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Nebraska’s ground game sparks first victory of the season

evan bredeson
·6 min read
3

Nebraska notched the first win of the 2022 season as the Cornhuskers defeated their guests, the North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks, 38 to 17 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Anthony Grant led the way for the offense with 189 yards on 23 carries for two TDs and a long of 46 yards. Ajay Allen helped in the running attack by carrying the ball 11 times for 58 yards and one touchdown with a long of 14. No other Husker was in positive rushing yards. Casey Thompson was 14 of 21 passing for the afternoon with 193 yards, two TDs, and one INT. The most telling quote after the game was from head coach Scott Frost who said, “this team can be a great team. It’s not right now. That was my message to them.” If anyone thought that the coaching staff would allow the team to relax after their first win of the season, it’s clear Frost sent a muted message that there’s still work to do. And now the grind for Week 3’s preparation begins.

Offense

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The Husker offense put 437 yards on the board but the big difference from last week to this week was the ability to make big plays with the running game. Last week the Huskers averaged only 3.5 yards a carry for 110 yards on 31 attempts. This week they were able to average 6.0 yards a carry and 244 yards for the game as a team. One of the more intriguing storylines following the game was during head coach Scott Frost’s postgame press conference when he declined to say who was calling plays during the first and second half of football, saying, “we’ve got a lot of smart people.” After last week’s comment about being more creative on that side of the ball and the reports this week of possible tension between Frost and OC Mark Whipple, Frost may have been trying to avoid any more media chatter and tension talk. It’s something we’ll have to follow over the next several weeks.

Defense

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The Nebraska defense had an up-and-down day as they held North Dakota to 306 total yards of offense and six of 15 on 3rd down but did surrender 175 rushing yards for 5.3 yards a carry. Missed tackles also continue to be an issue for Nebraska, as does the ability to get off the field in key situations. UND held the football for over 36 minutes on Saturday afternoon. You can bet there are more talented teams that Nebraska will face this year that will make them pay for their inability to close out drives when necessary.

Garrett Nelson and Isaac Gifford were Nebraska’s leading tacklers, with each player recording eight a piece, with Nelson also recording a sack. Luke Reimer contributed with seven tackles, and Ernest Hausmann added six. It was also great to see the much-heralded transfer Ochaun Mathis record his first sack as a member of the Nebraska defense. His contribution will be critical heading to the Big Ten season.

Special Teams

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I don’t know what to say about this group. They continue to look unprepared and unfocused when on the field. Two games into the season, Nebraska still hasn’t recorded a punt return, and the kick return game could only muster 22 yards on two attempts today. It cost Nebraska in several games last season, and this season it’s starting to look like it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. Punter Brian Buschini was the lone Special Teams bright spot as he had two punts for 84 yards, with one kick landing inside the 20. He appears to be as good as advertised. That aspect of the third phase has improved. I’m worried that eventually, the return errors will create either a turnover or field position problems for this team but there’s still time to make the proper adjustments moving forward.

Wrap Up

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With the win, Scott Frost now moves his record to 4-1 in home openers, and Nebraska moves to 14-0 all-time against FCS opponents. The Cornhuskers now get ready for their first night game of the home season as they will welcome Georgia Southern to Lincoln for a 6:30 pm face-off.

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Story originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire