The Fallout from Nebraska win over Rutgers plus good news on the recruiting trail

Good morning Husker fans. Welcome back to the Husker Big Red podcast. I'm Chris Peterson, and joining me as always is Janie Gillette. We're back here on a Monday morning here for another episode after a big win on Saturday for the Big Red, a 14-7 victory over Rutgers. We also got some good news on Sunday with a new commitment in the 2026 class. We have some other recruiting stuff that we're going to touch on here just briefly. Mostly going to cover what happened on Saturday, kind of the fallout from Rutgers. Before we do that, please make sure you hit the like button, hit the

subscribe button so don't miss any of our future content. Make sure you guys get into the comment

section as well. Tell us what you think about Rutgers or the 2026 recruiting class

2025, or whatever Nebraska topic is on your mind. But Danny, how are you doing on this Monday morning

man? One went away from a bowl game. I can't complain. I'm doing pretty well. It's a little cold here

It's getting to be really fall here. But that means more football. And, you know

if it's anything like Saturday, I'll take it. Yeah, it wasn't, you know, it wasn't the prettiest win ever, but in a way, you know, Nebraska's just been on the other side of games like so many times

I mean, I feel like Rutgers is walking out of Lincoln Memorial Stadium

Like, how the hell did we not win that game? I mean, the first eight times that Rutgers was, you know, across the 50-yard line, they came away with zero points

They blocked a punt, started the ball, started with the ball at the one yard line, got nothing

They had two interceptions. I don't think to field goal, just, you know, and it just seems like there's

There's so many of those where I feel like, you know, going back even to the Illinois game for Nebraska, there's all those what ifs

You know, what if this play had happened? And it just is interesting to me that, you know, this time it's Rutgers that has to deal with that

So I like being on the other side of it. And even towards the end of the game, I was getting a little bit worried

Rutgers had the ball back and Nebraska was able to make a defensive stop. But I was thinking, oh, here we go again

But luckily Nebraska came out on top and they got great play from some

not unexpected players, but some, you know, less heralded players, if you will

I think there definitely was a moment there where I was like, oh, man, here we go again

you know, when Rutgers got the ball back. But the Brian Buccini punt, you know, was a big thing that really helped

I mean, he, I thought, did a great job throughout the day. That was kind of, you know, one of my storylines was just the way he was able to gut it out

That fake punt pass was a big play, but still an issue

I mean, still, you know, kind of glosses over. but man, I was thinking on Saturday and even on Sunday, you know, this morning

it's like, when's the last time you've had a team who's had, you know, in one week

in back-to-back weeks, you know, they've had two kicked blocks or field goal blocks

and then two punt blocks essentially in one game and still found a way to win both games

Like I've never heard of a team even having that big kicks in back-to-back games

Danny's dog is also not happy with the puns being blocked. But I don't know, it's like I've never heard of that happening that often

but they still found a way to win. So I'm not really sure what to take away or what to think about that

I guess it's a positive. Keep talking. I'm going to put her outside for a second

Okay, sounds good. But yeah, just, you know, on that point, I mean, I know right now a lot of people are, you know

angry at Ed Foley and wanted fully to be fired. I know a lot of people are upset about Marcus Satterfield as well, which I thought

this is just my take. I thought that Marcus Satterfield called a fine game on Saturday

I know there was the first third and 11 call, I think, on the opening drive of the game where he decided to run the ball

It was like a hand off a draw play, and that got a lot of people really upset

But at the end of the day, I thought that was a good call because they felt like, you know, we're not going to be kicking a long field goal in the situation

So it's either going to be punt. They're going to try to go for it. I thought they were going to, they felt like they could get five, six, seven yards on a draw play

And then you'd be looking at third and four. And, you know, then they would have an opportunity to go for it

Fourth and four. excuse me. I'm talking about, you know, Marcus Satterfield

because I was talking about it fully, and I know a lot of people are going to want

you know, Ed Foley to be gone, and I do think Ed Foley has some things to fix, for sure

because you know, I mean, knowing, obviously with Rutgers getting two punt blocks

