NEBRASKA CITY – Nebraska Radio Network Analyst Damon Benning said college football fans may have to adjust their thinking about ball control and incomplete passes in the final minutes of the game.

He told his Big Red Buzz Audience at Valentino’s in Nebraska City that the positives of Nebraska’s 20 to 17 win over Cincinnati include a pass completion rate near 80 percent  for quarterback Dylan Raiola, success in 10 of 18 third-down conversions and a 10-play final drive that consumed five minutes of clock and two Bearcat time outs.

He said the final drive of seven passes and three runs may not seem like a clock-control offense, but new rules in college football are changing the optics.

2025 rules have the clock stopping after incomplete passes unless it’s in the final two minutes.

 

Benning: “You have to look at the four and five-minute offense differently.

Did I want to see Nebraska drop back on second and 12? Or second and 10? With a drive in which you have to salt clock? Probably not.

… but if it’s an incomplete pass, the clock is not stopping anyway.”

Nebraska never reached the two-minute warning it is final drive, however.

Nebraska started its drive with 7:09 left to play and got a first down at the Cincinnati 42 yard line with 2:20 left. Quarterback Dylan Raiola then completed a pass to Jacory Barney for a two-yard loss. Raiola was sacked on the next play for a seven yard loss.

Coach Matt Rhule commended Raiola’s awareness for taking the sack because the clock continued to run and it drew a Bearcat timeout.

Raiola then completed a pass to Emmett Johnson for five yards and brought out Archie Wilson to punt.

Nebraska possessed the football 19 minutes longer than Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium and had a 16-play, eight-minute drive in the second quarter that ended with Kyle Cunanan’s second field goal of the half.

Benning: “We have to change our rationale. The goal is – in four minute or five minute offense when you want to salt clock --  is first downs. You have to think in terms of first downs because the clock is just different now.”

Since 2023, the game clock continues to run after a first down, except in the final two minutes of the  half.

Regarding the Nebraska defense, Benning said issues that resulted in Nebraska giving up 200 yards rushing, including  96  yards to the quarterback, are fixable.

He offered a prescript of assignment discipline,  building trust and a combination of those two getting players lined up correctly.

Benning: “When that happens, it’s easy to play fast.”

He said the season opener gave coaches a chance to test their scheme against a good Power 4 team and left plenty of teaching moments on film.

He said he is not panicking over scheme, but he would like to see a running back line up behind the quarterback in the pistol formation, rather than on the side in a split formation.

He said the split formation could go either way, but it almost always means the running back crossing in front of defenders and giving tacklers too much time.