Anthony Colandrea’s performance against Ohio earned him plenty of attention, but it was the way he carried himself that drew a former Nebraska quarterback’s eye.
Joe Ganz, speaking on the Carriker Chronicles, made it clear he liked more than the stat line. The former Husker turned coach pointed to one moment in particular - a skinny post that slipped through a receiver’s hands - as proof that Colandrea was playing with the kind of edge Nebraska has been looking for.
“What I liked is, I think it was - I can't remember - like a skinny post he threw that went right off the fingertips of a wide receiver,” Ganz said about Colandrea’s fire and holding his Nebraska teammates accountable. “You saw him kind of turn to the sideline, and he was getting after somebody. He's got a little bit of stuff to him.”
That reaction wasn’t isolated. Colandrea was seen going after teammates after missed chances, and while the Huskers were officially charged with just 3 drops, there were other throws that should have been hauled in as well. Gilmer, the receiver Ganz referenced, had two drops and at least one more play where he should have made the catch.
Not everyone around the program will love a quarterback showing that kind of fire, but Ganz didn’t see it as a problem.
“As long as you're doing everything you can, in terms of you're putting in the work, and you're showing it at practice, I think that's good for a quarterback to do.”
“You see the greats do it. You see the guys on the sideline, like the Tom Bradys and all that stuff, getting after the guys because they've earned that right.”
For Ganz, the line is simple: if a player is doing his part and backing it up every day, he has earned the right to demand more from the people around him. If not, the criticism falls flat.
Colandrea has already built that kind of credibility. He was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year with UNLV last year, and against Ohio he backed it up with a strong outing: 18 completions on 32 attempts, 275 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. He also showed the poise in the pocket Nebraska has been missing the last few years.
Ganz, who went on to coach after his Nebraska playing career, later served as the QB coach at Middle Tennessee State, so he knows the position well enough to recognize when a quarterback is handling the job the right way - and when he needs to clean things up.
In Other News...
Justin Evans Just Gave Nebraska Fans Another Reason To Believe
Justin Evans keeps stacking up the kind of recognition that tends to matter in a program trying to build something sturdier than a single season. The Nebraska fifth-year offensive lineman was named to the 2026 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Watch List, a nod that centers on leadership, courage, integrity and sportsmanship as much as what happens between the lines. With 32 career starts already on his rsum, Evans has become one of the more dependable veterans on the roster, and the preseason praise has followed accordingly, from second-team All-American mention to a Rimington Trophy watch spot.
For Nebraska, the latest honor is another reminder that Evans is carrying real weight in the locker room as well as on the field. The Witten award will move through semifinalists and finalists later this season before a winner is announced in spring 2027, so the larger picture is still unfolding, but Evans has already put himself in a spot where his profile keeps rising for reasons beyond just offensive line play. In a season where the Cornhuskers are trying to keep momentum and credibility moving in the right direction, that kind of recognition is hard to overlook. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Defense Gets A Key Return At The Perfect Time
Owen Chambliss is back in the Nebraska defense for Week 2, and the timing could hardly be better for a unit looking to settle in after the opener. The First-Team All-Conference linebacker from the Mountain West brings a blend of pass rush, coverage and quarterback containment that should give the Cornhuskers more range at every level of the defense.
Just as important, Chambliss will wear the defensive headset, a role that should help clean up communication and cut down on assignment mistakes. For Nebraska, the return is about more than adding another experienced defender - it gives the Huskers a stabilizing voice in the middle of the field at a point in the season when those details can shape everything that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rhule Wants A Sharper Nebraska Team This Saturday
Nebraska heads into Saturdays home game against Bowling Green with the confidence of a season-opening win and the clear sense that there is still work to do. Matt Rhules team handled Ohio in a 49-21 victory, but the Nebraska coach was quick to point out there were still areas that were not good enough, a reminder that opening week rarely tells the whole story for a team trying to sharpen its identity early in the season.
Bowling Green arrives after a loss to Tarleton State, and coach Eddie George has framed the setback as part of the Falcons growth process. The matchup also brings a bit of novelty to Memorial Stadium, since it will be the first meeting between the schools, giving Nebraska another chance to clean up its execution while avoiding the kind of sloppy stretches that can linger once league play draws closer. [Read more 🡒]