Nebraska survived its season opener, and the box score only tells part of the story. The Huskers beat Ohio 49-21 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, but the final margin glosses over a choppy afternoon that featured miscues, communication breakdowns and nine penalties - six of them in the first half.
Still, Matt Rhule’s fourth season opened with a win, and Nebraska’s offense did enough to keep the Bobcats from turning the game into something uglier.
The biggest reason was the passing game. Anthony Colandrea wasn’t flawless, but he was efficient when Nebraska needed him to be. The senior threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns, finishing 18-for-32 and taking two sacks while helping the Huskers recover from a sluggish start.
Kwazi Gilmer was Colandrea’s favorite target. The UCLA transfer worked the middle and got behind Ohio’s defense several times, finishing with five catches on 10 targets for 58 yards. After an early drop, he came through with a fourth-quarter crossing route in the back of the end zone that pushed Nebraska to a 49-21 lead.
Jacory Barney Jr. added 60 receiving yards and 33 yards after the catch, while Mekhi Nelson and Jamal Rule combined for 112 yards and two touchdown catches.
The ground game was even more impressive. Dana Holgorsen said last week that Nebraska would use all three running backs against Ohio, and that’s exactly what happened. The Huskers mixed and matched from the opening drive, with sophomore Isaiah Mozee starting the game, Nelson getting a pair of carries and Rule finishing the possession with a touchdown.
Rule took over from there. He helped power Nebraska’s second drive of the second half with five carries for 43 yards, then watched Colandrea finish it with a 13-yard touchdown run. Later, Rule broke free for a 39-yard run down the left sideline, then sealed the game with an 11-yard rushing touchdown for his third score.
He finished with 15 carries for 122 yards, averaging 8.1 yards per carry. It was the first time a Nebraska freshman running back had rushed for more than 100 yards in his first game since Tierre Green in 2004, when Green had 112.
Nelson was productive too, carrying 10 times for 64 yards and scoring on a 29-yard touchdown run. Mozee added 31 yards on six touches. As a team, Nebraska ran for 248 yards, averaged 5.9 yards per carry and scored four rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, the day started badly. Ohio opened with a play-action shot that caught Jeremiah Charles leaning downhill, and the Bobcats turned it into a 68-yard gain on their first snap. Charles, who had won the starting cornerback job opposite Andrew Marshall, was then rotated with Victor Evans III and freshman Danny Odem III for much of the rest of the game.
Marshall held up well enough on his side to limit other deep chances, and Nebraska was much steadier after halftime. The Huskers didn’t give up a big pass play in the third or fourth quarter, and Donovan Jones helped with multiple deflections.
Jahsear Wittington and Williams Nwaneri generated pressure, but Nebraska still had trouble keeping quarterback Nick Poulos contained on the edges. The pass rush was solid, but the linebacker group, missing Owen Chambliss, took time to settle in.
Nebraska did get a late turnover when Rex Guthrie picked off a tipped Poulos pass in the fourth quarter. Poulos finished 14-for-31 for 164 yards and a touchdown.
The run defense was better against Ohio’s backs than against Poulos himself. Duncan Brune managed just 32 rushing yards on nine carries, but Poulos added 70 yards on the ground and scored once. In all, Nebraska allowed 139 rushing yards at 4.2 yards per carry.
Special teams didn’t leave much of an imprint, and not in a good way. The one glaring mistake came on a Hunter kick return, when he reversed field instead of continuing up the sideline and was tackled at the nine.
Nebraska still scored on that drive. Archie Wilson punted three times for 120 yards and put one inside the 20, while Barney returned one punt for nine yards.
Nebraska is back at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, against Bowling Green. Kickoff is set for 6:15 p.m. CT, and the game will air on FS1.
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Chambliss absence forces Nebraska to lean on other players at linebacker and across the defense right out of the gate, a less-than-ideal setup in a game where early-season continuity can matter as much as talent. It is the kind of opening-week setback that does not define a season by itself, but it does make the first few defensive rotations worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Just Lost A 2027 Pledge That Once Felt Safe
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The list ran through 11 players, and the spread of responses underscored how little consensus exists this far out. Nebraska supporters are clearly trying to sort out where the production will come from, and for now the conversation is centered on skill-position players who could help shape the offenses identity. It is early, of course, but the survey offered a useful snapshot of where expectations are landing as the Huskers look ahead. [Read more 🡒]