Instant takes: Nebraska 35, Northern Illinois 11

On3 imageby:Abby Barmore•09/16/23•

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Nebraska (1-2) earns first win of the season over NIU (1-2) in Head Coach Matt Rhule’s first home game at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers took down Northern Illinois 35-11 with sophomore quarterback Heinrich Haarberg at the helm.

Here are three takeaways from the Huskers’ first victory:

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Haarberg does solid job at quarterback

Quarterback Jeff Sims went down with an ankle injury against Colorado last Saturday. The junior did not play against Northern Illinois but was fully dressed. At Georgia Tech, Sims struggled with turnovers and fought injuries. Both have followed him to Nebraska as he leads the FBS in turnovers again.

Sophomore Heinrich Haarberg started his first career game vs. the Huskies. Before the NIU game, the Kearney, Neb. native played in two games, both during the 2023 season, with a total of 17 snaps.

When he came in against Colorado when Sims went down, Haarberg went 2-for-6 for 13 passing yards and one touchdown. He added 17 rushing yards on two carries.

During his first drive of the game, Haarberg led one of Nebraska’s most impressive offensive drives of the season. The Huskers went six plays for 55 yards to score a touchdown in 3:17. Haarberg’s 10-yard pass to Billy Kemp IV was Nebraska’s first first-half touchdown of the season.

The QB was 2-for-2 for 36 passing yards with 19 rushing yards on four carries.

However, during his second drive, Haarberg was sacked for a loss of seven yards. He was ready to throw the ball when the pocket collapsed, and he fumbled. NIU recovered it at the five-yard line. Nebraska’s defense held the Huskies to a field goal. That 30-yarder was the only points NIU scored until the last few seconds of the game.

After the first drive, Nebraska’s offensive drives ended in a fumble and three consecutive punts. The Huskers’ offense ran 11 plays on three drives in the first quarter.

After three straight punts, the Huskers put together a quick scoring drive. A great three-and-out by the defense and a great punt by Brian Buschini set up the offense at NIU’s 36 yards. Haarberg had a 16-yard scramble and then found Thomas Fidone II in the endzone for a 16-yard touchdown. NU took a 14-3 lead with 3:15 left in the first half.

Haarberg pieced together a 76-yard, 14-play drive in the third quarter to put the game away, 21-3. He used his arm with a few deep passes and a 14-yard rush up the middle.

Nebraska scored on their next drive to slam the door shut with 8:19 left. The drive was nine plays, 65 yards and was 5:33 long. NU did it all. Haarberg had a 13-yard run and had a 20-yard touchdown run, showing off some speed. He connected with Marcus Washington in very tight coverage for an 11-yard gain on 3rd-and-8.

Haarberg finished his first start going 14-for-24 for 158 passing yards and two passing TDs. He added 98 yards on the ground with 21 carries and a rushing touchdown.

Could Haarberg’s performance spark a bigger conversation at QB1? It’s hard to judge when Haarberg played against an FBS team. Sims went up against the hottest team in college football and a solid Big Ten team with both on the road. But if I were Rhule, I would definitely look into it.

Defense assists in the turnover battle, but needs more throughout season

Nebraska’s defense continues to prove they are by far the best phase of this Huskers’ team. The Blackshirts recorded two sacks and five tackles of loss vs. NIU. They lead the FBS in sacks to start the game with 5.5 sacks.

NU was also eighth in rushing defense heading into Saturday night. They averaged 56.5 rushing yards per game. NIU had three rushing yards in the first half and finished with 26 rushing yards total.

With the offense struggling again, NU’s defense came up big-time drive after drive. The only points they gave up in the first half were after Haarberg’s fumble on the five-yard line. The Blackshirts held NIU to a field goal.

After Buschini, with the help of Phalen Sanford, pinned NIU at their own one, the defense forced a three-and-out, leading to a short punt. Nebraska scored a touchdown on the drive to make it 14-3. That is the complementary football the Huskers have been begging for this season.

Nebraska’s defense has been solid this season. Despite all they’ve added to this team, with the way the Huskers’ offense is playing, NU needs more if they want to win against Big Ten opponents. The offense showed some promise against NIU, but playing against conference opponents will be much different.

This defense has many playmakers. Most of the huge players are happening at the line of scrimmage, but they also do a nice job tackling in space and breaking up passes. As the offense looks to find their rhythm, the defense needs to find ways to get them shorter field positions or even score some points.

The Husker D had its first turnover of the game with 6:30 left. Wright picked off QB Rocky Lombardi and returned it 12 yards. However, Princewell Umanmielen had a personal foul after the play to bring it back 15 yards to NIU’s 35. Grant punched in an 11-yard TD five plays later to go up 35-3 with 3:23 remaining.

Again, complementary football wins games.

Until the final drive, with mostly second-string players, the Husker D didn’t allow a drive over six plays and had five three-and-outs. The Huskies had six first downs, three rushing and three passing before the final drive. Their last drive was 11 plays for 75 yards that ended in NIU’s only touchdown of the game.

NIU finished with 26 rushing yards and 123 passing yards. They averaged 1.2 yards per rush and 7.2 yards per catch. Defensive lineman Nash Hutmacher led the Huskers with six tackles, 0.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Huskers find some rhythm on offense

Nebraska’s offense had a few promising drives/plays. However, they still haven’t cleared up many questions. Quarterback is still a major one with Sims out vs. NIU and his return unsure. Haarberg made some nice plays, especially with his legs. However, the Huskies are not and don’t resemble a Big Ten opponent.

Nebraska put together its second-longest drive of the season and its longest touchdown-scoring drive. Haarberg led NU to a 76-yard, seven-minute long drive to end in a Gabe Ervin Jr. touchdown. The longest drive of the season was 80 yards and 7:37 minutes, but it ended in a 27-yard field goal.

The third-quarter drive was highlighted by a 20-yard pass to Fidone and a 33-yard pass to Alex Bullock. However, the Bullock catch was brought back 15 yards after center Ben Scott nailed a Husky defender after the pass was over. Haarberg got it done with his legs as well, with 25 rushing yards, including a 14-yard run.

The Huskers scored on their final three drives of the game. Heck, NU went 5-for-5 in the red zone, scoring a touchdown each time.

Nebraska did find some rhythm on a few drives but had many drives fall flat after a dropped pass or an allowed sack.

NU’s receivers had a few great catches but had several costly drops. Kemp still hasn’t had a big game like Nebraska hoped. On Saturday, he had three catches for 13 yards and a touchdown.

Ervin had four 10+ yard runs in the game. He finished with 14 carries for 67 rushing yards and one touchdown. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry and Haarberg averaged 4.7. Nebraska’s team rushing yards per carry was 4.8 yards.

Nebraska had 206 total rushing yards and 158 receiving yards. Fidone led NU with 42 receiving yards on four catches. He averaged 10.5 yards per catch. Washington was close behind him with 37 yards on two catches.

This offense needed a game like this to work out some kinks and gain some confidence. What would this offense have looked like in week three if they started off with NIU and Louisiana Tech instead of on the road vs. Minnesota and Colorado?

However, these games are huge to have your starting quarterback play. He needs to create chemistry and flow in this new offense. But maybe the QB1 job could be up for grabs? It’s hard to know against this level of competition.

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