The Nebraska Cornhuskers return to Memorial Stadium for their home opener after a gritty, close and most importantly, a one score victory last Thursday against the Cincinnati Bearcats, 20-17 in Arrowhead Stadium. 

Senior safety Malcolm Hartzog Jr. made a miraculous play to intercept Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby with 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the play after Hartzog Jr. was called for a holding penalty which put the ball at the Huskers 33 yard line. 

Last Thursday’s win marked the first time that the Huskers have defeated a Power 4 opponent in their season opener since 2003 (Oklahoma State). 

Heading into another sold out crowd under the lights in Lincoln, the Huskers need to keep their focus on what’s ahead of them and this Saturday that is the Akron Zips out of the MAC Conference. 

The Zips are led by fourth year head coach Joe Moorhead, who is most known for his offensive coordinator stints at Penn State (2016-17) and Oregon (2020-21) as well as a head coaching gig at Mississippi State (2018-19). 

Moorhead’s offense is heavy RPO (Run-Pass-Option) and his receivers have a choice of routes they’ll run depending on the defensive coverage. 

Unfortunately for Moorhead and the Zips, they were shut out 10-0 in their season opener against the Wyoming Cowboys as senior quarterback Ben Finley struggled. 

Finley finished 16/38 for 139 yards and an interception, not a great start when you are facing a secondary that opened their season with the highest coverage grade the Huskers have had in 10 years (89.4). 

 

Key #1: Defense

The blackshirt defense made life difficult for Sorsby, as he completed just 13 of his 25 pass attempts for 69 yards and that crucial interception. 

One area where the Huskers did struggle was defending the quarterback run game, as Sorsby led the Bearcats in rushing with 96 yards to go with two touchdowns. 

Finley is not a threat with his legs, which should give defensive coordinator John Butler plenty of opportunities to blitz the Zips, putting the experienced Husker secondary in positions to make plays on the ball. 

The Bearcats averaged 6.7 yards per carry last Thursday, which will need to get cleared up by the Huskers front seven. 

 

Key #2: Find Momentum on Offense

With tons of hype during the offseason about the offense, the Huskers finished with 353 total yards of offense against the Bearcats, but some Husker fans wanted to see more. 

At the end of the day, you have to take what the defense will give you and what the Bearcats gave the Huskers was a heavy zone defensive gameplan, which is part of the reason why we didn’t see many deep shots down the field. 

Dylan Raiola looked solid, completing 33 of his 42 attempts for 243 yards and a touchdown and Nebraska dominated time of possession. 

The Huskers have explosive playmakers on offense and I expect Raiola to come out throwing quite often on Saturday to get this offense some momentum as we grow closer towards the start of conference play. 

Key #3: Who’s the Second Running Back? 

Emmett Johnson ran for 108 yards on 25 carries last Thursday, but no other Husker running back carried the ball more than once. 

Obviously it feels good to have a guy in the backfield that you can trust to give him all the carries, but you need a guy to come in and take some weight off, especially when you’re playing in one of the top conferences in the country. 

Isaiah Mozze and Mekhi Nelson should both get plenty of touches on Saturday and I wouldn’t be shocked if Kwinten Ives made his season debut as he has been battling injury. 

 

Prediction: 

This is shaping up to be a massive recruiting weekend for the Huskers, with many of the nation’s top 2027 recruits expected to be visiting and I think they will leave with a lot to think about, in a good way. 

I think this will be a firework show offensively for the first half, with the Huskers controlling the second half on the ground, giving fans a win before the fourth quarter light show. 

 

Saturday, September 5th

6:30 PM CT

BTN

Nebraska: 41 Akron: 10