I mean, that's just not sustainable. You cannot have any more kicks block this year

but there's been a large sentiment. I've seen it with the Marcus Satterfield

and I just don't get it. I thought that he did a good job on Saturday. I don't understand the complaints about this play calling

I really don't. Because you've got to understand in the second half, too, Nebraska was backed up into their own red zone multiple times

So it kind of limited his play calling a little bit. And, you know, for me, and I know this isn't sexy football, but I was fine with just running the ball and draining the clock and, you know, keeping this a tight game

And I really don't understand the upsetment as far as Sadafel goes either

I think it was the fact that we didn't have, you know, an explosive second half in terms of points

and maybe fans are sick of that, but I had no problems playing conservative in the second half

You know, I really didn't. I really don't understand the F7 either

It just seems like fans like to complain about Marcus Satterfield. But, I mean, truth be told, he did, you know, incorporate the run a lot, I thought, on Saturday

Granted, some of it was because of situations that the offense was in

But I thought he called a fine game on Saturday. Yeah, I know

And I was talking about the first play on the opening drive. I think it was third and 11

It was like third and 11 at like the 45 or like the 40 or something

And they called a run play and people got super upset about that. And it's like, well, use your brain for just a second here because Rutgers is expecting a pass

Third and 11 is not a great situation. Super windy. And, you know, if you run the football there and you get seven, eight yards, then you can go for it on fourth and three

Like it's not that hard to. And that the play was there. It was literally one block away

and it was almost would have been a first down. Like the guys have to, and then they would have been like, man, what a great call by Marcus Satterfield

Like, that's why I really tried not to criticize play calling because you just end up making yourself look like a jackass most of the time

because you don't know what the call was. You don't know what the look was. It hasn't been scouted. Like I can understand being like, okay, why didn't, you know

so-and-so get the ball at all in this. Like, I understand like distribution and touching the ball

But, I mean, just lay off with the play call. I thought, you know, I mean, when it was fourth and goal up the one

they called a great play. That was a great play to bring in, You know, Micah Mazuka with the heavy package

And they at one point and I kind of lost track but at one point on third and fourth and one they were five of five like six of six That championship football man If you can go in there and fourth and one and third and one and get it against a team like Rutgers

you're going to win a lot of damn games. So that was the best thing that I saw on Saturday

outside of the defense just totally kicking ass was our ability to actually get those

Because, like, man, I've seen so many games where Nebraska football in the Scott Frost area

like you want to talk about how something's different from the Frost there, that was different, being able to actually physically against

It's a pretty good team, you know, in third, fourth, and one, be like, all right, man, you know what's coming

We're going to run the football, and we still beat you, you know, time and time again

Like, that reminded me of the good Michigan teams. Like, that's what they did. That's what good teams do

Good teams can get a yard when they need to. And for, like, the last seven years, I feel like Nebraska has not been able to do that

And for them to do it repeatedly on Saturday, I feel like that, plus the defense, plus Brian Bouchini, is why they won the game

I thought Satterfield's commitment to the run and the short yard situations are not necessarily at the end around and the sweeps, but just the

the we're going to run the football straight ahead, try to stop us. I love that on Saturday

I know he likes to run some of the more sexier finesse plays, but I liked his commitment to

just making sure to pick up the yard, you know, with a more simplified package

And I think, you know, maybe got probably got a little spooked after, you know

Dylan through that interception. And even that was, you know, I saw somebody be, you know, commenting like, oh, the run's

working and then you go away from the run. Dude, it was a run pass option. Like the play, and if Dylan reads it right, it would have been a run

And there was a high snap. I don't think he had the time to read the linebacker correctly

And so, you know, but he, it's like, so even then people were, you know

criticizing the other way for not being, it's like, just, just let the man call some games

and see how it plays out. But I feel like, you know, and plus it was windy beyond that

Yeah. I do wish that they would have got some more points. And they got to figure that out. And they will

I mean, it's still a freshman quarterback. And then he's still seeing things that he has never seen in high school

