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Nebraska hires Dana Holgorsen as offensive consultant: source
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Nebraska hires Dana Holgorsen as offensive consultant: source

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has hired former Houston and West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen as an offensive consultant for the remainder of the season in an effort to revitalize a struggling offense led by freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.

A team source confirmed the news The athlete. ESPN first reported the move.

Holgorsen, 53, served as an advisor and scout at TCU this year. He was fired from Houston last November and visited Nebraska in early January as coach Matt Rhule sought to shift offensive coaching responsibilities after his first season with the Huskers.

Rhule eventually hired Glenn Thomas of the Pittsburgh Steelers as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield moved from coaching the quarterbacks to the tight ends, but still retained responsibility for game management.

The Huskers have lost three straight games after a 5-1 start and their offense ranks 99th nationally with 354.1 yards per game.

Raiola, who transferred from Georgia to Nebraska last December and won the QB job before his freshman season, didn’t throw a touchdown pass in three games in October after throwing nine in the first five games. The Huskers have averaged 18.3 points in six Big Ten games.

“Eighteen points a game,” Rhule said Monday, “that’s not good enough.”

Rhule said he plans to bring in “outside people” this week while the Huskers are 5-4 on a bye before visiting USC on Nov. 16 and finishing with Wisconsin and Iowa.

Enter Holgorsen, considered one of the best offensive minds in college football during his nine seasons at West Virginia and five with the Cougars. He prepared as an OC and wide receivers coach under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and learned the spread offense.

Holgorsen has roots in Big Ten territory. He grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and played three seasons at Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant. He could be viewed as a candidate to take control of Nebraska’s offense after the season.

Satterfield has faced criticism as the Huskers have declined offensively over the course of the season after adding Raiola and a group of wide receivers that include 6-foot-4 transfers Isaiah Neyor from Texas and Jahmal Banks from Wake Forest, as well as standouts Freshmen Jacory Barney and Carter Nelson included.

The offense failed to score in the last two weeks against either Ohio State or UCLA and had a chance to win or tie in the final minutes. Under Rhule, who is 10-11 at Nebraska, the Huskers have not won a game in which their defense allowed more than 14 points.

“I thought we were playing better offensively than we are,” Rhule said Monday. “I thought we ran the ball better. I thought we had a really good play-action game.”

Nebraska has missed a bowl game in seven straight seasons, the longest drought among Power 4 programs.

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(Photo: Mike Watters / Imagn Images)

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