3 things learned in Nebraska’s imperfect win over Northwestern

The only thing that should matter for Nebraska football is winning.

It doesn’t matter what the final margin is, or how pretty it looked, because there is nothing “ugly” about watching a team learn how to win.

That’s what Nebraska football did once again on Saturday against Northwestern. It wasn’t easy. The Huskers made it more difficult than they should have, but if anyone thought 5-2 Northwestern was going to make things easy on the Huskers, you haven’t been paying attention.

It’s hard to win in the Big Ten. But after getting their butts kicked last week, Nebraska responded. The Huskers built a 15-point lead, squandered it, along with some other opportunities, but came up with every key play in winning time.

Dylan Raiola converted four third downs, one possession after an interception, before Emmett Johnson, who carried the ball 27 times for 124 yards, found the end zone for the second time. Kenneth Williams and the special teams made another play, essentially winning with a kickoff return for a score to open the second half.

Northwestern lost by exactly seven points, and the final drive feels a lot different if the score is tied. All in all, it was a solid win. Nebraska beat another 5-2 team and is in the upper half of the Big Ten standings. The Huskers clinched a bowl game for the second straight season on Saturday, and here are three things we learned.

Emmett Johnson needs to be force-fed

We have talked about Emmett Johnson getting too many carries. It’s a concern. But at this point, it’s unavoidable. Isaiah Mozee had an explosive run on Saturday. That was good to see.

However, Johnson is so much better than every other back, it’s hard to take him off the field. He’s Nebraska’s best offensive player, or at least, its most important.

One solution to aid a struggling offensive line, at least in pass protection, was giving the ball to Johnson 27 times; Nebraska ran for 155 yards. The Huskers allowed just one sack.

Nebraska’s offensive line played better. No doubt. But it’s easier when you are running the ball well because the defense can’t just fly upfield.

The Huskers have a quarterback who is still developing. Nebraska also has a defense with one major flaw — run defense — that appears can’t be corrected. So, Matt Rhule’s team should protect the defense and the quarterback by running he ball as much as possible with Emmett Johnson over the next four games.

When he runs for 100 yards this season, Nebraska is undefeated.

Lean into it.

Kenneth Williams is a weapon

Mike Ekeler said he was going to bring the return game back to Nebraska. Turns out, he wasn’t joking. Kenneth Williams had his second kickoff return that covered at least 85 yards on Saturday in the past three games.

Against Maryland, Williams provided a spark. He returned the ball into the Maryland red zone, which Nebraska turned into a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

This time, the offense wasn’t needed. Williams opened the second half, with the score 7-6, by taking the kickoff 95 yards to the house. The blocking was great. So are his instincts.

Ekeler has great instincts, too. Honestly, the man is a magician. Nebraska should make him the highest-paid special teams coach in college football.

He’d be worth every penny. For Williams’ part, he’s leading the Big Ten in average yards per kickoff return with 34.8. Washington’s Adah Mohammed is the only player with more kickoff return yards in the league, with 364 compared to 347 for Williams, who has had four fewer attempts.

Thank goodness the Huskers put him on scholarship a few weeks ago.

Dylan Raiola has to play better

Northwestern has a good pass defense. They haven’t allowed any quarterback to pass for over 200 yards this season. Raiola was 16 of 22 on Saturday for 141 yards. He had one touchdown, but one interception that could have been a killer.

What’s worse is that it felt like the same interception Raiola threw against Michigan State and Maryland. He has to see that defender over the middle. Thankfully, Javin Wright intercepted the ball right back.

The Blackshirts saved the day, and then, to his credit, Raiola was damn-near perfect on the next drive, converting four third downs with passes on the way to Johnson’s game-winning touchdown.

Raiola was more active in the pocket. He was more decisive, and outside of the turnover, I had no issues with how he played. Nebraska should embrace playing ugly, or at least boring. They should play against USC the same way Minnesota played them.

Run the ball, drain the block, and shorten the game. Raiola doesn’t have to carry the offense. He does need to take care of the ball, though. And he needs to deliver when needed, just like on Saturday.

It was a positive performance. But if Nebraska is going to beat USC, Raiola will need to be one of the best players on the field, which wasn’t the feeling I got on Saturday.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify.