Enough of the drama, though. When you’re not shooting yourself in the foot, things seem a lot more normal, and Nebraska is thriving in normalcy at the start of Matt Rhule’s sophomore season.

This is what it looks like when a team that has abandoned years of self-destructive habits starts to develop self-discipline instead. An even turnover margin and only four penalties will keep a team out of many bad situations.

A 34-3 victory over FCS school Northern Iowa was a night of satisfaction, if not inspiration, at Memorial Stadium, although finishing the non-league season with low blood pressure, a 3-0 record and just 20 points allowed by a stingy defense can be quite exciting when you stop for a moment and consider the alternatives.

UNI (2-1) kept the ball on the ground for most of the evening, balanced its offense enough to keep the Blackshirts off balance and moved the ball fairly effectively between the 20s. They looked back on an impressive 10-minute drive in the first quarter that ended in a field goal and were seemingly satisfied to leave town healthy and proud.

Rhule seemed content to wave goodbye to the visitors while presiding over a stable program that is on an upward trend.

“We try to control games,” Rhule said. “That’s what good teams do. I felt some of that tonight.”

The Blackshirts recovered from a first half of sloppy tackling and performed the bend-but-don’t-break routine most people expected against Colorado last week, allowing 301 total yards but no touchdowns. The Panthers’ main goal seemed to be to avoid being pushed around by the Big Red, and they seemed content to run down the clock in the second half despite trailing by three points.

“The challenge was to come here and compete with you on equal terms,” ​​said veteran UNI coach Mark Farley. “And I think we accomplished that.”

Meanwhile, NU scored on its first three possessions as quarterback Dylan Raiola threw touchdown passes to Carter Nelson and Isaiah Neyor. Raiola’s 24-yard touchdown to Nelson was the Huskers’ first true freshman-to-true freshman touchdown pass since Adrian Martinez and Maurice Washington combined for a touchdown in the 2018 season finale at Iowa. Raiola threw his first interception as a Husker but now has five touchdown passes and a 73.7 completion percentage, which more than makes up for that pick. He’s evaded pass rushers and trouble like a seasoned veteran and was up to the challenge when the Panthers forced him to throw to get the ball moving early.

Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield appears willing to use Raiola as a ball carrier on a limited basis if the reward is high enough. Raiola cornered the Panthers when he pulled the ball on a read option and ran 15 yards out of bounds for a first down on the opening play of the second quarter, just before throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Neyor on a crossing route.

Raiola completed 13 of 16 passes in the first half and four of seven in the second. He used a number of pass receivers, including Nelson, who received four passes, and Heinrich Haarberg, who lined up with Raiola on offense and also briefly ran the wildcat formation on some plays. Haarberg was better at moving the ball with his arm than his legs, but the wildcat formation is now seen on film, so opponents can prepare for it.

Nebraska capitalized on its early lead and relied on its defense, which was without linebacker Mikai Gbayor in the first half as he served his penalty for targeted attack against CU. Isaac Gifford and John Bullock led a solid defensive effort with 10 and 9 tackles, respectively.

Nebraska, meanwhile, used more than 70 players. Rhule, who improved his record to 8-7 as Husker coach, seemed most excited by the performance of his second-string offense, which scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 36-yard run by Emmett Johnson, and his second-string defense, which kept UNI out of the end zone in the game’s final minute.

Still, there are concerns for Nebraska, which is likely a slight favorite when it hosts Illinois in a rare home game Friday night that will most likely be a battle over four quarters.

The Huskers have a short-range field goal kicker. It’s hard to say what Tristan Alvano can do beyond 35 yards, because Rhule decided not to allow him a 42-yard attempt when the Huskers’ two-minute drive stalled. It didn’t appear to be an injury-related move, because he was used to kickoff multiple times. Why Rhule and Ed Foley allow Alvano kickoffs but not 40-yard field goals is a mystery that can’t be blamed on an unpredictable long snapper.

Another concern for the Big Red is the continued absence of tight end Thomas Fidone in the vertical passing game. Fidone has caught a few short blocks but has trouble turning his body forward in the huddle. They say a good tight end is a young quarterback’s best friend, but fortunately, Raiola seems comfortable mixing with his entire roster of pass receivers at this early stage of his career. He is very mature for his age and is coming on exactly as promised, giving this Husker team a sense of quiet purpose.

Exactly what a recovering football program would like to see as it tries to put distance between itself and nearly a decade of bad memories. Rhule has said on numerous occasions that he doesn’t think much of the curses or bad karma that many claim lingers in Lincoln. And it sure helps when your quarterback shares that belief.

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