Nebraska football Tailgate Talk: Putting Bowling Green in the gutter

Game 2 of the season is a night game, and it won’t be a Ba-Gillion degrees!! Bowling Green is coming to town, and kickoff is set for 6:00 pm in Lincoln, Nebraska. The temp at kickoff is expected to be only 81 degrees (a far cry from last week’s vomit-inducing 157 on the field) and down to 70 degrees by the end of the game. If you’re stuck at home watching, tune in to FS1. 29.5 points favor the Huskers, with an over/under of 51.5. Huskers should win, and TJ Lateef should be in by the 4th Q. (insert fingers crossed emoji here).

The season didn’t start well with Rob Aurich’s new defense giving up a huge run play for 69 yards on a missed defensive assignment. Fortunately, they didn’t panic like every other red-blooded Husker fan was doing. Overall, the Blackshirts kept things very vanilla for the first Saturday, and that’s ok.  I did love the tip drill interception with Rex Guthrie ending up with the ball, even if it wasn’t a pick-six because the Big Red offense was “ruling” the day (see what I did there).

Have yourself a day, freshman running back Jamal Rule! I liked his “go get em” attitude. I think I even saw shades of Rex Burkhead on that “Monster” run behind some defensive bodies (Jahsear Whittington and Anthony Jones). Husker Nation hasn’t seen that play since Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher were on the roster. Cheers to Dana Holgerson for bringing it back. All that was missing on that play was the neck rolls for Jones & Whittington.

Cornhusker QB Anthony Colandrea had a little too much on his fastball at times, which I suspect caused some of the many (too many) drops by the receivers. This will correct itself. Even OC Holgerson said there were never that many drops in camp. Otherwise, the AC kept things cool with his quick decisions and nimble feet at times. I liked what I saw. He gets a side-eye for the intentional grounding, but in total, I’d still buy him lunch if I saw him out and about.

Next up is Bowling Green State University. I wouldn’t know where that college is in Ohio if my Mom hadn’t earned her first Master’s degree there. Apparently, back in the day, it was tradition for the ladies to put on their bathing suits and get pictures of themselves in the snow after the first flakes of the season dropped at BGSU. Alas, I digress.

Both Husker HC Matt Rhule and Heisman winner and Falcons HC Eddie George are friends. Don’t look for a friendly game plan, though. This is George’s second year with Bowling Green, and they are currently 0-1, having lost to Tarleton State 20-13 last week (that’s in Stephenville, TX, and yes, I had to look it up). However, their team is physical and won’t just roll over. It’s a new week, and I suspect that QB Jay Kastantin is looking to get a win. He was 24/30 last week with an 80% completion rate for 262 passing yards. Word is that the 6’ 4” junior is gritty and can move, although not a true dual threat.

Of those Falcon passes, 1/3 went to 6’ 3” tight end Jeremiah Scoby, a sophomore who clearly has good hands. Also of note for the Falcons is linebacker Dorian Pringle, who racked up 16 tackles last week. Bowling Green was 6-of-16 in 3rd-down efficiency and 283 in total passing yards. However, they had only 103 total rushing yards. Their running back had 15 carries for only 60 yards, and they lost two fumbles last week.  

A night game brings longer tailgates, especially when the weather is good. Having real food to soak up some of the libations is key.  I’ll be serving up a taco bar this week complete with chicken and beef. The new addition is a pan of Cilantro Rice. You can either make a couple tacos or serve yourself up a rice bowl. Here’s the recipe. The lime juice really makes it "cook."

My tailgate poll last week asked people to predict the Huskers' 2026 win total. There were 6 votes for 9-4, 16 votes for 7-5, and 22 votes for 8-4. I enjoy the optimism. This week I’m looking for the Huskers to clean up those passing lanes on defense and be more aggressive in getting to the QB pocket. The offense should keep making good decisions and be better on the receiving end. A BIG RED shout-out to Husker TE Luke Lindenmeyer, who had an excellent game last week, even by OC Dana Holgerson’s standards. Another s/o to D lineman Jasear Whittington for puking and rallying in the heat. And a third s/o to Jamal Rule for not waiting for your turn and running the damn ball! Get out to the game, shout loud, stay hydrated, be courteous to any Ohio people who made the trip, and drive home safely since we will all be on the road at the same time. As always, GO BIG RED!

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