By james art 1. I loved Matt Rhule’s big postgame announcement. The moment was right. Nebraska has some big games, none bigger than next week against UCLA. This is not the time to focus on bad refereeing; every week is there. Game-calling? It’s not good, but neither is the story. There has been real progress on the field, things the Huskers can use to win games going forward. Ruhl pointing them out is his way of filling out his team. This is not a moral victory speech. Nobody is happy. I think that’s a way of saying Nebraska is better than it plays and good enough to win games. We’ll see next week how they react. But I saw what he was doing. I think it will work out.
2. One of the positive developments on Saturday was kicker John Hall. The kicker made field goals of 39, 54 and 47 yards – he drilled them up the middle. You could feel the tension melt off everyone’s shoulders. If Hall can keep this up — and there’s no reason to think he can’t — it’s an incredible thing for Nebraska going into the final four games. This is a confidence game changer. That should help push NU over the finish line.
3. Another development: Raiola is on the run. The freshman broke the pocket and ran multiple times. This is not a quarterback game. This is a quarterback who runs when he sees an open field in front of him and his targets are covered. We haven’t seen much of him this season. But Raiola showed enough on Saturday to get Ohio State’s attention. It’s good for opponents to be honest up front. Afraid of getting hurt? Raiola’s shoulder hurt late on, he went into the injury tent and then returned to the game. Raiola’s running and resilience was another big development.