Time to Report
- Sean Brennan
- Oct 2
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 10
Let’s grade Nebraska through four games and give some love to Nebraska volleyball
We’re only four games in, the calendar has changed to October, and it somehow already feels like the clock on Nebraska’s season is ticking away. Urgency was always the name of the game in college football; after the rules changed and allowed players to transfer and schools to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) to rent players, many times for one season, that urgency has quadrupled – at least.
Matt Rhule isn’t on any sort of hot seat, but the natives remain restless. The win against Cincinnati was great, a win over Michigan would’ve been better.
After four games, how do you feel? Positive? Negative? Nonplussed? Is Nebraska primed to finally turn a corner?
To review – in case you are one of the 3.4 percent of Nebraskans who don’t know – the Huskers grinded out and held on to beat what’s turning out (so far) to be a good Cincinnati team (who you’d be wise to keep rooting for). Under the lights at Arrowhead Stadium with most of the football-starved country watching no less, which counts for something in my book. After that, they pummeled two goats – but not like how Bud Crawford is now the GOAT of his generation, but rather they are baaaaaaaad (or is that the sound a sheep makes? Hmmm… I never claimed to be a zoologist) – by a combined score of 127-7. Then came the litmus test: 21st-ranked Michigan at home in front of 87,278 fans absolutely dying to end the streak of 27 consecutive losses to ranked opponents. As you all know, the Wolverines exposed Nebraska’s weaknesses along the lines of scrimmage – particularly the offensive line – the Huskers fell short, and Michigan made extended the godforsaken, seemingly mathematically impossible streak to 28.
This point in the season, one-third of the way through, is all about momentum, of course. There are still eight games on the schedule, and that’s a lot of football left to be played (although I’m the guy who’s already sad there are only eight games left to be played). We know everything; we know nothing. Cincinnati may end up being trash; Michigan might end up making a run in the College Football Playoffs.
Despite the disappointing loss, Nebraska still finds itself in a good spot. If you trust the computers, according to ESPN’s FPI projections (as of Sept. 24, the latest aren’t released until Thursday afternoon), Nebraska is favored to win six of those eight. The two they are not favored in are against USC at home on Nov. 1 (39.1 percent) and at Penn State on Nov. 22 (31.5 percent). There are six games left on the schedule that the Huskers should win and, as disappointing as the losses are to the teams that are better, the recipe for Nebraska having a successful season is winning the games they should win and letting ‘em hang in the games those two games they shouldn’t.
And if you don’t trust the computers – if raw win-loss records are more your thing – it sure as hell doesn’t seem like history is on Nebraska’s side. Win the games you should win. We’ve heard that one before, no? The six opponents that we should beat? Taking into account games since 2014 as a reference, Michigan State has beaten us 3 out of 5; Nebraska is actually 2-1 against Maryland; Minnesota has won 7 of 10 and an embarrassing five in a row; it’s a 5-5 split against Northwestern; 1-1 against UCLA; and finally, there’s the mother of all embarrassments – the Huskers’ putrid 2-9 record against Iowa.
How likely is it that Nebraska finally comes through in the games it should win and maybe sneaks out a win against a team they shouldn’t? I know everything; I know nothing. I feel positive; the cause seems futile. But with the bye week, it’s a good time to take a quick-ish look at where things stand after four games. How are you feeling? Is it better, worse, or about what you expected? Let’s take a look with a “One-Third of the Season Report Card,” which has no ring to it whatsover. Oh, and to close things out we’ll check in on a team that seemingly always takes care of business – Nebraska women’s volleyball.
It’s better: “We’re making progress – losing 30-27 to Michigan is a hell of a lot better than losing 45-7, like we did in 2023. We’ve got a stud QB and a breakthrough is on the horizon.”
Those two things would both be true; Michigan could’ve beaten Nebraska 77-0 in 2023 if it wanted to. So as bad as last Saturday was on the front lines – believe it or not – it was improvement. And Dylan Raiola, despite the bombardment of Wolverine pass rushers, found a way to keep us in the game. Trial by fire. USC and Penn State both have good defenses, too, but that’s the worst he’s going to see all season. Probably. Maybe. Most likely. (Cue grimacing emoji face.)
It’s worse: “More failing on the big stage, and the offensive and defensive lines can’t hang and bang with the good teams – and while Matt Rhule is a great talker, talking doesn’t win you football games.”
We’ll cover the offensive and defensive lines. And Rhule can certainly talk. the Huskers’ record-against-ranked-teams aside, as the head coach at Temple, Baylor and now, Nebraska, personally Rhule is 2-22 against ranked teams in his career. (Another grimacing emoji face.)
It’s about what I expected: “Nebraska football is my passion, and I’ll take the fun wins – like against Cincinnati – when I can get them. But when I get my hopes up, at this point I expect to be disappointed. This is probably the scariest one. The vibe check coming down the ramps after the Michigan was more one of apathy than anger, or even disappointment. Then again, they sell alcohol in Memorial Stadium now. Whatever it was, something seemed more numb than usual. (It’s pretty standard to include three emojis in your text when you really mean something, right?)
1/3 REPORT CARD
Offense (overall): C It’s had its moments – unfortunately most of them came against Akron and Houston Christian. The hope here is that Nebraska’s offensive line wasn’t that bad – Michigan was just really good. But Dylan needs more time back there and the Huskers must establish a ground game in order to win big games and allow offensive coordinator Dana Holgerson to do what he wants to do. As always, football is a game won from the inside out.
