On Nebraska’s quick transition to Dana Holgorsen: ‘We have to try to figure this out’

LINCOLN, Neb. — Dana Holgorsen grew up less than 50 miles south of Iowa City and followed Hayden Fry’s Iowa Hawkeyes. Holgorsen gained his limited knowledge of the Nebraska landscape during five-hour trips through the neighboring state to vacation spots with his family in Colorado.

But football in Nebraska? He knew it.

The Huskers helped define an era of the sport with their powerful offenses and mechanical victories. That lasted until Holgorsen moved into coaching and landed a spot in major college football with Mike Leach at Texas Tech in 2000 after seven years at lower division programs.

So when Nebraska’s second-year coach Matt Rhule called Holgorsen on Nov. 3 and asked the 53-year-old former West Virginia and Houston coach for help, Holgorsen perked up . Scheduled the same day to return after a hiatus in an analyst role for Sonny Dykes at TCU, Holgorsen listened to Rhule, a friend from their days together in the Big 12.

“He told me, ‘Hurry up and get over here,'” said Holgorsen, who arrived in Lincoln the next morning — Monday of Nebraska’s bye week following its 27-20 home loss to ‘UCLA.

Rhule’s vulnerability resonated with Holgorsen. He sat in a room in the football offices and began studying with the goal of evaluating what the Huskers did well and what they didn’t do. Holgorsen said he did not know his role. He still won’t do so beyond the next eight days, when he will be tasked with coordinating Nebraska’s offense in late-regular-season games against Wisconsin and Iowa.

The Huskers, at 5-5, have lost four straight games after Holgorsen’s OC debut last week in a 28-20 loss at USC. The fight is real to earn bowl eligibility after a 5-1 start and to end a seven-year playoff drought, the longest among Power 4 programs.

“I know it’s on everyone’s minds,” Holgorsen said. “I know. I understand. It shocks me that it’s been so long since a program like this has been about a bowl game. It doesn’t make any sense to me. But that’s where we are there.

The decision to demote two-year Nebraska OC Marcus Satterfield and hire an outsider could be considered desperate. Satterfield has worked alongside Rhule for eight of the last 12 seasons at four stops.

But the offense under Satterfield has scored 18.3 points per game in the Big Ten this season. Nebraska has topped 30 points once in 18 games against major competition over the past two seasons. Holgorsen’s teams during his 13 years as head coach averaged 33.5 points.

This season, no opponent in a Nebraska victory has scored more than 10 points. Over two seasons and 10 victories, that’s 14 points.

What does that mean? The Huskers only win if their defense dominates.

Rhule had to do something drastic.

“That might seem like a clumsy way to describe it,” Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said. “But I was very proud of Matt. When things don’t turn out the way you hoped, you need to be introspective every step of the way.

“You can’t ask more of your coach than to be willing and able to make changes when he deems it necessary. It’s not when I decide it’s necessary or when the fans want it to happen.

And in that case, the November addition of Holgorsen — a practitioner of air raid offense hired to run Nebraska’s pro-style system — might just be drastic enough that it has a chance of working.

---

That first Monday, Rhule sat with Holgorsen for about two hours while the film was filming. A few offensive assistants entered the room.

“They didn’t know what was going on,” Holgorsen said. “Neither do we.” We were just like, “We have to try to figure this out.” »

Holgorsen initially doubted he could understand the offense well enough to call plays. But after three or four days, he accepted Rhule’s proposal. Holgorsen didn’t know the terminology or the names of many players. So he called them by their jersey number this week during his first interview session.

Rhule compared Holgorsen’s task to that of a writer in the media room Monday in Lincoln who would have to write an article in Italian using a translator.

Holgorsen is to receive $66,667 for his month of work in Nebraska. He said he has worked 16 hours a day since arriving.

“He’s in great shape,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White said. “He gets up and I see this door close on the offensive staff room. And I see him go out to get coffee and food, and he goes right back in there. He’s in on it.”

Holgorsen put aside game film late in the middle of the bye week and studied practice for three days, then set about watching USC’s defense. Nebraska gained 310 yards against the Trojans, 44 yards below its season average so far, but better than its output in three of the previous four games.

The offense scored 13 points, three on a field goal set up by a turnover before a drive that covered 4 yards. Two scoring drives gained 139 yards. Nebraska lost a third straight game in which it threw an interception on its final offensive play with a chance to go ahead or even score.

This time, however, the turnover came in the end zone after freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola led a 56-yard march. Against Ohio State and UCLA, the final drives covered 13 and 42 yards.

“It’s only going to get better,” Rhule said. “I left the game feeling encouraged that the offense is going to take off at some point in the direction we’re headed.”

Raiola said he liked it too.

“There was a sense of urgency on Sunday (after the USC game),” Raiola said, “an excitement to build on what we did in the second half and go into this week. We’re looking forward to it looking forward to it. We just have to go now.

---

Holgorsen delivers his message in a very different style than Rhule, who is calculated in his praise and criticism. Holgorsen is direct.

“Very simple,” Raiola said. “Not a lot of gray area, which is necessary, especially at quarterback. We like to know exactly where, who and why we are calling the room.

Of Raiola, who passed for 2,112 yards on 65.5 percent passing this year despite struggling in the second half of the season, Holgorsen said he was impressed.

“He can process all this information as a freshman?” » said the coach. “He knows plays. He knows the offense. He knows how to communicate it to the players.

Holgorsen also shared his thoughts Tuesday on other offensive position groups and staff.

On the O-line: “I can’t assess what happened in the first nine games. But I was pleasantly surprised by our level of pad, our solidity.

Of the running backs, he said they couldn’t get through holes fast enough against USC: “We’ve got to get these guys to open their eyes, trust the blocks and hit (the hole)… We need to have guards who can make some guys miss on the field.

Among the receivers: “I was like, ‘Guys, you guys are pretty big kids… Why don’t you block some shit on the perimeter? It’s embarrassing.

Holgorsen said he made it clear that if receivers weren’t doing their part in the running game, they wouldn’t be on the field hitting targets in the passing game.

Nebraska’s offensive assistants, like all coaches, Holgorsen said, tend to “get blinded by what they see” and “fall in love” with players. This may reduce opportunities for other deserving players.

Holgorsen said he “found a guy” at Tuesday’s practice, “a young kid who can help us play on Saturday.”

“Keep your eyes open for that,” he said.

Rhule said Thursday that the Huskers elevated true freshman Quinn Clark to practice with top groups this week. Clark, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver, is redshirting, but he can play the final two games in November while still retaining a year of eligibility.

Much of Holgorsen’s message to the Huskers, Rhule said, is no different than what they heard from Satterfield. But it may seem new from their perspective because of Holgorsen’s “juice, energy and intensity,” according to Rhule.

Still, “it’s not the games that do it,” Rhule said, “it’s the players.”

Holgorsen said he was happy to have landed in Lincoln. He is grateful to Rhule and thinks highly of Nebraska and its coach. They came in person last winter. Holgorsen considered a position with the Huskers, but said he felt “tired” following his final season in Houston and wasn’t ready to commit everything to Nebraska.

Now, he said, he’s ready for it all: the pressure, the challenge of learning a new system and getting to know the Huskers’ staff.

“I don’t know what December will look like,” Holgorsen said. “I don’t know what January is going to look like. I don’t care. I am one hundred percent focused on improving our offense so we can win against Wisconsin.

(Photo by Dana Holgorsen: Mitch Sherman/The Athletic)