3 final thoughts on Nebraska football win over Rutgers

Nebraska football gutted out a win over Rutgers on Saturday. It wasn’t pretty but it was a lot better than some of the ugly losses the Huskers have experienced in recent years.

Some fans are frustrated by the way the Huskers are winning but they are winning and Nebraska football doesn’t need to apologize at all for starting 5-1.

Nebraska out-rushed Rutgers. The Huskers won the turnover battle and they did just enough to overcome having two punts blocked.

It feels like a good time for a bye week and here are three final thoughts on the win over Rutgers.

Nebraska needs that defense to travel

The Blackshirts didn’t answer the bell against Illinois. But over the past two weeks, they have allowed just 17 points in two Big Ten games. They are getting sacks and takeaways, and Saturday was an example of what an elite defense looks like.

Rutgers got the ball at the one-yard line and didn’t score. They didn’t score after another blocked punt, or after Dylan Raiola threw an interception.

I know Athan Kaliakmanis isn’t the world’s greatest quarterback but Rutgers had the ball on the Nebraska side of the field nine times and only scored once.

It was an impressive effort and if the Huskers can carry that over to the second half of the season and the four road games specifically, they could steal some wins that might be unexpected.

Don’t worry about the offense

Some Nebraska football fans are worried about the offense. Yes, the Huskers only scored 14 points but in three Big Ten games, they are scoring 22 points per game. They also have just two turnovers.

Let me say that again: Nebraska football has just two offensive turnovers through three conference games. Hell, the Blackshirts equaled that number of takeaways on Saturday.

That’s how efficient this team has been in the turnover battle. Dylan Raiola’s interception on Saturday certainly wasn’t helped by the high snap. It was a run-pass option. He didn’t anticipate the linebacker being there and I don’t think the high snap allowed him to see the read.

In hindsight, he should have handed it off, but it’s a teachable moment and Raiola feels like a dude who doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

And as long as this Nebraska team can run the ball, play mistake-free football, and keep defending the way it has, this team will be in the 8-10 win range, not just 6-7.

Fix the blocked kicks, please

It’s kind of amazing that Nebraska football missed three field goals (two blocked) against Purdue, then had two punts blocked against Rutgers, and won both games.

To be fair, Rutgers is elite at blocking kicks. They are like Virginia Tech used to be. So, keep that in mind, but Ed Foley, Matt Rhule, and anyone else who needs to be added to the coaching staff have got to figure things out.

The good news is they have a week over the bye, but this team is too good and has too much potential for something so simple to come back and bite them. Just fix it and hope that Tristan Alvano gets healthy.

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