And you don't want to lose a game. because you're trying to get cute and you didn't need to

Like the way the defense was playing, like you didn't need to do anything but hand the ball off

So they did what they needed to do to win, and I was all for it. So Marcus Satterfield's got my endorsement

I totally agree. And, you know, he didn't try to do anything cute

He didn't try to do anything crazy. He understood the limitations, both in terms of field conditions and, you know, what was working and what didn't work

and, you know, I thought that he did a good job. I really did

I'm not sure, you know, I'll take, you know, Marcus Satterfield with a five and one Nebraska team any day of the week

That's the other thing, people. We're five and one. We're not going to blow everybody out. I mean, five and one, I'll take it

Should we score more points? Yeah, we'd like to score more points? Yes, but we're five and one

I mean, come on. Yeah, just, you know, take, like you said

take the good with the good and just be happy with it. And, you know, I know that people

was a good Rutgers defense too. I mean, yeah. And I saw people being like, what's wrong with Dylan

Rayo? With Dylan Ryola, nothing. Nothing's wrong. He threw for 134 yards. Yeah, it's not the

not the sexiest game. Like, you know what? Sometimes you're going to have a game and your quarterback

only throws for 120 yards and you still win. You know why that is? Because you got a good football

team. So don't worry about that. And I mean, you know what, Chris, he looked like a true freshman

Imagine that. And well, at times, but he also had times like that throw to Jacori Barney

which got us into scoring range was elite. There's another throw I'm thinking about

But, I mean, yeah, at times he did look like a true freshman, but there's those two or three plays a game that he made

even in this game, even when they only threw for 134 yards, that he made a player two that Aethon Callick Manus did not make

And that was a big difference in the game, I thought, and just not turning the ball over twice

I mean, we won the turnover battle still. And we haven't had more than one turnover in a game this season

And we're through six games. So, I mean, mark that off on the, you know

crossed that off on the list of things that was fixed from last season, the turnover issue

And, you know, Ramir Johnson had a huge game. And so let's, before, let's put a game before I get too much into, you know, talking to each player

So let's eat out each hand out one game ball. I'll go first. And I'm giving my game ball out to Brian Buccini because after that first block punt, for one thing

I didn't know if he was going to walk the field. I thought I'd have to find another guy to kick

And so for him to go out there and still blast the five puns after. 50 yards, even though he had two blocks, the 30-yard completion, even though he didn't score

Bill Botta time field position. And that was a gutsy call. That was a gutsy call

And if that's not completed, maybe that game does go into overtime. You know, if you really think about the field position, we'd be giving up

But, you know, so my game ball goes to Brian Buccini just for everything that he did on Saturday

That was a gutsy call because, you know, you look at the field position that they had

And, man. So credit to Marcus had a fell there for having some cahones

But, okay, my game ball goes to James Williams. I thought he had an outstanding day on Saturday

He really did. He had two sacks. He was all over the quarterback

He brought pressure at every angle. And, you know, we've talked before

Okay, who's going to replace Nash and Thai in terms of past rushing when they graduate

Well, James Williams is only a sophomore. So I'm excited to see him grow from here on out

And Saturday was just a reminder of what he could do. Yeah, I can't argue with that, James

four, I think four is X, but he's like fourth in the Big Ten. He's pretty high up nationally, too

And, yeah, don't ever, you know, have a third down, a pass rushing situation on third down without him in the game

So, you know, that's my memo, too, at Terrence Knighton. I also thought his story and his interview about his relationship with Terence Knighton was awesome, too

If none of you have seen it, you should definitely go find the clip and watch it because it's truly a great story

Basically, Knight's been like a father figure to him, and it just goes to show what good

coaching and not only good coaching, but good humans can do. Yeah, it was really cool to see their

celebration, kind of that moment they had after he got that game clinching sack and they did kind

of the same, they married each other in the celebration. That was pretty cool. If you haven't seen that movie or that video, I think I reposted on my Twitter, but it's one from one of the local TV

reporters. I think I'm trying to think of the guy's name Darren something. He actually used to work

in Montana, but I can't remember his name. But anyways, if you look on the internet, you'll find that. So let's do a real

quick before we'll get to some recruiting news. Let's do liked in low. I think we forgot

to do this last week, but I do like this section of things. So I'll

start and what I liked was the heavy run package with Micah Mazuka They got him back involved in the game and you know he really excelled in that role and that was a defining that package was a defining part of that ball game

