If you have been on a Husker football break since they lost versus Iowa on a crushing last minute field goal, it would be understandable. If you haven’t been paying attention though, man have things changed.
Name, Image and Likeness, or more commonly referred to as NIL, has changed the entire landscape of college football, and in 2025, it will be changed like it’s on steroids. With basically no rules, teams are spending money up front on players, knowing that Congress is attempting to set some parameters on the payouts that can be made starting as soon as next summer.
Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the NCAA is also implementing a cap on players a team can have at 105. This is a big blow to walk-ons. Nebraska will no longer be able to carry a bigger roster than everyone else in the Big Ten. Nebraska will be forced to let players that are on scholarship go as well as the walk-ons. Throw in the fact that Nebraska lost their defensive coordinator Tony White to Florida State and the defensive line coach Terrance Knighton or “Pot Roast” as he is called, and Nebraska had a handful of players leave along with them.
And if that wasn’t enough, Nebraska went out and grabbed their own group of players from the transfer portal. If you want to know how they have done so far, keep in mind that they pulled the number 6 overall player from the 2024 class on the defensive line (Williams Nwaneri, one spot above Dylan Raiola) and outbid teams like Georgia, Missouri, Kansas State and Miami for a list of other players that were highly coveted all over college football.
Where does that leave Nebraska overall? Well in this new age of college football, cheering for certain players will lose its luster as many of them choose to move on. They may be here one year, two years or five, but it’s going to be hard to put all your faith in a player that could easily be snatched up by the highest bidder the next season. Nebraska will counter that by paying for top players from other schools to offset those losses. That is the life of a college football team right now and moving forward. It won’t be the same, but Nebraska seems to be keeping in line with the changes, which is all you can hope for right now.
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| Bleed Husker Red Tees |
ON WITH THE REWIND…
Last game prediction was Nebraska 27, Iowa 20. The actual score was Iowa 13, Nebraska 10. Nebraska dominated the game for all but one play on defense and it was super costly. A long touchdown run by the Hawkeyes changed the game an altered Nebraska’s room for error. Of course, it was Iowa’s special teams that caused them to come out ahead again, with Nebraska missing a field goal, fumbling a punt return and giving up a long field goal at the gun. It’s not hard to see that Nebraska has better overall players than Iowa, but until they get coached up to the level that Iowa is at the least, Nebraska will continue to lose one score games to Iowa.
Quick Notes:
Emmett Johnson…Johnson ended up being Nebraska’s lead back at the end of the season and should play the most snaps in the bowl game against Boston College. Johnson had an ok game against Iowa, but Dante Dowdell was the back that found the end zone. Dowdell has since left for Kentucky, so Johnson can take over full time next fall. If he improves as much from this last season into next season, Nebraska could have a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time since Devine Ozigbo.
Ty Robinson.…Robinson was a huge pain in the butt for many opponents this season, and Iowa took the brunt of Robinson’s pain as well. Robinson ended up third team All-Big Ten, which in my opinion was a farce, he should have been first team. Robinson may not play much in the bowl game, in fact I only expect him to play in the first half. Nebraska will miss him immensely in 2025, he has been the best defensive lineman since Randy Gregory and probably the best defensive tackle since Jared Crick and Ndamukong Suh played together.
Jacorey Barney Jr..…Barney will be the big gun in the bowl game and should be a big weapon for the Huskers next fall. Nebraska added two big time transfers to the wide receiver room for next fall and two highly rated four-star players as well, but Barney will be the lead in that group. If he and Jaylen Lloyd can team up with Jamal Banks and Carter Nelson, the wide receiver group should cause problems for Boston College.
Dylan Raiola…Raiola has started every game for Nebraska this fall. It’s been a long time since Nebraska has been that fortunate. Raiola has had his ups and downs, but there is no doubt that the future is bright for the Big Red as long as Raiola continues to improve. Adding Dana Holgersen into the mix at offensive coordinator should help Raiola, as Holgersen’s offense is very quarterback friendly. Nebraska continues to add weapons to the team as pass catchers and will also add some offensive lineman in the transfer portal. If Nebraska’s offensive line improves along with the quarterback, the soon to be sophomore should have a great season in 2025.
Score Prediction: Nebraska 30, Boston College 27
Nebraska will be fully rested on offense and that should carry them to a victory. Nebraska has lost a starting linebacker, defensive end and plenty of backups to the portal. I would be lying if I said that the Blackshirts should dominate this game. Boston College will put up points, but Nebraska should be able to match them. Nebraska will get their first bowl win since beating UCLA in 2015. It’s been a long, strange season and maybe it was a little disappointing, but I will miss Nebraska football mightily until it comes back to us in August. Enjoy it and GBR!!!
