Report Card: Huskers 14, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 7

On one of the weirdest, wackiest days of college football in quite some time, we’re reminded that it’s better to win ugly than not win at all. Well, in the case of Nebraska, it wasn’t all ugly. Despite a rather pedestrian offense and multiple special teams debacles, Nebraska’s Blackshirts seized the day and held Rutgers scoreless for the first 56 minutes of the game. And in fairness to the offense, Nebraska had to start three of their five second half drives inside their own five yard line, limiting what they could do.

For the second week in a row, Brian Buschini separated himself from everyone else on special teams; how can a punter contend for Big Ten special teams player of the week honors while being surrounded by ineptness? This bye week, Matt Rhule needs to take a long, hard look at special teams, as there has to be some sort of accountability for four blocked kicks the last two weeks. It’s worth noting that Bill Busch, an accomplished special teams coordinator, is still around in Lincoln, working on a morning radio show and waiting for the right coaching opportunity. Just sayin’. (I’ve already made my call, for what it’s worth.)

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. And on a day when six of the top 11 ranked teams went down to defeat, you take that. Nebraska’s 5-1 record looks fairly solid when you consider that Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah are all 4-1. But now things get tougher: Nebraska’s next two opponents are undefeated, with three more bowl-likely teams up in November.

With that, it’s onto the report card, and as always, your opinions welcome in the comments.

QB: Dylan Raiola’s worst game thus far, completing under 50% of his passes. It was a tough day to throw the ball with that stiff breeze shifting in the first half. Still, Raiola made some uncharacteristic mistakes, starting with rushing a throw under pressure that was intercepted and then an ill-conceived intentional grounding penalty just before halftime. I’ll forgive much of the second half due to field position, but Raiola did have a couple of missed opportunities when he wasn’t in danger of being sacked for a safety. Grade: D+

I-Back: Emmitt Johnson earned the start based on last week, but reverted back to the mean. Dante Dowdell had the best day overall, rushing for 57 yards. Rahmir Johnson capitalized on a new wrinkle off of the Jacory Barney sweeps, taking one pass for 36 yards. He had a great 18 yard run late in the second quarter to set up Nebraska’s second score. Grade: C-

Wide Receivers: It was a tough day to catch deep balls because receivers had to really adjust to them; thumbs up to Jaylen Lloyd and Jahmal Banks for some big catches. That said, having another receiver in the game besides Alex Bullock could have given Raiola another target to look at. Grade: C

Offensive Line: Running room was hard to find all day, and it’s not because Rutgers has a great rush defense. After holding the Huskers to just 97 yards, Rutgers is now 83rd. Here’s what’s scary: UTEP and Purdue are 130th and 131st in rush defense, and Illinois is 61st. Nebraska is going to have to deal with Gunnar Gottula’s learning left tackle under fire, but Nebraska needs more out of their line. Much more. Grade: D

Defensive Line: Concern level was high in the first quarter with Kyle Monangai running free into the secondary multiple times, but after Rutgers seemingly abandoned the running game in the second quarter, Nebraska’s defensive line did a great job holding him in check and pressuring Athan Kaliakmanis. James Williams had a huge game with two sacks and two quarterback hurries, while Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher were disruptive. Riley Van Poppel used one of his four games of eligibility with limited snaps. Grade: A

Linebackers: John Bullock, Javin Wright and Mikai Gbayor split time and each added three tackles in a solid effort: Grade: A-

Secondary: Another huge game from Isaac Gifford with eight tackles along with DeShon Singleton with several third down stops. (I would argue that that “holding” call during the goal line stand was closer to offensive pass interference since Dymere Miller initiated the contact and drove him into the end zone.) Then there’s Marques Buford with the interception and three passes broken up. Grade: A+

Brian Buschini: We have to do this again this week because Buschini was special again this week, averaging 50 yards a punt with two pinned inside the 20 despite having to stand in the end zone three times to punt. Plus a beautifully executed pass to Jaylen Lloyd for Nebraska’s best pass play in in the second half. Get ready for B1G honors on Monday. Grade: A+

Rest of Special Teams: Two punts blocked mean that Nebraska’s special teams have allowed a national worst five blocked kicks this season. In no context is that acceptable. In the fourth quarter with the hands recovery team on the field set up anticipating an onside kick, Rahmir Johnson elected to return the kickoff despite having zero blockers. Johnson returned it to the 14 yard line before compounding his error by sliding down. That kick could have been fair caught and the Huskers would have had the ball at the 25 yard line. That’s a huge error to make in a game where Nebraska was struggling with field position. Not a zero, but worse than an “F”. Grade: YUCK

Overall: B- As the second half evolved, it became clear to me that unless Nebraska did something stupid to lose the game, Rutgers was not going to win this game. The defense was playing too well. But Nebraska’s got to find something more consistent on offense with the teeth of the schedule not staring the Big Red in it’s face.