The Cornhuskers dismantled former Heisman winner Eddie George’s team Saturday night in Lincoln, winning 56-7. The Huskers performed to expectations for three quarters, racking up 546 total yards of offense and holding the Falcons scoreless. Once again, the Dana Holgorsen coached offense was well balanced, passing for 282 yards and rushing for 264 yards. Rob Aurich’s Blackshirts took a step forward and for three quarters looked like they may truly be Blackshirt material. Whether part of that was the presence of linebacker Owen Chambliss is hard to say. But they looked like a different unit when he was on the field.

Offense

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea is the heart and soul of the offense and clearly sets the tone for what this unit is and can be. He made throws throughout the game that Husker fans haven’t seen in the last two seasons. You can tell he is a difference maker for Holgorsen. Colandrea went 20/24 passing for 282 yards 4 TDs and 1 interception. He is the first quarterback since Tommy Armstrong in 2016 to pass for three touchdowns in back-to-back games. He also rushed the ball 4 times for 33 yards with a long of 20 yards.

Back up TJ Lateef looked equally comfortable running the offense as he went 6/8 for 60 yards and 1 TD while rushing twice for 22 yards. It appears to me Lateef has benefited from playing behind Colandrea with a scramble of 21-yards and rolling right and passing to Kwinten Ives another time. I know he is in his second year, but I’m not sure we see that without Colandrea setting the tone.

As for the running backs, ‘Husker Corner’ writer Oliver Vandervoort has given Nelson, Mozee, and Rule a new moniker, the ‘Husker Hydra’. Kudos to Vandervoort, it’s a perfect fit. For those who need reminded, the Hydra was a multi-headed monster in Greek mythology which was all but invincible due to being able to regrow a new head if one was lost. The numbers for this game fit that description to a tee. All three backs had 8 carries for the game, Rule rushed for 88 yards and 1 TD with a long of 59 yards. He never played in the second half. Mozee rushed for 55 yards and 1 TD with a long of 19 yards and Nelson had 48 yards with a long of 22 yards.

The play of the running backs can’t be ignored, but that success comes from a revamped offensive line that saw substitutions throughout the game. O-line coach Geep Wade has his players headed in the right direction and if they can take another step forward against North Dakota before Big Ten play it would bode well for Holgorsen and the offense.

The wide receiver room continues to be one of the Husker’s greatest strengths. Jacory Barney Jr. was the hot hand in this one with 8 receptions for 115 yards and 2 TDs. The lone knock on Barney, for the second week in a row he had a penalty that wiped out a touchdown. You like the aggressive play, but that can’t continue. Kwazi Gilmer made a couple of outstanding plays, with a total of 6 receptions for 39 yards and 2 TDs. Cortez Mills and Quinn Clark had 3 receptions for 33 yards between them, and I must mention Demitrius Bell who had a nice reception for a positive gain that was wiped out by a penalty. It’s great to see Bell back in action after everything he’s been through.

I had said before the game that Holgorsen would be on a mission to get certain players the ball, but I was perhaps only partially right. From listening to him earlier in the week I expected him to target RB Isiah Mozee, WR Nyziah Hunter and TE Luke Lindenmeyer. I do know that at one point in the game the trio saw the ball four consecutive plays. Mozee finished with 55 yards rushing and had 1 reception for 14 yards. Lindenmeyer had 2 receptions for 44 yards last week, and 2 for 16 yards this week. As for Hunter, he dropped the first pass thrown to him. Holgorsen made it clear before the season started, play like crap and see what happens. Hunter had a couple of drops last week too. He finished the game with 1 reception for 4 yards. Perhaps it isn’t all Holgorsen, how many drops does a receiver have to have before the quarterback loses a little faith in him.

Defense

Defensively for Aurich’s Blackshirts, Bowling Green’s 169 total yards is their lowest output in three seasons.

“When you hold a team to nine first downs and under 100 yards rushing, it's going to be a pretty good day,” head coach Matt Rhule said. “We’re not operating against the scoreboard; we're operating against our own standard.”

