Keys to Victory: Nebraska vs. Northern Iowa

Vibes are sky high in Husker Nation after the Big Red dominated former conference rival Colorado on Saturday. Many are considering this week’s matchup against Northern Iowa (UNI) as a tune-up to get ready for Big Ten play, but the Huskers should know from recent experience that they cannot afford to take any team lightly. 

On behalf of the Common Fan podcast, here are four keys to victory for the Huskers, and three keys to victory for all the fellow Common Fans. 

Nebraska’s Keys to Victory

Take Care of Business. McNeese State in 2014. Arkansas State in 2017. Northern Illinois in 2017. Troy in 2018. South Alabama in 2019. Buffalo in 2021. Georgia Southern in 2022. Louisiana Tech in 2023. Forgive me for listing so many recent examples, as I know many of them involve painful memories. But you know the story. Nebraska won five of those games and lost three, but even the wins were too close for comfort, and had Husker fans wondering if there was cause for concern (most of the time, there was). 

UNI comes in ranked #21 in the FCS rankings, and #8 in ESPN’s SP+ FCS rankings. This will be a solid team coming to Memorial Stadium on Saturday. But if Nebraska really is taking the next step as a program, as many Husker fans believe (or at least hope), the Panthers are the type of team Nebraska needs to beat handily. Recent betting lines had the Huskers as more than a 30 point favorite; that’s quite the spread, but at the very least, Common Fans should not be biting their fingernails late into the 3rd quarter. Learning to win means not letting the high of the Colorado win result in a hangover against an FCS team (hangovers are for Common Fans, not championship-seeking teams). 

Coach Rhule wants his team to focus on going 1-0 each week. Never get too high, never get too low; just focus on the process and doing your job. If the Big Red does that Saturday, this should be a comfortable win. 

Stop the Run. UNI is a run-first team. The Panthers have two running backs in the top 25 of all FCS teams. Tye Edwards comes in third, having amassed 315 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns in the first two games of the season. Amauri Pesek-Hickson has logged 186 yards with 2 touchdowns of his own so far this year. 

This should be a good matchup for the Huskers, who currently rank #5 in the country in rushing defense, and have excelled in that category since Matt Rhule got to Lincoln. It should also be good practice as Nebraska prepares to head into conference play, considering the number of physical, run-heavy offenses the Big Red will face. I wouldn’t be surprised if UNI’s offensive line is more physical at the point of attack than Colorado’s offensive line, but look for Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, and Jimari Butler to wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage, and linebackers John Bullock, MJ Sherman, Mikai Gbayor (once he’s done serving a one-half suspension after last week’s targeting penalty), Stefon Thompson and the others to feast on UNI’s running backs. Multiple linebackers should have good days on the stat sheet when all is said and done. 

House Cleaning. This game should serve as a great opportunity for the Huskers to work on cleaning up some of the issues we’ve seen through two games. Coach Rhule said recently there’s three stages to building a program: 1) eliminating losing football; 2) playing winning football; 3) playing championship football. Right now, the coach suggested, Nebraska is playing winning football. That’s more than most Husker teams of the last decade could say! But to make the move to championship football, Nebraska has much room to improve.

Two areas in particular come to mind: penalties and special teams. On Saturday against Colorado, Nebraska had 12 penalties for 105 yards, and several of those penalties came at crucial moments that derailed promising drives. What’s more, Husker special teams missed a field goal and had a punt blocked. These are the type of things that will cost you games in Big Ten play. These are the type of things Nebraska fans have seen all too often turn possible wins into close losses. I’d love to see the team show positive progress on both fronts on Saturday, before a resurgent Illinois team comes to Lincoln less than a week later. 

Reps, Reps, Reps. OK, not exactly a key to victory, but we’ll call it a key to building a championship program. Can the Huskers get out to a big enough lead that the backups can see significant playing time in the 2nd half? We saw it against UTEP, and it’s the type of thing Nebraska teams used to do on a regular basis. There is no substitute for getting your 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th team players valuable reps in a live game. Rest for the starters will pay off down the road this season, and in-game experience will help build depth for the future at multiple positions, which is especially important on defense, where several starters are seniors. Let’s hope the Big Red can come in focused and hungry, get an early lead, and empty the bench. 

Common Fan Keys to Victory

Draw Up Some New Plays. Do you feel like you haven’t found the right combination of tailgating friends yet? Maybe the Nebraska hat/shirt combo hasn’t been clicking quite like you want it to. Perhaps you haven’t found your go-to game day snack for 2024. Whatever it is, this is a great week to expand the playbook by drawing up some new plays. It’s still early in the season, the Husker football team is working out some kinks and so are you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; all the great ones adapt. It’s a night game, so you’ll have some time.The Huskers are heavy favorites against NIU. No one should be taking them lightly, but a week before conference play begins, this is a great time to tinker with your approach.

Enjoy the Moment. I leaned over to my wife at church on Sunday and said, “I’m so happy about Nebraska football, I don’t even feel the need to check my fantasy teams during church.” (side note: please don’t judge). Nebraska is 2-0 for the first time since 2016, with a great chance to get to 3-0 heading into conference play. Belief in the program hasn’t been this strong in a long, long time. There could still be bumps in the road in 2024; the Big Ten is arguably the best coached league in the country, and if we’re being honest, we don’t quite know yet just how good this Nebraska team can be. 

But let’s just stop and appreciate where we are. Nebraska football has had such a painful near-decade, it felt like we may never get back to something as promising as the current moment. Husker fans have continued to show up, continued to fill up Memorial Stadium, and continued to believe the Big Red would be back. Now, a bowl game is looking likely, and possibly much more. Wherever this season ends up, the trajectory of the program is clearly moving in the right direction. College football is a national treasure, and it’s so much more fun when the team you love is actually good. So enjoy having a top 25 team on the rise. We’ve earned this moment. 

Common Fans Still Need to Execute. Just as you’re enjoying the moment, though, that doesn’t mean we’re off the hook! Yes it’s Northern Iowa, and yes everyone is excited to see what Nebraska can do once we get to conference play. But just like the team needs to take care of business, so does the Common Fan. We need to bring our A game like always, whether you’re yelling in the stands or yelling at your friend’s TV. We only get to do this 12 times a year (more than that once we start getting back to bowl games, but you get the point), so we’ve gotta make it count. Get your best “defense” chant going, throw your hat when something goes wrong, high five your neighbor when good things happen, and do your part to help bring home the W. As Coach Rhule likes to say, let’s go 1-0 this week.

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