The next three weeks will be anything but boring for Nebraska Football. Dana Holgorsen, who has been with the program for just a week, is now the offensive coordinator. While it’s unlikely that the Huskers will transform their offense entirely for the USC game, it’s expected that he will bring aspects of his Air Raid offense to Lincoln this year and, should he stick around, fully implement it in 2025.
That has some NU faithful a bit concerned. After all, there’s always been a belief that a pass-heavy offense can’t work in the Big Ten. The cold November months and the winds that whip through Memorial make it tough, they say. That’s why the triple option was the right call, they say.
That might all be true, but one of the originators of the Air Raid and a mentor to the new Nebraska Football offensive coordinator believes the offense can work just fine if it’s done right. Hal Mumme appeared on Hail Varsity Radio this week and talked about why he thinks the offense can work anywhere, as long as the coach running it understands certain things.
Nebraska football can run the Air Raid, even in the Big Ten
“I never really cared about what the conference's style was,” Mumme said when asked whether the offense can work in the B1G. “I just wanted our style to be what it was, and we wanted to be good at it. And anyway, it doesn't matter who you're playing, but if your athletes are fairly equal in ability, it gives you a great advantage, mainly because not many people do it.”
This is why Mumme thinks that this is the right time for Holgorsen to run the Air Raid in Lincoln. It’s an offense that was popular not that long ago. It’s not anymore.
“There was a time in the Big 12 when nearly every school in the conference was running it, maybe 10 or 12 years ago. But now it's kind of rotated back, and it's not as popular as it was to begin with. So I think it's a good time to pull it out.”
The Nebraska football team will find that out one way or the other.