So where were we? Ah, yes, gearing up to play a losing UCLA team at home, after going toe to toe with Ohio State. And then Nebraska had the ball once in the first 17 minutes at home versus the Bruins. The crowd was out of the game, the defense couldn’t stop the Bruins and Dylan Raiola played his worst game of the season, putting a nail in the Huskers’ own coffin throwing a pick six to start the second half.
Man, what a swing of emotion coming out of Columbus.
But wait…there is more! Unless you were living under a rock out in Rock County, you probably heard that Nebraska brought in a new offensive coordinator in Dana Holgersen. Holgersen, formerly the head coach at Houston and West Virginia, comes in highly accomplished as a play caller and has been a head coach or offensive coordinator for many NFL quarterbacks and players in his career.
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So, what does that mean in Lincoln? Well big picture, it allows Holgersen to have a shot to get to know Dylan Raiola before the offseason. It also allows Nebraska to have a head start in replacing the offensive coordinator job before all the other teams in the nation start looking to make changes.
Small picture though, I don’t know that it will mean much this fall. Holgersen is said to be keeping the same playbook that Marcus Satterfield uses so that only he must learn it, and not the entire team. How will that affect communication when he is trying to call plays? If he wants a certain pass package, but isn’t sure of the name during the game, it could be costly in the tensest of situations. Also, I don’t know that Holgersen will be able to figure out which players are cut out for pushing the Husker offense into the upper tier of the Big Ten, because the current cast of characters has them at the bottom.
It's possible that going on the road is a good thing coming out of this bye, because there has been so much distraction this week, the Huskers being away from Lincoln may allow them to shelter themselves from people that are certain to want to question them about the changes. Head Coach Matt Rhule has kept the players away from the press this week, simply because he knows how distracting this change has to be in the midseason.
Throw in that this really hasn’t been tried before. Bringing in a new play caller that isn’t already on staff just isn’t done in college football. NFL? Sure, but those are professional players that have the opportunity to work 18-hour days. College kids can’t do that. And will Holgersen help the running backs hit the right hole better? Can he help the offensive line move the line of scrimmage better? How about the wide receivers block better? All of those are items that need fixed and Holgersen won’t be able to do that in two weeks.
If you include the special teams that continues to confound with inconsistencies, and this isn’t a scenario that screams “Nebraska wins in L.A!” The Blackshirts are in for a mighty challenge this week as well, as USC has as good of offensive talent as anyone in the Big Ten.
Change has been on the table for the Huskers since the 5-1 start that is a distant memory at this point. Unfortunately, it may have come too little, too late.
ON WITH THE REWIND…
Last game prediction was Nebraska 31, UCLA 17. The actual score was UCLA 27, Nebraska 20. When the Huskers look back at 2024 this loss will burn the most. UCLA played great and offensively, they really took the Huskers apart in the first half and on one drive in the third quarter. Defensively, they blitzed Dylan Raiola mercilessly and Nebraska looked like a deer in the headlights. Even with all that, Nebraska had a chance to tie the game on the last drive. It’s games like this one that Huskers fans have endured over and over again the last decade. Sometimes you wonder if it’s ever going to stop.
Quick Notes:
Dante Dowdell…Dowdell continues to find the end zone on offense, and sometimes it feels like he is the only one. The issue is, between the 20’s, Dowdell is 2 yards and a cloud of dust way too often. It almost seems like Dowdell is so focused on not fumbling that he misses holes and I’m not sure he is capable of making guys miss at the second level. Dowdell has a big game this weekend. USC is not a great run stopping team. He needs to step up if Nebraska is going to have any chance to win.
Isaiah Neyor…Neyor hasn’t been perfect, but he at least is catching the ball when it is thrown to him. Neyor is a mismatch, but too often he doesn’t run his routes with the intent that he needs to. He still isn’t getting the separation that he needs early in the route. Throw that in with below average blocking and Neyor has a long way to go. That said, he is the best target on the outside and Nebraska needs to continue to give him chances down the field.
Ty Robinson…I have to give Robinson a lot of credit. He could have transferred to Oregon, Alabama, Michigan, you name it, this offseason, but he chose to stay a Husker. He has been the most consistent player on a defense that runs really hot and then cold. Robinson should be up for all conference honors this season, but probably won’t because Nebraska’s win total isn’t as high as it could be. Don’t worry about that, enjoy Robinson, he has given his all for the program. Hopefully he is rewarded at some point.
Tommi Hill…UCLA picked on Jamal Charles from the outset, and it really set them up for early success in the first half. Hill had to come in, and it looked like he was as close to healthy as he has been since the Colorado game. Hill is an NFL player, and it has really hurt the Blackshirts that their best defensive back has been out so much. Hill will be needed against USC; they have the best wide receiver talent the Huskers will play this season outside of Ohio State.
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Score Prediction: USC 31, Nebraska 20
Even coming out of a bye, I just don’t think the Huskers offense is up to the challenge this week. They clearly have confidence issues, and you can tell that they don’t have anything that they run that they know they can have success. Maybe I’m way off and Holgersen will waive his magic play calling wand and all will be well, but I don’t see it this week. It doesn’t mean that all is lost, it just means that Nebraska will have two other chances to get bowl eligible. They need to figure out what works this week and prepare it for Wisconsin at home the following Saturday. It’s dark early in Nebraska, but it will always be GBR!!!
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