Four Observations From Nebraska’s Win vs. Northwestern

LINCOLN—Nebraska survived another hard-fought battle with Northwestern.

The Huskers improved to 6-2 with a 28-21 victory against the Wildcats. Here are four observations from the victory.

Emmett Johnson

The workhorse of the offense, Emmett Johnson made sure he was going to earn another carry every time he touched the ball.

“I thought the runs were good all day,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “I think we would have had another 60 yards; Emmett’s such a team guy. He knew to get down after the first down. He could have probably scored if he wanted to.

“Emmett can do it all.”

Johnson ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, adding a pair of receptions for 15 yards. Going into Saturday, he was the Big Ten Conference’s leading rusher while also ranking No. 1 for all-purpose yards. He’s likely to stay at or near the top after that performance.

“I had a lot of trust in those guys up front,” Johnson said. “I just knew that we were gonna be willing to do whatever it takes to win. Going into the week, the O-line had that mindset that we were going to go out there and dominate for four quarters. That’s what they did. They fought hard to the end. I’m really proud of those guys up front.”

Special Teams

There was a missed field goal in the first half, but outside of that, Mike Ekeler’s units made massive impacts on the game.

Archie Wilson punted twice on the day. His first boot was a pounded line drive that was caught at the 15, with the returer immediately tackled. His next kick was driven 58 yards into the wind for a touchback.

That’s another day of not allowing a single yard by opposing returners.

Speaking of returners, Nebraska has some special ones. Every has become more and more aware of what Jacory Barney Jr. can do. Punters are no longer allowing him space, either by kicking ball out of bounds or making sure their coverage team can get to him quickly.

In the kick return game, Kenneth Williams has been making his name known.

Williams came up just short of a touchdown against Maryland. Against Northwestern, he made sure nobody was going to catch him as he took the second-half kickoff back for a 95-yard touchdown.

“It felt good,” Williams said. “During the Maryland game, I should have had another one. I learned from that game and this game, I got the opportunity and did what I could.”

The kick return touchdown for Williams is the first for Nebraska since JD Spielman had a 99-yarder against Arkansas State in 2017.

Rough day for the officiating

Regardless of which team emerged victorious, it was a rough day for the zebras in Memorial Stadium.

Even before the game, it was apparent that the officials may be in for a long one. During the coin toss, Northwestern called tails and lost, as heads was showing. The official stated that Northwestern won the toss and deferred, although it was Nebraska that actually won the toss and deferred.

That was the first of multiple occurrences in which the white hat confused the teams, leading to confusion for the teams and those in attendance.

Beyond the differences between Nebraska and Northwestern, Saturday’s officials had issues with spotting the ball, keeping extra curriculars in check, or even relaying the result of a penalty. Nebraska was called for an abrupt movement penalty on defense, something that Rhule said he was never given an explanation for. He also wasn’t given explanations for other calls during the game.

“Right is right. Wrong is wrong. We didn’t get many breaks today,” Rhule said.

At the end of the day, the Big Ten deserves better. College football deserves better.

Bowl Eligible

For the first time since 2016, Nebraska will end October with bowl eligibility achieved.

“I told you guys last year,” Rhule said. “Six was awesome last year; we’d never talk about it again. We’re still working. We’re a work in progress. We’re trying to get better and better and better.”

While Rhule and the team are focused on more than simply getting to six wins, that doesn’t minimize what the milestone represents. Nebraska isn’t heading into November and scrambling to find that one more win. This also sets up the Huskers well for the final month, with four games left, and everything they want for the season still achievable.

“We’re not perfect, but we are 6-2,” Rhule said. “We do have a nationally televised game this week. I don’t know the last time something that big happened in this time of year.”

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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