Holgerson

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,383
12,799
78
Im more concerned about our lack of depth and talent at DT and RB. The last two drives didn't change my views on that fact either.

3 years and Barthel hasn't developed one fvcking player??? When will people see the writing on the wall and get this bum out of our program.
We have a freshman RB who can play and play well. The thing keeping our young backs from getting more game snaps is their pass pro. We’ve watched other teams shred us with backs no better than what we have. IMO this O line is going to take a few games to gel. Brendan Stai has said on multiple occasions that even with multiple returning starters it took 5-6 games for them to really get rolling. It was that way for him at NU and Pittsburgh. I like our center but I think we miss Scott at this point.
 

Trike Rider

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2009
7,474
1,039
113
Play calling by necessity is going to remain the same. Holgerson has few options when your running game stinks. Teams now know they can stop our run with the four dudes and then drop seven or eight into coverage. That is why we had to dink and dunk it down the field with short passes that were really nothing more than substitutions for running. Until we get a consistent run game this pattern will continue. But our line simply does not run block well.
There will be a handful of teams we play all year on our schedule that will have a tougher front 7 than Cincinnati. They called a great game defensively.
 

Trike Rider

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2009
7,474
1,039
113
We have a freshman RB who can play and play well. The thing keeping our young backs from getting more game snaps is their pass pro. We’ve watched other teams shred us with backs no better than what we have. IMO this O line is going to take a few games to gel. Brendan Stai has said on multiple occasions that even with multiple returning starters it too 5-6 games for them to really get rolling. It was that way for him at NU and Pittsburgh. I like our center but I think we miss Scott at this point.
Im confused? What freshman can play, and what freshman can play well? Im not sure that player exists on this roster.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,383
12,799
78
Stud freshman RBs do not redshirt. There is 25 years of historical data to back that statement.
The rule change makes it possible. He’s a stud but Nelson has a year on him and EJ is the bell cow. Booth isn’t Ahman Green but he’s the kind of back other teams have punished us with. IF our top 2 backs get banged up Booth can play if he’s healthy.
 
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mgbreeze

All-Conference
Dec 16, 2004
10,085
3,501
113
Booth is a stud. I’ve heard great things about him but he’s headed for a redshirt unless EJ and Nelson get hurt.
A stud based on what? How he played against Palmyra or West Point - Beemer? If he was worthy he'd be playing already, it's not like we're loaded at RB. He's the latest Wyatt Mazour until I see different with my own eyes. Maybe he's great, but he's not even on the depth chart.
 

RBigredMax1

All-Conference
Jul 16, 2025
1,427
2,422
113
Johnson is an average B10 RB with zero depth behind him. Our OL is slightly above average. The two combined make up for a very average run game, which is better than anything this past decade. A decent OL doesn't automatically make an average RB a stud.

Did you forget how bad our OL was?
You saw enough in the 2 carries our other backs got to proclaim zero depth? Impressive if so.
 

SuperBigFan69

All-Conference
Apr 17, 2021
4,397
3,998
113
A stud based on what? How he played against Palmyra or West Point - Beemer? If he was worthy he'd be playing already, it's not like we're loaded at RB. He's the latest Wyatt Mazour until I see different with my own eyes. Maybe he's great, but he's not even on the depth chart.
A lot of Husker fans are still searching for the next Danny Woodhead.
 
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Trike Rider

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2009
7,474
1,039
113
You saw enough in the 2 carries our other backs got to proclaim zero depth? Impressive if so.
The fact that this is Nelson's 2nd year and the coaches clearly feel he isn't ready to play speaks volumes about Barthel's ability to develop players.

Emit Johnson won't make it to October with 30+ touches per game. At that point you can kiss our season goodbye.
 

Laner2

Senior
Dec 27, 2007
18,967
900
113
That offense with so many tight sets and often employing multiple tied ends is the antithesis of what Dana has run in the past.

I personally love seeing Nebraska utilize the TE talent we so often have at NU! And Johnson’s burst at the LOS was better than I expected.

However, I fully expect this offense to evolve over the year if that power approach doesn’t become more successful. We absolutely MUST rush for more than 108 yards if this is the approach.

