Former NU secondary coach George Darlington — a man with three national title rings — was asked at halftime in the press box what he thought about the first half of Nebraska-UTEP.

“I’m glad I was able to get the young man from Hawaii,” Darlington said.

The young man was Dominic Raiola, who would be an All-American center and Husker legend.

And, later, a proud family man with a kid named Dylan.

Go ahead and take credit, George. Because Dominic bleeds Husker red, his son, the quarterback prodigy, brought his considerable talents to Lincoln.

What that means is already crystal clear after a perfect Nebraska football opener on Saturday.

Perfect? The Huskers are 1-0 for the first time in five years. They dominated every stage of the game, handled adversity with ease, won the turnover margin, were so far ahead that back-ups played throughout the fourth quarter and had enough things to clean up that the coaches will get to bark at them this week.

But the biggest takeaway after one week isn’t perfection. It’s an old-school adage that used to be engraved on this historic field.

Talent matters. Talent breeds confidence. Talent erases mistakes.

Matt Rhule’s second team flashed it at several positions on Saturday, particularly on offense. But the conversation this weekend and into Colorado week will be centered around one position

Talent at quarterback changes everything.

Goodness, that was evident on the very first drive. NU had the ball first because UTEP deferred, but the way Raiola went about things, Rhule might take the ball first.

A great talent at quarterback can do that.

The Kid’s first drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, touchdown. Raiola completed six of nine passes on the drive, including a side-arm strike to Isaiah Neyor going across the middle for 16 yards on third-and-11.

That was an eye-opener. Until the next one.

Husker fans’ eyes remained open.

A touchdown on the first drive of his college football career was more than about poise and calm. It symbolized a transition.

Raiola is the real deal. A real quarterback.

We saw it time and again in the first half. Raiola didn’t need to play superman. He was just making basic throws. In some cases, tough throws he made look routine.

You could hear wise guys in the stands joking about how they weren’t used to seeing perfect throws all the time.

Put against quarterbacks of recent history, Raiola’s accuracy and playmaking looked different, if not amazing. But as the game wore on, it became apparent that this is the new normal at Nebraska, the Raiola Normal.

And a funny thing came along: confidence.

You could see it, feel it, from a team that for too long has expected things to go wrong, waited for both shoes to drop, worn out every way to lose a game.

This team didn’t fold, didn’t blink when the Miners scored in three fast tempo plays to tie the game at seven.

They didn’t because there is exceptional talent on the field now. And when talent keeps coming, it usually finds a way.

That’s when Nebraska fans saw the talent lining up at receiver. Neyor, fighting off a defender at the UTEP 21, catching his balance and galloping in to finish a 59-yard touchdown play.

Then, with eight seconds left in the first half and NU at the UTEP 21, Raiola threw a pass to the right corner of the end zone. A jump ball, so to speak, with Jahmal Banks against a corner.

The big transfer from Wake Forest won the ball and made the big catch for a touchdown.

These are plays Nebraska has not been able to make, seemingly in forever.

Wasn’t it just a year ago, up in Minneapolis, that Nebraska went for the touchdown before the half and ended with an ill-fated pass for an interception in the end zone?

In the first game with the two-minute warning, NU already has a two-minute offense you can trust.

Credit his offensive line, the unsung heroes for week one, giving the freshman lots of time to find receivers (and decide between three checks on one play). And four running backs who, with good blocks, have revived a running game into something that can more than help. And receivers who run good routes and catch the ball.

Now, watch them grow. Watch this team grow into whatever it’s going to become.

It’s a long season with tough times ahead but a four-game home stand at the start is the perfect runway to confidence for a young quarterback.

Raiola’s supporting cast will help him through. But sometimes timing and fate can be your friend, too.

On Saturday I was thinking of Adrian Martinez, the freshman phenom quarterback of 2018. Martinez didn’t get a sun-splashed opener against Akron in which to cut his teeth. Historic rain washed the game out. And Martinez’ first college game was in the fire pit against Colorado.

Raiola got his dress rehearsal for CU on Saturday. There were mistakes. There will be a week full of work. And Deion Sanders gets to watch film this week of Raiola completing passes to 12 different Huskers.

The thing that won’t translate onto film is the feeling that you could sense in this old stadium as Dylan kept dealing.

When things got tight, the Huskers didn’t blink. The defense made plays. The offense made plays. Talent took over.

Expectations. Confidence.

It’s a theme that all the greybeards in the stadium remember all too well.

It was one game. But a new game. One day. But a new day.

It was UTEP but it’s what you expect Nebraska to do against UTEP.