5 things we learned in Nebraska’s win over Houston Christian

The gap between Nebraska football and Houston Christian was so wide that it made you wonder if college football has a mercy rule.

At least it made me wonder that. It was clear early on that Houston Christian couldn’t compete with Nebraska. The Huskies did keep the score closer than Akron, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Dylan Raiola threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He would have had another 300-yard game if he had played the entire second half, or even most of it.

Nebraska football had 554 yards of total offense compared to 160 for Houston Christian. It was a dominant performance, as expected, and here are five things we learned about the Huskers.

Dylan Raiola is smooth

What can we say about Raiola that hasn’t been said already? He completed 15 of 21 passes and didn’t have an interception. For the second game in a row, he didn’t come close.

Raiola has eight touchdown passes through three games. More importantly, he has zero turnovers. His yards-per-game average took a hit. That’s the unfortunate part of playing a cupcake.

The Nebraska starting quarterback needs a defining performance. He needs to do this against Michigan, but Raiola has exceeded expectations so far in 2025.

Red-zone issues linger

Not being able to score on the plus side of the field was an issue for Nebraska against Cincinnati. It’s one reason why the game ended up being as close as it did.

The opening drive of the game against Houston Christian resulted in a field goal after a first-and-goal. The Huskers turned the ball over on downs inside the 10-yard line last week, in addition to settling for a field goal.

It’s a trend at this point, and one that can’t continue next week.

RB2 is still a question

One of the most disappointing things is that Nebraska still hasn’t sorted out its running back room. It does seem like Kwinten Ives is the RB2 at this point, after 12 carries for 85 yards on Saturday.

Ives is the veteran. He’s been coming off an injury, though. He does seem to have the trust of the coaching staff, which is important, especially with the aspect of pass protection.

It was interesting that Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee didn’t get any carries. Ives got the bulk of the work. That makes me believe he will be the backup running back going forward.

Yet, you get the feeling that the coaches will try to ride Emmett Johnson next week, sort of like they did in Week 1.

The run defense is still a worry

Nebraska football has struggled to stop the run this season. It’s been better the past two weeks, after allowing over 200 rushing yards in Week 1, but even the 93 rushing yards allowed to Houston Christian are more than I’d like to see.

Xai’shaun Edwards got a big chunk of yards with a 45-yard touchdown run in the second to finish with 82 yards on 13 carries. That’s the third week in a row that a starting running back has averaged more than five yards per attempt.

Edwards’ other 12 attempts yielded 37 yards, barely more than three yards per rush, but it’s still a liability, especially with Michigan coming to Lincoln next Saturday.

Secondary has been a no-fly zone

People can say what they want about the opponents. Akron had a veteran quarterback, who got some preseason honors in the MAC. Brendan Sorsby is a million-dollar quarterback and has averaged 293 passing yards in his last two gams. The Bearcats scored 70 points on Saturday.

Nebraska held him under 100 yards passing. He damaged the Huskers with his feet, but all three opponents of the Huskers have been held under 100 yards passing — more specifically, 64 yards per game.

The Huskers also haven’t allowed a touchdown pass. In today’s era of wide-open offenses, that’s impressive and should be getting talked about more.

I suspect it will if it happens next week.

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