He met the gridiron test

Matt Rhule made a big bet to bring in an outside OC with three games left. With how Nebraska beat Wisconsin, it's already paid off.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska has had bigger offensive outbursts in its recent past than Saturday’s 44-25 win over Wisconsin on 473 total yards. There were the 657 yards in a 56-7 win over Northwestern in 2021, 620 against Rutgers in a 28-21 2020 win and 659 against 2018 Minnesota for a 53-28 win.

The Huskers’ bowl-clinching win wasn’t one of those in good ways. For one, none of Nebraska’s bigger-number games since 2016 came against a top-20 defense by SP+. Wisconsin was that entering the game,¹ although it did have to play without its leading tackler Saturday. NU’s 473 yards are the most against a legitimately good defense since it had 452 against the Badgers in 2021.² That Wisconsin defense ranked second in SP+, but Nebraska’s gaudy-by-comparison numbers against the Badgers came in a 35-28 loss.

That’s another difference—Nebraska’s increased production meant something more than just big totals against an overmatched defense.

One more thing worth knowing about Dana Holgorsen’s second outing as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator: It was close to perfect by at least one measure. Wisconsin didn’t have a tackle for loss. The Badgers weren’t a big TFL team coming in, but take a moment to appreciate how hard it is for an offense not to lose a yard over the course of a game. It’s happened five times this season in one of the 135 games involving a Big Ten team so far. It hadn’t happened at Nebraska since a season-opening win over Fresno State in 2016, a streak of 102 games.

There were errors in execution, as there will always be, but nearly everything Nebraska tried to do worked in a November game both teams really needed to win.

So, mea culpa time: After the UCLA loss I wrote that I thought Nebraska would get bowl eligible, but I didn’t see a path for emerging from 2024 with much program momentum. I wrote that I was possibly undervaluing what a bowl game would mean and seeing what snapping that streak meant to the players and fans Saturday, it’s pretty clear I was.

But the real reason there is hope now that wasn’t there three weeks ago? Matt Rhule’s decision to hire an outside offensive coordinator with three games left in the season. I didn’t account for that because why would you? It doesn’t happen.

It was a bold choice and, with a bowl game secured, one that has already paid off.

The Huskers had their best rushing day of the season. Emmett Johnson became the first 100-yard rusher of the season (113) and looked like the guy everyone wanted to see all season long. Dante Dowdell excelled in the more specialized role of goal line piercer with three touchdowns to push his total to 11³ on the season.

“There were no new plays,” Rhule said.

Dylan Raiola had his best passing day, completing 73.7% of his throws for 293 yards after a rough stretch post-Purdue. He made a handful of 5-star throws again, something we hadn’t seen much of since September.

“[Holgorsen] made things simple and we went out there and trusted our execution,” Raiola said. “He gets in a groove, and he gets going. We feed off that energy.”

Never underestimate the value of simplicity.

Holgorsen is cooking someone else’s menu with the ingredients already in the kitchen, and he still helped lead this offense to a win Nebraska desperately needed. Of course, as far as momentum for 2025 goes, it would be helpful if Holgorsen remained in Lincoln. That’s not guaranteed. He’s on a one-month contract and said last week he doesn’t know what the future holds.

But everyone can worry about that when there’s something to worry about. For now, Rhule cashed a pretty big bet because it again seems plausible that things could be back on track with this grand project.⁴

What’s Next?

Black Friday Night Lights in Iowa City! The Hawkeyes are currently in the middle of some QB drama that might’ve felt overly dramatic for the already amped up television drama, “Friday Night Lights.” Iowa was down to its fourth-string quarterback at the start of last week—Jackson Stratton, a walk-on transfer from Colorado State—but Cade McNamara, the starter at the beginning of the season, was expected back. He practiced Sunday then disappeared, prompting rumors he’d left the team which prompted McNamara to take to social media to explain he was struggling to return from a concussion and that he expected to play this week against Nebraska.

Despite all of that, Iowa beat Maryland 29-13 last week because winning while somewhat handicapped is what Iowa always does. Kirk Ferentz said Stratton would start this week, so make of that what you will. I’ll go with the head coach over the former starter.

Here’s another potential layer of intrigue: Ferentz is two wins away from tying Woody Hayes for the most wins by a Big Ten coach. He’s been on quiet retirement watch since the start of the season, but can you retire if you’re a win or two away from a big milestone like that? Can you win two more games this season without beating Nebraska? Nope.

This game is going to be awesome.

1. It’s 30th in SP+ this week.

2. Hadn’t thought of it in a while, but Scott Frost really had the number of some good Wisconsin defenses. Couldn’t produce a win in the series, but the Huskers moved the ball surprisingly well in those years.

3. Dowdell is the first Husker back with 10-plus rushing touchdowns since 2019.

4. Musical inspiration this week is from the best song about football ever written.