The defense produced 2 turnovers, an interception by Donovan Jones and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by linebacker Derek Wacker. The Blackshirt registered 2 sacks and 6 tackles for a loss. The play of the secondary continues to be a strong part of the defense with Dewayne McDougle III, Andrew Marshall, and Donovan Jones being the three leading tacklers with a total of 19, 2 of the 6 tackles were for a loss. It was good to see several substitutions with D-lineman like freshman Dylan Berymon getting reps and our first true sighting of Malcolm Simpson, who had 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, and caused the fumble that was returned for a touchdown. It’s important for players like Simpson to see game reps to assist in their growth. 

Penalties and Special Teams

Rhule wasn’t happy with the number of penalties his team committed last week and how egregious and costly they were. They had 9 for 65 yards. That didn’t improve Saturday night as the Huskers committed 7 for 65 yards. Again, one cost them a score and others first downs.

The special teams continue to be a source of penalties as well. While the Huskers never punted in this game and attempted just one field goal, which seemed to be a case of let’s see what we can do, they struggle on kickoff coverage, kickoff return, and punt returns. It’s something that will absolutely need to improve before Big Ten play starts. However, I was happy to see they blocked a punt. Drop off in special teams was expected with the loss of Mike Ekeler along with Brett Maher and Nick Humphrey being first time coordinators. But they need to continue to take a step forward each week with plays like the blocked punt.

Class Act

Husker fans can feel however they like about George after he beat out Tommy Frazier for the 1995 Heisman, but he’s a class act and always has been. He responded to the defeat exactly how you would expect.

“This is not my first rodeo in terms of hey, I’ve got my ass kicked before like this as a player, as a coach, and we've got to respond from it, and we will,” Bowling Green coach Eddie George said. “We’ll bounce back. You know, we will persist without exception, and the rest of the season is still ahead of us. We still got a long lot of games to play, and we don’t have time to feel pity for ourselves.”

It’s that third quarter that showed what George is attempting to build at Bowling Green. Down 35-0 at the half, Nebraska kicked off to the Falcons who went on a 14-play drive moving the ball from their own 25 to the Nebraska 35 before stalling due to penalties and having to punt.

Husker Quinn Clack blocked the punt and Nebraska recovered at the Bowling Green 45. The Huskers started their only possession of the third quarter, running a total of 6 plays. They started out with a 45-yard Anthony Colandrea touchdown run which was called back for holding on Barney. After a second holding penalty and a sack, kicker Kyle Cunanan attempted a 55-yard field goal which fell short.

Taking possession of the ball at their own 37-yard line, the Falcons went on a 63-yard touchdown drive which ended the third quarter, they scored at 14:53 of the fourth quarter to make the score 35-7. Granted the Huskers were playing a mix of backups on defense, the George led team showed heart and let a more talented Husker team know they weren’t going to lay down.

To put the third quarter in greater perspective, the Huskers held Bowling Green to 169 total yards in the game, 84 passing and 85 rushing. More than half of that total came in the third quarter alone. The Falcons ran 21 plays to the Huskers 7 and controlled the clock for 11:37 compared to 3:23 for the Huskers.

Up Next

The Huskers host North Dakota next Saturday. The Hawks are one of the top teams in the FCS, ranked 6th in the nation before Saturday’s victory. They come in having won their first three games of the season, with wins over Long Island University 42-21, St. Thomas 62-26, and Portland State 47-23. They are a well-balanced team averaging 232 yards rushing a game and 265 yards passing for 497 total yards a game. In the past fans have witnessed North Dakota coming to Lincoln as the underdog and unintimated, always playing the Huskers close. This season they could possibly be the best non-conference team Nebraska faces. It would be wise of HC Matt Rhule to remind his team what FCS teams like Tarleton State are capable of.

GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!

Art worked designed and owned by Lyle Harmon and ‘Off the Cob’.

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