Analyst Daniel Jeremiah brought up an interesting discussion when he wrote a scouting report on Travis Hunter. “a star was born,” Jeremiah noted. During the opener back in 2023, Hunter managed to send shockwaves. Against TCU, the kid managed to log in 152 snaps and around 11 catches. The kid made his mark that day and after the match against NDSU on August 30th, it ain’t no wonder why ESPN had decided to make Hunter the No.1 player on their list of Best Players in College Football. However, while Hunter did show his skills with 2 TDs and some solid rush, Deion’s team still ain’t safe.

And that is exactly what Connor Happer and Mitch Sherman talk about on Locked On Nebraska on August 31st. “It’s set up for Nebraska to really take advantage in the middle of the field,” Connor noted. While Hunter managed to lead the buffs to a solid 31-26 win against the Bisons, the revamped O-line, which has always been in talks ever since Deion decided to revamp the team, showed little to no progress. Not only that, but even the defense was suffering. We saw how easily QB Cam Miller was able to rush in some solid plays for the Bisons and the Buffs just couldn’t lock him down. This is the major weakness that Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers will look to exploit. We saw during the game that the Buffs had a hard time fighting in the midfield. Rhule will probably make sure that his boys focus on that whenever they get the chance. While Hunter was there to save the day, we did see him get run off the field multiple times as well. If the Cornhuskers manage to lock Hunter down, then it’s probably game over for the Buffs.

After the match, even Deion Sanders recognized the issue. “How many times are we gonna let the quarterback leak out?” Deion had asked while calling out his team’s defense. The Bisons managed to lock in around 1 score in each quarter. The team had 2 TDs and 2 field goals and this happened solely because Cam Willer was allowed to go 18-22 for 277 yards. Nebraska could easily make good use of this if we look at what Matt Rhule has been planning to take revenge for the 36-14 loss back in 2023.

What does Matt Rhule have in store for Travis Hunter & Co.?

The depth that the Cornhuskers carry on their defensive line is what will make them a big threat to the Buffs. We have kids like Nash Hutmacher, Jimari Butler, and Ty Robinson returning for this season. Not only that, but if we look at the total progress, the defense lineman had made, then we can spot around 100 snaps last year. While we did see the Buffs defeat Nebraska back in 2023, despite having a leaking offense line, the chances of the same happening this year are slim.

Another point to note would be the QB leading Nebraska. Rhule has decided to stick with Dylan Raiola as the starting QB for this season. The kid did transfer to Kansas City, but that was to be trained by Bobby Stroupe. Now Bobby is someone who has worked with Patrick Mahomes since the QB was in 4th grade. This alone gives Raiola the much-needed NFL experience to deal with Shedeur Sanders’ tenacity and Travis Hunter’s talents while holding the ball. We gonna find out what unfolds on Sunday, September 8th.