Deja vu has become an all too familiar feeling in Lincoln. For the past three seasons under Matt Rhule, Nebraska has sprinted out to blistering 5-0 starts only to watch the season unravel into a dramatic freefall as the calendar turns deeper into conference play. This year’s offensive collapse has been particularly agonizing. An attack that looked high powered and unstoppable through the first five weeks completely hit a wall against Indiana and has never managed to regain that spark.
With offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen now relieved of his duties, the trajectory of the remainder of the season rests on a critical transition. Holgorsen’s offensive philosophy relied heavily on a consistent short passing game designed to force opponents into open field tackles. While that scheme found success in other conferences where missed tackles run rampant, it ran into a brick wall in the Big Ten. In this league, fundamentally sound tackling is a weekly baseline requirement, rendering that style of offense largely unviable. Compounding the issue, the coaching staff bafflingly drifted away from the run game over the last four weeks, intentionally abandoning half of their playbook even when opposing defenses weren't taking it away.
An ideal bounce back opportunity arrives this week against a struggling Rutgers squad. With Holgorsen gone, the path forward requires a return to physical identity by committing to running the ball on at least 50 percent of the offensive snaps and letting a talented backfield shine. Establishing the ground game will open up play action and take the heavy burden off the passing attack.
The measuring stick for this weekend is clear. If Nebraska's offense can find its rhythm and put up 35 points, it will signal a light at the end of a dark tunnel and prove this team can still salvage its potential. If the unit stalls out and fails to reach that threshold against a weak Rutgers defense, buckle up, because the final stretch of the year could get rough. The pieces are on the roster, but the execution and play calling must finally match the talent if the Huskers want to rewrite their late season script.
