Instant Takes: Nebraska 44, Wisconsin 25
The drought is over. Nebraska is going bowling.
The Huskers (6-5, 3-5) knocked off Wisconsin on Senior Day, 44-25, punching their postseason ticket and snapping a 10-game losing streak against the Badgers in one fell swoop.
Here are three instant takes from a program-altering win for Matt Rhule and company:
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Dana Holgorsen, take a bow
Nebraska looked like a different team from its opening series.
Dylan Raiola led a 6-play, 55-yard drive before Heinrich Haarberg finished it off with a 5-yard touchdown run, his first score in over a year. That was just the start of the Huskers’ best offensive day under Matt Rhule.
Dana Holgorsen‘s unit kept things rolling after the scripted series. Jahmal Banks was the main beneficiary early.
Holgorsen schemed Banks open over the middle rather than relying on the senior receiver to beat single coverage on the outside. It paid off in a big way. For the first time this season, Banks looked like the bonafide No. 1 option he was advertised as during the offseason.
Raiola looked more comfortable than ever, taking easy throws to open receivers between the hashes. He completed 28-of-38 passes on the day for 293 yards, spreading the ball to eight different receivers.
On the Huskers’ fourth series, Emmett Johnson took a screen pass for 27 yards and Jacory Barney immediately followed by turning a jet touch pass into a 21-yard gain, somehow making defenders miss. The downfield blocking was excellent on both plays, a tone-setter for the rest of the day.
Screen passes had been poorly executed all season. Not on Saturday. Holgorsen picked on man coverage with pre-snap motion and completely out-coached Wisconsin DC Mike Tressel.
Less than a week after Holgorsen called out Nebraska’s perimeter blocking at his first press availability, Banks laid down a great lead block on Dante Dowdell‘s first touchdown run. Coaching makes a difference.
Emmett Johnson emerges as clear No. 1 option
No one benefitted more from the OC change than Emmett Johnson. He was the clear top back from the jump, earning Nebraska’s first three touches of the day.
Johnson showed flashes of greatness in 2023, but an overly crowded backfield under Satterfield meant a limited snap count. Holgorsen took a different approach.
Johnson earned 16 of Nebraska’s 32 total handoffs and caught all six of his targets. He took advantage of Wisconsin’s 88th-ranked rushing defense on his way to a career-high 113 rushing yards.
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Johnson’s shiftiness and burst were on full display all day long. He found lighting in a bottle every time he touched the ball with 100 yards from scrimmage in the first 30 minutes alone.
Johnson didn’t slow down in the second half, tallying a 19-yard run on his first carry of the third. Late in the quarter, he caught a quick pass and burst up the sideline for 26 yards, setting Nebraska up inside the five. Johnson finished the day with seven total plays of 10+ yards.
Dowdell cashed in the touchdowns, but Johnson put Nebraska in position. Holgorsen’s one-two punch blew the previous approach out of the water. It wasn’t particularly close.
The drought is over
Finally, Nebraska is going bowling.
After eight straight losses under Rhule with bowl eligibility on the line, the failures of the Scott Frost tenure began to sneak into the new regime.
Saturday’s win over Wisconsin put those worries to rest.
Nebraska led from wire to wire, dominated the special teams battle, avoided mind-boggling mistakes and scored 44 points. Rhule’s process-orientated approach took a while to kick in, but the results are undeniable.
Five losses — three of them to ranked teams and two to Big Ten newcomers — could have defined the 2024 campaign. But unlike so many teams before it, this version of Nebraska got to six.
Rhule’s seniors left their legacy on the turf: The first class of Huskers to break through since 2016.
The college football postseason welcomes back an old friend.
