The Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2024 had high hopes for the young quarterback Dylan Raiola, who is supposed to be the future of the program. While the young gunslinger showcased great talents and amazing athleticism, there is still a lot he and the team as a whole can improve on.
The Cornhuskers were middle of the road when it came to the offense, averaging just 359 yards per game. If Nebraska wants to be able to compete with the high level of talent in the Big Ten, a conference that has now produced the last two National Champions, Matt Rhule and his squad are going to have to make some changes in 2025.
So, for the Cornhuskers to improve the most in 2025, here are five key stats the team as a whole will have to work to elevate next season.
Red zone efficiency
In the 2024 season, Nebraska scored on just 75.5% of red zone trips with ranked 116th in the country among college football teams. Scoring is already hard to come by in the Big Ten, but when a team gets into the red zone, they have to walk away with some sort of points, whether it is a touchdown or a field goal; there has to be something to show for the trip.
Settling for field goals is not necessarily what a team wants to do, but it is better than walking away with no points, which often happened for Nebraska. This is something both the players and the coaches need to improve next season between he play on he field and the play call from the sideline from eh coaching staff.
Turnover margin
Protecting the ball on offense is of the utmost importance on the field, and it was something the Cornhuskers didn't do very well in 2024. Nebraska had a turnover margin of -2 on the season, and while the offense had a lot to do with that, it also meant that the defense wasn't creating turnovers either.
Raiola needs to protect the ball more in 2025, as he had 12 interceptions compared to just 13 passing touchdowns. Raiola's decision-making needs to be better, and the rest of the offense has to keep the ball tucked high and tight because turnovers are drive killers and sometimes game killers.
Fourth-down conversion rate
If you are gonna go for it on fourth down, then you need to make the conversion. In 2024, Nebraska had just a 31.6% conversion rate on fourth-down plays, which ranked last in college football. Not being able to convert on fourth down also means that the threat of going for it isn't there for opponents, making fourth downs true drive killers. All opponents know is that they had to get the Cornhuskers to fourth down to get the ball back.
Play calls on these downs are what really need to be enhanced, but also the execution of plays on he field. Decision-making has to be really fast on fourth down, as not everything goes to plan on the field. Being able to have the threat of converting on fourth down can make teams play differently on third down, just look at the Philadelphia Eagles and the tush push play.
Passing efficiency
While freshman quarterback Raiola had a solid completion percentage, the types of passes he was making left more to be desired from the offense. Raiola had a 66.2% completion rate for just 2,969 yards and 13 touchdowns. With a completion rate that high, Raiola's yards should have been higher, as well as his passing touchdowns.
Being able to make more connections with his wide receivers, running backs, and offensive line should be helpful next season. Now with a full offseason to make those connections, Raiola's passing efficiency should hopefully improve in 2025.
Red zone defense
While Nebraska had a fairly good defense in 2024, when a team got into the red zone, that was where the defense struggled the most. Opponents last season scored on 81.3% of their red-zone trips against Nebraska, which ranked 57th in the country. All a team had to do was get into the red zone adn they were almost certainly walking away with some sort of points.
Getting stops earlier in drives in the way Nebraska had lower this; however, if a team does get into the red zone, the Cornhuskers need to batt down the hatches and not let the line move. Different defensive calls would help in this area as well.