Nebraska had plenty to like in its win over Bowling Green, but the game also left a couple of clear annoyances on the table.
Start with the biggest eye-roll of the night: Anthony Colandrea’s first interception of the season. It went into the books as a pick, but it didn’t really look like one.
Colandrea threw a ball to Jacory Barney that should have moved the chains, yet Barney didn’t secure it cleanly and JoJo Johnson stripped the Nebraska receiver to force the turnover. The result was an interception charged to Colandrea, even though it was more of a technicality than a quarterback mistake.
It was irritating for another reason, too, because through Nebraska’s first two games the receiving group hasn’t exactly been spotless.
That didn’t erase what Colandrea did well, and there was a lot to admire there. His pocket presence stood out all night.
When pressure showed up, he slid away from it and got the ball out. When a receiver was open deep, he hit him in stride.
Nebraska fans saw plenty of that on Saturday night, and it looked like the kind of quarterback play the Huskers have been waiting to see. Colandrea finished the first half 17-of-20 for 184 yards and four touchdowns, and several of those throws were among the best Nebraska supporters have seen in more than a decade.
Even with the questionable turnover, he looked like exactly what the coaching staff had described in the offseason.
The special teams, though, were a different story. Nebraska’s punt return unit kept drawing flags, and the issue got ugly fast.
In the second quarter alone, the group was called for holding on three straight punt returns. By the time the third holding call hit, Matt Rhule was so furious the field microphones picked up at least part of what he was shouting.
The absence of Mike Ekeler has already shown up in the small stuff, especially the technical execution. Nebraska can survive those kinds of mistakes against teams like Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota.
It won’t be nearly as forgiving against Indiana or Ohio State, and probably not even against Michigan State or Maryland.
The offense also offered a clearer answer to one of the preseason questions: how Nebraska would replace Emmett Johnson. On Saturday, the response came from a group effort rather than one featured back.
Jamal Rule, Isaiah Mozee and Mekhi Nelson formed the same three-headed setup that flashed in Week 1. None of them had double-digit carries or topped 100 rushing yards, but together they produced 24 carries for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
The Husker Hydra, patent pending, also chipped in three catches for 38 yards.
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