Except for a couple throws to Collins and Key against zone coverage, we had next to zero vertical passing game. I was especially hoping to see Barney on some downfield routes. That kid is a dawg.

Hoping to see some of that first-to-second-game improvement we always hear about. (And, given the competition, should expect.)

GBR!!!
There's a video (too lazy to find it) where DH jokingly said he was kicked out of the Air Raid club 10 years ago. He intends to mix in a few AR principles but if you're looking for Houston-type offensive plays it ain't gonna happen.
 
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Huskers12345

Senior
Aug 23, 2025
652
733
93
Virtually every college and pro offense runs those plays. The biggest problem for us is probably having Bonner be the guy toting it.
Seems like at times we are just making sure everyone touches the ball. Barney is so electric and commands so much attention off a fake. Bonner, not so much.
 

NikkiSixx

Senior
May 31, 2022
749
794
93
I thought EJ did a good job.. but that's his ceiling imo.. I think they gave him 25 reps.. not sure he is durable enough for that all season long.

We really needed that portal RB that we missed on last June.

Have to see how it goes with the rest of the RB Room.

At times, I thought the offense had too much misdirection going on, and not enough vertical passing, but it's going to be an evolution. I am glad to see us try to run the ball.

Also of note is how many different receivers caught the ball. Nice distribution.
 

Trike Rider

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2009
7,474
1,039
113
I thought EJ did a good job.. but that's his ceiling imo.. I think they gave him 25 reps.. not sure he is durable enough for that all season long.

We really needed that portal RB that we missed on last June.

Have to see how it goes with the rest of the RB Room.

At times, I thought the offense had too much misdirection going on, and not enough vertical passing, but it's going to be an evolution. I am glad to see us try to run the ball.

Also of note is how many different receivers caught the ball. Nice distribution.
We will continue to be an average program until NU decides to invest considerable NIL resources into the RB position. The Rbs have been an after thought ever since Bo was fired, and our record over this past decade reflects that fact.
 

anon1765477286

Sophomore
Sep 24, 2017
712
166
43
I thought Dana's really only poor call the whole night was the end around/sweep to Barney on the second down play on the last drive of the night. High risk because Raiola pitches it to him instead of handing it off. Would of rather seen something between the tackles.

They played 3 high safeties all night, thought the passing game was reasonable for that look and that is what Raiola seems to do best right now anyway, dink and dunk. Running game wasn't good enough but I have faith that it will get better moving forward.

We won, I ain't mad.
 

Husker.Wed._rivals

All-Conference
Feb 13, 2004
17,648
3,699
98
Im more concerned about our lack of depth and talent at DT and RB. The last two drives didn't change my views on that fact either.

3 years and Barthel hasn't developed one fvcking player??? When will people see the writing on the wall and get this bum out of our program.
I never understand why so much vitriol was/is directed against Raiola, Satterfield and Foley, but Barthel has gotten a pass by the press and fans. Crickets.
 
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orclover11

Senior
Dec 1, 2014
1,147
811
113
I
There will be a handful of teams we play all year on our schedule that will have a tougher front 7 than Cincinnati. They called a great game defensively.
I'm confused, how does a team that has lost 5 in a row, have a front 7 that is better than most of the big 10. This sounds like so many first game opinions, that the team that we just barely beat, or barely beat us is actually some hidden gem. Cin will finish in the bottom of big 12, they aren't good...we aren't good.
 
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orclover11

Senior
Dec 1, 2014
1,147
811
113
I never understand why so much vitriol was/is directed against Raiola, Satterfield and Foley, but Barthel has gotten a pass by the press and fans. Crickets.
We haven't had a good rb in a long time...since Ameer probably, but special teams is supposed to be one of Rhule's strengths and Satt was terrible and Rhules BFF, and example of how Rhule doesn't care about winning just being comfortable.
 
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Big bo fan

All-American
Jan 8, 2019
19,098
6,367
113
We haven't had a good rb in a long time...since Ameer probably, but special teams is supposed to be one of Rhule's strengths and Satt was terrible and Rhules BFF, and example of how Rhule doesn't care about winning just being comfortable.
What does Satt have to do with Special teams?
 

