⚡ CFB Dashboard

(Photo: Shandie Stewart, Stewart Photography ) Nebraska had a small problem coming out of halftime. Small because it covered only two games. A problem because Big Ten play tends to find every loose thread and pull. The Huskers opened the second half against Ohio backed up near their goal line and eventually staring at third-and-31. Bowling Green then held the ball for eight minutes to begin the third quarter before Nebraska had a touchdown erased by a holding penalty. Two opening drives. No points. Not much crispness anywhere. Dana Holgorsen identified it as a fix-it item Tuesday. Matt Rhule spent part of the week calling coaches he respects to compare notes. "I said, 'Tell me how you come out of the half. Tell me some things you do,'" Rhule said. Nebraska adjusted its routine Saturday, returning to the field a little earlier and doing individual work before the third quarter. Did that make the difference? Hard to assign credit so neatly. But the sequence that followed looked exactly like the response Nebraska wanted before the conference schedule arrived. The defense forced a three-and-out while allowing two yards. Jacory Barney returned the ensuing punt 17 yards. One play later, Jamal Rule was gone. The freshman broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown, with Kwazi Gilmer escorting him through the final stretch and into the end zone. Nebraska's lead grew to 24-0 on its way to a 34-7 win over North Dakota. "We feel like the past two games we've been a little lackadaisical coming out of half, so we really harped on that this week," Rule said. "It was good being a small part of that." A 55-yard part. Rule made sure to immediately find Gilmer for the celebration. "Without him I definitely don't score that, actually," Rule said. "All of our wide receivers blocking downfield makes my job easier, so I appreciate all of them." Rhule identified the start of the third quarter as perhaps the most satisfying piece of Nebraska's third win. "We're in the constant pursuit of better. And to come out of the half and go three-and-out, and then have a great punt return, and have that run," Rhule said. "But then to see Kwazi give that effort, kind of like Ant (Colandrea) — when your best players lead the way, it's pretty easy to be a coach." Rule has made plenty look easy so far, too. He finished with 119 yards on 15 carries, giving him his second 100-yard game after rushing for 122 against Ohio. Rule became the first Nebraska freshman running back with multiple 100-yard performances in a season since David Horne in 2002. Through three weeks, Rule ranks seventh nationally with 109.67 rushing yards per game. Four of the six players ahead of him have at least 16 more carries than his 38. His 8.66 yards per rush trail only UCLA's Wayne Knight among FBS players with at least 30 attempts. Add Rule's four receptions for 82 yards and he's averaging 9.78 yards every time he touches the football. The production has created attention. Rule doesn't seem interested in hiding from it. "I like to have pressure on me," he said. "I feel like I play better under pressure. Them expecting big things out of me, it makes me play better, which is good." That doesn't mean he's grading every run generously. Rule is sure there were yards he still left behind Saturday — a chance to stay outside here, an opportunity to make someone miss there. North Dakota supplied the kind of test he believes Nebraska needed before Big Ten play, exposing items that still require work while allowing the Huskers to build more connection. Back to the lab, as Rule put it. "I feel like a couple runs I could've broke longer if I would've just kept it outside or maybe make someone miss," Rule said. "And as a team, I'd just say us keep doing what we're doing. Little tweaks on our offense, little tweaks on our defense, but I think we're coming together as a team very well." One corrected third quarter doesn't make the halftime issue disappear forever. But this was the preferred order coming out of the locker room: Get the defense off the field. Let special teams tilt it. Put the ball in the hands of a playmaker and watch the blocking travel with him. A useful sequence to pack for the Big Ten.