Overreactions, grades and game balls from Nebraska’s win over Bowling Green

There were plenty of reactions to be had after Nebraska football dismantled Bowling Green on Saturday night with a 56-7 win.

Looking at some of our post-game coverage, we had our post-game takeaways as well as five things we learned. The post-game grades from Pro Football Focus are looking really good. Anthony Colandrea had over a 90. There were positives all over the place, such as true freshman Danny Odem playing 26 snaps and not allowing a single reception.

Even Malcolm Simpson and Dylan Berymon did well in limited snaps in the fourth quarter. That doesn’t mean they are going to make an impact this season, but it’s good to see them making plays.

The offense is scoring 52.5 points per game and allowing 14. In terms of total yards, Nebraska football is cranking out 536 per game, with 256 per game on the ground, while allowing opponents to muster just 236 yards per game, as well as 3.4 yards per rushing attempt.

Before we look ahead to North Dakota, here is a last look back at Bowling Green with overreactions, grades, and game balls.

Overreactions: Just everything

Whether it was complaints about the offense not scoring enough against a MAC team, the defense giving up too long a drive in the third quarter, or special teams, there was a lot of nitpicking going on.

The Huskers allowed just 169 total yards. Rob Aurich’s defense didn’t allow an explosive play. There could be more sacks. Nebraska needs to create more disruptive plays, but the Huskers did have 14 pressures.

Special teams had one missed field goal, but also blocked a punt and allowed 26 return yards. The return game could improve. Yet, so far, so good overall.

On offense, the Huskers are also 8/8 in the red zone. If you’re questioning whether Anthony Colandrea is an upgrade over Dylan Raiola, that stat is telling.

Nebraska needs to play well during conference play, so, understandably, fans are still in wait-and-see mode. Matt Rhule’s team is doing a lot of good things, though, and this looks like his best Husker squad, just like he said it was going to.

Grades

Offense: A

The Huskers didn’t punt, scored seven touchdowns, and only had one turnover, which should have been a completion. There are things to clean up, but the offense is humming.

Defense: A

Nebraska forced two takeaways, allowed 169 yards, and not a single explosive play. You can’t draw up a better performance than that.

Special teams: A-

There was some meat left on the bone in the return game. Nyziah Hunter returned a kickoff 33 yards. The Huskers blocked a punt, too.

Coaching: A+

Nebraska couldn’t have played better over the first two games. Tip of the cap to Matt Rhule. His team was ready to start the regular season.

Game Balls

Anthony Colandrea gets the offensive game ball. He threw four touchdowns and had just four incompletions, making him the first Nebraska football quarterback to do that since 2006. Donovan Jones had five tackles, an interception, and a tackle for loss, getting our defensive game ball two weeks in a row. If Jacory Barney didn’t take a TD off the board for a second straight week, it might have been him, at least on offense.

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