The 68-0 annihilation of Akron was a throwback game.
Sitting in the stands, it reminded me of my college years (1993-1997) where Nebraska would routinely dominate and/or dismantle non-conference opponents.*
*The average score of NU’s non-conference games in that stretch: 47-18. This includes wins over No. 13 UCLA and No. 2 Washington, as well as a 19-0 loss to No. 17 Arizona State.
But it turns out that the zilching of the Zips, was a tribute to a different game: The 1982 team’s blowout win over New Mexico State.
Final score: 68-0.
The New Mexico State game remains the greatest offense performance in Nebraska’s storied history. A (then) NCAA record 883 yards of total offense. 677 yards rushing, with a ridiculous 8.67 yards per carry on 78 attempts – none of which were for loss. Sixteen different Huskers got a carry, with five rushing for more than 50 yards, led by Mike Rozier’s 149.
The Akron game had a similar level of dominance. The 728 yards of total offense are the eighth most in school history. But instead of running, NU lit up the night sky through the air. Dylan Raiola’s first career 300-yard game ended with 364 yards (in a little over 2.5 quarters), the 16th most in school history. The combined passing yards of Raiola, TJ Lateef, and Jalyn Gramstad – 494 – is second-most in a Nebraska game. Fifteen different Huskers caught a pass with four surpassing 50 yards, led by Jacory Barney Jr.’s 132.
In 1982, the hapless New Mexico State Aggies finished 3-8. All of their wins were against Division I-AA (FCS) opponents. Against Nebraska, they only mustered 182 yards of total offense, were 3 of 13 on third down, and never got closer to the end zone than the Nebraska 38-yard line.
Akron is off to an equally poor start. The unironically nicknamed Zips were shut out against Wyoming and only accumulated 175 yards of total offense against NU. They were 1-14 on third down, and only cracked the red zone once – which ended with a blocked field goal.
Fans will note that the 1982 team finished 12-1. The only blemish was a highly controversial loss to Penn State. It’s way too early to tell what the rest of the 2025 season will hold for Nebraska (even if I’m now suddenly concerned about the Big Ten refs when the Huskers visit Happy Valley in November).
To be clear, that says a lot more about where Akron is at than where NU is. Akron was not a good team. We can all agree on that. Houston Christian of the FCS might be worse.
But I am a staunch believer in the power of a blowout win. They are an overload of delight for fans and are an invaluable experience for the underclassmen to get game reps. Games like Akron can be a time machine to the heydays of the program. Every “this is the first time since ____” factoid is an opportunity to pay tribute to the many greats who have come before, and recognize those trying to get Nebraska back to that standard.
Did I mention how much fun I – and the other 86,438 fans – had Saturday night? Yes, it was an empty-calorie cupcake win, but man, did it taste sweet.
I can’t wait to enjoy another one next week.
Nebraska did everything it needed to do, and more.
Games like this – and Houston Christian next week – are often no-win situations for teams, and the narratives around them. Victory seems all but guaranteed, but when you’re favored by five touchdowns, it can be tough to please the critics.
Against Cincinnati – a respectable Power Four opponent – I said that style points don’t matter. Just win. That’s not the case against a clearly mismatched team like Akron. Simply winning is not enough for fans and media. A sloppy 31-17 game raises more questions than it answers.
Before heading down to campus on Saturday, I put together a quick list of things that would make this a successful game in my eyes. Let’s take a look:
The tremendous offensive output, defensive shutout, and 68 points were all a very nice bonus. I don’t expect to learn too much new information next week. I do hope they can repeat this checklist.
Give Mike Ekeler a raise.
Coming into the season, I felt confident that Nebraska’s special teams would be better than they were in 2024. Admittedly, the bar for “better than 2024” is set about 6 millimeters off the ground. But I’m still going to celebrate as the long-forgotten third phase goes sailing over the top.
Jacory Barney Jr. had four punt returns for 87 yards, with a long of 39. Nebraska’s primary returner in 2024 (Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda) had 11 returns for 60 yards. That’s for the entire season. Sadly, that was an improvement over 2023, when four players combined for 48 yards on 16 returns.
Barney’s punt return success likely contributed to an 11-yard shanked punt late in the second quarter. Nebraska capitalized on the amazing field position and scored a touchdown before halftime. But Barney was not the only special teams standout.
Riley Van Poppel preserved the shutout with a field goal block. On the free kick after the safety, Kenneth Williams was a step away from taking it back for a touchdown. Kyle Cunanan was perfect on his nine PATs and a field goal. Nebraska kicked off 11 times. Only two of those resulted in Akron starting beyond the 25-yard line.
It is admittedly early in his coordinator tenure, but Ek is looking like one of the best hires Rhule has made.
