Credit Dana Holgorsen. When the Nebraska football team's offensive coordinator makes a mistake, he'll own it. And on Tuesday, he owned that his game plans the last couple of weeks have left something to be desired.
Speaking during his weekly press conference, Holgorsen spoke in glowing terms of the fight he saw from the Huskers against Maryland. He especially loved what he saw from running back Emmett Johnson, who had a career-high 176 rushing yards. He also admitted that the running game that worked so well against the Terrapins probably should have gotten more of a look against Michigan and Michigan State.
Dana Holgorsen admits flaws in previous Nebraska football offensive game plans
Holgorsen said that Nebraska's run game was used very effectively to slow down Maryland's pass rush. Quarterback Dylan Raiola was only sacked once and hurried five times. Compare that to the punishment he took against the Spartans and especially the seven sacks the Wolverines dished out, and it was quite the improvement.
"I wish I would have had that mindset the previous two weeks."
It's a rare admission from a Power 4 coach with everything on the line. If the Huskers had leaned into the run game a bit more against Michigan, things could be very different, and NU could be 6-0 entering Friday's game against Minnesota.
Holgorsen knows saying something like that will draw ire from some Cornhuskers fans who expect perfection every week. Even those who don't expect Holgorsen to do everything right all the time have reason to be frustrated since it's not the first time he's addressed what some saw as not turning to the ground game enough.
"If you want more rushes, when I call it, it’s got to look better. I’m not going to just keep calling things that aren't working."
The issue for some Nebraska football fans is that it's felt like Holgorsen has kept throwing the ball when it wasn't working while abandoning a run game that felt effective. Hopefully, his comments on Tuesday mean that he's finally learned his lesson. If Emmett Johnson starts off against Minnesota like he played against Michigan State, he needs to keep getting the ball.