Nebraska football opens the season at home against UTEP. Here are three keys for the Huskers to succeed against the Miners.

The long-awaited debut of Lincoln’s professed savior, quarterback Dylan Raiola, is Saturday. It’s a big deal for the program that Raiola gets to start his career against a non-Power 5 program, a rarity for the Big Red, as they’ve opened their last four seasons against conference opponents.

Despite the obvious talent gap for Raiola’s first opponent, it’s still the best opponent he’s faced in his career. The most important thing offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield can do for his freshman gunslinger is get him into a rhythm. Quick, easy, simple reads that will give him confidence. There’s an advantage to “seeing the ball go through the hoop.”

Games like this against UTEP, where you’re clearly more talented than your opponent, are all about shaking off the cobwebs and building up to play at a higher level in the future. If Raiola goes into a compromising situation early against the Miners and doesn’t perform, it could hurt his confidence.

Once Raiola can prove his ability to do the simple things against UTEP, the Big Red can open the playbook and let their five-star quarterback prove to everyone why the hype surrounding his talent is justified and real. But what matters most in this game is building his confidence and creating a foundation for what the Huskers will hopefully see as a successful rookie season for the future of their program.

I find these types of matchups in college football so fascinating. You have a team that has every advantage you can think of in terms of facilities, nutrition, money, coaching, and talent, and the other team is paying to come to their stadium and get their ass kicked.

But that doesn’t always happen. Every year there is at least one unexpected surprise from a competition like this, and the goal of every power team is not to be the donkey.

The key to these games is simple: get on the gas early. The longer the game goes without a blowout, the longer the opponent believes they can beat the goliath. As the game progresses and stays competitive, the momentum starts to shift.

The crowd is becoming less confident and more fearful. One side is becoming less confident and more fearful, while the other side is becoming more and more confident that they can achieve what seemed almost impossible two hours ago.

Nebraska fans learned this two seasons ago when Georgia Southern ended the Scott Frost era at Memorial Stadium.

UTEP has a new skipper at the helm: Scotty Walden. Walden, 34, comes from Austin Peay, where he posted a 26-14 record in four seasons and led the Governors to their first consecutive winning seasons in 40 years. He takes over a UTEP program with one winning season in its last nine.

Walden is a young, proven winner who isn’t intimidated by a challenging first opponent as head coach of the Miners.

We believe that UTEP is the least talented team and should not be on the same field as the Cornhuskers. NOW needs to prove that immediately, because the last thing you want to give a football team with a young and motivated coaching staff is hope.

This could be a key to any match, but I think it’s most fitting for this match in particular. I know I keep harping on about the huge talent gap between the two sides, but it’s undeniable.

According to 247 Sports, UTEP’s average recruiting class over the past four years is 117th, while NU’s is 27th. Based on that, Nebraska will have the advantage in almost every matchup.

This team is going to lose this game in part by beating themselves. We’ve seen that they’re not immune to shooting themselves in the foot. In fact, making unforced errors was the exact reason they didn’t make a bowl game last year.

You lose these types of games by consistently giving the opponent chances to stay in the game. If the Big Red can keep the ball off the turf and out of the hands of the UTEP defense, they will be in a great position to start the season 1-0.

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