HUSKERS FOOTBALL RECAP – Not Perfect? Nope. But Day By Day…: NEBRASKA 34 NORTHERN IOWA 3 Matt Rhule Dylan Raiola

The only people nervously watching the end of this one were the gamblers who got in on the 30-point spread as Northern Iowa marched down the field trailing 34-3 with under two minutes left. In the end, a 4th and goal came up just short and those wagering fools sweating it out could breathe easy.

Everyone else in red knew that lead was more than enough to carry the evening and mulled over another mixed bag of both beautiful and frustrating play as the Huskers controlled the score from the jump in the 31-point victory.

But let’s face it – poking at the mistakes after a win is a hell of a lot more fun than after another soul-stealing field goal sails through as time runs out in a 13-10 loss. There were no worries there tonight as the advantages of having a quarterback with both arm talent and a head for the game proved more than enough to take down a Northern Iowa team which had looked suspect in its earlier play, but put up a fight this evening despite the score.

Dylan Raiola stayed over 70% by completing 17-23 passes for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns while throwing his first pick of the season, although it appeared to be questionable call to a crowd still seething over the second half laundry tossing show against Colorado.

The offense finished with a 425 yards, but again the play-calling veered more conservative in the second half and lackluster play seemed to accompany it, although Emmitt Johnson broke late for a 38-yard burst around the left side. It was the second longest run of the evening following Dante Dowdell’s earlier 38-yard scamper.

Freshman Carter Nelson finished as the game’s leading receiver with 4 grabs for 48 yards and his first touchdown as a Husker. Isaiah Neyor also snagged one for 18 yards.

Defensively, it was a glass half-empty or half-full kind of evening. Having it against an Iowa or Ohio State would be the equivalent of 100-year Scotch being the liquid. Fortunately, this was Northern Iowa tap water, so we can talk about fixing things next week instead of a potentially brutal near-miss on the national stage.

Yes, they held the Panthers to three points, so no one’s losing their mind. But we’re not being honest with ourselves if a 38:07 to 21:53 time of possession deficit isn’t worrying, especially when highlighted by a 16-play, 10:08 drive by UNI to open the game. As a friend texted, “It looks like the 80’s Huskers are playing the 2024 Huskers.”

But there are always concerns and always will be. The Huskers are 3-0 and the vibe remains different with Illinois coming to town next Friday to kick off Big Ten play. The Illini defeated Central Michigan 30-9 a week after upsetting Kansas and appear improved over 2023.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

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