It is a familiar Hollywood trope: A fresh-faced youngster travels to California from the cornfields of the Midwest. The wide-eyed kid has gotten rave reviews back home, and now he’s ready to see what he can do on the biggest stage.
Our precocious protagonist has the perfect mix of charm, natural talent, and aw-shucks humility. After working as an understudy, he get his opportunity when he least expects it.
As he steps out into the spotlight on one the grandest* stages in the business, everybody in the audience expects the nerves to take over. Cues missed, lines dropped, and scenes flubbed. It is to be expected.
*The granddaddy-est of stages?
The very well-rehearsed opening scene goes off perfectly. As does the next one. And the one after that. By the end of the first act, the kid is absolutely nailing it. A truly perfect performance. The second act starts off with another showstopping number that has the crowd on its feet. By the time the curtain closes, that fresh-faced kid looks a bona fide star in the making. He humbly praises his supporting cast as he walks off to a standing ovation.
It’s a perfect Hollywood story… even if it happened 15 miles up the road in a Pasadena (or 25 miles from TJ Lateef’s home in Compton).
Lateef looked better than even his most passionate supporters could have imagined in Nebraska football’s 28-21 win Saturday night. His co-star, Emmett Johnson, earned his top billing with an unprecedented performance of his own. The defense is still a little rough around the edges, but it was good enough to keep UCLA from stealing the show.
The Huskers aren’t perfect, but they keep working to improve. With seven wins, Nebraska has improved its regular-season win total for the fourth straight year:
The last time Nebraska had three straight seasons with improved win totals was 1969-1971.
For the 2025 Huskers, the show continues to go on. A much-needed off week to rest and recovery before going on the road to face Penn State and then closing the home slate against Iowa. Both opponents spent Saturday pushing Top 10 teams to the final seconds. Neither is going to be a pushover.
For TJ Lateef, each game will provide an opportunity to make a name for himself. Will his story have a Hollywood ending? Stay tuned.
Emmett Johnson is setting himself up for postseason honors.
After scoring a rushing touchdown against UCLA, Emmett Johnson (along with two of his offensive linemen) struck the Heisman pose. One of Johnson’s NIL partners (the We’re Back shirt company) has started selling “H21SMAN” shirts. As much as I appreciate a good shirt, EJ is not going to win the Heisman. That award is largely dictated by team success and ESPN hype. Nebraska does not currently have enough of either.
But Johnson could be a finalist for another prestigious award: The Doak Walker Award.
The Doak Walker Award is given to the “nation’s premier running back.” Past winners are a who’s who of excellent college running backs. Despite having a long and storied history of excellent I-Backs and running backs, no Husker has ever won the Doak Walker Award. Calvin Jones, Ahman Green, and Ameer Abdullah were Nebraska’s only finalists.
Emmett Johnson carries the ball during the first half against UCLA. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
In a week or two, the ten semifinalists for the Doak will be announced. I expect EJ to be on the list. Johnson is currently the nation’s second leading rusher (1,131 yards), and is tied for 11th best in touchdowns (11 TDs).
Using the average rushing production from his last three games (28 carries, 140 yards, 1.3 TD), Johnson projects to finish the regular season with 1,429 yards and 14 touchdowns. Just two Doak winners (Washington’s Greg Lewis and Alabama’s Najee Harris) had fewer than 1,500 rushing yards and four (Lewis, Bryon Hanspard, Darren McFadden, and Trevor Cobb) had 14 or fewer TDs. Would Johnson’s receiving prowess be a differentiator? Maybe.
Winning the Doak might be an uphill climb, but Johnson is also putting together a solid case to be first team All-Big Ten. The last Husker back to be first team all-conference was Abdullah in 2014.
Regardless of what recognition he receives in the next month, it will not change the fact that Emmett Johnson has been the best Nebraska running back in a decade.
Dana Holgorsen is back to being an offensive genius.
Over the last month, there have been some not-so-subtle whispers that Nebraska’s offensive coordinator might be losing his edge. The offense – featuring a depth of talent at all of the skill positions – was struggling to put up points (an average of 14.7 points in their last three games). Holgorsen appeared to be struggling with how to work around his porous pass protection and a QB who is not a scramble threat and is reluctant to throw the ball away.
Starting with the Northwestern game, Holgorsen made a philosophical shift: he was going to put the team on Emmett Johnson’s legs and fill in the blanks with screens and short throws. That approach won the Northwestern game, and was working against USC until Dylan Raiola was hurt. The injury threw him off and I don’t think he trusted the prep he had done with Lateef.
Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN
But with a week to get the freshman up to speed, Holgo was dealing Saturday night. He worked the body of the Bruins with a steady diet of runs, and mixed in some simple routes that created open receivers.