I agree. I really did like the heavy run package. I thought it was, I thought it was a great move to kind of, you know, scale down the

offense a bit. I like to say you're right. I mean, the dude can ball. He is an absolute stud

I knew he might be pretty good when he came in and transferred to Nebraska and he was kind

of a late addition for corner depth. He's been much more than that. He's been by far one of the best corners on the roster

and he had another great day on Saturday. What I loat was having two punts blocked, not ideal

We survived it, and I guess that's going to be a good thing. We survived that

Hopefully we can figure that out. Rutgers is very good at that type of thing. That's one of the things that I loat, especially the second time

Like once I understood it, but the second time, I was kind of like

all right, man, like, what exactly, you know, what did you say you do here

head fully, you know, the whole office space thing. But anyway. I load the second half offense, but I understand it because there was a lot of winds

a lot of wind. It affected the field goal kicking for both sides in some aspects as well

So I'm not blaming Saddafield on it, but just the wind kind of slowed everything down

And it kind of made the game a little bit choppy at times. I liked the adjustment from Tony White to, you know, bring in an extra jack linebacker

get some extra size up front. They didn't really adjust against Illinois. Illinois, Kyle Menungai had three, I think, runs of over 10 yards in the first quarter

Didn't have another one for the rest of the game. I think he had like less than 10 yards for the rest of the game

He had under 70 or under 80 yards total, I think like 77, 79 yards, something like that

But great adjustment by Tony White and it really paid off. Yeah, and just the way Manungai cuts and how quick he is impressive

And another thing I liked is Dante Dowdell. I thought that even if we can agree

that Ramirez the better back. I thought Dowdell did a good job of, you know

staying low, going between the tackles and even picked up a touchdown. So it was great to

see him really kind of make his mark in the running game early. I think, yeah, they're just different. You know, they're just different

There's some situations where you need, you know, M.N., I think some situations for

yeah, that fourth and one, fourth and goal, that was Adonte Dowdell special

you know, because he's a good problem. I have, yeah. 225 pounds, yeah. So I really like that

What I love just, yeah, I wish that this team could, you know, just put a little more points on the board and just have a little more killer instinct on offense

You know, we had the turnover. We weren't able to convert that fake punt into points

So just a lack of a killer instinct on offense, I'll say, nothing really terrible

I just, they need to figure that out because some team, you know, you do that against like Indiana

that might come back and bite us, you know, against a team that can actually throw the football a little bit better

Yeah, they struggled with Northwestern on Saturday though, too, so that's something. I'll just do one more thing I liked because I think this is important, their ability to

close out Saturday's game. They've had trouble closing out games in the past, obviously, as we

know. This was a tough, physical, gritty game against a good Rutgers team

and defense, and they were able to close it out. Granted, it was a little bit closer than

we all would have liked, but they're finding ways to win and finding ways to close games. So I think that's

important in terms of building culture. And I'm pretty sure they still covered the spread

I think it was six, I think it finished at six and a half, so they were right there. And yeah, I mean

it would have been nice to get an extra score or something, but it was really

great to see the defense close that out. So, you know, give them their flowers

And I guess the last thing that I liked is just the complimentary football, you know, all around the offense, you know, got a lot of first downs

They converted. I think they had like nine third down conversions, nine, third and fourth down conversions, excuse me

Rutgers had four. And two of them were on the last, the second to last drive

So like before they got that last touchdown, they had like two third and fourth down conversions

And then the punting, I thought they did a great job of flipping in the field position. And then when the other guys made mistakes

the special teams, when the offense, the defense had their back. So I thought that just in that sense, they really played some nice complimentary football

So, yeah, it was a great win. And now you're looking at a team, I guess, you know, just some final thoughts

