3 takeaways from Nebraska’s season-opening win over Ohio

It might have taken longer than Nebraska football fans expected for the Huskers to settle in on Saturday against Ohio, but despite facing some adversity, Matt Rhule’s team pulled away for a four-touchdown win.

The defense allowed an opening-drive touchdown and scores on the first three Ohio possessions. It gave up another in the fourth quarter, as Ohio, a program that has won 40 games over the past four years, didn’t go away.

Yet, Nebraska overwhelmed them in the trenches. Jamal Rule had a breakout performance. Mekhi Nelson was spectacular, and Anthony Colandrea accounted for just under 300 total yards (298) and four touchdowns. He also didn’t have an interception.

Ohio ran for 139 yards. Nebraska fooball rushed for 240. Rule had 15 carries for 122 yards, plus two catches for 47 yards, for a total of 169 yards and three touchdowns.

There are still plenty of questions to answer. But there were positive signs all around, and here are three takeaways from a 49-21 win by the Huskers.

The running back room delivered

Jamal Rule’s freshman debut might be the best by a Nebraska football player since Taylor Martinez. The kid was electric with the ball in his hands.

We heard about how solid Rule is in pass protection. Well, he’s exceptional as a receiver, too, catching a touchdown as well as rushing for two. The three-star averaged 9.94 yards per touch.

Nelson shouldn’t be forgotten, though. He turned a short pass into a touchdown when the game was 28-21. He looked every bit like the running back we saw go over 100 total yards against Utah. That’s two games in a row, against two solid programs.

The junior touched the ball 12 times for 129 yards. Between Nelson and Rule, the Nebraska football running backs received 29 touchdowns for 298 total yards.

As a team, the Huskers averaged 5.9 yards per carry, so a tip of the cap should also go to the offensive line. They were road-grading.

Anthony Colandrea was exactly as advertised

Colandrea might have struggled against Ohio in the bowl game, but he dominated on Saturday from the first drive. The Huskers stalled a couple of times. He had a pass batted down on a fourth down and took a poor grounding penalty.

Yet, against a salty Ohio team, Nebraska put up 49 points. Colandrea accounted for 298 yards of total offense. When the score was 28-21, the Huskers faced a third-and-seven. Colandrea ran for the first down, then completed a short pass to Nelson that turned into a touchdown.

Two touchdown drives later, the final margin was 28 points, well past the spread. More important than that, Nebraska was 4-for-4 in the red zone and 9-for-14 on third down. Colandrea was sacked twice.

It’s one game. However, Anthony Colandrea looks like the real deal.

The Blackshirts figured it out

Fans won’t like that Ohio scored 21 points. However, Nick Poulous played well. Outside of him running it, the Bobcats’ running backs averaged three yards per carry. Ohio went five straight possessions without scoring and didn’t complete a pass in the third quarter. The Bobcats also had just one play of more than 20 yards — the first of the game.

Nebraska football needs more takeaways. It got one in the fourth quarter. The pass rush wasn’t good enough either, so things weren’t perfect. Far from it.

Yet, Aurich figured it out, and the Blackshirts executed when they needed to. 21 points allowed in this day and age of college football will win most games. And like it or not, Ohio is no slouch.

There were some first-game errors such as penalties, drops, and missed assignments, but as the game wore on, the defense got better. The whole team did, which is what you want in Week 1.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel.