Off The Cob — Lyle Harmon on Nebraska football, position by position and week by week, with a long memory for Husker history.
Nebraska football fans whose taste runs to scoring spectaculars may have to wait a long time before they are treated to a smorgasbord like the one dished out Saturday in Nebraska’s 65-31 conquest of Oklahoma State. As Nebraska coach Bob Devaney put it, “Anyone who likes offense should have been ecstatic.”
Somebody get Rhule that tee-shirt that says, “Sportsmanship is for Losers.” I don’t really believe that, but it wouldn’t hurt Rhule to find a new attitude and be hated for winning big.
It doesn’t seem Husker freshman running back Jamal Rule needs anyone to tell him the rules. On Saturday he arrived early. In my estimation about 4 weeks early.
So, when Ohio came out and punched the Blackshirts in the mouth with an opening pass play that went for 68 yards, like the players on the field, some fans felt sick to their stomachs.
Those in red, “How could he not love us, he was such a huge part of Husker football”. Those in green, “How could he love them more than us after how they humiliated him like they did”. And for that reason, I have no clue where Frank’s heart is, nor would I force him to tell me.
“Every game you win helps some,” Devaney admitted. “You can’t say one game is the key until the season over.”
“You work to be the starter. If you’re not the starter, you’re working towards earning that. If you are the starter, it doesn’t mean you’ll always be the starter, it’s a short team reward with long term goals of also leading the team to more wins,”
Nebraska should win this game. They have more talent and experience, and QB Anthony Colandrea has something to prove. No way will he lose to Ohio in back-to-back games.
The last of my position group coverage for 2026. Even though the Depth Chart has been released, I share my thoughts on players and the secondary before Ohio.
I need to make a retraction on an article I recently posted titled “ESPN Fires A Shot”. I obviously didn’t do enough research before stating ESPN didn’t cover the UFL.
My ‘holy crap’ pick is Ohio State at number 7. I have Illinois lower than some might, and I have Michigan and UCLA doing better than most people think.
So, forget ESPN as someone who covers all sports. And they took that one step further by eliminating the ticker tape last week. You’ll no longer see scores from games on FOX, CBS, and NBC.