The Nebraska football team is 5-1, with more optimism surrounding the program than we’ve seen in many years. With the bye week coming exactly halfway through Huskers’ season, it’s a good time to look back on some of the top moments from the year to date.
Today we’ll look at 6 through 10; tomorrow we’ll take a look at the top 5.
10. Raiola’s Commitment. OK, technically this happened in December, about eight months before the 2024 season kicked off. But since the very first moment there was a hint that 5 star, Husker legacy quarterback Dylan Raiola was considering flipping his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska, this became the story of the offseason. The hope that comes with a player of Raiola’s talent and abilities–at the most important position in football–cannot be overstated. It wasn’t just a good player committing to the Huskers. It was an immediate impact, ready-to-play, star quarterback with an NFL arm to go along with poise and brains beyond his years. This commitment completely changed the narrative of the offseason, and injected the fan base with a hope and belief that had been missing for years. The fact that he’s the son of an All American Husker lineman–one of the best in program history–makes it all the sweeter for Nebraska fans. So far in 2024, the young Raiola has lived up to the hype and then some.
9. Offensive Turnaround. Bear with me here. I realize this Nebraska offense is not the 1983 Scoring Explosion. The Huskers currently rank 77th nationally in total offense, 74th in scoring offense, 55th in passing offense, and 90th in rushing offense. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page. BUT, let’s not forget how bad the Husker offense was last year. It was terrible. We have said countless times on the Common Fan Podcast that, with the defense as good as it was in 2023, all we needed was an average offense and the Big Red would probably have won two or three more games. They almost certainly would have made a bowl game. In the offseason, the Nebraska coaching staff went and got Raiola, transfer wide receivers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor, transfer running back Dante Dowdell, and true freshmen impact players Jacorey Barney and Carter Nelson. They also brought in co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas to help design the offense. What we’re seeing in 2024 is a step forward. At times, it has been outstanding. Other times, very inconsistent. But you have to assume Raiola will only get better, and there is a lot of young talent on the offensive side of the ball. The Big Red will face some salty defenses in the second half of the season, but the long term trajectory for the offense is trending in the right direction.
8. 2nd half against Purdue. It’s easy to forget after a 28-10 victory, but Nebraska played a sloppy 1st half against Purdue and went into the locker room tied 0-0. What’s more, the Boilermakers took the opening kickoff of the 2nd half, took almost 7 minutes of time off the clock, and kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead halfway through the 3rd quarter. Husker fans had been there before. Suddenly, the boys in red were losing a close game in the 2nd half against a team we felt we should beat. Too many times in the past, Nebraska teams folded in similar moments. In this instance, however, the Huskers didn’t panic, and instead ran off 28 unanswered points before allowing a late Purdue touchdown during garbage time. This game is a perfect microcosm of the first half of the season. It hasn’t always been easy for Nebraska; the performance hasn’t always been consistent. But they’re finding ways to win, which they failed to do more often than not in recent years. Believe it or not, fellow Common Fans, this is progress.
7. Emergence of Freshmen Contributors. Jacorey Barney. Carter Nelson. Vincent Shavers. Keona Davis. Gunnar Gottula. Rahmir Stewart. Willis McGahee IV. These are just some of the freshmen who have made a meaningful impact so far this season. As of the Rutgers game week, there were 15 true freshmen or redshirt freshmen on Nebraska’s depth chart. To me, this speaks to two things: 1) Matt Rhule’s coaching staff’s ability to identify talented recruits who can come into the program and contribute right away, and 2) the staff’s willingness to let talented players play. As Rhule goes about trying to build a consistent winner at Nebraska, the experience these young guys are getting will be invaluable in future years. There is no substitute for live game reps. What’s more, it’s extremely useful to be able to show future recruits that if they come to Nebraska, work hard, and are good enough to get on the field, they’re going to play.
6. Winning One Score Games. I’m going to lump both Purdue and Rutgers into this one. Rutgers was a legitimate one-score win, as the Huskers took a 14-0 lead into halftime and held on to win 14-7. Purdue, obviously, was an 18 point win for the Big Red. But considering that Nebraska was losing midway through the 3rd quarter–a situation they have flat out not been able to handle in recent years–I’ll go ahead and give them credit for that one too. Coach Rhule talks often about how the team is still learning how to win, and winning close games is essential to that process. If the Huskers want to go bowling, and perhaps play for much more, they will need to win more close games in the second half of the season.
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