Matt Rhule secured his first win of the season Saturday with Nebraska rolling past Northern Illinois. One of the stars was Heinrich Haarberg who made his first start at quarterback for the injured Jeff Sims.

After the game, Rhule was asked if Haarberg’s performance could potentially open up a QB battle for the Huskers. The head coach declined to talk specifics or “hypotheticals” related to the position but noted he believes it is a good QB situation for Nebraska.

Rhule also said the team knows it can win with both players moving forward:

“I think we figured out that both quarterbacks are good quarterbacks. The situation that Jeff went and played in the first two games is difficult, okay? And a lot of the things that weren’t his fault were pegged on Jeff,” said Rhule. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in Jeff, we’ve known all along that Heinrich can play. We’ve got a good situation. I won’t talk any hypotheticals, I don’t know who’s going to be healthy and who’s not. But I know we can win with both guys and you guys know how I feel about Chubba (Purdy).”

It is true the competition level of NIU is a bit different than road games against Minnesota and Colorado. However, it can also be true that Sims has to improve his ball security in order for the offense to be effective.

If he is healthy, it sounds like Sims will be Nebraska’s starter for the time being, but Haarberg certainly had some impressive moments and helped produce the first win of the season.