3 takeaways from Nebraska football’s big win over UCLA

Nebraska football fans didn’t know what to expect from true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef on Saturday night against UCLA, but in his first start, the true freshman passed the test with flying colors.

Lateef, I’ll admit, surpassed my expectations. He didn’t look like a freshman at all. That’s a credit to the quarterback but also to the coaching staff.

Dana Holgorsen deserved some criticism after the Minnesota game; however, he’s done a great job the past three weeks. The UCLA game was his best work.

Matt Rhule said they weren’t going to change the game plan for Lateef. They didn’t, and it worked. Lateef came out firing and didn’t stop, even completing two key passes, one for a first down to Nyziah Hunter on the final drive to seal the win.

Lateef is one big storyline. The other is Emmett Johnson. He might be the ninth wonder of the world. At the very least, after 232 yards on 31 touches, he should be a First-Team All-American. There isn’t a better running back in college football right now.

The defense wasn’t perfect. Nico Iamaleava accounted for 277 yards. He had two touchdown passes, rushed for 86 yards, and didn’t have a turnover.

QB scrambles hurt Nebraska again. The traditional run game was stymied, though. A key fourth-down stop in the second quarter was massive. It gave the Huskers a short field, which turned into seven points.

That was the difference between it being 14-7 Nebraska at half, and 21-7. UCLA missed a field goal on its last drive of the second quarter, too.

Nebraska’s much-maligned offensive line didn’t allow a sack. It didn’t feel like there was a ton of pressure on Lateef either. The running game churned out 156 yards, one less than UCLA

In the end, it was just enough. All of a sudden, Nebraska is 7-3, having clinched a winning record in the regular season for the first time since 2016.

Taking stock of what it all means, here are our three biggest takeaways from Nebraska’s 28-21 win.

TJ Lateef is the real deal

Some Nebraska fans were clamoring for Lateef to play before Raiola got hurt. It seemed crazy, but maybe there was some truth to it.

The offense certainly seemed to function better. Lateef ran the ball five times for 31 yards. That also seemed to keep the pass rush at bay, although UCLA only had six sacks in eight games coming in.

The Bruins’ defense was probably the worst Nebraska will face in the Big Ten. It still doesn’t matter. Winning on the road is difficult, especially traveling across the country, and doing it without your starting quarterback.

In a game that didn’t matter for the playoff picture, because Nebraska is out, the Huskers were sharp from the beginning, starting with Lateef, who accounted for 236 total yards and three touchdowns.

The true freshman had more touchdown passes than incompletions. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks, but if the Huskers win out, a quarterback controversy could start brewing.

Emmett Johnson carried this team to victory

As well as Lateef played, make no mistake, this win was about Johnson more than anything else. He scored a 53-yard touchdown on a screen pass, rushed for 129 yards, but also became the first running back in college football this season to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game.

Johnson has 1,431 total yards now. I predicted before the season that he would have 1,500. He’ll blow past that, and with the bowl game included, 2,000 total yards might be possible, although he would need to average about 186 yards per game.

Johnson has 1,131 rushing yards. He leads the Big Ten, as well as the Power 4, in rushing yards. His growth and development have been tremendous.  Frankly, he should be a day-two pick in the NFL draft.

If I were Nebraska, I’d be prepping a massive NIL deal to try to get him back for his senior season. That needs to be priority No. 1.

Johnson is a superstar. He should be an All-American, and if the Huskers had a better record, he might even be in the Heisman Trophy conversation. That’s how good he’s been.

Matt Rhule is making real progress

Last week, I said a third-year leap didn’t feel possible. That was an overreaction. This team can’t make the College Football Playoff.

But after watching Lateef play against the Bruins, it feels like winning out is at least possible. Two more wins and the Reliaquest Bowl could be on the table, maybe even the Citrus Bowl.

The Huskers haven’t beaten a ranked team yet. But they are 4-3 in the Big Ten. They won a road game without their starting quarterback, and just clinched a winning regular season for the first time in nine years.

Nebraska football will win at least seven games in consecutive seasons for the first time since Bo Pelini was the head coach in 2013-2014.

The Huskers still need to take that next step. Winning next week would be another positive, but the big one is beating Iowa. Do that, and no one can argue against the progress Nebraska has made under Matt Rhule.

Even without it, progress is apparent. Saturday’s win just reinforced that yes, this program is headed in the right direction.