Report Card: Huskers 34, North Dakota Fighting Hawks 7

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Nebraska closed out what I call the exhibition schedule of the 2026 season successfully with a fairly dominant 34-7 victory over FCS #6 North Dakota. I say “fairly” because the score was a lot closer than the stats indicated. When Nebraska outgains an opponent 493 to 205 yards, you probably should expect the score to be a bit more lopsided. The Blackshirts held up their end of the bargain, for the most part; North Dakota was overpowered most of the night when they had the ball. You’d expect that when an FCS team battles a Power Four opponent; at least one hoping to make some noise at the end of the season.

But when Nebraska had the ball? Things were rather inconsistent. 112 yards on the ground in the first quarter was excellent. 22 yards rushing in the second quarter was not. 76 yards in the third quarter looks decent until you remember that 55 came on the first play; after Jamal Rule’s big play, the Huskers rushed eight times for 21 yards in the third.

Nebraska substituted heavily in the fourth quarter, so let’s not read much into that. Now, maybe North Dakota has a Power-Four defense…or maybe Nebraska’s offense line let off the gas midway through the first half. Or perhaps even worse, Nebraska’s offensive line inconsistency over the last decade continues, even when changing position coaches and investing heavily in the portal.

The bottom line is that now the real season begins, as there are no more “gimmees” on the schedule. Even Rutgers gave Southern Cal a bit of a tussle this weekend. The good news is that at this point, nobody in the Big Ten looks infallible either. Anything between 3-9 and the College Football Playoff are possible.

With that, it’s on with the report card. As always, your opinions are welcome in the comments.

QB: Anthony Colandrea showed us his ability to make plays with his feet early on; that probably will become more necessary in Big Ten play. He continues to be a precise passer, at least against this competition; Colandrea typically doesn’t misfire much. He did have one concerning throw-away in the second quarter into the field of play; do that against a Big Ten secondary, and that’s probably an interception. Grade: A-

I-Back: The depth chart may show an “OR”, and someone else might be starting, but when the game is on the line, you can see which back the coaches really trust, and it’s Jamal Rule. 152 total yards? Yes, sir! Mekhi Nelson did get the start, putting up 54 yards. Isaiah Mozee was the named starter…and had five of his ten carries in the fourth quarter during mop-up detail. Grade: A-

WR: If you haven’t rewatched Rule’s long touchdown run at the start of the third quarter, watch Kwazi Gilmer come across the field to run interference for Rule downfield. Thing of beauty. Jacory Barney made a huge second effort to get a first down early in the second quarter. That Quinn Clark catch in the end zone? Big time. Grade: A-

OL: The right side of the line really had some issues in the second quarter, especially Tree Babalade. Considering how much more physical Nebraska was everywhere else on the field, this was concerning. Maybe North Dakota’s defensive line and linebackers are that good. Or maybe there is an issue. Grade: C

DL: There was no running room for North Dakota, other than some broken plays, like the 19 yard gain on 4th and 1. They got us there. Meanwhile, NoDak quarterback Jerry Kaminski was literally running for his life out there, ending up with 14 carries with maybe a third being intentional. And when he wasn’t running for his life, Williams Nwaneri was making him throw the ball away. Grade: A

LB: Owen Chambliss had a huge game with six tackles and a half sack. Chambliss and Dexter Foster are making a pretty good team at linebacker. Let’s see how this group does in conference play. Grade: A

Secondary: Donovan Jones had the “Oooh” hit of the game along with a sack. Dwayne McDougle led with seven tackles, and true freshman Danny Odem got some valuable snaps. Grade: A

Overall: A- Nebraska did what they needed to do against North Dakota, but now the level of difficulty jumps up a few levels. Michigan State is NOT a MAC school.

Elsewhere in College Football

Colorado: F The Buffies are not ready for prime time.

Iowa: A That was uncompetitive.

Oregon: A Before anybody gets too worked up about Dylan Raiola going 11 for 11 passing on Friday night against Portland State, let’s not forget that last week, this same North Dakota team rolled up 627 yards in Portland against that same defense. I only watched a little, but saw the horizontal passing game complete with an unnecessary sack is still there. Let’s just admit that Dylan Raiola was not a great fit for what Matt Rhule and Dana Holgorsen want to do offensively. It’s hard to admit that a legacy Husker (who really wanted to be in Lincoln) with five stars wasn’t going to work out here, but that’s the reality. Let’s see where things go, but Anthony Colandrea seems to be a much better fit for what Nebraska wants to do.

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