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Nebraska Football: Running game looks to step things up on Saturday

By Danny Jaillet

Dublin , Ireland - 3 September 2016; Georgia Tech running back Dedrick Mills, who scored his team's winning touchdown, celebrates at the final whistle during the Aer Lingus College Football Classic match between Boston College Eagles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Aviva Stadium in Lansdowne Road, Dublin. (Photo By Cody Glenn/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Dublin , Ireland - 3 September 2016; Georgia Tech running back Dedrick Mills, who scored his team's winning touchdown, celebrates at the final whistle during the Aer Lingus College Football Classic match between Boston College Eagles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Aviva Stadium in Lansdowne Road, Dublin. (Photo By Cody Glenn/Sportsfile via Getty Images) /
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The Nebraska Football running game is in line for a big day on Saturday.

Even though it did not put up incredible impressive numbers, the Nebraska Football running game was certainly a bright spot on Saturday. Dedrick Mills was the one that carried the load mostly for the Huskers. He rushed the football.

He rushed the football 15 times for 44 yards and two touchdowns. He was particularly effective in the red zone, as Nebraska handed the football off to him near the goal line. It was a great  display of what type of player he  is. He is definitely a power back who can turn on the jets when necessary. Even still, it was fun to watch him use his speed to skate by defenders. The one knock on him for Saturday was that he missed a few cutback opportunities.

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Admittedly, it was hard to rush the football as the running lanes and space both did not seem to be there. Mills tried to make the most out of a difficult situation. Although he did his best with the opportunities he was given, he certainly needs to be a little more efficient against Colorado. They need to establish the ground game in order to have a successful , balanced offensive attack. We saw what Mills could do at Georgia Tech. He undoubtedly was a key cog in the backfield.

Running backs coach Ryan Held says that he expects Mills to play at a higher level on Saturday. For what it’s worth, I don’t think he played bad at all. He just didn’t have the time and space to really break off any big runs. If anything, he stabilized the offense. As Held told the Lincoln Journal Star on Wednesday, there are certainly things his running back has to clean up.

"“First game out there, there were some mistakes just like everybody does in their first game, being in this offense,” the coach said. “But everything was fixable. He’s had a good week of practice. I expect him to play a lot better on Saturday (at Colorado).”"

I’m curious to see what Mills will do for a follow-up act on Saturday. His first game in a Nebraska uniform was unspectacular, yet very productive. Hopefully, this is just the start of something bigger and better that will last over the course of the season.

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