'Be Great Teammates': The Message Behind Nebraska’s Surprising Resilience

This has been a somewhat predictable season thus far for the Nebraska football team.

For any fan of the team who thought that Nebraska would continue to struggle against nationally-ranked teams, predicting NU to be 7-3 at this point of the year was a pretty safe bet. Most fans expected Nebraska to drop at least one of their games against Michigan and USC, and several more had them losing both.

Mix in the “Nebraska will lose to someone they shouldn’t crowd” and you also have your Minnesota loss. As witnessed by the final scores, Northwestern and UCLA also could have very well fallen into that category.

When Dylan Raiola broke his fibula against USC, Nebraska fans didn't know how the team would respond the following week. — When Dylan Raiola broke his fibula against USC, Nebraska fans didn't know how the team would respond the following week at UCLA. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

What almost no fan would have predicted, though, is how the team got there. The amount of injuries the team has sustained this year is staggering. Quarterback Dylan Raiola (broken fibula), guard Gunnar Gottula (knee), guard Teddy Prochazka (torn ACL), cornerback Braylon Hill (knee) and tight end Mac Markway (torn ACL) are all out for the season.

Then add on the fact that linebacker Dasan McCullough, running back Kwinten Ives and linebacker Dawson Merritt landed on the injury report ahead of NU’s game against UCLA. Now…go play a football game.

“I saw the injury report (Saturday), and all the guys that are out – obviously Dylan’s out, Gunnar’s out, Teddy’s out and all those guys, just how many have fought for us this year and how much we care about them,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “I encourage them all just to send a text to those guys. Dylan was texting me before the game like, ‘Hey, you know I got my call sheet in front of me. Make sure we do this, this, this and this.’ Just blessed to be a part of a team that has that type of character.”

Nebraska back-up quarterback TJ Lateef was able to excel Saturday at UCLA thanks to his team's overall message. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

When you see that injury list, 7-3 all of a sudden feels like the team should be in the college football playoff. While that certainly won’t be in the cards for the Huskers this season, the team has matched its win total for 2024 with two regular-season games and a bowl game still in front of them.

What’s immediately in front of them, though, is a very welcome bye week. For the guys who are still healthy enough to put on a helmet and pads, a week off couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I can’t speak enough to our guys,” Rhule said. “They’re battered, they’re beat up. It’s been a long, hard season. We have a bunch of guys back home, and yet they went out there and competed. It wasn’t perfect, but it was really good.”

The Huskers were smiling after capping off the week with a 28-21 win over UCLA. The message from the coaching staff was to simply be great teammates. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Nebraska’s 28-21 road win over UCLA this past Saturday not only earned the Huskers their seventh win of the year, but it also was the cherry on top of a week that had a pretty simple message from coach Rhule.

“Our whole message this week was to be great teammates,” Rhule said after his team’s win over the Bruins. “Everyone can say they care for someone, but doing a little extra and I thought the guys did a little extra, and that allowed TJ just to go out there and play.”

Back-up quarterback TJ Lateef balled out Saturday at the Rose Bowl. The true freshman nearly had a perfect game through the air, completing 13-of-15 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Lateef also did enough on the ground to be second on the team in rushing with 31 yards.

It doesn’t sound like much until you realize the guy who led the team in rushing also led the team in receiving. Junior running back Emmett Johnson ran 28 times for a game-high 129 yards on the ground for a touchdown. However, he was most impactful through the air. He caught only three passes, but two of them went for touchdowns of 56 and 40 yards, respectively.

UCLA didn't have an answer for Emmett Johnson in Saturday's 28-21 Husker win. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

“Any time I get a chance to be a spark for the team and help the offense get going, I’m excited,” Johnson said after the win. “The first play, I was really excited that (Lateef) pulled it (and ran) because the team thought that I was going to be getting the ball the whole game, so when he pulled it and ran, I was like ‘Okay, he’s locked in.’ I knew he was locked in right away.”

After having arguably one of his best games of the season, if not his Nebraska career, Johnson’s comments show that Rhule’s messaging worked – Johnson and Lateef were being great teammates.

“Emmett’s just an absolute weapon,” Rhule said of his performance against the Bruins. “I see all the scouts coming in now, you know, starting a body type. I’m always going to use these opportunities to talk about things that I think help us in recruiting and all that, but you take guys who don’t have the success they want maybe early, and they just stick to it.”

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson spent a few days in the transfer portal before deciding to come back to Lincoln. — Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson spent a few days in the transfer portal before deciding to come back to Lincoln for his junior season. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Many Husker fans might remember that Johnson entered the transfer portal this past offseason. It was hands down one of the biggest “gut punches” to a team that seemed to be on the rise, as now-injured quarterback Dylan Raiola was on the rise for what could have been a historic sophomore campaign.

Some new marquee transfer receivers were already on their way in with Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter pledging their next year of football to Nebraska, but Johnson took a quick look elsewhere. Just days later, following talks with Rhule and the Nebraska coaching staff, Johnson withdrew his name from the portal and decided to run it back for another year in Lincoln.

“It’s just such a great message,” Rhule said. “Now, if I’m a freshman or a sophomore, I want more touches. I want more things – just do what Emmett did. Just keep getting better and better and better when your time comes.”

The next week will be all about healing for NU as they get into recovery mode with a November 22 date at Penn State just beyond the horizon. The Nittany Lions nearly upset #2 Indiana over the past weekend, so it appears that they’re officially out of whatever funk they found themselves in over the past month of football.

Penn State gave #2 Indiana everything it could handle before falling to the Hoosiers in a narrow loss. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Ultimately, Rhule said he simply can’t be happier with how his team has attacked the challenges in front of them. Numerous starters are out, and there would have been plenty of opportunities to fold it in and get ready for the 2026 season. Instead, Nebraska’s 7-3 with a chance to move the team closer to what the fan base has been pleading for over the last quarter-century.

“It’s really good to see guys stepping up late in the season, developing, not trying to take the easy way out, and that was a great team win,” Rhule said of Nebraska’s 28-21 win over UCLA. “Obviously, our O-line, sometimes they bear the brunt of some things, but to be able to run the clock down and take a knee on someone else’s field is really hard to do in the Big Ten.”

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