Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule wanted to see improvements from week one to week two, and his team didn’t disappoint.
The Huskers routed Bowling Green 56-7 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. They led the Falcons 35-0 at halftime and never looked back.
Rhule said he was especially proud of the speed at which Nebraska’s defense played. The Blackshirts only gave up 169 yards after allowing 303 yards to Ohio’s offense the week prior.
“I thought we took a step in the right direction,” Rhule said. “I didn’t think it was bad the first game. We gave up whatever we gave up in those first three series; we haven’t given up a 20-yard play since then … I don’t think that’s effort at all, it’s just key and diagnose. How quick can you key and diagnose?”
One player Rhule pointed to was junior linebacker Dexter Foster. The junior recorded five tackles and a 7-yard tackle for loss against Bowling Green after totaling five tackles and three quarterback hurries against Ohio. Rhule said Foster had a strong week of practice.
“I just think Dexter got into the game and key and diagnose and went,” Rhule said. “We pressured a little less, we moved a little less, we played a little bit more base, and I was happy with the linebackers.”
Another player that’s impacted the team is senior quarterback Anthony Colandrea. The head coach said Colandrea’s personality has benefited the team since he arrived, including in Saturday’s game.
Colandrea went 20-for-24 for 224 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. His efforts earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors as well.
“On great teams there’s no coaches and players in my mind,” Rhule said. “There’s just people all trying to work together. When you have an immature team, you’ve got to be the coach all the time. ‘Hey, do this, do that;’ not with Anthony.”
Although Rhule saw a lot of improvements, he said there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“We’ll continue to fight to be better in pass protection; the quarterback got hit too many times,” Rhule said. “And we’ll continue to find a way to improve pass rush.”
Nebraska will look to improve while working with the advantages it has. One benefit the Huskers have going into their game against North Dakota is their team’s experience. Nebraska has one of the oldest rosters in the country, with several upperclassmen in key roles.
“I think the biggest difference between an older player and a younger player is an older player knows what he is, and a younger player is still trying to figure out what am I going to become,” Rhule said. “So when an older player has a bad play, it just makes them mad, like, ‘Oh, that was a bad play.’ They get upset and come back, whereas a younger player, it shakes them a little bit …
“I do think there’s a lot of belief when you’re an older player, because you’ve been through a lot of wars,” Rhule continued. “A lot of these guys have played a lot of football.”
Nebraska will look to use that experience when it welcomes North Dakota into Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Fighting Hawks are coming into the contest with a 3-0 record.
Jerry Kaminski leads North Dakota after having a career day in the Fighting Hawks’ game against Portland State. The signal caller completed 21 of his 29 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Kaminski also added 56 rushing yards.
“When I watch Kaminski, he’s a tremendous facilitator of getting the ball to the open guy, goes to many different people,” Rhule said. “They’re a top-10 offense in FCS, and they also have a top-15 defense. They played four deep in each of the first two games, but I think when you see a man like Kaminski, you can see that he understands exactly what his play-caller’s looking for, and he just gets the ball to the right guy …
“I think it’s a really, really good opportunity for us to go and battle for a win, and to play a team that knows how to win.”
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 6:15 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network and the Huskers Radio Network.
