Four Questions to Ponder as Nebraska Football Heads Into its Second Bye Week

The Nebraska football team is back on track after an exhilarating win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl this past Saturday night. The Huskers are now 7-3, their best record through 10 games since 2016. The Big Red will finish the season by playing at Penn State–a team that is both deeply flawed and immensely talented–and hosting Iowa at home on Black Friday. With optimism buzzing anew after true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef’s strong performance, we look at four questions for the Nebraska football team headed into the bye week. 

How high can this offense fly under TJ Lateef?

Against UCLA, Lateef seemed to give the offense a spark they had been missing in recent games. The Huskers scored touchdowns on each of their first four drives against the Bruins, and they sealed the game by getting three 1st downs to allow the final four minutes and forty seven seconds to run off the clock. 

Having a mobile quarterback is an extremely valuable element for any offense in college football, and it allows offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen to dial up some things that opponents haven’t seen Nebraska do in recent years. I would also suggest that losing starting quarterback Dylan Raiola to injury caused Holgorsen to lean more heavily on star running back Emmett Johnson, and EJ just keeps delivering. 

The offense will face two of its stiffest tests of the season over the last two games. Can they do enough to help Nebraska win one or both of them?  

How is John Butler stacking up? 

There was a lot of angst, hand-wringing, and gnashing of teeth when former defensive coordinator Tony White left for Florida State last December–and for good reason. White drastically improved Nebraska’s defense immediately upon his arrival. In both 2023 and 2024, Nebraska’s defense was in the top 25 nationally in total defense and scoring defense, and in the top ten in the country in rushing defense. While the offense and special teams struggled in both of those seasons, the defense was good enough to keep the team in just about any game. 

Enter John Butler. I believe the first-year coordinator is doing an excellent job this season. Nebraska currently has the #3 passing defense in the country, and the Blackshirts rank #13 nationally in total defense and #25 in scoring defense. What’s more, the D has had a knack for making timely stops when the team absolutely needs them, which directly contributed to wins over Cincinnati, Maryland, Northwestern, and UCLA. Yes, Butler’s unit has struggled against the run, but that was to be expected after losing major impact players like Nash Hutmacher, Ty Robinson, Jimari Butler, and John Bullock. The good news for Nebraska is that their front seven on defense is filled with lots of young talent, and you can bet Rhule and company will look to supplement this group in the transfer portal as well. 

One could argue the defense has taken a small step back this season, but I would argue they have been good enough to give Nebraska a chance to win every game, and the future is bright under John Butler. 

How will the Huskers finish?

Penn State has been a dumpster fire this season, but let’s not forget a few facts: they were a top five team at one point this season; they were about a play or two away from beating both Oregon (currently #8 in the latest CFP rankings) and Indiana (currently #2); and they still have Penn State-level talent. What’s more, Nebraska has to go to Happy Valley for this one. By no means should we take PSU’s struggles as an indication that they are ready to roll over for the Huskers. 

Meanwhile, Iowa looks like your standard issue Iowa team, playing excellent defense and special teams. Their offense appears to be improved this year as well, with mobile quarterback Mark Gronowski bringing an added element that we haven’t seen from the Hawkeyes in recent years (they’re not the 1983 Scoring Explosion, mind you. But any offense coming out of Iowa City is an improvement over the last couple years). It helps that this one is in Lincoln, but given Nebraska’s struggles to stop the run this year, combined with the fact that this game has been a nightmare for the Huskers for a decade, the Big Red will have to play their absolute best to emerge with a W. 

What will the Huskers’ record be when the sun sets on Black Friday? There’s a big difference between 7-5 and 9-3. 

What record would constitute a successful 2025 season? 

On that note, what record does Matt Rhule need to achieve for this season to be considered a success? If they can win one of the last two regular season games, plus the bowl game, they will finish the year 9-4 and I believe the vast majority of Husker fans would consider that a successful season, especially in light of the injury to Raiola. If they win out, of course, Common Fans will be dancing in the streets from Omaha to Scottsbluff. 

At minimum, I think Rhule needs to win one of the last three to show that this program is on track and making the kind of progress to get them back to the kind of national relevance Husker fans crave. Finish 8-5, they’ll be one win better than last season, and I think most fans are satisfied but anxious for more in the years to come. 9-4 or better, and we’ll be frothing at the mouth for eight months, dying for the 2026 season to begin. 

As always, GBR for LIFE. 

Agree? Disagree? Tell us what you think, Common Fans. We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at commonfangbr@gmail.com or find us on YouTube. 

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