Coaches talked about the plan. Players talked about the plan. You talked about it. She did, he did, we did, they did. Pundits, columnists and random, unemployed offensive coordinators at the sandwich shop did. The plan, the plan, the plan.
At this point, any person with the slightest connection to and awareness of Nebraska’s 2015 football season — how it started, stumbled and finally peaked — knows a little something of the to-do list the Huskers hope to check to make coach Mike Riley’s second year smoother than the first.
Run the ball. Don’t throw interceptions. Don’t give up jaw-slacking big plays on defense. Win the battle at the line of scrimmage. Echo the best of Nebraska teams of yesteryear — like NU did in its last game, an impressive bowl win over UCLA.
Do that, and the Huskers will like what they see in a season-opening game against Fresno State. Nebraska entered the day about a four-touchdown favorite in the 7 p.m. kickoff on the Big Ten Network, so, if preseason practice and game week preparation went as planned, Nebraska should be able to handle the Bulldogs by checking off all the boxes.
“This game is about finding our identity,” defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun said. He was talking about the defensive line specifically, but the statement holds true for the Huskers as a whole.
After upsetting Michigan State, the Huskers seemed to find that identity in November. They discarded it three weeks later in a loss to Iowa. A backdoor bonus bowl game afforded them an extra month of practice and the chance to rediscover what works.
