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College Football

Rapid Reaction: Northwestern shocks Nebraska in Ireland with efficient outing

Ethan Stone

By Ethan Stone

Published:

Final score: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 28

Brief recap: Is Nebraska cursed? Perhaps, perhaps not, but it was evident that the Northwestern Wildcats were simply the better team Saturday evening at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Nebraska jumped out to an early lead on the back of new starting quarterback Casey Thompson. Just before the first half ended though, Northwestern stormed back, taking a 17-14 lead heading into the locker rooms.

The second half started similarly. Nebraska jumped out to a 28-17 lead before disaster struck. Scott Frost called a surprise onside attempt that failed, leading to a Northwestern score and eventually, on the back of 5-foot-11 bruiser Evan Hull, a Northwestern lead. Northwestern’s offensive line has to be commended, too.

That lead held, as did the final score, 31-28. Nebraska is now 5-21 in one score games and 3-21 when trailing at the half.

Key player: Ryan Hilinski was simply incredible for Northwestern. The former South Carolina signal caller had a career outing, completing 27 of his 38 attempts for 313 yards, 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

It was evident from the very beginning that Hilinski was going to play a factor in this game. He made the throws that needed to be made, but he didn’t force anything and was highly efficient. Perhaps his most important play of the game was the go-ahead score to Donny Navarro with just 25 seconds remaining in the first half.

Key moment: Nebraska was unable to get out of its own way Saturday. After taking an 11-point lead, the Huskers’ Scott Frost decided to draw up an onside attempt, to no avail. Instead, the Wildcats got incredible field position, punched it into the end zone and took away the victory.

Nebraska was unable to extend their lead beyond 11 at any point on Saturday. The Huskers took an early 14-3 lead before Hilinski drove the field and found Raymond Niro III for a wide open score.

We should have known that would serve as a microcosm for the entire afternoon.

Key stat: Nebraska is now 5-21 in one-score games under Scott Frost. We can label that bad luck, we can whittle it down to poor coaching at the end of games, but the fact of the matter is Nebraska seems to be doomed to keep repeating this cycle until the end of time. They can attempt to right the ship next game against North Dakota.

What it means for Northwestern: If you’re a Northwestern fan, it’s hard to take anything away from this other than: You are 1-0. The Wildcats were not favored in this game and could have faded into irrelevance after Nebraska’s strong opening drive. Instead, they took the punches, punched back and delivered the knockout blow in the form of a backbreaking final drive to drain the clock.

Football is a game of momentum, and Northwestern has all the momentum heading into its next matchup against Duke in Evanston.

What it means for Nebraska: There are decisions that are going to be scrutinized from this game. Frost’s onside attempt was ill-fated, but despite the final score it was not all bad for the Huskers. For one, Casey Thompson was better than expected. Not perfect, but better than expected. He finished his day with a strong 324 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns and 2 interceptions. That, alongside a strong performance from Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, shows some positivity, even despite the INT on the final drive.

There’s plenty of negativity too, starting with Scott Frost. He’s now 15-30 in four years and change at Nebraska, losing a game he was a considerable favorite in. What’s next for the head man in Lincoln? Only time will tell.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.