5 things to watch for Nebraska football vs. UTEP

Nebraska football will open the season Saturday against UTEP in what will be the first home opener for the Cornhuskers in a few years.

It will be nice to have a non-conference opponent. It’s easy to look at UTEP, from a Group of Five conference and think it might be a cakewalk for the Huskers, but over the past seven years, nothing has been a cakewalk for Nebraska football.

The Huskers are starting a true freshman at quarterback in Dylan Raiola who was ranked as a five-star coming out of high school. However, there are plenty of other storylines, and here are five things to watch for Nebraska football vs. UTEP on Saturday.

Dylan Raiola’s first start

Matt Rhule on Monday that Nebraska football isn’t going to hold anything back and that the Huskers “aren’t going to flinch” in terms of Raiola.

People have wondered if the Huskers would try to be “safe” with him or “manage” him but if the kid is good enough to start, you open up the entire playbook.

Raiola is special. Rhule has said so and even Scotty Walden, the UTEP head coach said so. Don’t hold him back and it doesn’t appear as though Nebraska football will do that.

But Raiola still has to play at a high level and it all starts Saturday afternoon.

Can Nebraska football pass defense hold up?

UTEP will be much different than it was a season ago. Scotty Walden is coming from Austin Peay and he wants to bring a high-octane offense.

The Miners will use a bunch of different packages and Nebraska football will have to be organized on defense, especially when it comes to personnel.

We don’t know who the starting quarterback will be (Cade McConnell or Skyler Locklear) for the Miners. Walden said a decision could come on Wednesday or Thursday but UTEP will throw it all over the place and the Nebraska secondary needs to be up to the challenge.

How will Nebraska use Heinrich Haarberg?

Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield talked about how Heinrich Haarberg will be used alongside Dylan Raiola “a lot.”

That was the most interesting thing anyone said in the past few days during press conferences. I understand Haarberg having a role, maybe as a wildcat quarterback, but I’m wondering how else Nebraska football will use the former three-star recruit from Kearney.

Haarberg caught a pass against Minnesota as a tight end. He was also a stellar runner and can throw the ball better than people give him credit for.

We’ll see how the Huskers use him Saturday but they have talked about being a positionless offense and we’ll see what that means for Haarberg.

What about kicker?

I’m wondering who will be kicking for Nebraska football on Saturday. It sounds like Matt Rhule will announce it. It will be either Tristan Alvano or John Hohl and regardless of who it is, I just want the Huskers to be solid in that area of the game.

Nebraska left a lot of points on the board last season (and the past few seasons) and if they want to have an 8-9 win season in 2024, they need a reliable kicker.

Hopefully, the Huskers won’t have to settle for many field goals on Saturday but if they do, Husker Nation will be watching because it’s a question mark until it isn’t.

Can Nebraska protect the ball?

UTEP returns multiple starters in the secondary from last season including corner AJ Odums and safety Oscar Moore. Moore led the Miners with two interceptions while Odums had eight pass breakups.

There are some other veterans back in the secondary, but the Miners forced just one turnover per game last season. UTEP allowed just 3.9 yards per rush last season but their best defender (and pass rusher) from last season was drafted in the fourth round of the draft, while most of their starting linebackers are gone too.

Nebraska should be able to run the ball. Passing might not be as simple as some fans think, but taking care of the ball is essential and it’s a test that Raiola and the offense need to pass.

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