McKewon: How many times did Matt Rhule outfox Greg Schiano? The answer’s blowin' in the wind

LINCOLN Perhaps, somewhere, J.J.

Flannigan was watching when one of the football gods reached into Nebraskas Memorial Stadium Saturday.

If so, Flannigan, the former All-Big Eight running back at Colorado, might have seen something familiar.

A sure touchdown for NUs opponent, turning into an unexpected gaffe.

Flannigan would know that feeling.

Hes the Buff who inexplicably dropped the ball while sprinting his way to a touchdown in the 1988 NU/CU game.

Nebraska eventually won 7-0.

Saturday, NU won by seven again.

And if Rutgers receiver Ben Black wide open accurately tracks a deep fourth quarter pass from Athan Kaliakmanis, RU likely takes the Huskers into overtime where anything (bad) could have happened.

But the ball bounced off Blacks shoulder pad and facemask.

Black brought gloved hands to his helmet in disbelief.

Hed tracked the ball for 10 yards after NU cornerback Marques Buford fell down.

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Scarlet Knights Which god left Kaliakmanis pass a few inches short of its target? The god who controlled the strong wind gusting across the stadium, northwest to southeast.

Black ran into the northwest corner of the playing field where the wind would have been like a wall.

I think the wind did it.

The wind did the opposite a few minutes later, helping a Brian Buschini punt northwest to southeast, away from the Scarlet Knights punt returner and into the punt of Buschinis life, a 69-yarder that stopped at Rutgers 11.

Nebraska had the wind to knock down a pass and carry a punt on its wings.

And the Huskers had the fourth quarter wind because coach Matt Rhule orchestrated it that way.

If Big Ten 101 is building a tough-as-nails defense which Rhule did in 2023 then Big Ten 202 is outfoxing a veteran head coach like Greg Schiano by understanding and using to your advantage the weather elements that occasionally plague these great American plains.

Ive been doing this 37 years, Ive not been in conditions like we were today, Schiano said.

Rhule mentioned something similar.

Usually when you have a wind like that, its a storm, Schiano continued, Its some kind of hurricane or tropical storm.

The wind will blow like that twice a week in Nebraska and, as your growing water bill suggests, the wind rarely comes with precipitation.

Last season, it blew that hard for two Husker home games vs.

Purdue, and vs.

Iowa.

In the second of those games, a 13-10 loss to the Hawkeyes, it was Rhule who got a little outmaneuvered by Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who won the coin toss and took the ball, forcing NU to choose, at the start of the second half, between taking the ball or selecting the wind for the fourth quarter.

The Huskers chose the ball.

Iowa got the fourth quarter wind and a game-winning field goal with the wind at their back.

On Saturday, NU won the coin toss.

Instead of deferring to the second half, Rhule elected to receive so, he, too, could force Schiano into the second half choice of ball or wind.

On top of that, Rutgers made a strategic error.

They gave us the wind for the first quarter, Rhule said.

That meant NU had the chance to get an early lead, which against Rutgers, a team that loves to bleed clock, is crucial.

The whole key against a team like this is youve got to get the lead, Rhule said.

...Had they been up 14-0, we would have seen 70 runs, right? We did get the lead.

Thats what we needed from the offense.

Did Schiano intend to give NU the wind? Rhule noted that the wind changed from a southern gust to a northern gust in the 20 minutes between warmups and kickoff.

Rhules chief of staff, Susan Elza, knew thatd it happen, having kept informed on the shifting nature of the wind.

The first quarter dictated a lot.

Rutgers opening drive stalled in Husker territory, but the wind made a field goal nearly impossible.

The Scarlet Knights lined up for one anyway that became a pathetic fake field goal run for no yards.

We didnt do it exactly right, Schiano said.

He declined to explain how out of concern for competitive advantage.

Uh-huh.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola in what would become a long day then hit a ball up the seam to Jacory Barney before a nifty 36-yard screen pass set up a touchdown run.

NU led 7-0 and never relinquished the lead.

The Huskers sure tried to let Rutgers back in it.

Raiola lost his rhythm a bit and, rare for him, much interest in throwing a ball to open guys in the flat.

But Nebraska still found use for the fourth quarter wind with punter Brian Buschinis fake punt pass.

The wind held up, ever so slightly, that long pass to Black, who couldnt bring in the ball.

When Kaliakmanis got sacked one play later by James Williams, it meant Rutgers would have eight clock minutes to drive the ball, twice, against the wind for touchdowns.

How many possessions are left? Schiano said.

And were down two scores, and theres not many possessions left.

The Scarlet Knights got one touchdown.

Not the other.

And so it was an ugly win with an excellent strategic move at its core.

Decisions like that make football the chess match it is.

Rhule had a good opening move.

Schiano didnt.

And it followed the game all the way through to a ball bouncing off a guys facemask and, eventually, checkmate.

It took a great defensive effort, but Rhule built the program to expect those.

Saturday marked the 13th time in Rhules tenure that Nebraska held an opponent to 14 or fewer points.

Thats Big Ten 101.

Thats culture.

Were getting past the point of wanting things to be easy, of hoping the other team doesnt play well, and just wanting to go out and play well ourselves, Rhule said in relation to NUs incredible goal line stand.

Thats the message in this building.

We dont want it to be easy.

Go out there and play.

Saturdays win was about coaching.

And Rhule delivered in a key moment of his tenure.

Losing two of the first five at home to teams named Illinois and Rutgers would not have been joyous progress to fans.

Maybe theyre fickle.

But theyre paying the bills, too.

Instead, Rhule steered his team, with a still-precocious starting quarterback, to a 5-1 record before a well-timed bye week.

NU gets to heal up cornerback Tommi Hill tops the list and Raiola, having struggled for a half, gets to assess where he can grow.

