Nebraska didn’t waste any time making Saturday night look easy.
From the opening series on, the Huskers were the aggressor against Bowling Green, hitting big plays downfield and leaning on a defense that came out with far more bite than it showed a week earlier. By the time it was over, Nebraska had rolled to a 56-7 win in its first night game at home this season, and several players had put their fingerprints all over it.
The most obvious sparks came from the receiver room. Jacory Barney Jr. shook off an early turnover and turned in a monster night, while Kwazi Gilmer kept stacking highlights in the first half.
Barney Jr. got Nebraska’s first drive derailed when Bowling Green senior cornerback JoJo Johnson stripped the ball from him. “I’ll take the blame for that,” Barney Jr. said postgame. “We just put it in the past and just attacked the next drive.”
That next drive went just fine. Barney Jr. hooked up with senior quarterback Anthony Colandrea on a 35-yard touchdown, then later added a 32-yard score to close out Nebraska’s first-half outburst.
He did have one more costly moment in the third quarter, when he was flagged for holding on what would have been a 45-yard rushing touchdown for Colandrea, but the damage was already done. Barney Jr. finished with eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
Gilmer matched the fast start with a pair of first-half touchdowns of his own. He opened the scoring for Nebraska in the first quarter with a 12-yard grab in the end zone while airborne, then added a diving 4-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He ended the night with six receptions for 39 yards and those two scores.
On the other side of the ball, Nebraska’s Blackshirts looked like a different unit than the one fans saw in Week 1. Senior linebacker Owen Chambliss made his Husker debut after missing last week with a hamstring injury, and the impact showed up right away.
Chambliss, who most recently played at San Diego State before following first-year defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, finished with four total tackles and helped steady the communication on defense. He also had to leave briefly during the game because of the hamstring issue, but his presence was still felt.
“I was super anxious before the game,” Chambliss said postgame. “It felt amazing to step out there and play.
Wednesday or Thursday this week, I knew I was going to be able to go. In the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to attack rehab the best I can.”
Junior defensive back Donovan Jones was just as disruptive. He collected five tackles, recorded one for a loss and grabbed an interception in the first quarter, helping set the tone for a defense that played with far more urgency than it did in Week 1.
And then there was Anthony Colandrea, who kept Nebraska’s offense humming even after an interception on his first drive. The quarterback answered by carving up Bowling Green through the air, going 20-for-24 for 222 yards and four touchdown passes. He also added 33 rushing yards and stayed visibly fired up throughout the night, even with the Huskers comfortably ahead.
“I felt like last week we prepared well, but we honestly didn’t watch a lot of tape together,” Colandrea said postgame. “I think we watched a lot of tape together this week and were on the same page with one another.”
After two weeks, Colandrea already has seven passing touchdowns and 497 yards through the air. Nebraska now wraps up its non-conference schedule next Saturday against North Dakota, with kickoff set for 6:15 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
In Other News...
Nebraska Showed Class In A Rivalry Moment Fans Wont Forget
A rivalry game in Lincoln took on a much different tone after the death of Derek Phillips, a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes marching band who collapsed from the heat during the game. In a setting usually defined by noise and color, both marching bands found a way to honor him, and Nebraska added Gold and Black ribbons in solidarity, a gesture that fit the moment as much as the rivalry stage did.
The on-field result still mattered for the Cornhuskers, who backed up the emotional backdrop with a decisive win and a sharp defensive effort. Linebacker Owen Chambliss also returned from injury and got back into the mix with tackles, giving Nebraska something positive to build on as the attention around the game extended far beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Former Huskers Still Made Their Presence Felt On NFL Opening Weekend
Opening weekend in the NFL offered another reminder of how much Nebraskas former players continue to show up on Sundays. Several ex-Huskers were in the mix right away in Week 1, with WanDale Robinson hauling in five passes for the Tennessee Titans and Cam Jurgens lining up as a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles, giving the program a visible foothold across the league.
Elsewhere, the groups impact was more scattered, with some former Nebraska players seeing only limited snaps or spending the week on practice squads. Emmett Johnson is also expected to be in action Monday night for the Kansas City Chiefs, adding one more name to a long list of Huskers whose pro careers are still unfolding as the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska's 2-0 Start Has Fans Asking One Big Question
Nebraskas 2-0 start has given the program a little of everything in the opening stretch: some encouraging offensive rhythm, a couple of comfortable wins over Bowling Green and Ohio, and a clearer sense that the Cornhuskers can move the ball when things are clicking. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea has been part of that early momentum, helping Nebraska look more dynamic than it did at points last season while giving fans a reason to think the offense may have some real upside.
Still, the first two games have also left room for the kind of questions that follow any fast start. Penalties have been an issue, and the defensive pressure has not always matched the teams overall dominance, which means Nebraska is hardly finished product heading into Big Ten play. The schedule is about to get more demanding, and what the Cornhuskers do next will say a lot more about their ceiling than the smooth beginning has so far. [Read more 🡒]