Stukenholtz: Yes, It Has Really Been That Long

In defeating Wisconsin, Nebraska football broke many more droughts than the bowl-less streak.

Nov 23, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) takes a picture with fans after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Sometimes when you want to move forward, you must first go back. The path of least resistance, the shortest distance between two points, it’s not always a straight line. 

So it has been for Nebraska football. For many games, for many years, through many players and coaches, the program has faltered countless times. Just when you think they’ve figured it out, the rug is pulled out from under you.

Ever since Frank Solich’s firing in 2003, it’s been one broken promise after another. Bill Callahan brought recruiting and the West Coast offense, but also two losing seasons, the first since 1961. Bo Pelini fueled his players with fire and brimstone, but his vaunted defenses collapsed in the biggest games, including Nebraska’s last conference championship game appearance. Mike Riley had spun straw into gold at Oregon State, but even with the Huskers’ resources couldn’t produce a winner. Scott Frost returned as the prodigal son, only to fail spectacularly in virtually every close game. 

With the backdrop of the Matt Rhule era set, goal number one was always achieving the bare minimum for major college football teams: qualify for a bowl game. The school that once made a then-NCAA record 35 straight postseason games (Florida State got ‘em by one before losing their streak in 2018) had missed for an unthinkable six consecutive seasons. 2023 saw a winless November extend the misery to seven years home for the holidays. 

That’s what makes what happened Saturday in Memorial Stadium so special. NU’s 44-25 victory over Wisconsin was many years in the making. While we all see the final score on the scoreboard and the touchdown highlights and videos of fans storming the field, you may have missed some elements that led us to this moment. 

To see how far these 2024 Huskers have come, we must look to the past. 

September 28, 2024: In a 28-10 rout of Purdue, Dylan Raiola throws for 257 yards and a touchdown with *zero* interceptions. 

First, the quarterback. It’s no secret that Raiola has struggled. The hot start in September, when NU faced the three worst opponents on their schedule, gave way to five straight turnover-laden games and four losses in a row. Until Wisconsin. 

One of Rhule’s three pillars this season – win the turnover battle – was the engine that powered Nebraska’s 5-1 start. Raiola’s first five games included an impressive 9-2 TD-INT ratio. He then struggled through a five-game stretch with two touchdowns and eight picks, at least one each game. Against the Badgers, Raiola looked more comfortable than he had since September, and he played his first turnover-free game since the win at Purdue. 

October 1, 2022: Anthony Grant rushes for 136 yards on 32 carries in Nebraska’s last conference victory with a 100-yard rusher, 35-21 over Indiana.

How about the run game? Dylan Raiola’s play isn’t the only thing that has noticeably improved since Dana Holgorsen became offensive coordinator two games ago. Across Nebraska’s first six conference games, NU averaged between 3.7-4.1 yards per carry on running back carries (except for Indiana, that one was worse). Pretty consistent, right? Well, in Holgorsen’s two OC games, Husker running backs averaged 5.9 ypc at USC and 5.8 ypc versus Wisconsin.

Holgorsen not only identified a set of successful plays, but I believe he also picked out NU’s best option at the position. Emmett Johnson has emerged as the most consistent backfield threat with the opportunities he has been given. One game pre-Holgorsen with double digit carries, now two straight with 10 or more, including 113 rushing yards on the Badgers, the first time since October 2022 with a Husker over 100 yards on the ground in a conference win.

Don’t sleep on Johnson’s involvement in the pass game, either. After 16 receptions for 116 yards receiving through nine games, now 13 catches for 121 yards in the last two games. He’s the all-purpose back to Dante Dowdell’s short yardage role.

October 2, 2021: Nebraska’s offense explodes with multiple rushing touchdowns, one through the air, and a blowout Big Ten win over Northwestern, 56-7.

