4 takeaways from Nebraska’s much-needed win over Rutgers

The Nebraska football team desperately needed a win on Saturday, and with a stronger emphasis on running the ball, another dominant effort from the defense, and a solid day from Anthony Colandrea, the Huskers rolled to a 31-0 win.

It means Nebraska football is bowl-eligible for the third straight year. Bowl games probably won’t exist next year, so it might be the last time to go to a traditional bowl game.

A winning season is the next goal, along with beating a ranked opponent. Nebraska football will get that chance at home next week against Ohio State. A win would mean progress. It would be the first major win of the Matt Rhule era, and playoff or not, that’s a big deal.

Looking back at the win over Rutgers, here are three takeaways.

Nebraska football ran the damn ball

Glenn Thomas got the message loud and clear from Matt Rhule: Run the damn ball. The Huskers ran for well over 200 yards. Jamal Rule rushed for more than 100 yards and was consistently good. Mekhi Nelson scored a touchdown on a great block by Luke Lindenmeyer, and the Huskers used a run-heavy attack to put together a pair of 90-yard touchdown drives in the first half.

It was a simple change, but Thomas was effective. Who knows what it will look like against Ohio State, but Dana Holgorsen is an air raid guy. That’s what he reverted to. Thomas has more of an NFL background. He knows what Rhule wants, and who knows, maybe he will be the OC next season.

It was one game against one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. Still, it was good to see Nebraska dominate and play at a high level, regardless of the competition.

Blackshirts were determined to win this game

As well as the offense played, we have to tip our cap to the defense. Rutgers scored a season-high 21 points against Michigan in its last game. The Scarlet Knights scored more than 30 against USC. This offense can move the ball.

Not against the Blackshirts, though. The Scarlet Knights barely crossed midfield. Each time they did, Caleb Benning and Jeremiah Charles came up with interceptions. The Huskers also notched two sacks, seven tackles for loss and three pass breakups.

Not only was Rutgers shut out, but it was held to 143 total yards in another great performance by Rob Aurich’s defense.

The light is coming on for Carter Nelson

Nelson caught a 40-yard pass in the first half, setting up a touchdown. Then, in the second half, he extended the lead to 28-0 on a 13-yard touchdown reception. That’s two catches for 53 yards. Nelson has caught a pass in four straight games. He had three catches for 41 yards over the previous three games but outdid those numbers on Saturday alone.

Luke Lindenmeyer also caught a touchdown pass and had a stellar block on the touchdown run by Mekhi Nelson. As far as Carter goes, it feels like he could really start to emerge as a threat in the passing game. He’s got two receptions of more than 20 yards in two weeks, so that will be something to build on for the former top-100 recruit from Ainsworth.

Matt Rhule will be back

On the whole, Nebraska took care of business and took the heat off Matt Rhule for at least one week. This also means that Nebraska football won’t have a new head coach next season. A loss to Rutgers doesn’t mean he would have been fired, but the hot seat would have been scorching.

Like it or not, he will be back in 2027.