Nebraska

Final take: QB Dylan Raiola's presence makes games like Northern Iowa much more comfortable for Nebraska

Published

2 hours ago

September 15, 2024

Final take: QB Dylan Raiola's presence makes games like Northern Iowa much more comfortable for Nebraska

Northern Iowa attacked Nebraska’s defense with everything they had. They found early success on Saturday night and chewed up over 10 minutes on its opening drive.

The problem was that they went against Dylan Raiola and the Husker offense on the other sideline. Raiola’s presence makes games like this much more comfortable if you are a Husker fan. He executes nearly every throw, and he always sees the open man.

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“We had three possessions and we scored on three possessions,” head coach Matt Rhule said following his team’s 34-3 win over Northern Iowa. “(Northern Iowa) did a great job in that they used up 10 minutes on that first drive. They were literally just sitting in the huddle, looking to the sideline.”

On a night when the Blackshirt defense was off-balanced at times, Raiola and the offense made quick work of its opportunities. The Huskers had 256 yards of offense on its first four possessions, including touchdown scoring drives of 75, 75 and 80 yards to open the game.

Raiola’s final line of the game was 17-of-23 for 247 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

“Coach (Marcus) Satterfield was just dialing it up,” Raiola said. “He knows the strengths of his players, he knows what we’re good at, and he allows us to capitalize on what we’re good at.”

The win over the Panthers gives the Huskers its first perfect 3-0 non-conference start to a season since 2016.

Rhule and his team must turn around on a short week for a potential ranked-on-ranked match-up against Illinois on Friday. There has not been a ranked vs. ranked match-up at Memorial Stadium since the 2014 season.

“I like being 3-0,” Rhule said. “There’s nothing that I hate. We are just going to get better each week. We start Big Ten play. I refer to this as the preseason. In my mind, we are learning how to win. I told our team that the narrative of losing close games comes from when you get the lead, not trying to put the game away.’

Now on to the breakdown…

What I saw on Saturday

***Offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua was a scratch on Saturday vs. Northern Iowa. He was not seen on the sidelines. Henry Lutovsky got the start at right guard in his place.

Rhule said Mazzccua was out for a coach’s decision and he would expand more on it later.

***We saw linebacker Mikai Gbayor on the field in the first defensive series after being suspended for the first half from a targeting call last week. Syracuse transfer Stefon Thompson got the start in his place.

***The 1890 Nebraska logo was not on the field this week against Northern Iowa after being prominently placed on each 25-yard line a week ago. I’m told it will be something NU showcases at different times, but it won’t be permanently on the field for each game.

***NU wasted no time getting freshman wide receiver Carter Nelson on the field after not seeing an offensive snap a week ago. Nelson caught two passes for 38 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown on NU’s opening scoring drive. You could really see the big picture of what Nelson is going to be in this offense and the match-up problems he’s going to cause opposing defenses.

***We saw Heinrich Haarberg come into the game for three plays, in which he played three different positions. Haarberg caught a pass, carried the ball as a running back, and lined up as a quarterback for another running play. I’m sure Illinois’s coaching staff will enjoy the extra prep time that set of plays will give them now that they are on a short week traveling to Lincoln. Rhule even commented about why they do some of those things on offense in the post-game.

***We saw another spectacular fourth-quarter light show on Saturday. A University official said there were plans to incorporate drone show again this week, but some frequency issues kept them grounded on Saturday.

***Walk-on Aidan Flege took all of the snaps at long snapper for the Huskers on Saturday.

***73 players saw action in Nebraska’s game on Saturday.

The final grade out

	Grade	HOL take
Rushing offense	B	Nebraka’s top four running backs had 15 carries for 112 yards and five catches for 71 yards. They gave Northern Iowa a lot of problems. The Huskers ran just 48 plays from scrimmage, so don’t be fooled by the overall stat line. The backs made a big impact at times.
Passing offense	A	QB Dylan Raiola was almost flawless. He threw his first collegiate interception on a play that easily could’ve been a catch. Raiola finished 17-of-23 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. His first three drives of the game were nearly perfect.
Rushing defense	C+	Northern Iowa opened the game with a 10-minute drive, during which they averaged over 4 yards per carry on four first-down runs to stay on schedule. They finished with 140 sack-adjusted rush yards and a 3.7 yards per carry average. Their strategy was to chew the clock and stay on schedule, which kept the Huskers off-balanced at times.
Passing defense	B	UNI was 16-of-32 for 162 and one interception. They had some success on third downs, but NU eventually took control as a defense. Malcolm Hartzog had a timely interception.
Special teams	B-	Tristan Alvano was perfect on his two field goal tries. Brian Buschini did not attempt a punt. The kickoff coverage was solid, as NU even pinned one inside the 5 yard line. There was a bad roughing the punt penalty that put the defense back on the field.

Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.

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Nebraska

Gut Reaction: Nebraska Football Rolls Over Northern Iowa and is 3-0

Published

10 hours ago

September 15, 2024

Press Room

Gut Reaction: Nebraska Football Rolls Over Northern Iowa and is 3-0

Adam Carriker is impressed by how Nebraska’s offense starts games and how well the Blackshirts have limited opposing teams from scoring. Quarterback Dylan Raiola has exceeded his expectations so far and the Huskers look like a real threat. That being said, there are things Adam wants to address that need to continue to improve for Nebraska, on offense as well as defense. Husker Nation is pumped about this year’s Huskers and there’s good reason for it.

