Top 10 Highlights from the First Half of Nebraska’s Season (Nos. 1-5)

The Nebraska football team is 5-1, with more optimism surrounding the program than we’ve seen in many years. With the bye week coming exactly halfway through Huskers’ season, it’s a good time to look back on some of the top moments from the year to date. 

Yesterday we looked at 6 through 10; today we take a look at the top 5. 

5. Goal line stand vs. Rutgers. It was a thing of beauty. When Nebraska gave up its second blocked punt of the game (decidedly not a thing of beauty), Rutgers began the drive with 1st and goal at the 2 yard line. After the Huskers pushed the Scarlet Knights back three yards for 2nd and goal at the 5, a penalty put Rutgers right back at 1st and goal at the 2. Remarkably, having made two stops already, the Blackshirts held firm on four more plays and kept the Knights out of the end zone. The stop made a decisive difference in the one-score game, but it felt bigger than that. After what they admitted was a disappointing showing against Illinois, the Nebraska defense has responded with two stellar performances against Purdue and Rutgers. The goal line stand against Rutgers was a perfect encapsulation of that resolve. It felt like a prove-it moment for the Husker defense, and they answered the bell. 

4. 400th Consecutive Sellout. Count this Common Fan as a sucker for all the Husker history, traditions, and streaks, and that includes the sellout streak. I know it’s been on life support a few times in recent years, given the subpar product on the field. But to me, the sellout streak is an indication of the faith, passion, and resilience of the Nebraska fan base, and it’s been worth the effort to preserve it. It stands as a testament to the fact that we are the greatest fans in college football. Even in some of those lean years when there was not a butt in every single seat, and donors had to buy up the last handful of tickets for some games, the stadium was still almost entirely full. As Omaha World Herald columnist Tom Shatel has said, “Nebraska fans remain undefeated against apathy.” Husker fans keep coming back. We keep filling up that beautiful stadium, even when the team is flat out bad. This fan base deserves a winner, and I believe Coach Rhule is in the process of building just that. With the positive trajectory of the program, you can bet the sellout streak will be alive and well for years to come. 

3. Win Over Colorado. Boy oh boy, this one was sweet, wasn’t it? The Huskers had lost to the Buffaloes the last three times the teams had faced each other. During both Nebraska-Colorado games of the Scott Frost era, it felt like the Big Red gave those games away, blowing 4th-quarter leads in each. Last year, Nebraska went into Boulder and never seemed to get on track, turning the ball over early and often and playing from behind the entire game. This was the win the fan base needed. It wasn’t just that Nebraske beat Colorado. It was the sheer domination of our former conference rival that was so thoroughly satisfying. The Blackshirts imposed their will from start to finish, giving up just 10 points to an offense with several future NFL players on it. The Nebraska offense looked dang near perfect in the first half, scoring 21 points, and did enough in the 2nd half to hold the ball, bleed clock, and allow the Huskers to win comfortably. The Memorial Stadium crowd was incredible, and they were treated to a beatdown of one of Nebraska’s most hated rivals. As I wrote in my topline takeaways column after the game, “The Buffs got knocked in the chin strap early, were in a big hole by halftime, and flat out quit by the 4th quarter…The Buffaloes waltzed into Memorial Stadium with a boatload of swagger; they ended up buried on the turf under a pile of Blackshirts.” Knowing that Nebraska doesn’t have Colorado on the schedule for any future season at this point, this was the perfect way to leave the series (for now) on a high note. 

2. Dylan’s debut. After a full eight months of offseason obsessing over the new look Nebraska offense, led by all world Husker legacy Dylan Raiola, Memorial Stadium was bursting at the seams to see the quarterback’s debut in the home opener against UTEP. He didn’t disappoint. On the opening drive, Raiola completed five of seven passes, and with beautiful back-to-back throws, turned a 2nd-and-30 into 3rd-and-11, and 3rd-and-11 into a 1st down. He led the team to a touchdown on that drive, and was 19-for-27 on the day for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He has been outstanding all season long, but there was something so special about that first game. To see him command the offense and live up to expectations felt like a combination of exhilaration and relief for Husker fans. It was confirmation that he really is the real deal, and it led Big Red imaginations to run wild about what’s possible, now and into the future, with Raiola at the helm. 

1. Support for Greg Sharpe. Longtime play-by-play announcer Greg Sharpe revealed in April that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. Many Husker fans got more of a glimpse into Greg’s battle when Tom Rinaldi interviewed him before the Rutgers game. Sharpe said his goal in April was to make it long enough to call the first Nebraska game on August 31. He’s done that and more; his next goal is to make it to his daughter’s wedding in February. It’s tough stuff when you’re thinking in terms of days and months, instead of years, and Greg is putting up an incredible fight. 

So many have been impacted by cancer. If you’ve seen it up close, especially a terminal cancer diagnosis, you know it’s one of the most difficult things someone can face. And yet, a hardship of that nature also brings out what’s best about humanity. The outpouring of love and support from Husker fans has been outstanding. During Nebraska’s first away game at Purdue, the Purdue Athletic Department gave him a “Hammer Down Cancer” hat along with a heartfelt note, and the Boilermakers student section hoisted a sign that read “Hammer Down Cancer, Sharpe Strong.” Sharpe and his family were also honored recently at a Kansas City Chiefs game. It’s heartening to see the level of support he has received from Husker Nation and beyond. It’s a reminder of how Nebraska football is more than just a game; it’s part of who we are as a people, one great Big Red family. 

We’re pulling for you, Greg, to be dancing in the streets when the Huskers get back to a bowl game, and to be dancing at your daughter’s wedding. 

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