Huskers showcase offensive fireworks during Red and White game

LINCOLN, Neb. — With 60,452 fans in attendance, and favorable weather inside Memorial Stadium, Nebraska took advantage of the spotlight in Coach Matt Rhule’s second spring game.

Everyone tuned in to see former five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, who made his highly-anticipated debut with the Huskers, and he didn’t disappoint. As a matter of fact, Nebraska’s offense as a whole looked very much improved, especially the aerial attack. Once the smoke cleared Saturday afternoon, the White defeated the Red 25-21.

Rhule was proud that the offense stole the show, operated with tempo and executed several explosive plays. The wide receivers and tight ends were heavily involved, plus the running backs hit the holes hard and caught passes out of the backfield. Although the defense forced a couple of turnovers, there was no doubt in Rhule’s mind that the offense made huge strides since the winter.

“I thought there was a lot of positive energy in terms of the way the offense was able to conduct themselves back in the no-huddles, and just overall feel for the field,” Rhule said. “Those were the two things I was looking for, obviously those two turnovers back-to-back I didn’t like, but happy the defense made those plays, and I felt the rest of the game we were clean.”

Raiola wowed the crowd with his poise, arm strength and accuracy. Heinrich Haarberg, who started eight games at quarterback last season, got in on the action too. Both gunslingers had their moments against Tony White’s vaunted Blackshirts. Raiola completed 16 of his 22 passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns an an interception. His interception came from a tipped ball off a wideout’s fingers, so Rhule wasn’t too concerned about it.

Haarberg was no slouch either, and completed eight of his 13 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a frozen rope to Barney White in the corner of the endzone in the second quarter, and later connected with Thomas Fidone for a score in the third. Even true freshman Daniel Kaelin finished with 91 yards through the air, and an interception.

Rhule thought all three of the quarterbacks played well. Raiola arguably had the best play of the game when he hit Jaylen Lloyd in stride on a 64-yard touchdown pass. The Sea of Red went into a frenzy afterwards, and Rhule was glad Raiola delivered every time his number was called. Above all, he believes Raiola’s performance was a testament to the strong spring he put together.

“Dylan has had a very good spring, so it’s going to be the little things with him and not the big things,” he said. “He’s got a great feel for the game, a big time arm, he’s calm and it’s going to be the little things like protecting the football, taking three, and managing the game.”

Dante Dowdell led all the running backs with 76 yards on the ground, to go along with two rushing scores. The sophomore left defenders in the dust when he rushed for a 49-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. Emmett Johnson averaged five yards per carry. Even Maurice Mazzccua had a 19-yard run. Rhule thought his young running backs looked promising, and he’s excited about the depth at the position.

Janiran Bonner, Lloyd, Thomas Fidone and Jacory Barney each caught a touchdown. Bonner recorded a team-high, 58 receiving yards. There’s no denying that pass-catching was a liability for the Huskers in 2023, but now it appears to be part of the offensive identity. The chemistry between the quarterbacks and receivers is encouraging in Rhule’s eyes, and he loved how the balls were put in tight windows.

“You can’t play quarterback and receiver, you can only play quarterback, so you gotta throw the ball away from the defender and let the guys go make plays,” the 49-year old coach said. “So I think all of our quarterbacks have done that.”

The big boys up front had a solid outing with their protection, despite the quarterbacks wearing green no-contact jerseys. Rhule believes the offensive line can be a team strength this fall, and he wants to keep developing that unit throughout the summer.

The Blackshirts struggled a bit against the tempo of the offense, but they did tackle well, especially in the open field. D’Andre Barnes finished with a game-high, six solo tackles for the White. Dwight Bootle led the Red with four solo stops. Alex Bullock and Ethan Nation each hauled in an interception.

Special teams looked impressive as far a returns, but the kicking game needs work. Kicker Tresten Alvano nailed a 40-yard field goal. However, he missed his other two second quarter attempts, including one from 32 yards out.

Regardless, Rhule believes everything is trending in the right direction approaching his second season on the sidelines in Lincoln. There are certain areas the Huskers need to improve in, but the good outweighs the bad heading into the summer workouts.

“There were some explosive plays, and some extended drives, I’ll probably have to watch the film to see who did what.”