Anthony Colandrea’s debut reveals sample of Nebraska’s offense

LINCOLN, Neb. — After helping Nebraska rack up 523 yards of total offense on Ohio, and score seven touchdowns, it’s clear the new quarterback is bringing stability back to the position.

Anthony Colandrea couldn’t have asked for a better debut with the program to start off Matt Rhule’s fourth season in Lincoln. With the way he executed Dana Holgorsen’s offense in the heat, and attacked the Bobcats from all angles, Colandrea made the 85,577 fans in attendance appreciate his knack for big plays.

Nebraska scored a touchdown in every quarter, and didn’t turn the ball over, so Colandrea viewed that as a great day at the office. However, it didn’t start off ideal for the gunslinger.

Although Colandrea led the offense on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the first possession, he nearly lost a fumble from a sloppy handoff. Penalties from the offensive line, and a sack stalled the Huskers’ second drive, and that was after they crossed the 50-yard line and were in the Bobcats’ territory. Not to mention Nebraska fell behind 13-7 midway through the second quarter.

Colandrea never panicked though, and responded with a seven-play, 92-yard touchdown drive that ended with a connection to running back Jamal Rule. It gave the Huskers the lead for good, which Colandrea felt was beneficial for the team.

“I think it was good for us to get punched in the face, and have adversity for a second,” Colandrea said. “Then coming out of the half I think Coach Rhule just said to play our ball, and at the end of the day we went through 21 days of fall camp, so we just had to go out there and play football.”

The Huskers took care of business in the second half, scored 35 additional points, and at times made it look easy. Nebraska’s ground game eventually took a toll on Ohio’s defense, and that opened up the aerial attack where Colandrea took advantage. The former three-star prospect had two additional touchdown passes, and rushed for another over the final 30 minutes.

Nebraska’s tempo was too much for Ohio, and Colandrea made the defense pay with his arm and legs. Everything started to click for the offense, and reminded Colandrea how easy it was to correct the mistakes from the first half.

“I think it was just not having penalties,” he said. “First half was sloppy, a lot of penalties, and it’s tough to get going when you have to back up.”

Once the smoke cleared, Nebraska led Ohio in plays, rush yards, pass yards, yards per play, first downs, third down conversions, time of possession and won the turnover battle. The Huskers scored a touchdown on all four trips to the red zone too. On top of that, Colandrea completed 18 of his 32 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, to go along with a rushing score.

The eye test shows that Nebraska’s offense can run the ball, as well as light it up downfield, plus the offensive linemen know how to open up holes and protect the quarterback.

Still, the nine penalties for 65 yards frustrated Colandrea, despite not all of it being caused by the offense. Dropped balls by the receivers can no longer happen either. In Colandrea’s eyes, there’s still a lot to improve, but the success on offense is encouraging. It’s no mystery that the Huskers are just starting to crack the surface of their potential as a unit.

At the end of the day, Colandrea was able to kill two birds with one stone, with the way he carved out a statement victory in front of Big Red Nation, and got revenge on the team that handed him his last loss.

“It’s nice, that’s a really good football team, I’ve seen them in December, played them, and man, they got players that can go.”