Outside of the first quarter of play, Dana Holgorsen’s offense was very productive in Week 5.
Nebraska, while posting a 25-point victory over the Terrapins, totaled just 38 yards of offense in the first 15 minutes. He then turned to the Jets, totaling at least 157 yards in each of the remaining three quarters.
The Huskers finished with 447 yards of offense Saturday afternoon, while scoring 41 points (offensively). In total, 31 players saw the field against the Terps. Here are their final tallies and grades, courtesy of Pro Football Focus. (Go here for defensive notes.)
Player | Class | Snaps | Pass | Run | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colandrée | 4th | 79 | 49 | 4 | 79.0 |
Lateef | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | – |
Strategist
This was far from Anthony Colandrea’s most effective play, but boy did he become productive as soon as it concluded. On 79 offensive snaps, the fourth-year signal caller totaled 346 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns while helping the Huskers outlast Maryland at home.
Colandrea looked like the most athletic player on the field at times. Still, other moments left fans perplexed. There is some give and take to having him as Nebraska’s starting quarterback, but it’s hard to say the Huskers would be 5-0 without him.
For the second straight week, Colandrea led Nebraska in rushing and passing production. He put a lot on his shoulders in the first two Big Ten games, and he deserves credit for what he produced. NU has now outscored its conference opponents 79-36, with Colandrea accounting for 42 of those points himself. Even though he missed a few open throws, it’s hard to complain about a quarterback who has been this productive through five weeks.
Player | Class | Snaps | Run | Pass | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nelson | 3rd | 39 | 16 | 17 | 64.4 |
Mozée | 2nd | 34 | 9 | 21 | 69.7 |
Genatone | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | – |
Stand | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 1 | – |
Ives | 4th | 2 | 2 | – | – |
Run back
It was sophomore running back Isaiah Mozee who got the start Saturday. To his credit, he put in a relatively strong performance in the victory. Mozee participated in 34 offensive snaps, totaling 76 all-purpose yards.
Still, it was Mekhi Nelson who stole the show. After being placed on the Huskers’ final availability board as a play-action decision, Nelson added only 53 all-purpose yards to his season total, but passed for two touchdowns. He now has 386 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns this fall.
Fifth-year senior Vincent Genatone, who began his career at linebacker, has now scored a rushing touchdown in each of NU’s first two Big Ten games. With Jamal Rule out for much of the last two weeks, the North Platte, Nebraska, native has been a welcome addition to the Huskers’ offense. Even with Rule’s potential return scheduled for Week 6, don’t be surprised if Genatone has done enough to continue seeing regular snaps.
Player | Class | Snaps | Targets | Captures | Drops | Run block | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gilmer | 3rd | 72 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 73.3 | 71.6 |
Hunter | 4th | 55 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 61.3 | 52.7 |
barney | 3rd | 40 | 3 | 2 | – | 62.1 | 53.0 |
Clark | 3rd | 40 | 2 | 0 | – | 33.3 | 52.2 |
Bell | 4th | 13 | – | – | – | 54.9 | 53.7 |
Mills | 2nd | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
Black-smith | 3rd | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
Wide receiver
UCLA transfer receiver Kwazi Gilmer has officially become the Big Red’s WR1. He was targeted a career-high 17 times against Maryland, connecting with Colandrea on 11 of those plays for 147 yards and two scores. The junior pass catcher accounted for nearly 62 percent of Nebraska’s receiving production while seeing nearly 55 percent of the team’s targets come his way.
Jacory Barney was listed as questionable in Wednesday’s availability report, but still managed to see the field for 40 offensive snaps. He caught two passes for 11 yards after catching one for 12 yards the week before.
Gilmer became the first Husker to have back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Samori Touré in 2021. Touré, now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, did it against Fordham and Buffalo, while Gilmer accomplished the feat against two Big Ten opponents.
Player | Class | Snaps | Targets | Captures | Drops | Run block | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lindenmeyer | 5th | 75 | 4 | 3 | – | 53.0 | 57.8 |
Bonner | 5th | 17 | 1 | 1 | – | 46.5 | 48.5 |
Hammerbeck | 2nd | 6 | – | – | – | 60.8 | 58.7 |
Ingwerson | 3rd | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
Jones | 5th | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
Whittington | 3rd | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
Tight End/Back
Luke Lindenmeyer caught three passes for 20 yards and a touchdown in NU’s 25-point victory. The first touchdown of his 2026 campaign came on a play-action rollout near the goal line. Holgorsen’s offensive game was on full display, as the Huskers used their giant package with defensive linemen Anthony Jones and Jahsear Whittington in short-yardage situations. However, instead of handing the ball to the running back as usual, the ball went to Lindenmeyer, who evaded several defenders and found himself wide open for a score.
While Lindenmeyer didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet, all three of his receptions resulted in a first down or touchdown. He now has 12 receptions for 116 yards and a score in five games.
On another note, offensive lineman Shawn Hammerbeck saw snaps as an eligible receiver on the field. Even though he wasn’t targeted, the second-year player showed another dimension to his role. With the highest run-blocking rating of any Nebraska tight end or fullback sent onto the field, he could see his role in run-blocking situations increase.
Player | Class | Snaps | Bags | Successful QBs | Hurry up | Penalties | Run block | Pass blocking | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 4th | 79 | – | – | – | – | 60.4 | 87.7 | 66.0 |
Evans | 5th | 79 | – | – | – | – | 58.6 | 85.1 | 65.7 |
Pritchett | 5th | 79 | – | – | – | 1 | 50.9 | 75.1 | 55.7 |
Babalade | 4th | 69 | – | – | – | – | 68.6 | 82.9 | 75.1 |
Gottula | 4th | 64 | – | – | 3 | – | 54.4 | 61.8 | 57.6 |
Mubenga | 4th | 25 | – | – | 2 | – | 52.9 | 35.9 | |
Knaak | 5th | 6 | – | – | – | – | 59.1 | 73.4 | 59.9 |
Ainsworth | 1st | 4 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
Taumua | 3rd | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Pyle | 3rd | 4 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
Sled | 4th | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Offensive line
Nebraska struggled in the first half to generate consistent yardage on the ground, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry. Then, whether it was a halftime tear-down of the coaching staff or simply the result of the Terrapins’ exhaustion, the Huskers had much more success. Their average yardage per carry increased to 7.0 yards in the second half.
In passing situations, the Big Red’s protection unit remained uncharged for the second week in a row. This never happened when Donovan Raiola was leading NU’s offensive line. Although the group was charged with three penalties and three carries against Maryland, it performed well enough to help NU average 5.4 yards per play and rack up nearly 450 yards.
On another note, Tree Babalade makes a case for a starting role. The South Carolina transfer played 69 snaps, while Gunnar Gottula took over at left guard. Gottula and LSU transfer Paul Mubenga swapping roles at times, but judging by the snap count, it appears Gottula will stay at that spot against the Hoosiers this week.
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