Give the people what they want, indeed. If you wanted a flashback to the Tom Osborne era with a 21st-century passing game tacked on for no extra charge, you hit the jackpot during Nebraska’s 68-0 pounding of Akron Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
It was a good, old-fashioned, clear-the-bench whupping that the Huskers put on the Zips, one that Akron coach Joe Moorhead called “an ass kicking of epic proportions,” which featured an unending parade of players a chance to strut their stuff on game film. Seven different players, including running backs Kwinten Ives and Mekhi Nelson, scored touchdowns. Emmett Johnson made explosive plays. The best part of it was that every single Husker who got into the game brought a lot of energy and focus onto the field with him.
I nearly hallucinated for a moment, with visions of games against New Mexico State in 1979 (57-0) and 1982 (68-0), with Jarvis Redwine and Junior Miller and Mike Rozier running wild. Only a relatively low tally of 234 rushing yards kept this from tasting a lot like a classic nonconference game runaway during the 1970s or ’80s, although five Husker running backs got carries, somewhat like old times. Johnson had a career-high 140 rushing yards and looks like he’s capable of moving into the upper echelon of Big Ten backs…