Nebraska certainly didn't look anywhere near perfect in its season-opening win against the Ohio Bobcats. In fact, they looked bad enough in the first quarter that there were legitimate fears that Husker fans were about to see another home loss to a MAC team.
Thankfully, the Huskers realized they were the much, much better team talent-wise on the field after the first quarter, and while it took longer than it should have to show on the scoreboard, they took control of the game and, especially on offense, just imposed their will.
While there will always be hot takes about one play or one play call after one game in the season, it's important to remember that not only is it the first game of the season after a loooooong layoff, but Nebraska is also breaking in plenty of new players and coaches. They didn't even have one of those new players at their disposal, as linebacker Owen Chambliss sat out with a hamstring injury.
So what stood out the most on the season's first Saturday of Nebraska football in 2026?
3 tempting Nebraska tidbits to try and not overreact to in NU's blowout win over Ohio
Jamal Rule had as good a Husker debut as anyone could have expected
Consider that not only did Jamal Rule have the first 100-yard rushing day as a true freshman since 2004, but he also did it in the season opener that he didn't start. Also consider that not only did he rush for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 15 carries, but he also hauled in 2 catches for 47 yards and another score.
For most of the second and third quarter, it was even looking like a safe bet that he had ended the RB1 debate very early. Then Mekhi Nelson took over the 4th quarter and showed that the running back by committee approach the staff opened the year with looks smart.
Defense didn't play nearly good enough
There isn't a coach on the Nebraska staff — maybe not even Matt Rhule — who will be under the microscope this season the way Rob Aurich will be, especially after last season. After a first quarter that included some ugly blown defensive coverages, things looked very, very bad.
After the first quarter, the defense looked quite a bit better, though the number of Ohio Bobcats running wide open on certain pass plays was concerning. Still, after starting the game slicing and dicing NU's defense in his first two drives, quarterback Nick Poulos finished just 14 of 31 for 164 yards passing.
Considering 68 of those yards came on the fifth play of the game on clear broken coverage, the pass defense looked better than most people came away thinking it did.
Anthony Colandrea did everything Nebraska hoped he would
One of the biggest concerns entering the season regarding Anthony Colandrea was that his "oh Anthony" plays would outnumber his positive ones. That certainly wasn't the case on Saturday. Colandrea completed 18 of 32 passes for 275 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.
He also ran the ball 10 times for 23 yards and another score. Most importantly, he looked poised in the pocket, and when the pass rush got close to him, he didn't look like the dear in the headlines Dylan Raiola did far too often the last two years.
Ohio isn't anywhere near the caliber of the Big Ten so fighting off the urge to proclaim Colandrea exactly what Nebraska needed should be fought off. But considering another 60 yard touchdown pass was called back due to an iffy blocking penalty and his receivers had too many drops, his Husker debut was very good.
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