“Bowling Green number so-and-so is now number whatchamacallit.”

That announcement, made more times than I care to count, was about the only thing worth mentioning about Nebraska’s week 2 opponent. The game, which had been originally scheduled as Tennessee but cancelled due to needing more home revenue to offset stadium reconstruction, was about as competitive as watching a dog toying with a maimed rabbit.

I’m not sure Eddie George’s Falcons were wounded entering the game but by the end of a lightning-strike, big-play offensive show by the home team, the 0-2 Falcons might as well have been.

Nebraska carried over the second half from Ohio to a dominating, non-competitive 56-7 win. Even a turnover on the game’s second play, when Jacory Barney (who had one of the most up-and-down games you’ll ever see from a receiver) bobbled a pass into the hands of a Falcon defender, didn’t turn into anything more than a failed opportunity to score. BGSU went 3-and-out from midfield and soon after, the rout was on.

Anthony Colandrea was about as accurate as you will see a Husker QB be, going 20 of 24, while taking more of the deep shots we were anticipating. He made two of the best throws of the young season: a slant between defenders to Kwazi Gilmer to put Nebraska up 14-0, then a second ball to Gilmer, throwing a perfect geometric laser to the fellow transfer at the far side of the end zone to make it 21-0. Gilmer himself added to the degree of difficulty score with a laid-out diving catch.

There really wasn’t much more than that. Nebraska chunked Bowling Green to death with 5 passing plays of 15 or more yards (two of them long TD’s to Barney) and 8 runs of 10 or more yards. The Big Red averaged over 8 yards per play and the only thing that hurt them was themselves. Three holding penalties on punt returns and another Barney penalty that nullified a long touchdown, this time a hold on what would have been a Colandrea 45y TD run.

Certainly, it was the kind of game most people anticipated. It was a result not surprising. There will be plenty of things to pick apart and more things to be excited about. Next week promises to be more of the same as the last of the three-game non-conference exhibition season concludes with North Dakota. I expect the Fighting Hawks to be more competitive than Bowling Green given their FCS pedigree. Then we can finally get to the real tests to see if the fireworks show on the field are real or a mirage.

For the second straight game, Nebraska rushed for over 200 yards, the first time they’ve gone back-to-back since a three-in-a-row streak in 2023 (Colorado, Northern Illinois & Louisiana Tech). The 7.76 yards per carry is the best by a Husker run game since the 2021 Northwestern effort (8.06.) It is only the second time a Rhule-led Husker team has cleared the 7.0 YPC threshold.

At 8.27 yards per play, this game joins three others during the Rhule era that clear the 8.0 YPP mark. The Huskers are now averaging 7.636 YPP through two games, marking the best two-game start to a season in YPP since 2014 (7.675).

The Blackshirts only allowed 85 yards rushing on 32 carries, a paltry 2.65 yards per carry average. That’s their best mark since last year’s Michigan State game. The 3.52 yards per play given up to the Falcons is their best since last year’s Akron game (2.97).

Meanwhile, one-third of Bowling Green’s plays featured Nebraska HAVOC. That’s the highest percentage of HAVOC plays in two years, when Nebraska had a 39% HAVOC rate against Rutgers in 2024.

Red Zone Efficiency

Another perfect day in the Red Zone with 4 possessions and 4 touchdowns, just like last week. While the Huskers also haven’t stopped a team from scoring a TD in the red zone, it was just two possessions last week and one by BGSU on Saturday. You’ll take an 8-to-3 ratio so far this season, but it would be nice to force a field goal try every now and then.

Turnover Margin

Despite the early turnover, the Huskers still ended up +1 in the turnover category with Donovan Jones’s interception off the Williams Nwaneri tip and a scoop-n-score by 3rd-team linebacker Derek Wacker after the QB pressure by Malcolm Simpson. This gives Nebraska a 61-9 record since 2008 when having a plus in the turnover margin and under Rhule that record is 11-1.

Colandrea Offensive Rate

Nebraska’s QB accounted for 255 total yards (222 pass, 33 run); that means, out of 546 total yards vs the Falcons, a 46.7% offensive rate. Again, it helps when the running backs shoulder some of the load (202 RB run yards) and you can get Colandrea off the field for the backup (T.J. Lateef).

