5 things we learned from Nebraska football win over Colorado

Following a 28-10 win over Colorado on Saturday night, the Nebraska football program is ranked in the top 25 of the AP and Coaches polls for the first time in five years.

It’s another drought that ended since Matt Rhule was hired. The bowl drought and the losing streak against ranked teams are next.

With Rhule leading the way, it feels like the program is going places. It feels like championships are possible again. Of course, it helps when you have a quarterback and Nebraska has one in Dylan Raiola.

Looking back at the 18-point win for the Huskers, one in which they easily covered the spread, here are five things we learned starting with what we found out about Raiola.

Raiola passes his first test

It was one thing to have a good game against UTEP. Raiola didn’t have spectacular numbers against Colorado but he completed 23-of-30 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.

For the second week in a row, Raiola didn’t throw an interception. The second half was ugly but a few big plays were called back by penalty and there were a few broken plays too which didn’t help.

Nebraska needs to clean those things up but the pass to Jaylen Lloyd that set up the third touchdown was a thing of beauty and Raiola is probably the only Nebraska QB who could have made that throw.

Raiola also had a key first-down run on the first drive. Even in the second half, Raiola drilled a 25-yard pass on a 2nd-and-24 when Colorado had momentum and again, he avoided the mistakes.

Nebraska football is becoming everything Rhule said it would

Looking back at that first press conference, Rhule said Nebraska was going to run the ball. Check. He said the Huskers were going to protect and affect the quarterback. Check. They were going to be great in the trenches. Check. Solid on special teams. Check?

But still, you get the point.

There was a partially blocked punt and a missed field goal. However, the Brian Buschini punt pinned at the one set up the Tommi Hill interception for a touchdown.

People talk about complementary football all the time and that was a great example. Nebraska’s defense controlled the game and even two future NFL players had minimal impact.

It’s a night and day difference from when Rhule took over and Saturday’s rivalry win was the best evidence so far that Matt’s plan is working.

Dante Dowdell is RB1

The former Oregon transfer might have put himself in the dog house for a minute with a fumble against UTEP, but I think it was more to drive the point home about protecting the ball.

Dante Dowdell didn’t get the start against Colorado. However, he carried the ball 17 times for Nebraska football, gained 74 yards, scored two rushing touchdowns, and looked like the best back on the team.

Dowdell is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds but his burst is impressive. So is the way he falls forward. He doesn’t dance around much, but once he makes a decision, he can be tough to bring down.

I predict a lot of short-yardage success for Dowdell this season and honestly, it feels like he could rush for 1,000 yards.

Nebraska’s defense can hold up against a powerful O

The best way to defend an elite quarterback is with an elite defensive line. You can say what you want about the Colorado offensive line, but the Buffaloes won’t be the only team to struggle to block the Huskers.

And you can say what you want about Colorado in general, yet I think they will make a bowl game. I haven’t assessed their schedule because I don’t care but that offense is legit.

Only one team (Oregon) held Colorado to fewer points since Deion Sanders was hired as the head coach. And the best thing about it was the way the defensive line dominated.

Colorado couldn’t run — literally, the Buffs couldn’t get an inch. They couldn’t protect and Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, and Jimari Butler, just had their way. The three young defensive ends did too. It reminded me of the 1990s and 2000s.

It’s going to be a big ask to beat teams like USC and Ohio State, especially on the road but after watching the Huskers defense handle Colorado, I think they have a chance.

The O-line is much improved

This week was a tougher test for the Nebraska football offensive line and they passed again. Dylan Raiola wasn’t sacked and Nebraska averaged 4.3 yards per attempt. The gameplan was pretty conservative in the second half for obvious reasons but through two games, you have to feel good about the O-line.

Raiola has helped avoid some sacks. He made a defender miss in the pocket. He’s also got great pocket awareness. However, the offensive line has taken another step forward which is what you want when they are tasked with protecting your former five-star QB.

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