The title of “RB2” is still there for the taking.
Emmett Johnson is clearly The Man. But the question of who is the No. 2 guy is still murky. The Akron game provided multiple opportunities for the three backs in the chase (Kwinten Ives, Isaiah Mozee, and Mekhi Nelson, alphabetically) to make their case.
Ives led the trio in rushing yards (34), most of it coming on a 28-yard touchdown. He also had a seven-yard reception. Mozee had 65 receiving yards on just three catches. He did not get a carry. Nelson had the best balance (11 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving).
From my seats, Mozee stood out. He had a “I refuse to be tackled” attitude and moves to match. He looks like a big play waiting to happen. A converted wide receiver, he might be shifting to the “Swiss Army Knife” role that Janiran Bonner held until his knee injury.
That said, I still want a larger sample size – from all three – before endorsing a favorite. I’d love to see somebody step up and take the job. This is what I’ll be watching the closest next week.
Where is the line between how good Nebraska is and how poor Akron is?
Put it another way: Was Nebraska THAT good, or was Akron THAT bad?
I won’t sugar coat it. Akron is very bad football team. I thought the 2021 Northwestern team was horrible (the 3-9 Huskers blasted them 56-7). The 2021 Wildcats would probably be a 7–10-point favorite over this Akron team.
But I’m not going to write off everything I saw Saturday night as being the result of an overmatched team here to collect a paycheck. There are a few places where an asterisk may be necessary, but I’m going to give Nebraska a ton of credit for their performance. How many Husker teams over the last 10-20 years have seemingly played down to the level of their competition?
A 68-0 win doesn’t happen because one team rolls over and plays dead. The Huskers played a sizable role in their success. They came out focused, did what they were supposed to do, and handed it over to the backups.
Here’s a fun question: What is the score of the Nebraska-Cincinnati game if the Huskers play the way they did Saturday night? Is it still a last-second nail-biter? Or do the Huskers win by two or three scores?
Personally, I think it is a comfortable 31-13 win.
Should we be concerned about the early red zone woes?
Short answer: no.
I can understand some of the fan angst. A look at Nebraska’s first four drives:
That’s not great against a power conference defense. Against one of the worst defenses in the FBS? Yikes.
But here’s why I’m not worried: Nebraska played complementary football.
After the Johnson fumble, the Blackshirts recorded a safety. The Akron drive after the fourth down stop lasted three plays, and gained two yards. That last drive with the first-and-ten at the 21? That happened because of Jacory Barney’s 19-yard punt return on the much-improved special teams. The field goal unit of Kevin Gallic, Kamdyn Koch, and Kyle Cunanan have been automatic through the first two games.
Sure, we’d all love it if every red zone drive ended in a touchdown. But that’s not realistic. I am encouraged by how the other two phases picked up the offense when they failed to get into the end zone.
Am I going to take a victory lap for calling the shutout?
Earlier in the week, a certain local writer noted a) how it had been a program-worst 187 games since Nebraska recorded a shutout, and b) that Akron presented an excellent chance to snap the shutout drought.
So, while I did not explicitly say “Nebraska will shutout Akron”, I like to think that I put that energy out into the universe. Nebraska’s defense took that energy and ran with it. Matt Rhule, I’ll be waiting by the mailbox for my honorary Blackshirt – or one of those sweet “Operation Zero Hour” shirts I saw on the NU sideline.
Nebraska was aggressive in run defense, recorded nine tackles for loss, and we need to mention Nebraska’s pass defense: the Huskers have only allowed 131 yards through the air.
Total.
As we’ve already noted, 2025 Akron will not be confused with the 1983 Scoring Explosion. But there will be no asterisk on this shutout.
Shutouts do not happen in a vacuum, especially in an era where everybody has talent and speed, and the rules skew towards the offense. Even the best defenses will need some help from a doinked field goal, some dropped passes, and nerves from a team who was playing in front of 76,000 more fans than they did a week ago.
Nebraska dominated from their first play through the last, and they emptied the benches. By my quick count, 40 different Huskers recorded at least one tackle. We do not apologize for wins and we definitely do not minimize shutouts.
Especially when it had been nearly 16 years since the last one.
At the top, we talked about the connections between the 2025 Akron and 1982 New Mexico State games. There’s one more that I’ve been saving:
In his second game as Nebraska’s defensive coordinator, John Butler recorded a shutout in a 68-0 win.
In his second game as Nebraska’s defensive coordinator, Charlie McBride recorded a shutout in a 68-0 win.
A “Huskerigami” is a final score combination (win or lose) that has never happened in the 130+ year history of Nebraska football.
Final score: 68-0
Is that a Huskerigami? No. It has happened once before. The first time was a 1982 win over New Mexico State.
