Nebraska football breathes big sigh of relief in win over North Dakota

The good news about the Nebraska football team’s win against North Dakota first.

Anthony Grant appears to be “that dude.” After rushing for 101 yards and a long touchdown against Northwestern, he came out and rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns against North Dakota. He also led the team in carries by a wide margin yet again, rushing 23 times compared to the next closest workhorse in Ajay Allen, who had 11 carries (for 58 yards and a score).

Trey Palmer appears to becoming “that dude” for the wide receiver corps too, even if he’s not quite as head and shoulders above the rest the way Grant has been. The LSU transfer caught four passes for 82 yards. That included a 35 yard pass on 3rd and long that could very well be described as the back breaker against the Fighting Hawks.

Casey Thompson also looked pretty good at times, though there were still some accuracy issues here and there. He also took quite a pounding as he was sacked twice, hurried often, and knocked to the ground hard. He also had a couple of trips to the injury tent, but never missed much action. He finished 14-21 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Though he also had another interception that allowed North Dakota to tie the Huskers at 17 late in the game.

After that interception, the Nebraska football team showed some real resiliency in a situation that it feels like they could have folded up shop. After allowing the Fighting Hawks to tie the score, the Huskers dominated on both sides of the field, scored 21 straight points and put the game away.

Now the bad news. It doesn’t feel like resiliency should be needed against North Dakota. The FCS squad was better than I probably gave them credit for in the preseason. (Though my 35-10 prediction came pretty close to the final score). They weren’t a pushover, but they also weren’t flashy enough where this ever had to be a game.

The fact that there were some legit instances of real nervousness, especially when it was just 7-7 at the half is a problem for this Nebraska football program. The Huskers spent an awful lot of the game looking like they were going to find a way to lose.

It also can’t be hammered home enough that this was an FCS school. A 21 point win is expected. Especially at home. Especially when the Cornhuskers had something to prove.

Having said all that, there is a chance this is the kind of game that could start the turnaround. The Huskers were very much on the struggle bus for far too much time on Saturday. But they found a way to win. They found a way to dominate, even if it was for a short period of time.

We’re going to find out soon enough if Nebraska football is starting to turn a corner. We’ll know if they’re really starting to build something. If they come out and look like they did today against Georgia Southern, even if they end up winning, there likely won’t be the same sigh of relief.

For now, enjoy the win. We’ll worry about the other stuff tomorrow.