After one game, Nebraska’s offense appeared to have potential. There was no clear leader among its four leading running backs, who each had a similar number of carries against UTEP.

This week’s Pregame Perspective focuses on this topic. What will the season hold for the Husker running game? Who will emerge as the busiest, most effective rusher?

On a beautiful afternoon in Lincoln, before the Nebraska-Colorado game, I asked this question to 100 Husker fans in the south parking lot of Haymarket Park, on the university campus, and on South 12th Street:

“Which of these four Nebraska running backs will have the most rushing attempts this year?”
• Dante Dowdell
• Gabe Ervin Jr.
• Emmett Johnson
• Rahmir Johnson
• All the same?

A clear leader emerged. Sophomore transfer Dante Dowdell, a transfer from the University of Oregon, topped the list with 43 percent. Dowdell was a four-star prep performer out of Mississippi who built momentum early, ran for 55 yards on eight carries and a touchdown early in the game, then fumbled inside the UTEP 10-yard line and didn’t get another carry.

Gabe Ervin Jr. was second with 24 percent. The junior from Buford, Georgia, is coming back from a hip injury that sidelined him for most of last season. He scored two touchdowns and had 24 yards on six carries against UTEP.

In third place with 19 percent of the vote was sophomore Emmett Johnson, a Minnesota native whose playing time increased dramatically in the back half of 2023. Against UTEP, he had the longest run of the day, a 43-yarder, and had eight carries for 71 yards.

Rahmir Johnson, a senior who got the first carries last week against UTEP and went on to have 50 yards on 11 carries, finished with 12 percent of the vote.

Two voters chose the option ‘everything about the same’.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers on SInext HuskerMax on Xand visiting HuskerMax.com daily.