Ad Disclosure
Rapid Reaction: Nebraska finally bucks 1-score curse, edges Cincinnati
Published:
During Thursday night’s broadcast from Arrowhead Stadium, ESPN’s camera crew caught a Nebraska fan in the stands with a custom shirt on. “We almost always almost win,” the shirt read. The fan wearing it looked happy as can be, but he knew — like the rest of Husker nation knows — that tragedy is always lurking right behind the corner.
From 2018-24, Nebraska was 10-35 in games decided by 8 points or fewer. The 10th win came in the Pinstripe Bowl last season, which Nebraska won 20-15 over Boston College to secure the first winning season for the school since 2016.
On Thursday night, to open the 2025 campaign, Nebraska won another 1-score game. Thanks to a defensive effort that limited the Bearcats to just 69 passing yards and 2 turnovers, Nebraska beat Cincinnati 20-17.
The win marked back-to-back years with a season-opening victory for the first time since 2016-17. Hope seems to finally be paying off in the Cornhusker state.
Sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 33 of his 42 pass attempts for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tailback Emmett Johnson ran 25 times for 108 yards. Nebraska didn’t turn the football over, dominated third down, kept the penalties in check, and bottled up the Cincinnati passing attack.
The Huskers struggled to close out drives for much of the game, but they outgained Cincy 353-271.
A Cincinnati fumble with only 1:02 remaining in the second quarter set up Nebraska’s first touchdown of the day — a 5-yard pass from Railoa to Nyziah Hunter with 11 seconds to play in the opening half — and gave the Cornhuskers a 13-3 lead at the break.
A 3-yard strike from Raiola to wideout Dane Key with 10:36 to play in the game put Nebraska up by 10 points and provided enough insurance to see it over the line.
Cincinnati had one final shot at breaking Husker hearts, driving inside the Nebraska 35 after a holding penalty was called on Malcolm Hartzog Jr. with just 41 seconds to go. But Hartzog immediately made up for the error by picking off Brendan Sorsby’s next pass and ending the threat. Raiola kneeled out the final 34 seconds of game clock and the Huskers walked off with a massive win to open Year 3 under Matt Rhule.
Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17
Here’s the Nebraska-Cincinnati box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Dylan Raiola vs Brendan Sorsby
A statistical breakdown of how Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola outperformed Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby:
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.