BobVH5150

Junior
Jul 9, 2025
208
315
63
Also, Bonner is sweet when you switch him to TE at season's end in CFB 26. He's a "gritty possession TE.". I would move him there, because Lindenmeyer was awesome, but he needs a complimentary TE. That should be Bonner. Yesterday, and times past, we used him as a gadget receiver, but he's not that.
 

Cruel Halo

All-Conference
Jun 27, 2003
6,552
1,639
97
Some of these posts are just nuts. Based off on one game--the first one at that--we are either good or bad. Sweet baby Jesus.
Similar to the pre-season where people predict a 10-win season and all they saw were 3 minutes and 17 seconds of practice videos online. People talk themselves into believing Nebraska has a chance at making the playoffs because of an easy schedule and because the players look "jacked" in online photos.
 

Spinner4

Senior
Jun 5, 2022
584
819
93
I never understand why so much vitriol was/is directed against Raiola, Satterfield and Foley, but Barthel has gotten a pass by the press and fans. Crickets.
Don’t forget McGuire too.

when you have so many coaches that were bad hires, a few of them get overshadowed by
others.

Barthel has been a bad hire since day 1 IMO. Him and Donnie have gotten a pass and OC took the blame. Barthel doesn’t know how to recruit top end talent. I’ll give uncle Donnie that over EJ.

Barthel knows how to recruit for lower levels and find undervalue backs that could be very successful @ UConn and William Mary.

But you can’t keep putting your money on guys like Nelson, Ives, and Booth (and soon to add Rule to the list). I’m sure sooner or later one of those types of backs will really flash but most of them are going to end up like every major P5 school thought they would. There’s a reason tOSU and PSU don’t recruit RBs like we do. Too risky and you end up with guys like Ives and Nelson that can’t get past the LOS.

I just think Barthel recruits kids he can relate to. It makes sense. He wasn’t a star RB out of HS. Doesn’t know what that’s like. Either that or he’s lazy when it comes selling. watching game tape of a million kids in HS might be less exhausting then talking to a kid about biology grades and what him and his friends did last weekend. EJ isn’t that personal.

He either needs to get better at recruiting or they need to move him or Rhule needs to find someone to recruit for him. It’s Nebraska. We have a history of RBs and our fans love an eclectic back. All the support you need. Just need someone to translate that to recruits.
 
Last edited:

Kakdawg

Heisman
Sep 8, 2004
35,377
15,512
113
Im more concerned about our lack of depth and talent at DT and RB. The last two drives didn't change my views on that fact either.

3 years and Barthel hasn't developed one fvcking player??? When will people see the writing on the wall and get this bum out of our program.

I disagree that he hasn't developed well. I think his backs have generally gotten better under him. Emmitt has gotten a lot better. Go back and watch the big kid from Oregon in the spring game two years ago and then watch how he looked last year. He definitely improved under EJ. I can't speak for Nelson yet but everything I've heard from those who have seen him is that he's improved a ton.


I don't think it's that he's not developing guys. I think it's more that the guys that he's had doesn't or haven't had the highest ceilings. Cant get blood from a turnip i guess. But it is in him to recruit those guys. So that's on him.



Holla
 

Kakdawg

Heisman
Sep 8, 2004
35,377
15,512
113
We have a freshman RB who can play and play well. The thing keeping our young backs from getting more game snaps is their pass pro. We’ve watched other teams shred us with backs no better than what we have. IMO this O line is going to take a few games to gel. Brendan Stai has said on multiple occasions that even with multiple returning starters it took 5-6 games for them to really get rolling. It was that way for him at NU and Pittsburgh. I like our center but I think we miss Scott at this point.

I always thought Scott was rather over rated. I liked Jenkins better than him last year also. I could be wrong tho.



Holla
 

NikkiSixx

Senior
May 31, 2022
749
794
93
We will continue to be an average program until NU decides to invest considerable NIL resources into the RB position. The Rbs have been an after thought ever since Bo was fired, and our record over this past decade reflects that fact.
I thought we needed that transfer RB last June that we didn't get. What's interesting though, is the staff really didn't make a big push for that RB. I'm not sure what the vision is for Dana and the offense. Look at how many receivers caught passes. Unfortunately, I think Dana likes RB's that are receivers first. Dana is always going to be biased towards the pass.