There’s a part of me that wishes he had called a deep pass to Jacory Barney or Nyziah Hunter in the second half when the Bruins were stacking eight or nine men in the box. But I won’t fault Holgorsen for sticking to the plan. When it mattered most – back-to-back passes on Nebraska’s final drive – Dana trusted his true freshman QB to make plays to win the game.
Give Lateef all of your respect and praise, but don’t overreact to one game.
Do you remember Dylan Raiola’s first career start? He had 238 yards and two touchdowns, completing 70% of his throws. He made some throws that Memorial Stadium had never seen from the home quarterback. The overall reaction – from fans and media – was gushing with praise and visions of future success.
I do not bring that up as an attempt to pooh-pooh what true freshman TJ Lateef accomplished on Saturday night. He was fantastic in all aspects. He led the offense, made good reads, had strong and accurate throws, and was very effective as a runner. Other than tackling Nico Iamaleava, I’m not sure what else he could have done.
But…
I’m not ready to anoint Lateef as the 2026 starting quarterback just yet. Setting aside some big picture topics about which quarterback(s) come back and what direction Rhule and Holgorsen decide to go with the offense, I want to see more from Lateef.
UCLA is easily the best completion he’s faced, but they’re a 3-6 team who fired their head coach two months ago. Can he do it again against a feisty Penn State defense that pushed Indiana to the brink? Or Iowa on Black Friday? Those games will tell us a lot about his ability to lead this offense.
Let’s put a pin in the 2026 starter conversation until after the Iowa game – or, if we can hold out that long, until after the bowl game. Until then, let’s enjoy the ride. We don’t need to crown anybody – or push anybody out – yet.
When will Nebraska develop a killer instinct?
Nebraska had three chances to put this game away and potentially turn it into a blowout.
The first came late in the first half. Nebraska scored to take a 21-7 lead and pinned UCLA inside their 20 with excellent kickoff coverage. On second-and-five, Williams Nwaneri sacked Iamaleava for a six-yard loss. Nebraska called its second timeout, stopping the clock with 1:15 on the clock.
If NU gets a stop on third-and-11, the Bruins are punting to Barney from their own end zone. With one timeout, the Huskers likely would have tried for more points. But UCLA completed an 11-yard pass* to get the first down.
*Did Nebraska get a bad spot on this play? The player looked short to my eyes, but I never saw a replay. You’ll forgive me if I question the spotting abilities of Big Ten refs.
That drive continued for another 50 yards before the defense stiffened and forced a field goal attempt that went wide left.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava gave the Nebraska defense fits with his elusiveness. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Coming out of the half, Nebraska got the ball and drove 75 yard in six plays to take a 21-point lead. Success!
If the Blackshirts could get a stop and put the ball back in the offense’s hands, the game would likely be over. Instead, UCLA went 69 yards in four plays – one of which was a sack – and scored a touchdown. The offense started playing conservatively and the defense – more on them in a second – played not to get beat.
Had Nebraska put their foot on the Bruins’ throats when they had chances to do so, the game does not end in a one-score affair.
Does John Butler play cautious… or scared?
To my amateur eyes, the Blackshirts often seem content to let the action come to them. Nebraska does not do a ton of blitzes, and many of the ones they run fail to result in a quarterback on the turf.
Nebraska’s pass defense is excellent, so I can understand relying on that. But the run defense often is not. It feels like Nebraska’s main objective on running plays is to not give up the home run plays surrendered to Michigan and Minnesota. As a result, the defense often feels… timid and reactionary.
A sampling of the notes I jotted down during the game: “struggling to get off the field”, “Cannot get them off schedule”, “Can the D string together three straight plays?”, and “scrambles and more scrambles.”
I was not alone in feeling this way. In the second half, Mike Schaefer had a couple of pointed tweets about Nebraska’s defensive coordinator: “John Butler is scared. His calls are the only reason this is a game. Send pressure. Be aggressive. Or get beat. Nebraska getting beat.” I won’t go quite that far, but it did feel like the plan was to keep everything in front of them. Given the ease with which Iamaleava was escaping pressure, maybe that was a smart decision.
But I wouldn’t mind seeing this defense being more aggressive in early downs in an attempt to set up third-and-long situations that should favor NU’s pass defense.
Where will Emmett Johnson be in 2026?
Things I know for sure: As noted above, Johnson is having an all-conference caliber season. He spent three days in the transfer portal at the end of the 2024 regular season before opting to return for his junior year. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Johnson as the eighth-best running back available in the 2026 draft.
Things I believe: Johnson wants to play in the NFL. The NFL prefers running backs with “a lot of tread left on the tires” – i.e., talented guys who have not been had a lot of wear, tear, and injury in college. A back with Johnson’s skillset will be highly coveted in the portal. Aside from a degree, major award, and/or a ring, there isn’t much more for Emmett Johnson to accomplish in college.
