3 biggest keys to a bounce-back win for Nebraska over UCLA

Winning on the road in the Big Ten is never easy. It’s even more difficult when you have to do it with a backup quarterback, which is the fate of Nebraska football on Saturday night.

The Huskers will head to the Rose Bowl to face a UCLA team, winners in three of its last four games, without Dylan Raiola, who is out for the rest of the season.

TJ Lateef, a true freshman quarterback from California, will return to his home state to make his first career start. He’s an Elite 11 quarterback. Talent isn’t the issue. Experience is.

We’ll see how he handles things and how Nebraska football makes it easier for him. That’s the job of every player and coach this week: make things easier for TJ Lateef.

Nebraska fooball is a 1.5-point underdog to the Bruins, and here are three keys to a Huskers win.

Emmett Johnson has to shine

Without Dylan Raiola, Nebraska needs to lean on the Power-4’s leading rusher, Emmett Johnson. Johnson leads the Big Ten in rushing yards (1,002). He also leads the Big Ten in total touches, averaging 5.8 per touch.

UCLA’s run defense is terrible. The Bruins allow 195 rushing yards per game and more than five yards per attempt. Teams are running the ball 38 times per game against UCLA, so expect a heavy dose of Emmett Johnson.

He needs to be the best player on the field.

Make Nico throw

Nico Iamaleava is probably more dangerous as a runner than a thrower, at least to Nebraska. He’s UCLA’s leading rusher (388 yards) in addition to passing for 183 yards per game. Only three times this season has Nico thrown for over 200 yards, and in those three games, the Bruins are 1-2.

The problem is that Nebraska’s run defense isn’t very good. It has allowed Michigan, Minnesota, Cincinnati, and USC to rush for over 186 yards. Three of those teams went for over 200. The quarterbacks have hurt Nebraska multiple times, too. I would expect a ton of zone read, maybe some QB power and counter.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see Iamaleava carry the ball more than 10 times. So the key for Nebraska is to contain the QB runs and keep him in the pocket. Don’t let him get runs or easy throws on the run.

That’s how Nebraska will lose this game. Nico has to play well for UCLA to win this game, and against the Huskers’ secondary, it feels like he’s not advanced enough to do it from the pocket.

Play clean

This is a pick-em game. Turnovers will have a big impact on the outcome, as they always do. With a freshman quarterback starting, that looms even larger.

Lateef can’t make a massive mistake. An interception returned for a touchdown or something like that will be hard to recover from.

The freshman doesn’t have to win the game, or shouldn’t have to. He also can’t lose it with multiple turnovers or a colossal mistake. Good programs find a way to win, even in difficult situations.

Iowa and Minnesota have won games in Lincoln with backup quarterbacks in recent years. It can be done, as long as the rest of the team shoulders the weight, and as long as Lateef has a mostly clean game.

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