The Morning After: A Welcomed Sigh of Relief as Nebraska Finally Handles It’s Business

Make no mistake. Fordham was a FCS opponent that Nebraska was expected to handle easily.

In the beginning it was anything but easy. With that said Scott Frost stuck with the running game and Nebraska pulled away in the 2nd quarter to end up beating Fordham by 45 points.

Frost said after the game that he wanted to establish the running game. It took longer than he wanted but it happened nonetheless. “Still want to get the run game established a little earlier and a little better. We need our base run plays to get us five or six when they’re getting us two and get us 11 when they’re getting to six and I think that’s a team effort. It’s up front, it’s backs, it’s good decisions, it’s all those things and when you can establish run, everything else works off of it, and we did that okay today, but it can still get better.”

The ability to establish the run is likely the number one key for this season. How the offensive line plays will determine the success of this 2021 season. It was clear as day in yesterday’s game against Fordham.

In the first quarter the offensive line appeared out of sync and disjointed. The offense struggled to stay on the field when that happened. At the same time the Nebraska defense looked lost as FCS Fordham’s quarterback, Tim DeMorat, looked like the next coming of Tom Brady.

As the game went on you could tell that the offensive line of Nebraska started to assert itself. Then the defense started to do the same. It was hand in hand for Scott Frost’s team.

The defense got a couple turnovers. The offense finished some drives to finish the half and the game was in hand.

The special teams played an excellent game, with the obvious exception of another Cam Taylor-Britt.

How about the kickoff specialists? Isn’t that a sight for sore eyes. Touchback after touchback after touchback. It’s simply quite amazing.

Daniel Cerni averaged 40 yards per punt. Last year’s all-conference kicker Connor Culp didn’t miss two extra points.

Sometimes special teams is a great indicator if a team is taking care of it’s business. Those are the small things that turn into really big things as Nebraska fans are aware.

Halfway through the third quarter Nebraska started funneling in the backups. We finally got to see Logan Smothers in live action.

Folks. This was the first time we have been able to see backups play in a Nebraska football game since 2019. It felt weird. It felt distant. It used to be normal at this time of season. We got to see the a glimpse of the future.

That doesn’t happen unless Nebraska takes care of business on Saturday. I think we should appreciate it even if it was against a 40 point underdog.

Much Respect for Fordham’s Ryan Greenhagen

I think Ryan Greenhagen won a bunch of fans from Nebraska players, coaches and fans. The kid is a stud. He is a linebacker and generally if a linebacker gets double digit tackles then that’s a good game. The kid had 30 TACKLES! It was impossible not to notice him. Much respect.

In fact, he set a Nebraska football record. His 30 tackles is the new records for tackles by an opponent. The last record holder was Clete Pillen of Oklahoma State in 1976.

The Morning After

Shatel: Nebraska’s win over Fordham is a confidence booster for the Huskers | Football | omaha.com
There’s no reason to read too much into this win, but I won’t disparage Fordham’s team and its one-man block of granite. Scheduling this game was about confidence and momentum,

McKewon: Nebraska fills seats and empties the bench in a feel-good rout of Fordham | Football | omaha.com
Memorial Stadium filled up just fine, and Nebraska fans perked up right around the time the Huskers sloughed off a slow start in a feel-good win over Fordham for NU’s

Fordham linebacker Ryan Greenhagen’s ‘relentless pursuit’ leads to record-tying performance | Football | omaha.com
Though Ryan Greenhagen doesn’t consider himself to be a stats guy, the Fordham linebacker does have a knack for posting big numbers. Greenhagen had 30 tackles against the Huskers, tying

Husker notes: Several players make debuts as Nebraska gets chance to empty bench | Football | omaha.com
Nebraska’s reserves came pouring into the game as the third quarter faded into the fourth with a total of 88 Huskers seeing the field against Fordham. Check out more notes

Samori Touré earning Adrian Martinez’s trust leads to ‘showcase’ game for Husker wideout | Football | omaha.com
Countless spring and summer reps forged a chemistry between Nebraska’s Adrian Martinez and Samori Touré that materialized against Fordham. “I have a lot of trust in Samori,” Martinez said.

Nebraska-Fordham: Three things we learned, three things we still don’t know | Football | omaha.com
Three things we learned and three things we still don’t know about the Huskers following Saturday’s win over Fordham.

After ‘spitting and sputtering’ early, Huskers score on seven straight drives to roll past Fordham, 52-7 | Football | journalstar.com
After a slow start, the Huskers get a spark from an unpredictable place and roll to a home-opening win against Fordham at Memorial Stadium.

Steven M. Sipple: Martinez, offensive line exchange some words, and light a needed spark | Football | journalstar.com
Husker QB Adrian Martinez says he and the offensive line “got in each other’s grills a bit, and I loved it.” That sounds like football, and progress.

The grades: Nebraska 52, Fordham 7 | Football | journalstar.com
Steven M. Sipple weighs in with his report card from the Huskers’ game against Fordham.

‘Gosh that felt good’: After nearly two years, Huskers revel in welcoming fans back to Memorial Stadium | Football | journalstar.com
Several minutes into his postgame conference, Scott Frost (finally) cracked a smile. It was in response to fans returning to Memorial Stadium.

Frost sees positives in win but more locked in on what needs ironed out
Danger would never pedal its bicycle down this block on Saturday, but you can’t blame Husker fans for glancing over their shoulder for it, perhaps on edge as Fordham lined up for a game-tying field goal midway through the second quarter.

Game Balls: Who stood out against Fordham?
Nebraska took care of business against Fordham on Saturday, as the Huskers beat the Rams 52-7, taking full advantage of the disparity between the two teams. It took the Huskers a quarter to wrestle full control of the game, but when the team did, Nebraska didn’t look back with 45 straight points.

Chancellor Brewington Scores Touchdown in Nebraska Debut: ‘It Was Awesome’ – Nebraska Football | Hail Varsity
Nebraska tight end Chancellor Brewington saw the field during a game for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday, and ended up scoring a touchdown on his first catch.

Stepp, Nebraska Rushing Attack Makes Its Debut in Win Over Fordham – Nebraska Football | Hail Varsity
It came one game too late for many, but the Nebraska rushing game finally made its debut in the 52-7 win over Fordham.

They Said It: Nebraska Players React to 52-7 Win Over Fordham – Nebraska Football | Hail Varsity
Nebraska players met with the media on Saturday following the team’s 30-22 loss to Illinois. We heard from Adrian Martinez, Markese Stepp, Samori Touré, JoJo Domann and Deontai Williams.

Here are the final takes and grades following Nebraska’s 52-7 win over Fordham on Saturday.
Call it what you want, Nebraska came out of the gates on Saturday for FCS Fordham with a bit of a hangover.

10 things we learned from Nebraska’s win over Fordham
Here are 10 of our biggest takeaways from Nebraska’s 52-7 victory over Fordham on Saturday afternoon.

Rams Open Season with Loss at Nebraska
Unfortunately for the Fordham Football Rams, not all David and Goliath stories end with David slaying the giant. Nevertheless, the Rams gave it their all today, with senior linebacker Ryan Greenhagen playing the role of David, before falling to the University of Nebraska, 52-7, in Memorial Stadium.

Chatelain: Watching Nebraska win was ‘the trip of a lifetime’ for 50 Winnebago students | Football | omaha.com
Nebraska’s “Red Carpet Experience” might have looked like charity. But closer inspection reveals a measure of wisdom, writes Dirk Chatelain. It also gave underserved kids “the trip of a lifetime.”