Things I do not know: What does Johnson want? If he decides to stay in college for his senior season, will he stay with the school that recruited him out of high school, or will he chase a larger deal and/or a ring elsewhere? If he stays in school, can he find a better system to showcase his talents than Nebraska? Does a desire to play with his friend Dylan Raiola impact his decision?
Which way will he go? Emmett Johnson has a decision to make for 2026. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The last time Nebraska faced a decision like this was with Ameer Abdullah at the end of the 2013 season. Ameer returned for 2014, in part to earn his degree, and he put together a tremendous senior season before an injury late in the year. Abdullah was a second-round pick and is still playing in the NFL.
I cannot claim to know what Johnson will do. Selfishly, I want him to come back. Realistically, I’d tell him he has nothing more to prove in college. Rhule has a policy that players can participate in Senior Day activities if they’re unsure whether they’ll return. I expect Johnson to walk on Senior Day, even if his plans for 2026 are still unclear.
A “Huskerigami” is a final score combination (win or lose) that has never happened in the 130+ year history of Nebraska football.
Final score: 28-21
Is that a Huskerigami? No. It has happened six times before. The first time was a home win over Oklahoma in 1970 that sent Bob Devaney’s team to the Orange Bowl and Nebraska’s first national championship. The most recent occurrence was the 2025 Northwestern game two weeks ago.
- Emmett Johnson. Per the excellent Arbitrary Analytics, Johnson is the first Husker to have 100+ yards rushing and receiving in a game since at least 1995. Given what I know about the history of this program, I suspect that means he is the first player in school history to do it.
- TJ Lateef. He passed his first big test with flying colors, playing better than many of his biggest supporters dared to dream. I’m really excited to see what he and Holgorsen cook up over the idle week.
- Offensive Line. There is no better friend to a first-time starting QB than good line play. Zero sacks, zero penalties, and multiple gaping holes for EJ. Justin Evans and Rocco Spindler had another excellent game, and Tyler Knaak was strong in the “jumbo” package. After the game, Johnson and Lateef both gave their line a much-deserved shout out.
- Keona Davis. The big fella came to play Saturday night. He made a statement on the first snap and flashed all night long. Seven tackles, a huge sack, and a pass breakup. Hopefully this is the start of big things for the promising defender.
- Short-yardage plays. I’ve been critical of Holgorsen/Nebraska overthinking things in third- or fourth-and-short situations. On Saturday, NU was 4-4 on third down when needing two yards or less. I liked the wrinkle where Heinrich Haarberg went in motion, stepped under center, and sneaked it forward for a first down. But I loved that two of the conversions were basic “We’re giving it to EJ, try to stop it” runs.
Honorable mention: Jacory Barney Jr., Nyziah Hunter, Dane Key, DeShon Singleton, Javin Wright, kickoff coverage unit, Rex Guthrie, the blocking of the wide receivers, Vincent Shavers Jr., Dylan Rogers, Heinrich Haarberg, Kade Pietrzak, Williams Nwaneri, John Hohl’s tackle, Heisman poses in the end zone, and the Husker fans who made it a West Coast home game.
- Run defense. Even with three sacks, UCLA still averaged over four yards per rush. Given the success that teams are able to have running the ball (and the strength of NU’s pass defense), I have no idea why teams bother to throw it against the Huskers.
- Getting off the field. The Bruins had drives of 17, 9, 13, and 12 plays. The 17-play drive consumed nearly 10 minutes of clock. The 12-play drive went 96 yards. Both drives ended in touchdowns. NU had UCLA in third-and-11, 10, 9, and 6, but could not get a stop. Long drives are killers for a defense that is already short-handed.
- Mobile-quarterback defense. For all of the Blackshirts’ strengths, defending mobile QBs is not one of them. Iamaleava is an elusive runner in the open field, but the issue starts earlier with allowing him to escape the pocket when a player has a chance to bring him down. So many drives were extended because NU – or their spy – couldn’t get Iamaleava to the turf.
- Turnovers. In the Michigan game, Elijah Jeudy forced a fumble (which was recovered by DeShon Singleton). That is Nebraska’s only forced fumble in seven Big Ten games. NU has just six takeaways in conference play. Turnovers are a great way to get off the field.
- Pronunciations. FOX’s Tim Brando and Devin Gardner struggled mightily to say the last name of UCLA’s quarterback. Look: “Iamaleava” is not an easy name to pronounce. Nobody will deny this. But the UCLA roster provides both a phonetical pronunciation (ee-AH-mah-lay-ah-vah) and an audio link. And frankly, nobody would blame you if played it safe and called him “Nico.”
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