Young Nebraska Cornhuskers Look Good in Opener

Compared to last year, Husker nation has to be feeling pretty good about where the team is as we enter week the second week of the season.

Without a shred of doubt, we have better talent and depth on this team.

Despite that, we still face a lot of uncertainty.

Before we talk about the game, let's acknowledge the commitment of Harvey Jackson to Nebraska over the weekend.

A 6'2", 185-pound safety from Texas, he's a three-star prospect according to Rival, and graded out at 76 according to ESPN.

With the recent loss of defensive back Anterio Sloan in the recruiting class, this is a very nice commitment for the program.

The play of Roy Helu, Ndamukong Suh, and the offensive line were everything that was expected.

Helu rushed for 152 yards on just 16 carries, and the Huskers put up nearly 500 yards of offense despite the common early possession jitters.

Despite a really bad second half interception, Zac Lee played well in his first start.  He completed 15 of 22 for over 200 yards and showed excellent mobility and arm strength.

The "surprise" of the game is that FAU allowed no sacks against a much heralded Nebraska front four.

Jared Crick played well, but Barry Turner and Pierre Allen were not factors almost throughout the game.

To be fair, Head Coach Bo Pelini kept the blitzing to the bare minimum, which allowed the FAU offensive line to focus on the Nebraska front four.

FAU ended up with just over 350 yards of offense, but aside from a few plays over 20 yards, Nebraska was able to slow down Rusty Smith to just 50 percent completion and just 164 yards.

The lingering injury to starting offensive lineman Keith Williams is a slight worry, but the blocked punt by FAU is even scarier.  With Virginia Tech just two weeks away, the Huskers cannot afford to suffer any special team mistakes, especially on the road.

Overrall, this was a solid first game for a very young team.  Touchdown catches by Menelik Holt and Curenski Gilleylen added to the confidence-building, but the schedule only gets harder from here on out.

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