Former Texas QB Casey Thompson off to hot start with Nebraska

The biggest game college football fans were ready to watch this weekend involved a former starting quarterback from the Texas football program. Former Texas quarterback and redshirt junior Casey Thompson is now the starting signal caller for head coach Scott Frost and the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big Ten as they battle the Northwestern Wildcats and head coach Pat Fitzgerald in Dublin, Ireland, in Week 0 on Aug. 27.

This game the Longhorns faithful something to watch with some added interest this weekend with Thompson trying to lead the Huskers back to a competitive level in the Big Ten. And it heightened the stakes that Nebraska is taking on a conference foe in this regular season opener.

It certainly looked like Thompson was comfortable and prepared for this opener against Northwestern this weekend. He had a solid first half for the Huskers, completing 17 of his 24 passing attempts for 231 passing yards (9.6 yards per attempt), one passing touchdown, no picks, and one rushing score.

Ex-Texas football quarterback Casey Thompson off to a good start with Nebraska

The solid start for Thompson in his first game as the Nebraska starting quarterback definitely drew some rave reviews and reactions from the Husker faithful.

There were plenty of college football fans prematurely talking about how Texas messed up by bringing in redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers to replace Thompson as the starter. But that is the type of reaction you can get from college football fans that have a ton of hot takes that have built up throughout the offseason.

Moreover, it will be interesting to see if Thompson can continue the hot start throughout the second half of this game. Thompson and the Huskers did take an early 14-3 lead at one point over Northwestern. But the Wildcats wound up coming back to score two straight touchdowns and take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The highlighting throw from Thompson in the first half saw him hit redshirt junior wide receiver and the former New Mexico State Aggies transfer Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda for a 32-yard touchdown pass near the right pylon in the endzone. Thompson put nice touch on the ball for what would be the first score of the game.

Last season at Texas, Thompson racked up just over 2,100 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, and 157 rushing yards with four rushing scores. He’ll be looking to prove himself in his second season as a Power Five starting quarterback with Nebraska this fall after getting off to a good start in the first half against the Wildcats.