A Narrative-Busting Victory for Nebraska Football

Well… how about that?

Just when you think you know the 2024 Huskers, they go and do something to completely flip the script. 

There have been so many different narratives about this team and their deficiencies.  They’re “snakebit” and cursed.  The offense stinks.  Quarterback Dylan Raiola has regressed.  Bad attitudes and the “here we go again” mindset are a cancer.  The upperclassmen are holding this team back.  Matt Rhule will start 2025 on the hot seat. 

And on and on. 

This was a narrative-busting game.  On a feel-good Saturday afternoon, the Huskers dispatched Big Ten nemesis Wisconsin with surprising ease.  Rhule, who has clearly been carrying the weight of our collective expectations (as well as our shared PTSD for the 118 losses that occurred between 62-36 and his hiring), can finally exhale.  The eight-year* bowl drought monkey is finally off this program’s back.

*A quick pause to point out that had the Huskers sought and accepted a likely bowl bid after the 2020 season, the bowl-less streak would “only” have been at three seasons.  Thankfully, this is now a moot point. 

That’s the beauty of a three-score win on Senior Day – it has the ability to wash a lot of the season’s sins away.  We can take a deep breath, smile, and start to realize that maybe things weren’t as bad as we thought they were.  Celebrate the past and focus on the future.  That’s needed because one 19-point victory – or even a much-needed set of bowl practices – won’t fix all of Nebraska’s issues. 

There are still assistants who would be best utilized in different roles (or at other programs).  The special teams have only improved from “liability” to “sub-par”.  The defense is clearly in “bend, but don’t break” mode. 

Senior Days stir up nostalgia, but also fears about who will replace the contributors who are not coming back.  The coming roster purge down to 105 adds a new layer of complexity.  Nebraska can no longer attempt to solve a lack of depth by hoping one of the 11 other guys in the room can step up. 

Which players without extensive game tape should be prioritized, and who should be thanked for their time and sacrifice?  Fortunately, an extra month of practice can help answer some of these questions.  Arguably, that extra development and evaluation will matter more in the long run than a trip to Detroit, New York City, or elsewhere to play another 6-6 or 7-5 team.

Speaking of 7-5, it’s kind of hard to believe that Nebraska has a chance to reach the record that so many fans (including myself) predicted back in August, especially after all of the angst we’ve gone through. 

That was a fun environment.  The last time we gathered at Memorial Stadium, Nebraska lost a frustrating game to UCLA. 

Former Husker Collin Miller ruffled a lot of feathers after the UCLA game when he called out the crowd for being “asleep in their seats” in an environment that – by many accounts, and for many reasons – was flat. 

Miller’s critiques were largely met with more passion and noise than was displayed during the UCLA game.  The former Blackshirt was roundly shouted down, including by yours truly.

While I have no interest in going after my fellow season ticket holders and neighbors in the stadium, I did feel some of the backlash swung too far in the opposite direction. 

Nobody should ever take the passion, dedication, and financial support of Nebraska fans (especially season ticket holders) for granted.  Period.  Thankfully, no fan has ever been asked to make a tackle, block the weakside linebacker on 3rd down, or draw up a play for 4th & 8.  Those things are best left to the coaches and players. 

But home field advantage is still a thing that exists.  Especially in college football. 

Fans have the opportunity* to impact a game with their passion, pride, and vocal chords. 

*You’ll note that I said “opportunity”, not “obligation”.  I have no desire to tell people how to fan.  If you want to sit in quiet solitude in row 58, that’s your right. 

With Nebraska needing one more game for bowl eligibility, their options were win at home or in Iowa City at night.  I know which one I would pick:  being in front 87,000 loyal fans at home. 

And the fans delivered.  The pregame energy was noticeably better than UCLA.  The crowd was into the game from the start and stayed locked in until the end. 

For our efforts, my fellow fans and I were rewarded with a great atmosphere, a great win, and some tremendous video content from the HuskerVision crew.  It was one of the most enjoyable games I’ve experienced in a long time. 

I’m not suggesting that fans need to bring this level of energy every time Nebraska takes the field for the Huskers to win.  I do not want to be the fan police, plus I expect Rhule to get the team to a point where they can win in any environment. 

But wasn’t it fun to cheer loud, will the team to victory, and celebrate with 86,922 of your friends?  I can’t wait to do it again. 

