Huskers 49, Ohio 21 — More Questions Than Answers?

As expected, Nebraska is 1-0.

On Ohio’s first offensive play, Riley Neer takes a slant 68 yards, and 71 seconds into the season Nebraska is already trailing. Nebraska fans (and the SMQ team) collectively thought, "Well...that's not what we expected," and roughly 85,003 people are sweating for an entirely different reason than the 95-degree heat.

While it took a little longer than expected, both the offense and the defense calmed down and dominated the Bobcats. If the 14-13 first half was the stuff of nightmares, the 35-8 second half was downright dreamy.

So here's what the SMQ team saw as pros and cons.

PROS

Anthony Colandrea - At least we know we have a better QB than last season. He was smart with the ball, made good decisions, and got rid of the ball.

The Running Backs (especially Jamal Rule) - Bob had predicted that Rule would be RB1 by the end of the season. Looks like he was off by about eight games! Rule had 169 all-purpose yards - including the first triple-digit rushing total by a true freshman in a season opener since 2004. The SMQ team doesn't think he is the second coming of Tierre Green and will stay at RB. The entire room did well, piling up 31 carries, 217 yards rushing, and 3 TDs, with another 4 catches for 112 yards and 2 more TDs.

The Offensive Line - Things turned for the better during the game when the Huskers decided to lean into the O-line. Enough with the "genius" passes and do what we ALL want Nebraska to do - pound the rock, pound it some more, then throw against a stacked box. You know, Husker Football. There was one sack and a couple of pressures ... but this is a BIG line. Keep 'em moving forward and good things will happen.

A completed pass to a TE - What?? A completed pass to a TE?? The SMQ team has been screaming about including the TE more in the offensive game plan. While it was just two catches, it's a start.

CONS

The Defensive Line - Against Ohio, you can get away with little pressure up front. Against Ohio State, you can't. This looks like a potential liability for the Huskers. Maybe it was the game plan, which seemed "we're just going to see what we have here" sort of plan.

Stone Hands - If you're going to pass the ball, someone has to catch it. It seemed like the receivers group had a little too much "Manos de piedra."

Penalties - Nine penalties for 65 yards is understandable for Game 1 but really needs to be cleaned up. Also, we won't complain if you think "that wasn't a penalty on Barney!"

Overall, a win is a win. But eventually, Nebraska did something good teams are supposed to do - they took an inferior opponent’s best punch, adjusted, and then buried them.

49-21.

Nebraska is 1-0.

And now we find out how much better this football team can get.

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