As Nebraska learns how to win the Matt Rhule way, the foundations are there

Identifying a young fan overlooking the scene, Raiola stopped to toss a wristband before jogging down the tunnel. After Raiola had exited the field, the fan turned to a friend almost in disbelief that the Nebraska quarterback had picked him out of the crowd.

It’s a moment that young fan will remember for a long time, and it’s far from the only happy memory that Raiola has helped create over the first three weeks of Nebraska football’s season. Let’s drop into coverage:

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule just about summed it up postgame when he said the Husker offense was “unbelievably efficient” in their win over Northern Iowa.

The statistics — five scoring drives in seven attempts with Raiola in the game — speak for themselves, but the way that the Husker offense shot out of the gate was imperative.

Given that Northern Iowa was perfectly content with draining 10 minutes off the clock on its opening possession, it was crucial that Nebraska went 3-for-3 in putting together touchdown drives early on.

Carter Nelson, who hauled in the game’s opening touchdown, liked what the Huskers offered from the get-go.

“We had the ball rolling,” Nelson said.

Raiola had another standout day, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The freshman also posted a completion percentage of 70% or better for the third-straight game, making him the first Husker quarterback since Jeff Quinn in 1980 to do so.

Even the freshman’s first career interception came on a throw that Rhule had no problem with him making, instead chalking up the turnover to a great play from the Northern Iowa defender.

Despite Raiola’s strong showing, Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley identified a different tone-setter. Sophomore Dante Dowdell, NU’s top running back so far this season, handled just six carries against the Panthers — three of which came in Nebraska’s first four snaps.

Dowdell’s gains of 5, 7 and 4 yards made Northern Iowa have to worry about the Husker run game, thus opening up space for Raiola to attack down the field.

“He’s a good player,” Farley said of Raiola. “It was the running back and then you’ve got the really fast receiver, but it was the running back that caused us the problems.”

If Saturday’s game was an early preview of Big Ten football, then Nebraska fans are going to like what they see.

It’s true that Northern Iowa’s talent at the skill positions and its overall depth will be nothing like what Nebraska faces over the next nine games, but the Panthers’ physical rushing attack and the way they tried to defend the Husker offense still mirrors that of other Big Ten programs.

After all, Northern Iowa spent much of the game lining up with a fullback on power runs that aimed to wear down the Husker defense. With limited possessions within the game and a deep bench of substitutes, NU handled that challenge with ease.

Where UNI did especially well was in limiting the Nebraska pass rush even as it attempted 32 passes within the game. Unlike Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, who held onto the ball and tried to extend plays, UNI’s Aidan Dunne got the ball out quickly time and time again.

Not all were completions, but Nebraska’s opponents know they can’t count upon clean pockets when facing the Huskers.

The Nebraska defense locked in after allowing a first-quarter field goal as they held Northern Iowa scoreless the rest of the way. Despite averaging just 6.7 points allowed per game, a top-10 mark nationally, the Blackshirts are still searching for more.

“We came out in the second half and we picked up what we were doing and felt a lot better about that second half,” Isaac Gifford said. “That first half, it wasn’t up to our standard.”

Just about the only second-half fireworks inside Memorial Stadium this season have come during the pre-fourth quarter lights show.

Here’s the breakdown of Nebraska’s scoring so far this season:

* First quarter: Nebraska 28, opponents 10.

* Second quarter: Nebraska 51, opponents 0.

* Third quarter: Nebraska 13, opponents 3.

* Fourth quarter: Nebraska 10, opponents 7.

Each game has contributed to that trend differently. Against UTEP, Nebraska dominated the second quarter and emptied the bench in the second half. A four-quarter effort for its starters against Colorado involved the Buffs only scoring late, and the recent win over Northern Iowa involved only an early field goal before NU seized control.

However, the lack of fourth quarter drama may be a breath of fresh air for Husker fans who’ve experienced plenty of late-game stress in years prior. It’s at least where Rhule wants his football team to be.

“We want to score, get a lead if we can, play defense and run the football,” Rhule said. “And then I want everyone to say, ‘Why are you so boring in the fourth quarter?’ and then we win.’”

Controlling games, Rhule said, is “what good teams do.” Three games into the year and Nebraska has all the makings of a team which can carry over that success into Big Ten play.

Nebraska does have teams on its schedule which will challenge it in much different ways than UTEP or Northern Iowa did. But the foundations have been built over this three-game stretch.

“I kind of refer to this as the preseason in my mind; we’re learning how to win,” Rhule said.

Before the Colorado game, Rhule acknowledged its importance but reminded fans that the teams weren’t even in the same conference. Lessons learned from the nonconference slate have shown that NU is learning how to win the Rhule way.

It was nice to see Nebraska get quarterback Heinrich Haarberg on the field not just for mop-up duty, but to give opposing defenses a unique look alongside Raiola. Given that Raiola both fired a completion to Haarberg and exchanged a handoff, it’s fun to dream about the ways Nebraska can utilize both players.

Some trickery, especially with backward passes, could be possible as the season progresses.

Elsewhere on offense, Nebraska rotated heavily at running back with Rahmir Johnson, Dowdell and Emmett Johnson each receiving 13-14 snaps. Gabe Ervin Jr. continues to be the odd man out in NU’s running back rotation, having played just 16 snaps this season.

Also of note was the long snapper position, where Rhule said midweek that he had opened up the competition. Aidan Flege handled the snaps on Nebraska’s kicking attempts while Camden Witucki was set to snap when NU punted. 

While not the 100-plus players who saw the field against UTEP, Nebraska did manage to get roughly 70 different players on the field for at least one snap.

Keeping an eye on the young Huskers who may or may not be set for a redshirt season, there are several true freshmen who’ve appeared in all three of NU’s games so far this season.

Quarterback Dylan Raiola, wide receivers Jacory Barney Jr. and Carter Nelson, defensive lineman Keona Davis and linebackers Vincent Shavers and Willis McGahee IV are the freshmen who’ve featured heavily thus far.

Other players will have a four-game target set by the Nebraska coaching staff which would align with taking a redshirt season. Sophomore wide receiver Malachi Coleman, a redshirt candidate identified by Rhule earlier in the year, has yet to appear in a game this season.

Wide receivers Keelan Smith, Quinn Clark and Isaiah McMorris appeared against UTEP but not against Northern Iowa, perhaps with the four-game goal in mind.

Another player to keep an eye on is sophomore defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel. After playing in 11 games last season, Van Poppel was on the field for just 14 snaps over NU’s first two games but did not appear against Northern Iowa.

Could Nebraska follow a similar plan to what it did with linemen Kai Wallin and James Williams in 2023, playing them for four games before shutting down their seasons? For now, Van Poppel could be headed down the same path.