I love the games that come down to the wire, Raiola said.

Its a fun situation.

Especially when the football gods see your chess move, and grant you favor.

On with the Rewind.

Punter Brian Buschini: One of the gutsiest and wildest performances from a Nebraska punter ever.

Buschinis 69-yard punt and 30-yard fake punt pass outweighed the evident back pain he suffered on Rutgers first punt block.

Howd he feel Sunday? Or in two weeks? Cornerback Ceyair Wright: One of Nebraskas great portal success stories already, he could rival Trey Palmers impact if he keeps going.

Targeted nine times on Saturday, the USC transfer allowed just one reception, had an interception and four tackles.

This guys good.

Left guard Justin Evans: Physical yeomans work on a variety of power pulling plays.

The guard opposite Evans, Henry Lutovsky, had his moments, too, and when backup guard Micah Mazzccua came in as an extra offensive tackles in jumbo formations, Nebraska knocked Rutgers back.

Cornerback Marques Buford: A pick, a lucky break on Rutgers dropped touchdown, a bad break on the touchdown he allowed, and a perpetually short memory.

He has six pass breakups on the season.

Defensive tackle Ty Robinson: Hes produced two of his better career games since struggling against Illinois.

On Saturday, Robinson busted through for a key solo sack, knocked a ball down on Rutgers solid first drive and finished with three tackles.

Defensive tackle Riley Van Poppel: He has one game left in his four-game redshirt season, but Nebraska spent one of those games wisely with 15 good snaps and one tackle vs.

the Huskers.

Edge rusher James Williams: The Sack Man has an ever-revving motor.

Two sacks, two more hurries, five tackles total.

He made his 27 snaps count and might be making himself some future money via NIL deals or pro football with his performance.

Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai: After a terrific first quarter, its like Rutgers forgot about him, so he finished with 78 yards on 19 carries.

Did he plow into the end zone on that third quarter tote? Well never know FS1 didnt have a great, definitive angle.

Rutgers cornerback Eric Rogers: The best of Rutgers defensive back performances.

The Scarlet Knights have a nice system that frustrated Raiola, who turned down a couple of easy completions for harder throws, rarely successful in the second half.

Rutgers linebacker Flip Dixon: An interception and a blocked punt in one game? Thatll work.

20: Sacks for Nebraska this season, which ranks fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten just ahead of Indiana.

Coupled with 10 takeaways, NU is on pace for its internal goal of 40 sacks and 20 takeaways.

The last Husker defense to do it was the 2009 crew, and just 16 power conference defenses did it over the last three seasons.

Not only is Nebraskas defense limiting big plays just three of 30 yards or more but Tony Whites crew is making aggressive plays.

11.33: Points allowed per game by Nebraskas defense.

That ranks seventh nationally just behind Iowa State and second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State, which leads the nation in allowing just 6.8 points per game.

The back half of the schedule, which features three high-powered offenses, probably points to a points-per-game figure around 18 like last season but Nebraska delivered an encore.

47.5 and 46: Points per game for Indiana and Ohio State, the next two games on Nebraskas schedule.

Buckle up, Blackshirts! Both teams rank in the nations top ten for yards per game and yards per play, as well.

The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in passing yards per game (315.3) while OSU has more yardage balance (288/222 pass/run).

The top offense NU has faced this year is Colorado, which averages 31 points per game.

1: Fumbles lost this season, a sneaky crucial statistic that directly leads to Nebraskas +6 turnover margin through six games.

The Huskers lost that fumble in the opening week, when Dante Dowdell coughed up a ball against UTEP.

Since then, NU has had just three fumbles, total, and lost none.

Kind of a contrast to 2023, when Nebraska had 31 fumbles (!) and lost 15 of those.

5: Officially blocked Husker kicks by the opponent, which includes two more in the Rutgers game.

NUs defense, amazingly, rebuffed RU after both blocked punts.

The blocked field goals at Purdue, also amazingly, did not result in any opponent points.

Thats not a trend that likely keeps up if Nebraskas in the mood to give up five more blocked kicks in the second half.

After each game, I ask fans on my Facebook for their takes on the previous game.

Selected and edited responses follow: Scott Still: Complementary.

Football.

The offense collapsed, the special teams were a roller coaster, but the defense would not let us lose.

Bob Winder: I believe we are seeing the learning curve of a freshman QB.

Unfortunately it is being hindered by an offensive coordinator that is subpar.

Our offense does not scare anyone.

Our defense is a high-quality defense.

Peter Alloway: Seeing the D put it together today is very encouraging given the offense has a ton a potential and I believe they will fix things.

Play calling is baffling on offense sometimes but also the offense just didnt execute well in the second half against a very good D.

Bob Engles: It seems to me we play so timid on offense when we have a lead.

A freshman QBs best friend should be the tight ends, but we don't seem to go to those guys often.

>>Ohio State smothered Iowas run game and eventually overwhelmed the Hawkeyes defense in a 35-7 win.

The Buckeyes played conservatively, rushing 40 times for 203 yards and letting Will Howard complete 21 modest passes for 209 yards.

Receiver Emeka Egbuka (nine catches, 71 yards, three touchdowns) had one of the best games of his career and OSU had four sacks of Iowa QB Cade McNamara.

The Hawkeyes didnt look close to challenging the Buckeyes, who host NU in two weeks.

>>USCs had one hell of a schedule run, losing at Michigan in mid-September, beating Wisconsin by 17 last week and, in early October, losing 24-17 to Minnesota.

The Trojans wore down late in the second half.

The next four weeks: hosting Penn State, traveling to Maryland, hosting Rutgers, traveling to Washington.

Welcome to the Big Ten, Lincoln Riley! The best week of the year, when fans of a 5-1 team get to watch a terrific slate of college football that doesnt involve their squad.

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