Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen isn’t treating Saturday’s matchup with Ohio like a warm-up.
After Tuesday’s practice, Holgorsen made it clear he expects the Bobcats to show up ready to fight. Nebraska, in his view, needs to be sharp from the opening snap, even if he believes the Huskers’ offense could have been ready to play last week.
“They’re gritty; they're tough,” said Holgorsen. “They aren’t going to come in here scared.
One of the most impressive things that I’ve seen from a Group of Five team going to a Power Four school was what they did at Rutgers last year. They were down 31-14 at halftime.
Most Group of Five teams are going to quit. That group didn’t.
Then they beat West Virginia the next week… We know they’re going to come in here and play their tail off.”
Ohio is coming off a nine-win season in 2025, finishing 9-4 after winning six of its last seven. The Bobcats also played three Power Four opponents in 2025, so Nebraska is getting a Group of Five team that has already seen the speed and physicality of bigger programs. Saturday gives Ohio another chance to spring an upset against a Power Four opponent.
Holgorsen also has a personal reason for paying attention to the Bobcats. Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea’s last game before joining the Huskers came against Ohio in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl, where the Bobcats beat UNLV 17-10. In that game, Colandrea was held to 212 all-purpose yards, a rushing touchdown and an interception.
That version of Colandrea, Holgorsen says, is not the one Nebraska has now.
“The last game that he played was against Ohio,” he said. “We went back and studied that game, and I see a different kid… He’s really done a great job of managing the game… Anthony’s come a long way from what that game looked like… I see a different quarterback out there than what I did during that game.”
Holgorsen has also liked what he’s seen from Nebraska’s receivers since the end of last season. He said the group has continued to make progress, and he pointed to improvements in route speed, ball skills, route running, ball placement and yards after catch.
“They’re gaining ground,” Holgorsen said. “I think we’re gaining ground as an offense… Our meetings have been fantastic, and it’s starting to show out there on the field… I see speed with routes.
I see ball skills. I see route running improving.
I see ball placement improving; yards after catch improving. So, I'm excited to see it.”
One player who has clearly caught his eye is Quinn Clark. Holgorsen said the 6-foot-5 Bozeman, Montana native has made a major jump since his redshirt freshman year.
“He didn’t know anything getting here,” said Holgorsen regarding Clark. “I didn’t know if he was going to be able to turn the corner or not… He had size, but he didn't have much of a pulse… He’s had a great eight months… There aren’t many places that he wouldn’t start. He’ll be a starter for us in 10 personnel… Quinn, man, he’ll play as much as the other three.”
Clark isn’t the only position group still sorting itself out. Nebraska’s running back room remains unsettled, though Holgorsen doesn’t sound worried about it. He said all three backs have earned playing time, and he doesn’t see the lack of a clear RB1 as a negative.
“I don’t even know which one is going out there first,” he said. “There is no RB1.
Emmett (Johnson) was RB1. We’ve got three of them that are all going to play, and we’re comfortable with that.
It’s not because one of them hasn’t had a good camp. It’s because they’ve all three had a good camp.”
Holgorsen was just as relaxed about Nebraska’s first depth chart of the season, which came out Monday. He said he hasn’t spent much time looking at it and doesn’t intend to let the listing dictate who plays.
“I haven’t even looked at it,” he said. “I kind of know what it is in my head… Position battles will remain ongoing.
Just go out there and play like crap and see what it does… It may happen in the first drive. If I see some garbage out there, I may just say, ‘you get in.’
That’s just kind of how I operate.”
That approach also applies to Carter Nelson, the Ainsworth, Nebraska native who is now listed at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds. Holgorsen said the junior tight end has finally started to show the kind of ability Nebraska’s staff has been telling him about.
“They’ve been talking about him since I got here,” said Holgorsen. “And I was like, ‘I don’t see it’, but now I’m seeing it. He’s put himself in a position where he’s going to play some ball for us on Saturday.”
Nelson could be used in several different ways, and Holgorsen hinted Nebraska may have a few wrinkles ready for the opener. He also expects Ohio’s defense to look familiar under first-year head coach John Hauser, who was the Bobcats’ defensive coordinator a season ago.
“They (Ohio) were pretty good on defense,” he said. “And so, he was the defensive coordinator.
You move up to the head coach, you’re probably not going to change too much… Nobody knows what anybody is going to do Week 1. We’ve got some tricks up our sleeve as far as what we’re going to do… That’s the beauty of Week 1.”
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