Saturday's Nebraska football win over Michigan State was a strange one. After a 14-0 start to the game that looked like the Huskers were going to cruise, they played some of the worst football fans have seen for a while for about a quarter and a half.
And then, just when the Cornhuskers looked totally cooked, they woke up and scored 24 unanswered points. The fourth quarter run allowed NU to take a nail-biter and make it a laugher that was actually a bigger blowout than it looked, thanks to a late, meaningless touchdown by the Spartans. So what were the highest highs for the Nebraska football team in the big win, and what was the lowest low?
Nebraska's pass rush was a big high for the first time
Coming into Saturday, the Huskers' defense had recorded just one sack in two games against Power 4 opponents. Worse than that, they'd only managed a combined 15 quarterback pressures against Cincinnati and Michigan.
Against the Spartans, the Blackshirts managed a whopping 20 pressures, 5 sacks, and 14 hurries. Those weren't just the best numbers against P4 this season; they were the best against any opponent.
Transfer defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri had his Nebraska breakout game, recording 6 pressures, 2 sacks, and 4 hurries. It's a safe bet that the NU pass rush got into the head of Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles as he completed just 9-of-23 attempts for 85 yards and 2 interceptions.
The pass rush also battered Chiles to the point where he had to leave the game numerous times and wasn't able to finish it once the Huskers went up 38-20.
Mike Ekeler's unit continues to offer big highs for Nebraska football
Even the most optimistic Husker fan this winter didn't expect Mike Ekeler's impact on the special teams unit to be so instantaneous. His unit has played worlds better all season long, but it played a massive part in the Cornhuskers' win on Saturday.
NU logged a blocked punt for a touchdown return, a 57-yard punt return from Jacory Barney, another long return that was wiped out by a block in the back, a kicking game that was perfect on one field goal attempt and five extra points, and a muffed kickoff by Michigan State that was recovered during that 24-point scoring run.
They did all of this on Mike Ekeler's birthday.
The offensive line was the lowest of lows for Nebraska
With the Huskers 4-1 on the season and bouncing back from a 3-point loss with a big win they needed to get, the vibes in Lincoln are pretty good. But the offensive line continues to be a massive concern for a team that expected the unit to be quite a bit better than it is.
Michigan State came into the game having not sacked a Power 4 quarterback yet this season. They racked up a whopping 5 sacks. Beyond that, there was a bad snap that flew past quarterback Dylan Raiola for a considerable loss, there was repeated breakdown in protection that had the QB1 making hurried throws or trying to pull it down.
And there was a 15-yard penalty on center Justin Evans that killed one Nebraska drive. On run blocking, Emmett Johnson had a solid day with 83 yards on 13 carries and 3 touchdowns, but he did a lot of that damage late in the game when the Spartans were worn down.
The offensive line's performance was unacceptable for a unit that had two weeks to prepare for a Nebraska football opponent whose defense had been horrid all season.