Nebraska’s season-opening 49-21 win over Ohio had a little more tension than the final score suggests, but the Huskers still left Saturday with a convincing four-touchdown victory and a handful of clear positives.
Ohio punched first and kept Nebraska from cruising early. The Bobcats scored on their opening drive, then added points on their first three possessions before tacking on another touchdown in the fourth quarter. Still, Matt Rhule’s team handled the day in the trenches, leaned on a breakout effort from Jamal Rule, got a huge game from Mekhi Nelson, and saw Anthony Colandrea pile up just under 300 total yards without throwing an interception.
Nebraska ran for 240 yards as a team, while Ohio finished with 139 on the ground. Rule was the headliner: 15 carries for 122 yards and two catches for 47 more, giving him 169 total yards and three touchdowns.
The running backs carried the offense
Rule’s debut looked like the kind of performance Nebraska fans remember. He was dynamic every time he touched the ball, and the production went well beyond the rushing totals.
He showed the pass-protection skill people had been talking about, but he was just as dangerous as a receiver, hauling in a touchdown and adding two more scores on the ground. The three-star averaged 9.94 yards per touch.
Nelson made sure the backfield story didn’t end there. With Nebraska leading 28-21, he turned a short catch into a touchdown and continued the momentum from his 100-plus total-yard outing against Utah. That gave him two straight strong games against solid opponents.
Nelson finished with 12 touches for 129 yards. Between him and Rule, Nebraska’s running backs accounted for 298 total yards and three touchdowns. The Huskers’ 5.9 yards per carry also pointed to the work up front, where the offensive line consistently created space.
Colandrea handled the moment
Colandrea had a rougher showing against Ohio in the bowl game, but this time he looked in control from the opening drive. He wasn’t spotless - a pass got batted down on fourth down, and he was hit with a bad grounding penalty - but he still steered Nebraska to 49 points against a tough Ohio team.
He finished with 298 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. One of the biggest sequences came with Nebraska ahead 28-21, when Colandrea converted a third-and-seven with his legs and then hit Nelson on a short pass that became a touchdown.
From there, the Huskers kept pulling away. Two touchdown drives later, the margin had grown to 28 points, comfortably beyond the spread. Nebraska also finished 4-for-4 in the red zone and 9-for-14 on third down, and Colandrea was sacked twice.
It was only one game, but he looked like the real deal.
The defense settled in
Ohio’s 21 points won’t make the Blackshirts feel great, and Nebraska still has work to do, especially when it comes to takeaways and pass rush. The Huskers managed just one takeaway, and the pressure wasn’t where it needed to be.
Even so, the defense improved as the game went along. Outside of Nick Poulous, Ohio’s running backs were held to three yards per carry.
The Bobcats also went five straight possessions without scoring and failed to complete a pass in the third quarter. Their only play of more than 20 yards came on the first snap of the game.
There were early-season mistakes all over the field - penalties, drops, missed assignments - but Nebraska tightened things up as the game progressed. That’s a good sign in Week 1, especially against a program that has won 40 games over the past four years.
The final result was encouraging, even if it wasn’t spotless. Nebraska got better as the afternoon went on, and that mattered.
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