

Maybe so. To be sure, Northern Illinois isn't going to be confused with Georgia, Alabama or even Minnesota or Colorado, but dadgummit (as Tom Osborne would say), NU beat a much better team than some would have us believe.

To open the season, NIU traveled to Boston College and beat them 27-24. Saturday, Florida State, #4 in the AP poll, beat Boston College in Boston 31-29. In other words, NIU beat BC worse than Florida State did.  Okay, maybe that's a stretch to make my point, but you get the idea.

Rhule deserved a game ball, but I can think of a few more who merited game balls as well. Defensive coordinator Tony White should receive one for gettting his players to believe in his 3-3-5 defense. The Husker D limited the Huskies to 149 total yards of offense (26 rushing and 123 yards passing). Amazing performance.

Another game ball should go to offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield for making halftime adjustments that exploited the weaknesses in the Huskies' defense. Brilliant. It's so great to finally see a coaching staff who can make adjustments during the heat of the battle.

Finally, quarterback Heinrich Haarberg should also get one. In his very first career start, he performed about as well as anyone could have expected. Was he flashy? Nope. He didn't need to be. Steady Eddy played a great game.

The big question

Who is going to be the starting Husker QB this Saturday? Rhule has a dilemma before him. Should he reward a player for his one game performance and start Heinrich Haarberg? Or does Rhule honor one of his tenets that says a starter shall not lose his position due to injury and go with Jeff Sims?

Both situations challenge Rhule's basic philosophy. I think the issue might take care of itself - at least for this week. Jeff Sims left the Colorado game with an ankle injury. I've heard it might be a high ankle sprain. If so, the recovery time could take from 4 to 6 weeks. Stay tuned.

Louisiana Tech

The Conference USA Bulldogs come to Lincoln with a 2-2 record with wins over Florida International (22-17) and Northwestern State (51-21). Their two losses were to SMU (14-38) and North Texas (37-40).

La. Tech's current nationaly rankings are: Scoring Defense (#100), Rush D (#124) and #93 in Total Defense. Nebraska should be able to run the football and score points against La. Tech. 

NU is favored by about 20 points going into the game. What clouds the offensive picture for Nebraska? Running backs Rahmir Johnson and Gabe Ervin are both out for the season. Terrible news.

Can the Huskers find players to pick up the slack? We'll know more after Saturday's game.

Carter Nelson

I watched Husker '24 tight end commit Carter Nelson (pictured above) Friday night when his Ainsworth Bulldogs traveled to Verdigre, Nebraska. They took on the Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars in an eight-man football game. Nelson, 6-4 and 205, lined up as QB, TE, kicker, kick returner and defensive end. (He may have cooked hamburgers at halftime, too). He looked like an adult playing with a bunch of kids. No offense to the Cougars (I'm a huge fan), but Nelson is a once-in-a-generation player. He's the real deal. Nebraska is getting a great athlete.

How 'Bout Them Huskers

Will and I review Saturday's win over Northern Illinois and preview this Saturday's La. Tech game. We also give props to the Husker volleyball team for its win at Stanford last week.

Related:  HuskerMax Game Page,  Fanalytix