After dominant win, Nebraska football ready to go on a run

It boomed out of 86,000 mouths, surrounding the field with a wall of sound. The crowd had moved from Colorado to basking in the warmth of a dominant, statement-making victory that hasn’t been a common sight around here over the past decade.

“That’s why you come to Nebraska, to come out and play in games like that,” nose tackle Nash Hutmacher said. “And we’re just excited to keep building and keep getting better the rest of the season.”

The Huskers are now 2-0 for the first time since 2016, which was also the last time they made a bowl game. They’re ranked in both major polls, too — 23rd according to the Associated Press media poll and 24th according to the coaches’ poll.

It’s the result of NU throttling a team that beat them 36-14 in 2023 and a potential inflection point in the program’s trajectory. Fans stormed the field as the clock hit zeroes Saturday, celebrating a period in which anything is possible.

The night that invited obvious comparisons to the scene a year ago, when Nebraska’s offense committed four turnovers and the defense wore down in the second half.

Saturday illustrated the improvement of a Nebraska offense that moved the ball consistently to race out to a 28-0 lead in the first half. It showed what was possible when meshing with a defense that has been a constant in 14 games of the Matt Rhule era, a defense that kept quarterback Shedeur Sanders on his back almost as often as he was on his feet.

The sum total of that complementary football was the game Nebraska envisioned.

“This was a big moment,” Rhule said. “This was really big for us to show up and not back down from their stars. Because we’re a little different. Our team’s our star.”

Rhule expected a big margin of victory, that NU could impose its will on Colorado. The blowout may have surprised the football world. It didn’t surprise the Huskers.

“We knew we were the better team from the jump,” defensive lineman Jimari Butler said. “We just had to go out there and prove it.”

Tight end Thomas Fidone agreed.

“Maybe to the outside world, who maybe didn’t know what we are and who we are and underestimated us, I think we might have proved something to them. But to us, we’ve known what we can be,” Fidone said.

Rhule doesn’t want NU looking ahead of its next task, but a run of wins is possible.

Next up for Nebraska is Northern Iowa, an FCS opponent where current Husker A.D. Troy Dannen worked. The Panthers are 2-0 but will be a heavy underdog in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. game.

If Nebraska takes care of business, it will be halfway to the six wins required for bowl eligibility with the entirety of the conference season ahead of it. After UNI are Illinois and Purdue, both of whom Nebraska beat in 2023.

Of course, lots can change over time. Saturday was an example of that. Butler called it a stepping stone. Linebacker MJ Sherman said it was the latest proof the Huskers’ process in the week leading up to games works.

Nebraska’s performance was far from perfect. The offense didn’t score in the second half, Colorado partially blocked a punt and NU committed nine penalties for 80 yards in the final 30 minutes.

And if NU struggles over the next month, the optimism will be unfounded. But for one night, the Huskers can point to the clear, tangible improvement.

“I think last year had to happen so that this year could happen,” Rhule said. “I think that’s a lesson I take with me all the time. Sometimes bad things have to happen to you so that the old you can die and a new one can be born.”