For the season: Colandrea 553 total yards; Nebraska 1069 total yards = 51.7% Colandrea offensive rate.

Point Spread Differential

A 49-point win with a closing line of 30.5 gives Nebraska an 18.5-point spread differential.

For the season: +23 and a 2-0 record against the spread.

Anthony Colandrea

A four-touchdown day through the air and the platitudes mentioned above. Sadly, he was denied a long TD run by a holding penalty but a 20/24 day passing and a turnover-free day (yes, I know he is dinged with an “interception” but that was a dropped ball by Barney) is more than good enough.

Owen Chambliss

Perhaps a bit of a reach since there aren’t any eye-popping individual numbers (4 tackles, 2 solo). But I must believe that his presence as Nebraska’s “green dot” was at least partially to credit for the success on defense. BGSU was held to just 46 yards of offense in the first half with no third-down conversions.

Jacory Barney Jr.

I really struggled with this one. Yeah, I know he had 115 receiving yards and two long touchdowns. But the mishandled pass that was called an interception and denying a teammate a long touchdown with a blocking penalty for the second week in a row were frustrating to see. That said, Barney is fun to watch with the ball in his hands, even if he sometimes gets too jukey and possibly costs him extra real estate. But we’ll let the numbers speak for themselves for this week.

The much-anticipated B1G-SEC “challenge” weekend featuring three intra-conference matchups between the two behemoths was one quarter away from going the B1G’s way. Then somehow, someway Texas rallied from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to shock #1 Ohio State giving the SEC a 2-1 edge on Saturday.

But losing the “challenge” was the least of the B1G’s problems. #6 Oregon confirmed its shaky performance against Boise State by getting stunned 39-31 at Oklahoma State. The same Cowboy program that hadn’t won a game versus an FBS foe in 21 tries. And despite the close score, the game really wasn’t that close, as Okie State outgained the Ducks 554-281. Suddenly, the B1G has lost both the preseason #1 and #2 ranked teams in the season’s first two weeks.

But that didn’t end the B1G’s embarrassment. Minnesota got stomped by the SEC’s Mississippi State in Minneapolis, lending credence to southern claims of which league’s “middle” is stronger. Illinois blew a two-score lead at home to Duke, 31-27. Purdue lost at home in double-OT to Wake Forest, while Rutgers did Rutgers things, losing at Boston College.

Additionally, Iowa struggled at home in beating a rebuilding Iowa State, while Washington was taken to the wire by Utah State at home.

Naturally, it had to be Michigan, the program that has done more to put egg on the B1G’s face than any other in the last five years, that saved the league’s honor by beating #10 Oklahoma 17-10 at the Big House.

After an offseason of peacocking and strutting over their third straight national championship, the B1G has been humbled to a degree. While narratives are generally formed in the postseason about conference superiority, the B1G isn’t looking so hot early in the 2026 campaign. Outside of a pair of B1G meetings with Notre Dame this month (by Michigan State and Purdue), there are no more non-conference pelts for the league to accumulate until December. They’ll need to hope Ohio State and Oregon bounce back and/or USC keeps pouring on the coals or it may be up to little ol’ Indiana again to extend the league’s title string.

Props to the University of Nebraska Marching Band, who took time out from their regular halftime show to play “Amazing Grace” in tribute to fallen Iowa band member Derek Phillips. Phillips died of cardiac arrest last week due to heat exhaustion during Iowa’s opening-week win. While the Husker band played, pictures of Phillips ran on the HuskerVision screens.

I don’t want to trivialize Phillips’s death, but as the NCAA has approved moving the season into August as part of calendar changes, I hope there will be an opportunity to reconsider. At the very least, schools should be allowed to move games into the evening during the typically steamy late summer weather. Yes, this would require the TV networks to be flexible, but as we saw last week in Lincoln, the extreme heat created unbearable conditions, with field temps being reported north of 150 degrees. Perhaps this would mean more Thursday, Friday and Sunday games on opening weekend to allow for necessary television windows. I just don’t want to read any more heartbreaking stories like this one.

A GoFundMe has been set up for Phillips’s family to be used as the family sees fit. If you would like to donate, click here.