Quarterback: A Dylan is our best player and, as he proved against Michigan, has the ability to keep us in any game. I’d give him an A-minus on the season so far. So why the small bump up to an A? If, and God forbid, the thing that we will NEVER talk about happens, backup T.J. Lateef looks competent at least.
Running back: C- Emmett Johnson is good. He runs hard, but isn’t a homerun threat (although it’s not like the offensive line is blowing holes wide open for him even if he was). The problem is the backups, who look small and indecisive, and there’s only so much pounding Emmett’s body can take. The backups might be really good someday, but it’s tough to believe that day is coming this season.
Wide receiver/tight end: A Transfers Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter are homeruns and Jacory Barney is, well, you saw it against Michigan. They form the best trio since some Kenny Bell, Quincy Enunwa and Jordan Westerkamp in 2013. Tight end Luke Lindenmeyer has been – dare I say it? Oh, I dare – a revelation. Dylan may or may not have specifically asked for more weapons
Offensive line: D To say they’ve been wildly disappointing is an understatement. There were whispers before the season from certain radio individuals that they might be “one of the best in the Big Ten.” I ate it up. Finally, a good if not dominant offensive line? I ate it up for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight snack, too. I overpaid on DoorDash for even more of that shit. But in the two games that actually meant something, they gave up 10 sacks and the rushing game averaged just 76.5 yards. Not good! The interior hasn’t been as bad, I guess, and maybe high-profile (and highly-paid) Alabama transfer Elijah Pritchett finally gets it, but it’s hard to see right now. Nobody would be happier than me to be proven wrong.
Defense (overall): B+ John Butler’s unit is three long runs against Michigan from an A-minus at least. They bent but didn’t break against Cincinnati; Akron and Houston Christian were glorified scrimmages but relinquishing only seven points – a touchdown that came against mostly backups – is really all you can do; but then … Michigan sprung demoralizing touchdown runs of 37, 75 and 54 yards. Other than that, Butler is creatively getting the most out of an undersized line, the linebackers are flashing and making plays and the secondary – though untested – has been as good as advertised.
Defensive line: C They get pushed around a lot, but they’ve held up OK considering their size disadvantage against most teams. Some of the blame falls on missed tackles by the linebackers and secondary.
Linebackers: B Dasan McCullough is a quick-twitch, sudden playmaker (“sudden” being the highest of high compliments for a defensive player these days); it’s just too bad he didn’t make the play on what would have led to a chance to tie Michigan in the closing minutes. But I’ll recover from that one day, and McCullough’s positives have far outweighed the negatives. Sidekick Vincent Shavers has made big plays, too and seventh-year player (seven!) Javin Wright is solid. On the down side, I’m not sure what happened to marquee transfer Marques Watson-Trent. I just had to Google his jersey number, because I wasn’t quite sure. Never a good sign.
Secondary: B+ They’ve been good, but they also haven’t really been tested, although it’s worth pointing out that they held Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby to 69 passing yards while Sorsby just hung 388 on Kansas – so maybe their performance in Arrowhead was better than we thought. Michigan didn’t really try to pass because they didn’t have to. The tests remaining? It starts Saturday against Michigan State and Aidan Chiles, projected as a first-rounder in at least one mock draft, if that means anything to you; other good quarterbacks left on the schedule are of course, on the two toughest teams: USC’s Jayden Maiava, and Penn State’s Drew Allar.
Special teams (overall): A- So far, so good at least, and a far cry from the debacle of recent years. Nebraska’s biggest addition of the offseason might prove to be the hire of special teams coach Mike Ekeler, who they wooed away from Tennessee at a high price. Worth every penny.
Kicker: B+ New placekicker Kyle Cunanan first miss of the year the Huskers three costly points early against Michigan, but other than that he’s been nails. I remain confident.
Punter: A Ekeler’s preferred approach of an Australian-style punter has proven genius thanks to fan favorite and native Australian Archie Wilson, who has proven he can hang ‘em high and long and pin them inside the 20, too. Arguably the best part of the wait-as-long-as-possible-to-kick approach? Opponents are averaging -1.0 yards per punt return.
Return specialists: C+ Punt returner Barney seems capable of busting a long one soon; but he gets down graded some for some indecision.
Tune In for the Greatness
You know who has not lost 28 straight games to ranked opponents? The No. 1-ranked Nebraska volleyball team. They have five wins over ranked teams this season alone, three of them against opponents from the top 10. Sometimes it feels like Huskers women are so dominant they haven’t lost 28 games to ranked teams – ever.
OK, that’s a little ridiculous, but the point rings true, so let’s take a moment to recognize the ladies who just don’t give a … and also recognize the fact that things are about to get good – like really good. If you haven’t heard, Big Ten volleyball is ultra-competitive, and speaking of ranked opponents, Nebraska is about to play six of them (two against Penn State and Wisconsin) and possibly more before the end of the year.
I’m not going to sit here and act like some volleyball diehard, or like I could participate in an esoteric conversation about the intricacies of the sport. I couldn’t tell you who is, or who isn’t, having a great season. (From my vantage point they are all having good seasons.) All I can tell you is when the passion turns on, I do not turn away. It’s usually about this time of the season when it happens. And it just so happens that Nebraska squares off against Penn State, in Happy Valley, which is a perfect way to ignite the fire. I know Wisconsin is probably the better program at the moment, but most of my memories of volleyball-style hatred come from 5-set marathons against the Nittany Lions. The match will be broadcast on Fox, Friday night at 7 p.m.
A run towards the Final Four looms for Dani Busboom Kelly in her first season has head coach. I’ll be here for it. Let’s gooooooooo.
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