BC Football Bowl Preview: Nebraska Offense

Happy Bowl Week folks. The road to 8 wins winds down in five days. The dust has (mostly) settled in terms of who’s in and who’s out on these respective teams. Nebraska lost some production, but primarily on the defensive end which we’ll look into later. On offense, the Huskers are mostly systems go and will be looking to make the most of the program’s first bowl appearance in nearly a decade.

Starting from a coaching perspective, he of the Air Raid, Dana Holgorsen came on officially as offensive coordinator in early November. Now this is by no means turning into an Air Raid offense, but in those three games with Holgorsen the team showed strides, snapping a ten-game losing streak to Wisconsin in commanding fashion and severely outgaining Iowa only to be outdone by a couple of turnovers.

Under center is true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who many know for his uncanny, we’ll call it resemblance, to one Patrick Mahomes. The QB showed flashes throughout the season, throwing for 2595 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.8 yards per completion. He completed 66% of his passes, but threw 10 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles all the while. Raiola’s young and all of this extra practice time will only further his development. He’s got a big arm, is Matthew Stafford’s godson, and was heavily recruited by everyone. He can clearly make a lot of wow throws, but the Eagles will have opportunity to get after him and force the freshman into mistakes.

On the receiving front, late breaking news out of the Huskers camp is that the team’s second leading receiver (455) Isaiah Neyor is opting out of the game. Neyor was fourth on the team in receptions (34) but did lead the team in touchdown receptions. Senior receiver Jahmal Banks did lead the team with 508 yards and added three scores. The former Wake Forest receiver was last seen torching the Eagles back in 2022 with 79 yards and two scores. Raiola spreads the ball out well enough where two others have over 300 yards including true freshman Jacory Barney. Barney’s an all purpose weapon third in total yards on the season (561). Tight end Thomas Fidone II started off the season hot, but is still likely to factor in big, especially given his 6-6 frame.

Neyor’s absence actually means more than half of Nebraska’s total touchdown output all season will not be playing in the game. The team’s leading rusher Dante Dowdell is transferring to Kentucky. However, tides clearly shifted in the rushing department late in the season. Emmett Johnson clearly took over the number one rushing role once Hologrsen took charge. The shifty back briefly flirted with the portal, but has confirmed he’s returning. The sophomore Johnson can carry the load doing huge damage on the ground and receiving. On the season, he has 785 yards of total offense and two touchdowns — half of which came in the past three games when he cleanly assumed the role.

Still, he’ll need to find the end zone as 17 TDs from the top two scorers are out the door. The coaching staff also called out young Jersey native Kwinten Ives who will have a chance to step up with a couple of backs transferring out. Ives saw little work this season, but his highlight came with a 40-yard kickoff return at Indiana.

It’s a veteran laden offensive line, that has surrendered about 2.4 sacks a game – around middle of the pack and comparable to the Eagles. Right tackle Bryce Benhart has 53 starts and was given honorable mention by coaches in the Big 10’s end of season awards, and center Ben Scott the same distinction by the media. They were the only two offensive players to be recognized. Only one rotational piece will be out for this game with injury on the line.

It’s not a prolific offense by any stretch, but they have the talent with Raiola and have picked up a hint of steam late in the season. They still struggled in the red zone and the turnovers are an issue, but this should be a competitive matchup.