The Many Faces of Nebraska's New Ground Game

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True freshman Jamal Rule waited a long time for his first run onto the field at Memorial Stadium, and when the moment finally arrived Saturday, he couldn’t quite hold back the emotion.

As the field came into sight during the tunnel walk, Rule saw the crowd waiting on the other side, and he began to cry.

“I looked out and seen all the people,” Rule said. “I was like, this is crazy and my emotions got the better of me.”

A few hours later, Rule had given those same fans plenty to be excited about themselves.

His college debut included 122 rushing yards, three total touchdowns and the first 100-yard rushing performance by a Nebraska freshman in a season opener in 22 years. It was an impressive introduction for a player Nebraska had already been excited about throughout the offseason, but Rule’s performance also became part of something potentially more significant.

By the second half of Nebraska’s 49-21 victory over Ohio, the Huskers’ running game took over.

It was Rule breaking loose for explosive runs, Mekhi Nelson doing the same and Nebraska’s offensive line gradually imposing itself on an Ohio defense that had made the first half considerably more difficult. Nebraska led only 14-13 at the half before cruising to its four-touchdown victory, and it was the running backs providing much of the force behind that separation.

“It was great — awesome experience, it was unreal,” Rule said. “I expected to have a pretty good game. I didn’t expect to find the end zone three times. It’s just great. It surprised myself a little bit, I’m not going to lie.”

Nebraska’s coaches probably weren’t quite as surprised.

Rule had shown enough during camp that offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen was comfortable putting the freshman into an important situation almost immediately. Holgorsen said the plan was to use Rule in Nebraska’s first short-yardage situation, which happened on the opening drive.

Holgorsen wasn’t simply looking for a low-pressure opportunity to get a freshman onto the field after the outcome had been decided. Nebraska trusted Rule when it needed yards, and once he showed he could handle that responsibility, he became part of the grander plan against the Bobcats.

“I like the explosive nature,” Rhule said of his freshman running back after the game. “We did like the way he carried the football.”

Rhule also noted there was still plenty for Rule to learn, including a late-game situation when the freshman ran out of bounds while Nebraska was trying to drain the clock. Those are the details expected from a player appearing in his first college game, but they didn’t overshadow what he showed with the football in his hands.

What happened around him, however, is just as important.

The Huskers didn’t emerge from the opener looking like a team searching for a featured running back. Instead, Holgorsen appears to have three players he trusts in Rule, Nelson and Isaiah Mozee, each capable of providing something different without forcing Nebraska to dramatically change its offense.

Holgorsen said Tuesday that he didn’t really view any of the three as the stand-alone starter. His approach in the opener was largely situational, getting different backs onto the field and then allowing the rotation to develop as the game progressed.

All three made positive plays, leaving Nebraska with an enviable question about where the rotation goes from here, and so far, the answer seems to simply be to keep using all of them.

It sure seemed to work as Saturday’s game progressed. Nebraska’s first half was repeatedly interrupted by penalties and self-inflicted mistakes, but once the Huskers stopped getting in their own way, the running game produced the explosive plays Rhule had been looking for.

Rule broke one. Nelson another. Instead of relying on one back to carry the workload, Nebraska kept sending fresh players at Ohio’s weary defense. Rule described the approach as delivering “body blows” throughout the game, repeatedly taking what was available until smaller gains began turning into bigger ones.

Nelson described the second half in similar terms, although with a little more edge.

“We never wanted to take our foot off their neck,” Nelson said. “We started off slow, so we got the corrections during halftime, and we came out there and showed the world what we really could do.”

That may be the most intriguing part of Nebraska’s rushing performance.

The Huskers didn’t dominate on the ground from the opening snap. They gradually imposed themselves as the afternoon progressed, and by the second half, a young running back room that entered the season with questions had become one of the most encouraging developments of the opener.

Nelson said the room considers itself the best in the nation, not because one player is capable of carrying the offense, but because the group believes Nebraska can sub without suffering a drop-off. Rule, Nelson and Mozee have different styles, but Nelson said each trusts the others to handle the complete responsibilities of the position, including protections.

That matters in an offense that wants its best players available regardless of the situation.

Rule’s emergence adds another dimension because Nebraska doesn’t have to ask the freshman to become the entire running game. He can continue developing while sharing the workload with players who have already shown they can create explosive plays themselves.

There will obviously be tougher tests ahead, especially when Nebraska reaches Big Ten play. Rhule acknowledged that one productive afternoon isn’t enough to declare that Nebraska has found the rushing attack it wants.

It was, however, an awfully promising place to start.

Nebraska wanted explosiveness from its running backs and got it. It wanted to become more physical as the game progressed and did. Most importantly, the Huskers discovered that a true freshman playing his first college game didn’t look overwhelmed by the moment.

Rule may have cried when he first saw Memorial Stadium filled on Saturday, but once the ball was kicked off, he looked like he belonged there. If Saturday is merely the starting point for Rule and Nebraska’s running game, the bigger story may eventually be just how much further they can go.

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