Dana Holgorsen was in his bag.  In his second game as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator, Holgorsen opened his cookbook and found a recipe for success. 

I’m not sure what I liked the best about Nebraska’s offense against Wisconsin.  The nearly 50-50 run pass ratio (36 runs, 38 passes).  That beautifully simplistic run fake followed by a quick slant pass.  Using formations (Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell lined up next to Raiola like a motorcycle with two sidecars), personnel groupings (two tight ends), and motion to create favorable matchups. 

Maybe it was the mix of power running, misdirection, and short, simple throws.  I know I loved how Nebraska scored all seven times they entered the red zone. 

But I think my favorite thing happened late in the third quarter.  Nebraska is up 27-10 and has a big 3rd & 4 from the Badger 29.  Before the snap, Raiola motions a receiver over to his left.  At the snap, the receiver on the right runs a route to the left, leaving the west side of the field empty.  Suddenly, Johnson comes streaking out of the backfield.  Raiola hits him in stride and EJ gains 26 yards to the three-yard line.  Simple, yet elegant.

And I’m excited to see what he’ll do against Iowa. 

Players making plays (or they don’t play).  An important thing to note from the pass play I described above:  when presented with an opportunity to make a play, the guys took advantage of it.  That was a common theme on Saturday. 

Nobody personified the “players making plays” mantra better than Emmett Johnson, who looked like a video game animation spinning, juking, and dancing the Badger secondary looking for extra yardage.  His red and white uniform was moving so quickly, he sometimes looked like a pink blur. 

Luke Lindenmeyer and Nate Boerkircher both took advantage of some extended playing time by making some excellent blocks and being active options in the passing game. 

On the flip side, it appeared Lindenmeyer and Boerkircher’s opportunities came at Thomas Fidone’s expense.  Fidone was called for a false start with eight minutes to go in the first quarter.  He went out after the penalty, and I do not recall seeing him on the field again.  I do not believe his absence to be injury related.  Hopefully, he (and others) will maximize their opportunities against Iowa. 

Is this what happens when you don’t spend the afternoon shooting yourself in the foot?  Once again, Nebraska fans got to watch a team in red and white making stupid mental errors all day long.  But for one glorious day, it wasn’t Nebraska 

Here is an incomplete list of boneheaded things the Badgers did on Saturday: 

That list is a botched onside kick away from being a greatest hits of how Nebraska has lost games in the last five years. It was so refreshing to finally be on the receiving end of another team’s sloppiness.  

Best of all?  Nebraska made the Badgers pay for their mistakes. 

On the drives following the two missed field goals, the fumble, and a turnover on downs, the Huskers scored a total of 24 points.  They won the game by 19. 

When was the last time Nebraska had a weekend this good?  Let’s recap the weekend in the three biggest Husker sports for posterity: 

Friday night:  Nebrasketball goes to Omaha and absolutely suffocates the #14 Creighton Bluejays, winning by 11, in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score suggests.  The Huskers held All-Everything center Ryan Kalkbrenner to four points, on 0-1 shooting.  The three-time reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year looked mortal as numerous Huskers scored layups at the rim. 

The upset launched an avalanche of delicious trolling by Husker fans (and NU’s social media folks), most of it directed at the Nebraskans with ala carte cheering preferences. 

Saturday afternoon:  The football team earns a bowl bid with a convincing win over a team they haven’t beaten in 4,438 days.  In addition to the bowl bid, NU also received a rather ugly trophy. 

Saturday night:  The remarkable juggernaut that is Nebraska Volleyball easily swept #6 Wisconsin (again), ending the Badgers’ hopes of a conference title, and putting NU squarely in the driver’s seat for a championship. 

It’s just an absolute joy to watch Nebraska play volleyball.  They play at such a high level and look like they’re having the time of their lives.  If you weren’t alive for the mid-90s run of NU football, this is what it looked and felt like. 

So, as my favorite band (The Nadas) sang, was this the “best weekend ever“? 

I didn’t do the research, but my guess is probably not, considering football and volleyball have combined for ten national championships and over 80 conference championships.  The historic bar for success is pretty high. 

But for a fan base that has grown all too accustomed to painful groin kick losses against rivals, three straight big wins were memorable moments to celebrate and savor. 