Hit the play button above to watch. Get more Carriker Chronicles on SI, at Adam’s website andon YouTube

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Nebraska

No Shock: Nebraska Volleyball Handily Sweeps Wichita State

Published

17 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

No Shock: Nebraska Volleyball Handily Sweeps Wichita State

Corn > Wheat

No. 5 Nebraska volleyball (8-1) swept Wichita State (3-6) 25-13, 25-12, 25-12 in the final match of the Nebraska Classic.

Nebraska never trailed, nor was tied with, Wichita State (outside of 0-0) throughout all three sets.

A very efficient and well-balanced Nebraska attack hit .477 for the match and saw five attackers hit over .300. The Blackshorts defense put on a clinic holding the Shockers to a .096 hitting percentage and out killing Wichita State 50-27.

Sophomore setter Bergen Reilly set the pace and spread the ball around, collecting another double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs. She was also more aggressive than usual finishing with three kills including a swing on an overpass that got the crowd hyped.

Nebraska volleyball’s Taylor Landfair jousts at the net against Wichita State. / Nebraska Athletics

Harper Murray led the charge for the Huskers hitters with 14 kills at a hearty .542 clip while also flying around on defense with 11 digs. One of her kills came off a left handed swing, Murray is right handed, that almost brought the whole Bob Devaney Sports Center down.

Andi Jackson and Merritt Beason both finished with 10 kills at .600 and .471 hitting percentages, respectfully. Beason added two aces while Jackson sent back three attacks for good measure.

The lineup got a shakeup Saturday. Leyla Blackwell got her first start at middle blocker for the Big Red. Taylor Landfair made her second start at outside hitter for the scarlet and cream.

Landfair finished with nine kills and two digs. Blackwell added four kills and three blocks.

Next up for the Huskers is a home date with another new ACC member, No.2 Stanford, on Sept. 18 inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 7 p.m. CDT.

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Nebraska

McMaster’s Keys to the Game: Nebraska Football vs. Northern Iowa

Published

1 day ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

McMaster’s Keys to the Game: Nebraska Football vs. Northern Iowa

The Nebraska Cornhuskers welcome the Northern Iowa Panthers in a game that can take the Huskers to 3-0 for the first time since 2016. While on paper this should be an easy victory for the Big Red, the Panthers bring a style of play and a backfield talented enough to crash the party at Memorial Stadium.

Here are Matt McMaster’s keys to the game.

After Nebraska’s dominant win over the Colorado Buffaloes last week, the Huskers enter Saturday’s contest ranked No. 23 (AP) in the country. While this is not the end goal for Big Red, it’s a step in the right direction and a distinction they haven’t received in five years.

The team’s early-season success has brought the nation’s attention and high expectations. With that comes pressure that can crumble a team.

But they also possess momentum that the program hasn’t had in ages. The positivity flowing around the buildings in Lincoln hasn’t been there since the Bo Pelini era. The easiest way to lose the positive stigma is to have a letdown week against an FCS opponent.

A loss against Northern Iowa would destroy the program’s momentum and perceived progress over the last few weeks. Even a close win deteriorates what NU has accomplished this season.

The Huskers need to take the momentum from the win over the Buffaloes and roll it into their performance against Northern Iowa. They need to take the confidence instilled from rewriting the biggest wrong of last season and turn it into another masterclass on both sides of the ball.

I’m always on the side of deferring to receive the ball in the second half if you win the coin toss, but not in this game. Nebraska needs to make this a boat race.

The Northern Iowa offense is a boa constrictor that gives opposing defenses a slow and painful death. This team likes to dominate up front.

Over their first two games, they’re averaging an astounding 298 rushing yards. The Panthers want to suffocate opponents on offense. They want to take the ball, pound it up the middle, tire you out, and drain the clock. They do this with two elite backs, Tye Edwards and Amauri Pesek-Henderson. Henderson and Edwards are elite FCS backs, averaging over 6 yards per carry. Nebraska’s gap integrity must be at its best, or the Huskers will get gashed all night by these two.

While UNI’s rushing game is elite, the passing game is far from it. The Panthers have 215 passing yards in two games. They simply don’t have the quarterback or outside weapons to compete on the outside against FBS opponents, let alone one of the better secondaries in the Big Ten.

While UNI’s style of play works for them, it’s not meant to get into shootouts. If the Huskers are aggressive early on offense, they can force the Panthers to veer away from their preferred style of play.

This is going to be a physical game on defense for the Cornhuskers. The Panthers’ goal is to play 130 snaps of smash-mouth football. They want to bring the fight and wear down this elite Nebraska defense.

NU must use its depth to its advantage and constantly rotate guys in and out on all three levels. This is crucial due to the nature of the UNI offense as the Panthers want to punish teams defensively, making every run easier and easier for their elite backs.

How UNI plays exposes teams that need more depth to ensure that the players on the field are always fresh. The Blackshirt coaching staff will play a significant role in ensuring they’re divvying up snaps correctly, not to make things easier on the Panther run game.

Failure at this will not only lead to a long day on defense but even injuries.

Kickoff at Memorial Stadium Saturday is slated for 6:30 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network, with Huskers Radio Network affiliates providing coverage across the state.

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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, following HuskerMax on X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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