Huskers Analytics Review: An All-Time Performance vs. Akron

Nebraska’s win against Akron is precisely what the doctor ordered.

The offensive line opened massive running lanes for Emmett Johnson early, and Dylan Raiola hit wide receivers all over the field. The defense forced a safety. The Huskers were great on special teams again. There’s still plenty to work on, too. Emmett Johnson fumbled near the goal line. Nebraska was also stopped on a short fourth-and-goal opportunity. Those are plays that will haunt the Huskers against better opponents.

Note: ESPN’s play-by-play is inaccurate for the Huskers’ matchup with Akron. My standard postgame graphics are unavailable due to this error.

The Huskers vastly exceeded my expectations in this game. While I thought they’d win easily, I thought they’d show more growing pains. The most important thing I wanted to see in this game was who else the Huskers could rely on later in the season. Nebraska got just that, with TJ Lateef seeing his first action. Kwinten Ives, Isaiah Mozee, and Mekhi Nelson all saw their workloads increase. All of them made great plays, even if they didn’t always count.

The last time the #Huskers had a 300+ yard passer, a 100+ yard rusher, and a 100+ yard wide receiver in the same game was 2022 Georgia Southern, Scott Frost's final game as head coach at Nebraska
— Arbitrary Analytics (@arbitanalytics) September 7, 2025

This game delivered on the promise of Dana Holgorsen. It was a record-breaking performance. The Huskers' 494 passing yards were second all-time in a game, and the Huskers also connected well on deep passes. The Huskers also connected well on deep passes. Raiola was 6-for-7 on passes 15+ yards downfield, while TJ Lateef went 0-for-1.

Mike Ekeler’s special teams were special in this matchup. Nebraska won the average starting field position battle by nearly 20 yards. When Nebraska lost games in 2024, they often lost this hidden yardage matchup by a significant margin. If Nebraska can continue to win in this area by 10+ yards, the Huskers may be able to win 10+ games in 2025.

A dumb but useful mental model you can apply to games today: starting a drive at your own 25 is worth 2.5 points. Add or subtract a half point for every five yards away from that.
— parker fleming (@statsowar) October 19, 2024

It’s hard to find much to be upset about in such a dominant win. One thing did concern me still.

On Nebraska’s third drive, NU had a first-and-goal at the three. Four plays later, Heinrich Haarberg was stopped on a fourth-down tush push play. That was a play where I’d like to see the Huskers’ line dominate up front and get the easy touchdown. While the Huskers’ line opened up plenty of great holes throughout the game, this is one play I hope they use as a motivation for improving against the bigger, more physical defenders they’ll see in the Big Ten.

The main thing I wanted to see for the Huskers against Akron was improvement. They delivered a 1990s-style dominant win. Akron is a bad opponent, so it’s tough to say how much this may carry over into future games. This is a big psychological win for the Huskers, though. The Huskers now have a close, gritty win under their belt, as well as a dominant one. For a program that’s found so many different ways to lose over the last decade, they are now learning how to win in various ways. This performance will set the Huskers up for a bright future.

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