Game-Changing Special Teams and an Improved Blackshirts Unit Tell the Story of Nebraska’s Win Over MSU

Nebraska surged to a 14-0 1st quarter lead over Michigan State on Saturday, and it seemed like the Huskers might put the Spartans away early. Then the Big Red failed to take advantage of numerous highlight plays by the defense and special teams–including two interceptions and an excellent punt return by Jacory Barney–and only clung to a 14-7 lead at halftime. It got worse in the 3rd quarter, when MSU scored two more times to take a 21-14 lead and the Husker offense looked like it couldn’t do anything. Then the game completely flipped again, as Nebraska put their foot down and scored 24 unanswered points to put the Spartans away for good. It was a game of highs, lows, hot temperatures, crazy wind, and ultimately, an ecstatic Memorial Stadium crowd.

We cover it all in the Topline Takeaways.

CHEERS TO THAT

Game Changing Special Teams Plays. Even though Nebraska won by 11, and pretty much put the game away when they scored a touchdown to take a 38-21 lead with about four and a half minutes to go, I actually don’t think it’s a stretch to say the Special Teams units won this game for the boys in red. The blocked punt, returned for a touchdown on Michigan State’s first possession of the game, was a huge early boost that eventually kept the Huskers in it when their offense stalled in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. And when Nebraska scored a game tying touchdown late in the 3rd quarter, the kickoff team’s recovery of a fumbled kick paved the way for a go-ahead field goal, giving Matt Rhule’s squad a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Jacory Barney is arguably Nebraska’s most electric player, and on Saturday he had four punt returns for 81 yards. It’s so good to see a functional punt return unit that can put a guy like Barney in position to use his many talents.

It’s been a long time since Nebraska’s Special Teams units were even average, let alone had the potential to make game changing plays. Huge credit to new coordinator Mike Ekeler (shout out to David City, Nebraska!) for completely flipping his unit in one offseason.

An Emerging Identity on Defense. After the dust settled across college football on Saturday, Nebraska still had the #1 passing defense in the country, and the Blackshirts are still in the top 25 in scoring defense and total defense. While the Big Red sit at #89 nationally in rushing defense, that’s up from 107th after the Michigan game. The pass defense remained stifling against MSU, but we also saw a major step forward from the front 7. The Blackshirts gave up a total of 86 yards rushing, adding four sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Aggressive, athletic playmakers seemed to be all over the field, with Williams Nwaneri, Riley Van Poppel, Elijah Jeudy, Vincent Shavers, and Javin Wright among those joining in the fun.

It’s really encouraging to see this kind of improvement from the defense coming out of the bye week. I love the emerging identity of the Blackshirts–athletic difference makers getting after the quarterback, stopping the run, shutting down the pass, and forcing turnovers. If the defense can keep it up for the remainder of the season, Nebraska will be in every game left on its schedule.

Getting Up Off the Mat. I’ll be honest: when the Huskers went down 21-14 in the 3rd quarter, and the offense seemed completely lost, I was not very positive about the eventual outcome. It felt like too many games of recent years, where Nebraska initially looked like the better team, and then made too many mistakes on the way to ultimately giving the game away. With that context, it’s incredibly encouraging to see how Rhule’s boys bounced back not only to win, but to put the game away in decisive fashion.

A key play came late in the 3rd quarter, when Dylan Raiola found Jacorey Barney for a 45-yard completion. That seemed to wake the Huskers up; Emmett Johnson scored on a 23 yard run two plays later, and the Big Red never looked back. This is the kind of win that will hopefully stick with the team, and can serve as an important experience for them to draw upon the next time their backs are against the wall.

REASONS FOR CONCERN

Too Many Sacks! Nebraska’s offensive line struggled against Michigan, but Michigan is a very good team with several future NFL players on their defense. It was easier to shrug that one off, as the Wolverines will likely be the best defense the Huskers see all season. What we saw on Saturday provided more reason for concern. Dylan Raiola was sacked five times, by a defense that hasn’t been particularly good at getting to the quarterback for years.

It’s important to understand, when things are going poorly on offense, it’s rarely the fault of one player or one position group. Raiola sometimes holds the ball too long. Running backs miss in pass protection. Wide receivers are not always getting open (although this year’s group of pass catchers is doing a pretty dang good job). It’s not entirely on the offensive line. But, for a unit that came into the season with a combination of several experienced players plus two high profile transfers, the big boys up front have not looked as good as we expected so far.

The way the remainder of the schedule lines up, the Huskers have a major opportunity to get to a number of wins they haven’t seen in many years. To do so, however, will require keeping Raiola upright.

Commitment to the Run Game. When you remove the yardage lost due to the aforementioned sacks, Nebraska’s non-quarterbacks rushed for a total of 105 yards against Michigan State. On the season, Nebraska as a team has attempted 176 passes, and they’ve run the ball 169 times. That’s actually a more even split than I would have guessed, even with 15 of those rushes accounting for the number of times Raiola has been sacked.

As we discussed on the latest episode of the Common Fan Podcast, it just doesn’t seem like Nebraska is committed to running the football. I get it – with the weapons they have on this roster, it makes sense to get the ball to your numerous playmakers, most of whom are receivers or tight ends. And we’re certainly not advocating for a slow, boring, run-first offense that tries to win by playing keep-away. But this is still Nebraska, and you’re still going to have games like Saturday, where the wind was sweeping across the plains, or it’s going to snow, or any number of other factors that are out of your control. I’d love to see the Huskers try to make smash mouth football more a part of their identity.

BOTTOM LINE

Penn State inexplicably lost to an 0-4 UCLA team on Saturday. Texas lost to a 1-3 Florida team. There is more parity than ever before in college football, especially when you’re in one of the two best conferences (which Nebraska is).

What’s my point? We need to celebrate all the Ws. Yes, the win over Michigan State was ugly, and it felt like the Huskers made it much harder on themselves than they needed to. But by the end, they had won decisively against an inferior opponent, just like they were supposed to do. Fans in Happy Valley and Austin woke up Sunday unable to say that about their teams.

Nebraska needs to keep improving, and keep trying to stack as many wins as they can before a November slog that includes USC, Penn State, and Iowa. As has been the case in recent years, the Big Red can win any game left on its schedule. They can also lose any one of these games. Let’s enjoy it when they get the win, and hope for many more.

As always, GBR for LIFE.

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