The QB at Cincy, was a better runner than just about everyone else we had, sans EJ. So yeah, I'm not impressed with our RB recruiting but once again, I don't think the staff even entertains RB recruits that can't catch the ball, making receiver skills, the first filter to eliminate rb's from contention.

Put another way, even if we had a world class running back, Dana wouldn't necessarily play him, unless that RB can catch first..

On a positive note, the offense is going to evolve and I was surprised to see us run EJ as much as they did. 25 carries, which seems high for that player's size/durability.
 

Kakdawg

Heisman
Sep 8, 2004
35,377
15,512
113
Don’t forget McGuire too.

when you have so many coaches that were bad hires, a few of them get overshadowed by
others.

Barthel has been a bad hire since day 1 IMO. Him and Donnie have gotten a pass and OC took the blame. Barthel doesn’t know how to recruit top end talent. I’ll give uncle Donnie that over EJ.

Barthel knows how to recruit for lower levels and find undervalue backs that could be very successful @ UConn and William Mary.

But you can’t keep putting your money on guys like Nelson, Ives, and Booth (and soon to add Rule to the list). I’m sure sooner or later one of those types of backs will really flash but most of them are going to end up like every major P5 school thought they would. There’s a reason tOSU and PSU don’t recruit RBs like we do. Too risky and you end up with guys like Ives and Nelson that can’t get past the LOS.

I just think Barthel recruits kids he can relate to. It makes sense. He wasn’t a star RB out of HS. Doesn’t know what that’s like. Either that or he’s lazy when it comes selling. watching game tape of a million kids in HS might be less exhausting then talking to a kid about biology grades and what him and his friends did last weekend. EJ isn’t that personal.

He either needs to get better at recruiting or they need to move him or Rhule needs to find someone to recruit for him. It’s Nebraska. We have a history of RBs and our fans love an eclectic back. All the support you need. Just need someone to translate that to recruits.

I agree with this. I don't think it's a developing thing with him. Guys get better under him. I think it's a recruiting thing. Gotta recruit better guys with higher ceilings who are ready to play sooner.



Holla
 
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inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
14,188
4,837
91
One of the other three bags needs to be able to produce in the run game to take a few carries off of EJs plate. The next two games will present opportunities to get the two younger guys worked in. Ives might be a better contrast to EJ, but hamstrings can be difficult to get to full recovery.
 

Anon1751505855

Freshman
Jul 2, 2025
86
51
18
Similar to the pre-season where people predict a 10-win season and all they saw were 3 minutes and 17 seconds of practice videos online. People talk themselves into believing Nebraska has a chance at making the playoffs because of an easy schedule and because the players look "jacked" in online photos.
And I really would rather hear players say during interviews that they haven't earned all the preseason accolades heaped on them rather than this team is the best one yet. Put your head down, outwork everyone else, win games first.
 

Laner2

Senior
Dec 27, 2007
18,967
900
113
Similar to the pre-season where people predict a 10-win season and all they saw were 3 minutes and 17 seconds of practice videos online. People talk themselves into believing Nebraska has a chance at making the playoffs because of an easy schedule and because the players look "jacked" in online photos.
Cruel, I've done the impossible for you, thanks to On3's moronic board conversion from Rivals. When I liked your post earlier this morning, I had gotten demoted (again) to Anonymous*****. I just experimented and liked it again, but this time it showed my screen name. One person, two likes, same post.

It's science and stuff.
 
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orclover11

Senior
Dec 1, 2014
1,147
811
113
Similar to the pre-season where people predict a 10-win season and all they saw were 3 minutes and 17 seconds of practice videos online. People talk themselves into believing Nebraska has a chance at making the playoffs because of an easy schedule and because the players look "jacked" in online photos.
We have been bad for 10 years. If is logical to assume the trend will continue. Name one change, relative to the last 10 years that would suddenly make us good.
 
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