The Huskers Strengths: Nebraska Versus Houston Christian

Running Back Depth

Emmett Johnson was red hot in Memorial Stadium. The junior running back ran for a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter. He was also dangerous as a receiver. In the second quarter, Johnson ran past a defender to nab an easy score. We should expect him to have another complete outing against Houston Christian. However, Johnson won’t be a one-man show this time. Instead, Kwinten Ives will help lighten his load. The sophomore had four carries against Akron, which included a 28-yard touchdown run. Isaiah Mozee will also get a chance to shine. After a quiet day against Cincinnati, the redshirt freshman had 65 yards against the Zips. All three of Nebraska’s running backs had success in week two. But can the unit get it done against the Huskies? Zack Wilkerson’s defense has only allowed 70 rushing yards per game.

Special Teams Success

For the past few seasons, Nebraska’s special teams play has held the Cornhuskers back. However, Mike Ekeler’s fiery approach has changed the Big Red’s attitude. This change began during fall camp. After one practice, sophomore wideout  Jacory Barney Jr claimed that he was going to lead the nation in punt return yards. This prediction hasn’t come true quite yet. But he did make progress towards that goal against Akron. On just four punt returns, the sophomore managed to break almost 100 return yards. It isn’t a stretch for Barney to rack up at least 100 punt return yards against the Huskies. This is mainly because we have already seen the sophomore run. During the offseason,  Barney was able to win the fastest man challenge at the first Husker games. On the other hand, the Huskers also have speed on their field goal block team.  Junior defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel kept the Zips scoreless by batting down one of Owen Wylie’s field goals.

  Defensive Game Changers

 The Huskers’ defensive line struggled to put pressure on Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby. Akron’s offensive line didn’t let the Blackshirts get to Ben Finley either. However, Nebraska still managed to record game-changing plays on the defensive line. This started in the second quarter when redshirt freshman Kade Pietrzak tackled Zips running back Jordan Gant in the endzone for a safety. And in the fourth quarter, sophomore linebacker Maverick Noonan took advantage of a bad snap by Zips center Colin Lyons. We should expect Nebraska’s defensive line to come up with the same plays  versus Houston Christian. Junior quarterback Jake Weir had four turnovers against  Eastern Kentucky.