Panthers Pound the Pigskin yet Pummeled by Huskers and their Fleet-Footed Freshmen

ThotDoc's Brain Droppings on the Nebraska-Northern Iowa game.

Carter Nelson (29) runs with the ball past UNI defenders. / Amarillo Mullen

It was another gorgeous evening in Memorial Stadium as the 23rd-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers soundly defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers 34-3. It was the first ever meeting between the Huskers and Panthers as Nebraska moves to 3-0 on the season and 15-0 against FCS foes. It’s the first time since 2016 that Nebraska has opened the year with three victories.

Although Nebraska missed several opportunities to put more points on the board, they have now won each of their three games by at least 18 points, something Nebraska has not done in 10 years. Remember, the Huskers averaged just 18 points a game last season. Also, the Huskers held its third straight opponent to open the season to 10 or fewer points, the first time Nebraska has done so since the 2005 season. In holding UNI to three points, it marks the ninth opponent in 10 home games under Matt Rhule to score 14 or fewer points.

The Panthers were a good preparation for Big Ten play in that they were very physical and hard to get off the field on third down. UNI was 6 for 16 on third downs and 2 for 4 on 4th down conversions. The defense didn’t have a 3 and out until midway through the fourth quarter when the reserves were playing for Nebraska. With Nebraska scoring fairly quickly on offense, there was a 38:07-12:42 disparity in time of possession and UNI ran 71 plays to the Huskers 48. The Panther’s first drive consumed 10:08 of the first quarter and went 62 yards on 16 plays yet yielded just three points.

Another way of looking at the offensive inefficiency for UNI is that they scored 1 point for every 12:42 of possession time. Nebraska, on the other hand, scored a point for every 39 seconds they had the ball. It was also significant that the Husker reserves were able to prevent a score late even though UNI had a first and goal at the 8-yard line. After the Panther field goal on their first possession, they punted four times, had two turnovers on downs and threw an interception.

Husker defenders admitted that their tackling was not as sharp, especially in the first half. There were too many leaky yards after contact instead of bringing the ball carrier down. They had just one sack and a paltry three tackles for loss as UNI totaled 301 yards, 41 more than given up to Colorado last week. The Blackshirts went into the game yielding just 36 yards per game on the ground but surrendered 139 yards rushing to the Panthers. “Bend don’t break” was certainly on display as UNI crossed midfield five times and into the red zone twice, scoring a single trey.

A telling difference between last year’s 1-2 start and this year at 3-0 is turnovers and takeaways. The Huskers have 5 takeaways so far compared to just 3 in the first three games last year and have committed just 2 turnovers versus 9 a year ago. That’s +3 in turnover margin so far versus -6 last year. Even though Dylan Raiola was credited with his first interception (on his 80th pass play) on a ball stolen from Jaylen Lloyd, the freshman has demonstrated a propensity for ball security that will keep the Huskers competitive throughout the season.

The Husker offense scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions as they netted 230 yards of offense on just 19 plays averaging 2:58 per drive. In three games this season, Nebraska has outscored the opposition 51-0 in the second quarter. Compare that to last year where the Huskers were outscored 81-66 in the second quarter. For the game, Nebraska had 142 yards on the ground in just 22 rushing attempts and went 20 for 26 passing for 281 yards. The offensive production has been somewhat anemic after intermission through three games, and the late score by the second team was just the first fourth quarter touchdown this season. In his presser, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said, “I want everyone to say, ‘Why are you so boring in the fourth quarter?’ It means the Huskers are controlling the game. That’s what good teams do.”

Raiola completed 17-of-23 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, setting a career best in passing yards. He completed 13-of-16 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, including 11 straight completions at one point. He was a paltry 4 of 7 for 38 yards after intermission with the aforementioned interception. But, in completing better than 70 percent of his passes for the third straight game, he becomes the first Husker quarterback to do so since Jeff Quinn in 1980 (that’s 44 years ago). Raiola played just one play in the fourth quarter (his pick) before being subbed by Heinrich Haarberg who went 3 for 3 passing for 34 yards, rushed 3 times for 7 yards and caught a pass for 8 yards. It was a good move to include sets with Haarberg as opponents will now have to spend time preparing for additional looks.

The four Husker running backs combined for just 15 carries but netted 112 yards (7.5 yds. per play average). They also combined for 5 receptions for 71 yards. That’s 20 plays total for 183 yards (a 9.2 yd. per play average). No matter how you cut it and no matter who plays, that’s a pretty productive foursome. Dante Dowdell started the game and had 6 carries for 55 yards with a long run of 38 yards in the third quarter. Emmett Johnson (4 carries for 50 yards) shined in the fourth quarter with a 36-yard touchdown scamper and a 24-yard reception. He accounted for 67 yards of that 80-yard touchdown drive.

True freshman Carter Nelson led all receivers with 4 catches for 48 yards including his first career TD on a catch and run of 24 yards on the opening drive. The kid from Ainsworth is still learning to play with 22 players on the field but has a very high ceiling. Another true freshman, Jacory Barney Jr. scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter on a 10-yard rush and added 3 receptions for 29 yards. The Huskers continue to design plays that allow the offense to exploit Barney’s speed. Isaiah Neyor (2 catches for 35 yards) had an 18-yard TD reception in the second quarter. Jaylen Lloyd had a 59-yard reception to set up a score and should have had another 50-yard catch if he had not had his pocket picked.

The defense was led by Isaac Gifford, who finished with 10 tackles, one shy of his career high. He had his best game of the season Saturday night. John Bullock also had a great game with a career-high nine tackles, bettering his eight stops last season against Louisiana Tech. Bullock also had the lone Husker sack, a QB hurry and a pass breakup. Safety Malcom Hartzog Jr. (2 tackles) intercepted a pass in the third quarter for his second pick of the season and the fifth of his career. DeShon Singleton and Stefon Thompson each had 6 stops, and Mikai Gbayor (4 tackles) returned to play in the second half. Ty Robinson (2 tackles) knocked down another pass, but did not knock down his coach this week on the sideline. Nebraska played a lot of guys on defense with 27 players appearing on the stat sheet. The depth that Tony White is building will only help the Huskers get better.

Special Teams marked the emergence of a new long snapper, Aidan Flege, and the good snaps contributed to Tristan Alvano converting field goals of 21 and 31 yards in the third quarter. The Huskers did not punt the entire game, but Brian Buschini did have 2 touchbacks on his 4 kickoffs. John Hohl also contributed a touchback on three kickoffs and the return teams covered pretty well. Only 1 of 4 UNI punts was returned and that was for just 2 yards.

It's a short week of practice as the Huskers host the 3-0 and likely ranked Illinois Illini Friday night. Illinois dispatched Central Michigan 30-9 Saturday and will likely bring their hard-hitting defense in what will likely be the most physically demanding game of this young season. I plan to be in attendance and look forward to another loud crowd as the Grey Lady gets to rocking. One game at a time, but with conference play beginning, expectations remain high, and we will get to see what our young bucks are really made of. Go Big Red!!

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