You're looking at a team, one win from a bowl game. The schedule is going to be very difficult. You know, with the by week after this week, you've got what, Indiana is 6 and O

Ohio State 6 and O. So it's going to be a challenge. But, man, if this team can even get one of those wins on the road, you have to be feeling pretty good about where they would stand

going into the last four i just want one period i don't care how it happens who it is against i just

want one because we were five we were what five and three at this point last year well not quite at

this point but yeah we five we got to five and three yeah we got to this point with four games

and then the downward spiral began so um we're like we're like there's no way we're going to lose four

straight games right i was going to say we were i was in this room we were on this podcast last year

saying this thing and uh now we're flying And I'm pretty sure

I was like, there's no way we're going to lose four in a row. I'm like, I don't know, Chris. I'm not going to say that this year

I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to make any statements like that. I've learned my lesson

Okay, okay. But yeah, I do want to see. But at the same time, if they do win one of those two games against Indiana or Ohio

State, all of a sudden, you know, you're going into November, especially if they beat

Ohio State, which, I mean, granted, that's a long show. I don't know. I don't know about that one

No, I mean, I'm just saying like if they win one of these two games, like I think it's not insane to say like Nebraska's in the playoff mix

because if you could then win out the next four, like you would be in the playoff

I'm not saying like they're one win away out of their next two from just being in the conversation

going into November and when is the last time that has happened? Never

Well, I mean, we never had a 12 team playoff. So I mean, can't really compare it. But still, I mean, it's been like, I mean, Mike Riley's team in 2016 was in the mix for a while

until Wisconsin just embarrassed us and then that all went away. But so it's been a long time

And so like what Matt Rule was talking about, like those meaningful, those games that have playoff implications happening

like in November, that could happen this November. It could. I'm not saying they're going to make it

but there could be games with the implications. And I think that'd be pretty cool thing for the Rask of football

Yeah, we haven't had games with implications in a while. It's always been, okay, if we win four in a row in November

and like five in a row in general, we'd like a bowl game. It's never been, you know

one win away from a bowl game. and playoff implications. So this is a very interesting time that Nebraska is approaching And I think some of the recruits are starting to pick up so that something special is brewing I hope we never at the situation again

We're doing for a road a bowl game, but that's where we were, but we're in a different place now

So at any rate, yeah, let's switch just some recruiting here for the last little bit of it

So on the second Sunday, the last day, we get Dayton, Ryola committed. And this Sunday, Nebraska

Picks up another commitment. Hopefully I get this name right. Davion Bonwell Whitty

I hope that is, if not, please in the comment, correct me. But 2026 ride receiver 6 to 190 pounds out of South Dakota

as a three star in the 24-7 sports composite ranking. So, Danny, what are your thoughts on this new 2026 commitment for the Huskers

I like it. I mean, he's a top-wide receiver in South Dakota. He's a big receiver, you know, kind of taller

and I like that Nebraska is getting him early in his recruitment

Obviously, the challenge is to keep him, especially with NIL and stuff like that

But I really like that they're adding another wide receiver to the room just to keep the room flowing

You know what I mean? Like just to keep the depth in, you know, stable and keep the room kind of producing wide receivers

Because right now there's a ton of talent. And, you know, we talked about, you know, Isaiah Named

and Jamal Banks not being here next year. And then that means other guys are going to have step up

and then there needs to be depth. And granted, this commitment is farther out into the future

but it's just keeping that cycle going of talented receivers. And so I think for that reason, you know, it's a really good commitment

And Bonwell-Witty clocked at 457 in the 40 this past summer, I believe

So, I mean, for a rising junior, you know, the guy who's 6-2, you know

that's pretty solid speed. That'll probably improve before he can. gets to Nebraska and once it's in Nebraska. So a lot to like there. And then if you saw on Friday

night, Dayton Rayola threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Gordon, Allen, a little commitment

And lo and behold, on Sunday, Nebraska offered Jordan Allen, who is a three-star, 5-8, 170 pounds