Was this Nebraska’s most complete win of the season?  Admittedly, there are not a lot of contenders for the title, especially against P4 competition.  But I think it’s possible that Nebraska played their best 60 minutes of football against the Badgers. 

I think it’s indisputable that Colorado remains Nebraska’s best win of the season.  The first half of that game is probably the best the Huskers have looked this season.  But the second half was a little anticlimactic.  At the time, I wrote that NU “got a little bored in the second half.”   

But on Saturday, the Huskers did some of their best work after halftime.  Nebraska scored 20 points, answering both Badger scores with points of their own.  There was no letting off the gas, no attempt to coast across the finish line.  With a bowl berth on the line, the Huskers went for the throat. 

All three phases weren’t in peak form, but the defense and special teams did what they had to do.  Overall, it was a complete team victory.  Arguably the best of the year.   

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

Final score:  44-25 

Is that a Huskerigami?  YES!  This is the 579th unique score combination in Nebraska history, and the first since the 35-11 win over Northern Illinois in 2023 (the week before Huskerigami started). 

This was the eighth Nebraska-Wisconsin game to end in a Huskerigami score (out of 18 total games).   

1. Emmett Johnson.  198 total yards, with a large chunk of those coming after contact.  EJ ran with a purpose, vision, and burst that has been largely absent from NU’s running backs for several years.  Be sure to give credit to the offensive line for another strong performance, but Johnson made the most of the opportunities he was given. 
2. Dylan Raiola.  Feel free to fact-check me on this, but I think NU is 4-0 when Raiola throws a sidearm pass.  I don’t know if those throws are him feeling comfortable in the offense, a reflection on his health, or completely unrelated.  Regardless, Raiola looked as confident and in control as he has since September, coming just seven yards shy of his first 300-yard game. 
3. Ty Robinson.  He made his college debut against Wisconsin in 2019, a raw kid in a redshirt season holding his own against the (then) #15 Badgers.  Five years later in his home finale, Robinson showed the finished product he has become.  A mountain of a man who uses his instincts and brute force to disrupt offenses.  Robinson made himself some good money by coming back for his senior season.  And he absolutely trucked some poor Badger as a goal line fullback. 
4. Jacory Barney Jr.  The freshman phenom sparked the game from the opening kick, recording NU’s longest return of the season, and 45 of his 150 all-purpose yards.  He’s quietly become Raiola’s favorite receiver – a combination I hope to see for years to come (a not-so-subtle hint to the fine folks at 1890).
5. John Hohl.  Remember the days when we didn’t think NU would even attempt another field goal this year?  Three more makes on Saturday, and (knocks on wood) no misses in almost two months.  Johnny Hohl is one of the feel-good stories on this team. 

Honorable mention:  The seniors (and others who played their last game for NU), Nebraska fans, Jahmal Banks, Dante Dowdell, field storms, Brian Buschini, Greg Sharpe, the return of “Chasing 3”, and 55 degree Saturdays in late November. 

1. Tackling.  Nebraska’s tackling – both on defense and kick coverage – could have been better.  The Huskers gave up a lot of free yards by not wrapping them up initially.  Iowa is a team that makes you pay for missed tackles.
2. Sacks.  The Blackshirts generated decent pressure against Braedyn Locke (three hurries and a couple of knockdowns), but they never got there in time to sack him.  A little more pressure up front will help a defensive secondary that has not been very sharp.
3. Timeout management.  I’m okay with Rhule challenging Wisconsin’s first touchdown.  The replays shown in the stadium gave the impression that it was worth the risk.  But otherwise, Rhule spends his timeouts like my kids spend their birthday money:  as quickly as possible, and often on worthless things that get thrown away.
4. Celebration penalties.  I’m torn on the unsportsmanlike penalty that Micah Mazzccua received for spiking the ball after Dowdell’s first touchdown.  On one hand, it was a dumb penalty that accelerated a Wisconsin scoring drive.  But as a former offensive lineman, I’m not sure I would have been able to pass up the opportunity.  As long as the celebrations don’t cross into taunting, let the kids have fun.
5. Freedom Trophy.  Be honest:  did you know the Freedom Trophy existed prior to Nebraska carrying it off the field?  Look, I’m thrilled that Nebraska finally beat Wisconsin.  But that trophy – generically ugly with a moralistic trope theme with no direct tie to either program – is a loser.  I’d much rather the two teams play for something fun and unique. 

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