NEBRASKA CITY -- Former Husker Damon Benning gave his Big Red Buzz audience Thursday three signs that Nebraska is actually playing to Coach Matt Rhules’ third-season expectations.

He said special teams are emerging, sophomore quarter Dylan Raiola is in command of the offense and the competition for positions is fantastic.

Benning: “They are getting a lot better at special teams. I coach it, I played it, my kid plays on it, so I pay extra attention to scheme. It’s really good. It’s creative. They work hard at it and they have good players doing it.”

He predicts Nebraska blocking a punt or scoring on a kick or punt return against Houston Christian this week. He said Nebraska would like there to be some film for Michigan to look at prior to the Sept. 20 game.

Benning said Raiola’s command of the offense is evident.

Benning: “If we don’t have an appreciation for his command of the offense, we’re not going to have it. He is way advanced for what he is asked to do. “

He noted that Raiola connected with 10 different receivers in week one and had a 77 percent completion percentage in week two. Of those completions against Akron, 65 percent were completed between the hashes. Benning said the more success Nebraska has in the intermediate passing game between the hashes, the better it will be for a good set of wideouts.

Benning: “Nebraska legitimately, if you pay attention to press conferences and understand that this coaching staff is a lot bigger than coach speak, you are literally playing for playing time at practice every week. If those players don’t understand that jobs are won or lost, they’re probably going to have to find something different to do.”

He's not going to beat me in a race, but he would like to.

Damon Benning regarding Coach Matt Rhule's competitiveness

 

Benning predicts a Nebraska victory over Houston Christian at 45 to 3. He avoided predictions of a second consecutive shutout or scoring 70 because he says  the team emotions are still evolving.

Benning: “They are learning to function with what it feels like to have expectations and to get through the whole victim thing. Right?

“They’re not victims anymore. It’s not the one-score games or we’re not this, it’s more like ‘hey, we have expectations levels. This is year three. This is how you need to carry yourself.”

He said success on the field helps the team evolve into an expectation mindset.