Since Matt Rhule took over, NU has not won a conference game in which they’ve allowed more than 14 points. They’ve only been able to win with defense. Now, it feels like Holgorsen has unlocked another avenue to winning. Against Wisconsin, the Huskers scored on eight possessions, punting only twice. Two of the field goals were preceded by dropped passes in the end zone, so it could’ve been more. The 44 points were the most scored in Big Ten play since the Northwestern win in October 2021.

December 5, 2020: Connor Culp hits his ninth consecutive field goal attempt in a 37-27 win at Purdue.

What a turnaround for special teams. Jacory Barney, the freshman receiver sensation who now has the true freshman record for receptions with 49, returned the opening kickoff 45 yards. It is the longest return of the season and helped set up the hot start for the offense. Punter Brian Buschini continued his solid play, averaging 50.5 yards on his two punts, including one that pinned the Badgers at the 3-yard line. 

The starkest improvement has been field goal kicking. Taking over for the injured Tristan Alvano, John Hohl missed a 4th quarter, go-ahead 39-yard attempt against Illinois, then missed three first-half tries at Purdue, two of which were blocked. NU flip-flopped long snappers during the struggles. After zero FG attempts against Rutgers and Indiana, the kicking operation figured it out. Clean snaps from Aiden Flege, good holds from Buschini, and Hohl booting them through. Three perfect field goals at Ohio State, including a Nebraska-record-on-the-road 54-yarder, got everyone’s attention. Hohl hit both tries at USC, then three more Saturday against Wisconsin, making it eight in a row, the longest streak since Big Ten Kicker of the Year Connor Culp’s nine straight in 2020.

October 15, 2016: The Huskers win their sixth game of the season, 27-22 over Indiana, to start 6-0 and achieve bowl eligibility.

This is the big one. NU had been 0-for-4 in chances to get that sixth win this season. They ended 2023 with a winless November after a 5-3 start. Add to that a chance in 2019 to finish 6-6 if they could’ve beaten Iowa at home, and it’s zero wins in the program’s last nine opportunities to become bowl eligible since their last postseason in 2016. 

2,961 days later, it’s official. Big Ten-tied bowl game reps are free to fight over who gets the right to host the Big Red and their fans.

September 29, 2012: Nebraska defeats Wisconsin, 30-27.

Since the move to the Big Ten, rivalries have been a moving target. Iowa is the most natural with the shared border, but some didn’t feel Iowa “deserved” rival designation back in the early 2010s. It’s probably reached rivalry status by now, though. And, in my opinion, so has Wisconsin. Although it’s been very one-sided, most of the NU-UW matchups have been close, including two overtime finishes (of course you know how those turned out). Each team beat the other in 2012, with Nebraska winning the regular season battle and Wisconsin dominating the Big Ten Title Game rematch, 70-31.

With the long-awaited second win over the Badgers in the Big Ten era, the Huskers have finally held up their end of the bargain and claimed the “Freedom Trophy.” (Did you ever really care about the “Missouri-Nebraska Bell?” No, you didn’t – but you sure as heck didn’t want to lose to Mizzou!)

Ok, one more…

November 25, 1939: In closing the season with a 13-7 win over Oklahoma in Lincoln, Nebraska’s defense completes its home schedule without allowing a single rushing touchdown at Memorial Stadium.

This one is just cool. Despite hosting the likes of Colorado, Illinois, Rutgers, UCLA, and Wisconsin, none of NU’s 2024 opponents were able to score a touchdown on the ground. The Blackshirts have had their struggles at times, but when you do something that hasn’t been done in 85 (!) years, that’s really impressive.

Yeah, it’s been a while, but here they are. Nebraska unlocked long-hidden achievements by re-introducing their star freshman quarterback, finding a role for an underutilized running back, unleashing a new offensive coordinator, improving special teams, and making the necessary plays – while avoiding the mistakes – that finally led the program back to a highly anticipated bowl game. 

It’s like the Huskers reached deep into the back of the closet and found some clothes they used to wear. They even tried on that old suit they’d always rock around Christmas or New Year’s. 

It still looks good on them.

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