5 reasons the Huskers are 5-1 midway through season

The Nebraska football team has had a strong start to the season.

Despite a tough loss at home to Illinois, the Huskers are still 5-1 (2-1 in Big Ten play) and look much-improved compared to last year.

At the halfway point of the season, only four teams in the conference have a better record than the Big Red, who are just one win away from securing a bowl game for the first time since 2016.

Nebraska has a tough schedule the rest of the season but there’s still plenty of reasons to be optimistic over the final seven weeks. Here are five reasons the Huskers are 5-1 and should avoid another late-season slide:

Follow All Huskers on Facebook

Related: 3 concerns for the Huskers at midway point of the season

Turnover margin

After finishing with a -17 (second-worst rate in the country) turnover margin last season, the Huskers are +6 (tied for 12th-best in the nation) halfway through this season.

The biggest part of that has been taking care of the ball, as Nebraska has just four giveaways compared to 10 takeaways — tied for the 15th-most in the country. Even two of those giveaways, interceptions, were wrestled out of Huskers receivers’ hands and could’ve easily been receptions instead of turnovers.

Head coach Matt Rhule said the focus on protecting the ball and winning the turnover battle has taken “months and months of work,” dating all the way back to last year.

As long as the Huskers can continue to win the turnover margin, they’ll give themselves a chance to win every week.

Physicality

Another of Nebraska’s core focuses over the offseason, the Huskers have been more physical this season, setting the tone in the trenches on both sides of the ball while also moving more aggressively to the ball.

“I think we’ve been a very physical team,” Rhule said earlier this week before adding, “We have a long way to go to be the team that we want to be.”

Yes, it’s still a work in progress and physical teams like Illinois and Northern Iowa showed there’s still room for improvement. However, this group is definitely more physical than last season and it’s serving them well so far.

Defense

How about those Blackshirts?

Through six weeks, the Huskers defense has allowed an average of 11.3 points per game (7th-best in the country), 84.2 rushing yards per game (ninth in the country) and 272.5 total yards per game (14th in the country).

Additionally, the unit is the only one to not have allowed a rushing touchdown yet and one of 19 in the country to have scored multiple touchdowns.

The accolades go on, with the Huskers among the best in the country in generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks and getting sacks — Nebraska’s 20 sacks is tied for fifth-most in the nation — and at forcing turnovers, as noted above.

Nebraska’s defense will be tested by high-powered and physical offenses down the stretch but there’s no doubt the group is a key reason why the team already has five wins under its belt.

Related: Nebraska report card: How Huskers stack up defensively halfway into season

Improved passing attack

True freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has lived up to the hype thus far, playing more like an upperclassman than a first-year player.

While the Huskers do rank fifth in the Big Ten and 23rd in the nation in passing yards currently, it’s Raiola’s calm demeanor, command of the offense and smart decision-making that have really been huge for the offense.

He does have four interceptions but, as mentioned earlier, two were wrestled out of his receivers’s hands and aren’t really on him, and he’s already thrown for over 200 yards in a game four times after the team didn’t have a single 200-yard passer last season.

Beyond him, the improved receiving corps has been big for Nebraska.

Even though transfers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor aren’t among the conference leaders in receiving yards, they’ve each hauled in at least 17 passes for over 280 yards while combining for six of Nebraska’s nine receiving touchdowns. True freshman Jacory Barney Jr. has also been huge as perhaps Nebraska’s most explosive player. He’s got 19 catches for 149 yards, plus seven carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement in the passing game but this group is on a completely different level than what we saw in 2023.

Young talent/depth

Beyond all of the upperclassmen fueling the Huskers’ strong start are several key underclassmen.

Obviously Raiola and Barney have played big roles, but many other young guys have improved and gotten playing time.

On offense, Jaylen Lloyd only has six catches but is Nebraska’s third-leading receiver; Carter Nelson saw action early as a true freshman; eight running backs have gotten a carry this year; and depth along the offensive line has been big, too, with redshirt freshman Gunnar Gottula filling in well for the injured Turner Corcoran and both Henry Lutovsky and Micah Mazzccua playing at right guard.

On defense, Ceyair Wright has been a huge addition with Tommi Hill hurt; sophomore James Williams is tied for the team-lead in pressures and sacks; and a lot of other guys have rotated in and done well, including Vincent Shavers Jr., Willis McGahee IV, Kai Wallin, Elijah Jeudy, Jeremiah Charles, Mario Buford, Leona Davis, Riley Van Poppel and Rahmir Stewart, among many others.

It’s a luxury to have that many players good enough to rotate in, but also speaks to Nebraska’s recruiting and development efforts. That should continue to serve the Huskers well the rest of the season and in the years ahead.