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Nebraska won a 1-score game. That’s not a misprint. The Huskers were in a tight game late in the fourth quarter at home on Saturday against Rutgers, and while the offense did its best to make fans sweat, the Blackshirts locked down the Rutgers offense to secure a 14-7 win.
In Matt Rhule’s second season, the Huskers are 5-1. They are 1 win away from bowl eligibility for the first time in nearly a decade.
Here are 3 takeaways from the win.
Blackshirts do it again
Time and time again, the Blackshirts have come up huge in crucial moments. On Saturday against Rutgers, the defense forced 2 turnovers, 3 turnovers on downs, a 3-and-out, and watched a second-quarter drive end without points as a field goal attempt bounced off the uprights.
Rutgers averaged just 3.8 yards per play. Nebraska generated 9 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. The ground game was a non-factor, with Kyle Monangai limited after the first quarter. The Rutgers’ leading rusher had 60 yards in the first quarter and just 18 over the final 3.
Midway through the third quarter, Rutgers blocked a punt from Nebraska and fell on the ball at the NU 2-yard-line. The Huskers’ 2-score lead looked precarious.
Rutgers ran 5 plays, did not gain a single yard, and turned the ball back over to Nebraska on downs.
After giving up a touchdown that cut the lead to 7 midway through the fourth, the Blackshirts were again asked rise up and hold their ground. Nebraska went 3-and-out and bled just 1:47 off the clock after the score. The Huskers punted back to Rutgers with 2:17 to play. Rutgers gained just 15 yards before turning it back over to Nebraska.
James Williams was a madman in the second half and finished with 2 sacks. Ty Robinson had a pass breakup and 2 TFLs. Nash Hutmacher had a sack. The Huskers mixed coverages and stymied the Scarlet Knights. Nebraska has a scary defense.
Offense dries up
Nebraska was outgained in the win. The Scarlet Knights gained 264 yards to Nebraska’s 261. Slight, sure, but the point is clear. Nebraska leaned on its defense to secure a win. For a team that has endured historic struggles in close games, you’d like to see Nebraska show a little more might and kill games off when they have control.
NU had a 14-0 lead at the half. Janiran Bonner ran in an 11-yard score with 1:48 to play that capped a 7-play, 72-yard drive. That was 1 of only 8 plays all day (11%) that gained 10 yards or more. And 1 of those plays was a 30-yard fake punt pass from Brian Buschini.
Rutgers entered Saturday’s game allowing 5.9 rush yards per carry. Excluding sacks, Nebraska averaged just 3.4 yards per rushing attempt. Quarterback Dylan Raiola was picked off. Everything was tough, particularly in the second half.
Nebraska had 3 drives go 3-and-out in the second half. Another gained 26 yards in 7 plays and ended with a punt after 3:59 came off the clock. Another gained 34 yards on 10 plays and drained 5:01 off the clock. Nebraska could not help itself when it had the ball. On the heels of a 7-point second half in the loss to Illinois and then a scoreless first half last week at Purdue, Nebraska’s inability to put together a complete offensive game is becoming a problem.
Buschini gets the game ball
Nebraska’s punter, Brian Buschini, was up-ended early on in the game. After punting the ball away, a defender crashed into his kicking leg, took out his plant leg, and flipped him onto his head. He took a beat to get up off the field. (Hard to blame him.)
Nebraska punter Brian Buschini was slow to get up after taking a heavy hit on this play pic.twitter.com/QfC1GANWLz
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2024
That might have been the end of the day for someone else. Buschini stayed in the game and proved a massive weapon for the Huskers. Yes, he had the fake punt pass. (That drive ended with a punt.) He flipped field position constantly, finishing the day with 5 punts for an average of 50.2 yards. He downed 2 of those inside the 20, including a 69-yarder that pinned Rutgers at its own 11 on its final possession of the game.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.