So kind of more of a shiftier slot guy, teammates with Dylan Rayola, former teammates with Dayton

Rayolan now. And so we'll see maybe Nebraska can get a flip. It seems like, you know

Corey Sims was going to visit, canceled his visit. So it does seem like they want another wide receiver in the 2025 class if they can get it

Wide receiver is not really a position I'm worried about. Thankfully, we have a ton of talent, but it would be nice to get them

And then Nebraska also is going to get another visit from a guy who visited this weekend quarterback, Trey Taylor

27 quarterback. He's not ranked in the composite rankings, but his offer sheet is beginning to really kind of increase Colorado

Indiana, and then some smaller schools like Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan. So I think it's good that he's coming back because there have been times even last year

where, you know, we were kind of worried about Nebraska's future prospects in the class

and how they seem to be laid on quarterback. So I'm glad they're kind of getting out ahead in future cycles

Yeah, it's good to see that. And yeah, I think that they're doing a great job with Trey Taylor

And this weekend, obviously, with the winner of a Rutgers, you know, was a positive for a lot of guys

And you look at Dayton, Rayola, excuse me, you know, he wasn't ranked in the rankings

when a Nebraska got him. Now I think he's 583. He's in the 500s now, same, you know, with the receiver who committed

And I just think it's interesting, you know, and a lot of fans were wondering about

you know, Ryola and the ranking and yada yada, now after he commits to Nebraska, you know

shoots up in that range. And so what I think it says to me is that this coaching staff evaluates players and it's a

ahead of the experts. Also, you know, I'm going to say quote unquote experts because they're recruiting experts

But so, you know, when Nebraska's taking these guys that are unranked, like, don't worry about it because they do end up getting ranked once the people that do the rankings actually watch the tape

Or even a guy like James Williams. I mean, he was kind of not even on the radar last year

And now he's becoming one of their best pass rushers. So not only can they recruit, but they can identify talent from other areas as well

They're just overall good talent evaluators, in my opinion. Yeah. And I mean, you look at, you know, Sire, right

Like you're saying, another late edition. I mean, and James Williams was one of those guys, too

I think he was at one of those camps. And they found him and a Juko guy and got him in there

So, yeah, there's a lot of things to like. I think it's a good time for a biweek

It'll be nice to, you know, just be able to relax for a Saturday. And then it's going to be a stretch run, man

There's like, you know, UCLA is the only game on there that might not be a battle

And even then we can't take that that game for granted. but Indiana, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Iowa, Wisconsin's Murderers Row, the final six games

Wisconsin without Tyler Van , I'm going to add, but still. Yeah, but still, yeah, and they, they're, yeah, they're having some issues with Luke Fickle and all that, but, you know, we can foresee that

We, we talked to, I remember we talked about that when, when they fired, not Barry Alvarez, but whoever was there was just like the long extension of Barry Alvarez, Chris, or whoever it was

Yeah, and then Jim Leonard and. I don't know, man. Maybe they should just have kept Beelma

Maybe if they would have never fired Beelma. Maybe Brett Belema's Wisconsin's Frank Solich

I'll always be a Brett Belema fan. I always like the way these teams are coached. And honestly, same thing with Greg Shiano

I've always liked Greg Shiano teams too. Yeah, I even, I remember when Illinois beat Nebraska

that first game like 2021. I want to say, I was like, man, I wish we had him as our head coach instead of Scott Frost

Yeah, the week zero game, yeah. Yeah, the week zero game. But at any rate, we think

are finally trending in the right direction. Recruiting is trending up. Volleyball swept Iowa for like the 900th straight times

So I don't even know why Iowa plays volleyball. They should just quit. At least quit playing against Nebraska because you guys suck so bad

Basketball started Friday. So that's exciting. Yeah, we've got Big Ten Media Days

We're last week. You know, we're going to, yeah, before, literally in about a month

we're going to have hoop here too. So it's a great time. Yeah, I am too for both teams

I think the women's team has a lot of exciting things. And lots of exciting things happen

with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. So a good time for you to hit the like button

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