- Blackshirts and backup shirts. As a very wise man pointed out, it had been a minute since Nebraska’s last shutout, and the opportunity was ripe. But that doesn’t matter if Akron makes a field goal or the 3rd and 4th stringers give up a cheapo score late in the game. The defense was locked in from the first snap. The effort and passion stayed consistent even as the experience (and talent level) decreased.
- Dylan Raiola. Before the season, I wrote, “while Dylan Raiola has the ability to be a Keisei Tominaga, I really just want him to be a (point guard). After Saturday’s game, Rhule said, “when Dylan plays really well, I don’t want to see a ton of ‘wow’ plays. I don’t want to see him running around throwing the ball sideways; I want to see him play quarterback.” Dylan playing quarterback means completing 77% of his 31 throws for 364 yards. Nine different Huskers caught a pass from him, four of whom scored touchdowns.
- Jacory Barney. For years, I’ve chronicled the failures of Nebraska’s punt return units. So, imagine my shock when Barney caught his first punt with nobody within 20 yards of him. Barney is quickly becoming an electric returner. I initially described him as a “return specialist,” but Mr. Everything is much more than just a punt returner. Barney had a game-high seven catches for 132 yards, including 57 yards after the catch. Not too shabby considering he may not be 100%.
- Emmett Johnson. If you were looking for another example of how dominating Nebraska’s win was, the fact that EJ ended up fourth on this list despite a career high 140 yards rushing, two receptions and three total touchdowns is everything you need to know. The goal line fumble (and NU’s dreadful recent history of punt returns) is what made the difference. Another question to ponder: Johnson is looking like Nebraska’s best running back since….?
- Luke Lindenmeyer. Against Cincinnati, Lindenmeyer matched his 2024 totals for receptions and yards. There’s no way he could top that, right? Wrong. Three more catches for 44 yards, including his first career touchdown. After the game, he proposed to his girlfriend from the Scarlets dance team in front of the entire team (she said yes!). I cannot wait to see what Luke does in Week 3.
Honorable mention: (takes a deep breath) Isaiah Mozee, Quinn Clark, Kade Pietrzak, Kyle Cunanan, Riley Van Poppel, Keelan Smith, Maverick Noonan, TJ Lateef, the kick out blocks by the tight ends, Dawon Merritt, DeShon Singleton, DJ Singleton Jr., the weather, Rex Guthrie, Justyn Rhett, Caleb Benning, Dane Key, Kwinten Ives, Kenneth Williams, one-hand catches, Willis McGahee IV, Williams Nwaneri, Asthon Murphy, offensive line, Andrew Marshall, fourth-quarter light show, every Husker who made their debut and/or set a career best.
- Concessions. Dear Troy Dannen – Thank you for finally getting beer in Memorial Stadium. I didn’t partake, but given the number of people I saw carrying cans, NU is going to make a ton of money. Speaking of money, please make it easier for hungry fans to give you money. Remember the old days when a fan could buy a red hot dog or Runza directly from a hawker in the stands or in the concourses? On Saturday, hungry fans had to wait in ridiculously long concession lines (made longer than ever by fans wanting beer). Given the choice between missing part of the third quarter and not eating until the drive home, I saved money and hit a local drive through. Also, bring back Diet Mountain Dew as a soda option at the grab-and-go stands.
- Defensive Penalties. I’m going to tell you from the jump that anything football related in this section is going to be nit-picky ticky-tack. With that in mind, a stat: Akron gained 62 yards passing. They gained 36 via pass interference and defensive holding calls. I’ll concede that tight, aggressive coverage is likely how 62 passing yards happens in 2025. But given the inconsistency of officiating, I don’t want to give away free yardage and extend drives by being too aggressive.
- Kickoffs. Two weeks, two kickoffs that have gone out of bounds. Against Cincinnati, John Hohl kicked one out. This week it was Tristan Alvano. There was no harm done, but again, giving away free yards on what feels like an avoidable mistake is something that Nebraska needs to outgrow as they take their next step.
- Replay challenges. In the first quarter, Akron’s quarterback barely – but clearly – escaped the end zone. Matt Rhule chose to challenge the ruling in hopes of getting a safety, but the call was not reversed. I don’t know what Rhule’s record is in replay challenges, but my gut says it is below .500. With an army of assistants, analysts, and other staffers, I want him to get better info on when to challenge and when to move on.
- Jessica Bach and Lee Wilson. The parents of beloved Husker punter Archie Wilson (and their two young sons) travelled approximately one million miles to (in part) watch their son make his Memorial Stadium debut. Of the 108 Huskers who played Saturday night (86.4% of the entire roster), Archie was not one of them. I cannot remember another game where I have legitimately been disappointed that Nebraska did not punt.
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