You might say Nebraska football plays the most important game of the season Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium against Michigan State. And you wouldn’t be wrong, taken in context.
The game is more important than any the 3-1 Huskers have played because those games are in the past and need to be set aside. The next game is always the most important, as will be the case a week from now at Maryland. Nebraska can’t be concerned with what happened in a 30-27 loss to Michigan.
“You lose a game, correct it, move on,” Coach Matt Rhule said Monday. “We’ve tried to correct it. We’ve tried to move on. I think good teams never let a game beat them twice. That can sometimes be hard to do. But there’s no time to wallow in self-pity.”
Even with a week off — which Michigan State also had following a loss, 45-31 at USC.
“No one cares about your feelings,” said Rhule. “I was frustrated. They (players) were frustrated. Play better, that’s the message. Play better, practice better; no one’s coming to rescue you.”
Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said Tuesday he has “seen us practice at a very high level. I give our team, our players and Coach Rhule tremendous credit for having the resilience to come out and practice the way they did Tuesday and Wednesday. I’ve never seen it like that in a bye week.”
He’s excited to see the results Saturday.
Offensively, Nebraska’s running game has to improve, the Huskers have to be more efficient in the red zone and quarterback Dylan Raiola needs better protection. Michigan sacked him seven times.
Even so, Raiola is playing at a “very, very high level,” Holgorsen said.
The numbers support that. Raiola ranks fourth nationally in completion percentage, 75.6%. He’s 102-for-135 for 1,137 yards and 11 touchdowns, with one interception. The Huskers rank second nationally in passing offense (351.8 yards per game) and completion percentage (77.6%). They also rank 12th nationally in scoring offense (43.5 points per game) and 13th in total offense (496.5 yards per game).
Nebraska’s running game has to improve, however.
“I was happy with where the run was after the first few games, but then you play a top-20 team (Michigan) and it didn’t look the way it needed to look,” said Holgorsen. “We weren’t finishing blocks, and that’s not a shot at our offensive line; that’s a shot at our offense.”
The Huskers’ longest run in the game was Emmett Johnson’s 14-yarder on the first play.
Nebraska ranks 86th nationally in rushing offense, and 108th in rushing defense, allowing, on average, 173.5 yards per game on the ground. “Big plays are happening in the run game,” said defensive coordinator John Butler, who described such issues as “the elephant in the room.”
Run defense is about “attitude,” he said. “We need to get more guys to the ball.”
Michigan State’s pro-style offense is directed by Aiden Chiles, a “thinking man’s quarterback,” Rhule said. Chiles is 70-of-102 for 868 yards and nine touchdowns, with one interception. He’s also shown he can run, with 154 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries.
Chiles can be an “explosive player,” said Rhule.
Omari Kelly is the Spartans’ leading receiver, with 21 catches for 317 yards and a touchdown. Nick Marsh has caught 18 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Their leading rusher is Makhi Frazier, who’s run for 261 yards and two touchdowns on 57 carries. Chiles is second in rushing.
Defensively, linebacker Jordan Hall, jersey No. 5, is “their best player,” Holgorsen said. And Ryan Eckley is “an NFL punter,” said Rhule. Michigan State leads the nation in net punting.
The Huskers have to be focused on themselves, however, if they’re to win this week’s “most important” game of the season.
Notes
- Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on FS1 with TIm Brando, Devin Gardner and Josh Sims on the call.
- Michigan State’s roster includes Nebraska transfers wide receiver Alante Brown and defensive lineman Ru’Quan Buckley, both listed as back-ups.
