Know the Opponent | Nebraska - BleedTechBlue: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Football & Basketball Recruiting

Matt Rhule was hired as the Huskers new HC entering 2023. Nebraska last found itself bowl eligible back in 2016. Overall, does it feel like the Cornhuskers got this hire right? What were the preseason expectations for the 2023 team?

In the offseason, when the team wasn't losing to Minnesota and Colorado and turning the ball over a total of eight times, the fan base was loving it some Matt Rhule. He's the exact opposite of Scott Frost when it comes to press conferences. Because he's a great talker, I think a lot of fans were won over. Rhule said all the right things. The excitement kind of dipped after the first two games in my opinion, because the team lost to Minnesota in the same fashion as before — a back-breaking mistake. Against the Gophers, it was a fumble late in the fourth. And against Colorado, the unthinkable happened when starting quarterback Jeff Sims threw his fourth interception in six quarters and was dropping snaps and botched a simple handoff to one of the running backs. I think many in the fanbase think he was wrong by favoring Sims over last year's starter, Casey Thompson, who's now at Florida Atlantic.

Preseason expectations? At least to me, I saw six wins on the schedule, which would get them bowl eligible. Now there's a quarterback controversy because the backup who played against Northern Illinois for an injured Jeff Sims, Heinrich Haarberg, looked like he could move the offense. Northern Illinois isn't Minnesota or Colorado, though, so the jury is still out on who the quarterback should be once Big Ten play starts. Nebraska has a defense that's good enough to win more than six games, but the offense needs work.

Heinrich Haarberg made his first career start against Northern Illinois this past Saturday. How would you assess his play?

Everyone around here already knew Haarberg was an impressive athlete — that was never in debate. At 6-foot-5 and around 215-225 pounds, he's one of the best and fastest athletes on the team. Against Minnesota, he even lined up as an off-line tight end and caught a 10-yard pass for a first down, so that gives you an idea of what kind of athlete the kid is that the coaching staff drew up ways to get him the ball as a non-QB. Against Northern Illinois, Haarberg looked great running the ball on reads and QB-designed runs. He took 21 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown. He had rushes of 16, 14, 13 and 20 yards against the Huskies, and he ran hard. Not one time did he slide, he landed more blows to defenders than they did to him. That will likely need to change going forward because he won't be able to last an entire season running like that. The part of Haarberg's game that was always in question, though, even in high school, was his throwing accuracy. Against Northern Illinois, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. He completed 58 percent of his passes (14-of-24) for 158 yards and two touchdowns. I'd like to see that completion percentage be at least 60 percent, but the reality is Saturday was his first start of his Husker career and the first since his senior year of high school in 2020, so he deserves a little slack. He flashed some really strong and accurate throws and I enjoyed watching the side-arm tosses he used for quick-hit screens and routes to the flat. Overall, Haarberg looked better at the controls of the offense than Sims, but again, Haarberg didn't play against Minnesota or Colorado, like Sims had to. We still don't truly know if Haarberg is the answer.

Top skill guys to watch on offense on Saturday?

Top skill guys on offense? Nebraska doesn't have many of those, but here would be my picks: Haarberg, Sims (if healthy), tight end Thomas Fidone II, running back Anthony Grant and receiver Marcus Washington. Nebraska's receiver group shouldn't really scare La Tech's defense, in my opinion. But Fidone, a 6-6, 250-pounder who was the No. 1 tight end recruit in the Class of 2021, appears to be finding a groove. After back-to-back ACL injuries his first two spring balls of his college career kept him off the field, he's finally healthy and playing. He's caught a touchdown the past two games. So Fidone is one to keep an eye on, as well as Haarberg and Sims, because whoever is taking the snap will be used heavily in the run game, and those two are excellent runners.

Defensively, the Cornhuskers have looked really good early on in 2023. How would you assess their play thus far?

Nebraska's defense is the strength of the team, by far. Right now it's looking like DC Tony White's unit will keep the team in a lot of games this season. It's been really impressive to watch because this is White's first season in Lincoln, and he installed his own version of the 3-3-5. The Huskers are tied for third in the nation with 14 sacks. With La Tech's air raid offense coming to town, I'm sure pressuring whoever is at quarterback, whether it's Hank Bachmeier or Jack Turner, will be a key part of the game plan.

How do you see the game between LA Tech & Nebraska playing out on Saturday?

I think we'll see something similar to Nebraska's game against Northern Illinois. The game plan doesn't change if the starting quarterback is Sims or Haarberg. The Huskers will want to use Saturday as an opportunity to work on its traditional hand-off run game with the running backs. Northern Illinois' defense wore down in the second half, which allowed Nebraska to rush for 96 yards in the fourth quarter alone. In the offseason, Rhule said he has a goal of wanting to rush for at least 75 yards in the fourth quarter. That wasn't accomplished until the Northern Illinois game, so I'm sure the team will want to do it again versus La Tech. Let's go with a final score prediction of 35-14, Nebraska.

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