Adam Carriker's Gut Reaction to Nebraska's Season-Opening Win

Nebraska football opened its fourth season under Matt Rhule with a win over the Ohio Bobcats, and Adam Carriker is back with his Gut Reaction to everything that happened. The Huskers got the result they wanted, but the performance gave Nebraska fans reasons to feel both encouraged and concerned.

Ohio looked like the more prepared team at the beginning of the game. Nebraska started slowly, made too many mistakes and struggled to play clean football. The Huskers committed nine penalties, including a costly mistake by Jacory Barney. Those penalties helped extend drives for Ohio and kept Nebraska from taking control as quickly as it should have.

Nebraska’s defense also had some problems. The Huskers did not get enough pressure from the edge and finished with only two sacks, which is not what the fans expected to see. There were sloppy moments, missed opportunities and situations that must be cleaned up before Big Ten play begins, but especially heading into next week’s battle against Bowling Green. However, the defense did improve as the game continued. Nebraska made adjustments, played better in key situations and showed some encouraging man-to-man coverage.

The biggest difference was Nebraska’s depth and conditioning. As Ohio began to wear down, the Huskers took control. Nebraska outscored the Bobcats 42–8 after falling behind, showing how much better the team became as the game went along. The second-half performance was much closer to what Nebraska fans expected to see in game one versus Ohio.

Anthony Colandrea played well in his first game leading the Huskers. He looked comfortable, made good decisions and helped Nebraska move the football. Adam also breaks down the running back group. Freshman Jamal Rule finished the game with 15 carries for 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Mekhi Nelson accounted for 129 all-purpose yards, including 10 carries for 64 yards, and a 29-yard rushing touchdown. He caught two passes for 65 yards, including a 51-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. Nebraska stayed committed to the running game throughout most of the game. Carriker expects going forward that the ratio will likely be around 40 rushing attempts to 30 passes.

Special Teams were solid overall. Still, Adam explains that Nebraska must become a cleaner and more consistent team. The Huskers cannot continue giving opponents extra chances through penalties, defensive mistakes and missed takeaways.

Nebraska won the game, which is always the most important part of the season opener. There were plenty of positive signs, especially the second half adjustments, good depth and conditioning. There were also enough concerns to remind everyone that this team still has work to do.

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