5 things we learned from Nebraska football’s win over Rutgers

Nebraska football earned a bowl berth on Saturday with a dominant road win over Rutgers.

The 31-0 win was the first-ever shutout by Nebraska football in a Big Ten game. The Huskers rolled up 429 yards of total offense, with most of it — 237 yards — coming on the ground. Jamal Rule rushed for more than 100 yards.

Hell, the Huskers even made a field goal. Folks might have been happy with a 6-4 start to the season. However, it’s disappointing after outgaining all 10 opponents.

Still, Nebraska is going bowling, a big goal for this season, and now it has a chance to end its ranked losing streak against Ohio State. A win also clinches a winning season for the third year in a row.

Looking back at Saturday’s win, here are five things we learned.

Nebraska football needed to run the ball

That was evident for weeks. It’s why I called for Dana Holgorsen to be fired after the Washington game. His inability to stick to the run doomed his coaching tenure and the Huskers.

Jamal Rule got more than 20 carries for the first time on Saturday and turned in a 100-yard performance. Anthony Colandrea got involved with nine runs for 66 yards. Mekhi Nelson added three carries for 31 yards and a touchdown. No one else got more than three carries.

Nelson and Isaiah Mozee could have touched the ball more, but it was time to turn things over to Jamal Rule. In the last three games, the Nebraska football freshman has 50 carries for 244 yards. Against Washington and Illinois, he had 141 yards on 28 carries.

The problem is that despite averaging more than five yards per carry, Rule got an average of 14 carries in those games. It should have been more than 20, like it was on Saturday. The results speak for themselves.

Carter Nelson was written off too soon

The transition from eight-man football to the Big Ten was more difficult than we realized. Nelson also dealt with injuries throughout his sophomore season. That being said, Nelson played in all 26 games during his first two seasons with the Huskers.

On Saturday, Nelson caught his second touchdown pass in three weeks. He also had a 40-yard reception, giving him two catches of more than 25 yards in the past three games. Luke Lindenmeyer is moving on this season, and he’s a stud in his own right, but Nelson should be able to fill the void, at least as a pass-catcher.

We won’t ask him to throw another pass, though.

Rob Aurich is amazing

I know it’s Rutgers, but this team scored 21 points against Michigan. It scored more than 30 against USC. The Scarlet Knights can move the football.

However, Nebraska stuffed preseason All-Big Ten selection Antwan Raymond, holding him to just 21 yards on 13 carries. The Scarlet Knights managed just 143 yards of total offense. That’s the lowest total a Nebraska team has ever allowed in Big Ten play.

The 31-0 win was the first shutout for the Huskers in league play. Caleb Benning and Jeremiah Charles came away with interceptions. Jordan Ochoa got another sack. Jashear Whittington had a sack and a forced fumble.

Nebraska football is allowing just 14.9 points per game on defense.

The wide receivers need work

Nebraska’s top three wideouts — Jacory Barney, Nyziah Hunter and Kwazi Gilmer — were atrocious against Rutgers. They combined to catch four passes for 23 yards. Both explosive plays in the passing game went to tight ends. Isaiah Mozee also had a 17-yard reception.

Barney dropped a touchdown in the first quarter. Gilmer ran the wrong route; it felt like more than once. Matt Rhule even gave them a talking-to during the game.

Looking at that production, it’s even harder to understand why Holgorsen was throwing the ball more than 40 times per game. This offense should be about Rule and Colandrea running, and then everything else needs to work off that.

This was a positive step; now it’s time for another

Nebraska football fans will say this was just Rutgers. And that’s 100% correct. However, how many expected this to be a 17-14 dogfight?

Would that have surprised you in the slightest? Not based on what we have seen in the previous few seasons. Instead, Nebraska picked itself up by the bootstraps and clinched a bowl game resoundingly.

That’s exactly how you’d expect a playoff contender to beat the Scarlet Knights. If Nebraska had found a way to win another game or two, the Huskers would be right there.

Still, it was good to see Nebraska dominate the way it should. Now, the Huskers have a chance to wipe the sour taste out of everyone’s mouth next week by beating the ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Senior Day.

If that happens, no one could say that progress wasn’t made this season.

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