THE 24 HOUR RULE: Huskers Win By Doing the Little Things Nebraska Rutgers Purdue Matt Rhule

Following the Illinois game in which the defense – and for that matter, the offensive line in overtime – got out-physicalled in the crunch, the Huskers played a reeling Purdue team which has gone 5-11 since Ryan Walters replaced Jeff Brohm as head coach. A win was expected, but how they won was going to be looked at closely by both fans and coaches.

After a 4-0 start, the loss coupled by a previous inability to get Northern Iowa off the field caused some to question the defense, including myself last week. I ran a poll for a sense of the concern level and the majority were with me:

I felt there was a reason for concern, but it was too soon for snap judgments. Part of that reason was how the #15 national ranking for the defense in 2023 may have been inflated due the level of offensive competition. It didn’t mean they were actually terrible – in reality it was still a hell of an improvement and a very good first year of a rebuild, but still a product in development. And one we’ll learn much more about over the next two games.

For Purdue, there were several things to keep an eye on which could tell the story a little deeper than an easy win might show on the surface.

I coached and helped coach hockey for 17 or 18 years, both boys and girls from 5-7 year olds learning to skate up through high school. Many of those years were spent learning from a guy named Jim and his insistence on teaching players of all ages to get in the habit of doing the little things right is still the lesson I took to heart the most.

Did they do the little things which needed work against Purdue?

– Stop the Run – Yes. Devon Mackobee and Reggie Love who had been 7.8 and 6.1 yards per carry were held to a combined 3.2. Boom.

– Limit Penalties – Uh, no. It was a B1G game, so naturally, those striped loathsome swine tossed a few questionable flags while allowing opponents to hold with impunity. However, most of the 11 flags for 94 yards were legit. That needs to improve fast.

– Get the Other Offense Off the Field – Much improved. Purdue had three drives of over 50 yards. Six of the other seven were three and outs and the John Bullock pick-6.

• If things don’t go as planned, react well to adversity

Well, I’d certainly call that shit show of a first half which ended in a 0-0 tie, adversity. The Huskers marched on all six drives gaining 210 yards (plus sixty more on intentional PI’s by Illinois), but had to punt three times inside Purdue territory and missed three FG’s (two blocked).

Then Purdue opened the second half with a 13 play, 55 yard 8:08 drive for a FG and a 3-0 lead and alarm bells of a 2022 Northwestern type began ringing in Huskers fans’ PTSD-riddled minds. The Huskers had wilted in previous seasons in this scenario – how would they react in hostile territory?

The answer? By driving for 70, 63 and 65 yards for touchdowns on all three of their second half possessions for a 21-3 lead. Given the ball repeatedly, the offense finally finished drives and did it on a variety of plays.

Those 208 came by ground and air aided by Emmett Johnson leaping off the bench for 98 total yards. The defense squeezed in two more three and outs after the first two scores then Bullock’s pick upped the lead to 25 effectively ending things. The final Purdue TD wasn’t ideal, but at that point disaster had been avoided – with extreme prejudice.

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The final spread was 18, but I’m gonna call this a mission accomplished as well. With over half of the third quarter gone, the Huskers trailed 3-0, the fans were fired up and Purdue had all the momentum.

The Huskers responded with 28 straight points in about 15 minutes of utter domination. Yes, Purdue is a weaker team. But for the first time this season, the Huskers went for the throat in the second half and kept that boot firmly planted until they had put it away with about 6 minutes left.

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The Road Ahead

It wasn’t pretty, but when the dust settled, Purdue and all that first half weirdness provided a test they desperately needed. They won a minor boss fight and leveled up.

Now comes a team which is the exact version of Northern Iowa and Illinois – except with more running where Illinois is concerned. Rutgers quarterback – and old friend from Minnesota – Athan Kaliakmanis will not come out firing through the air as Luke Altmeyer of the Illini did.

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Led by Kyle Monangai and his 147 yards per game, the Scarlet Knights will run it then run it some more and try to keep the potent Husker offense off the field while the defense stays fresh. If Monangai can carry it 25 times or so and stay near in 6.1 ypc average, they will succeed.

As at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis’ arm will pose little danger, but we will have to contain his legs better than was done with Altmeyer. He will not have very many designed runs, but his scrambling ability has hurt the Huskers in the past.

Defensively, Rutgers can be had as Washington’s Mississippi State transfer, Will Rogers, threw for over 300 yards of the Huskies’ 521 in their loss. Combining the fact Rutgers is 98th in the country against the rush, this is a defense with some leaks and Raiola and company should be able to open them up.

But only if the defense can get them out there more than 3-4 times each half. If the answer to that “if” is no, then Lincoln, we have a problem.

However, if they can, we may finally see that 40+ point offense I’ve been convinced has been lurking beneath the surface for several weeks.

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