In Nebraska, where no win is ugly, getting a stop when you absolutely need to get one is a reason to celebrate.

The Cornhusker defense did just that in the final two minutes, posting a 14-7 victory over Rutgers in a classic brutal Big Ten November-style battle that took place on possibly the hottest day in Memorial Stadium history, where it was 97 degrees. the kick-off on the first Saturday in October with a blast furnace wind blowing through the old baseball field.

Upperclassmen like Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Marques Buford and DeShon Singleton made the big plays for Nebraska when they needed them, and so did youngsters like James Williams, who had five tackles, including two sacks for the Big Ed.

The 5-1 Huskers proved they still can’t string together four solid quarters of adequate offensive football, but the Blackshirts held the conference’s best streak in check, still haven’t given up a rushing touchdown this season and put on a heroic match. The goal line in the third quarter turned the game in Nebraska’s favor.

A 14-0 halftime lead despite allowing 65 rushing yards to Kyle Monangai did the Huskers a world of good as their Dylan Raiola and offense swooned in the second half. But handing Rutgers its first Big Ten loss wasn’t easy.

The Blackshirts found themselves in a precarious position when the latest in a depressing series of special teams blunders – the Scarlet Knights’ second blocked kick of the game – gave Rutgers the ball at the Husker 2-yard line with 7:50 left in the competition. third quarter. But the Huskers gang tackled Monangai for a three-yard loss, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the series. Although an end zone holding penalty on Singleton gave the Knights new life at the 2-yard line, the Blackshirts stopped Monangai two more times and Singleton tackled Kenny Fletcher for a one-yard loss on a quick pass before Buford slammed the door shut with a knock . on a fourth down pass near the goal line.

Persistence in the red zone and toughness on third down (Rutgers converted just two of 14) were key in this battle that probably had more than one Husker fan thinking his team had just pulled off an Iowa-style win as he trudged wearily to his vehicle. twilight.

It was probably even uglier than an Iowa win (but possibly not as ugly as an Alabama loss to Vanderbilt) when you consider that Rutgers’ Ben Black, who caught an 11-yard scoring pass with 3:40 left in the game, did that actually should do. had two touchdowns. He dropped a pinpoint six points earlier in the fourth quarter when Buford dropped into coverage on Black’s deep pass route. But Big Ten games sometimes revolve around those kinds of things, or perhaps coach Matt Rhule’s best decision of the day, which was putting the wind in the fourth quarter instead of the third.

Then there was Brian Buschini, who unleashed a crucially important, wind-assisted, 69-yard punt with 2:28 remaining, forcing Rutgers to start its final drive at its own 11-yard line. And then it was up to the Blackshirts, who remembered allowing quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis to lead Minnesota to a game-winning touchdown on the final drive in the 2023 season opener. This time, they shut him down after four straight failures, with Williams making a hit on Kaliakmanis to force an incompletion on the Knights’ last-gasp fourth down.

Kaliakmanis struggled most of the day, completing just 15 of 37 passes for 186 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions (by Buford and Ceyair Wright). Raiola fared no better. In easily his worst effort of his young career, the true freshman completed 13 of 27 passes for 134 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception, and got very little help from a Husker running game that disappeared completely in the fourth quarter and yielded less than 100 meters before the game.

After its excellent first half, Monangai managed just 13 rushing yards on nine carries in the second half and finished with 78.

Buschini, who had blocked two kicks and briefly looked seriously injured after the Scarlet Knights beat him up on the first, single-handedly lifted an otherwise spotty Nebraska special teams performance. He pinned Rutgers on its own 5-yard line with a well-placed 41-yard punt that rolled out of bounds. The senior even completed a 30-yard pass to Jalen Lloyd on a fake punt, but even that couldn’t spark the Husker offense in the second half.

Nebraska had just four first downs the entire second half, while Raiola and his offensive line looked completely baffled by Rutgers’ defense.

If you had called Buschini the hero of the game you wouldn’t have gotten much of an argument from Rhule.

“I’m proud of the boys, proud of the team, and Buschini was an all-star again today,” Rhule said.

Buschini needs help on special teams. The upcoming bye week would be a good time to find out.

Midway through the season, special teams coordinator Ed Foley is playing whack-a-mole. Whether it’s poor field goal shooting, poor coverage by his punt shooters or punt blocking, there’s something new coming up almost every week. Nebraska’s fast-paced play is a net drag on the team, though Nebraska’s steady plus-one performance in turnover margin has usually been enough to offset it.

On offense, the most surprising stat from the first half of the season is that Thomas Fidone doesn’t have a single touchdown catch. Fidone caught three passes for just 15 yards and no big plays Saturday. He and Raiola had an awkward altercation during the second of Nebraska’s three straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter. Fidone was open for the first down on a third-and-6 play from deep in his own territory, but the usually accurate Raiola delivered the ball about knee height to the lanky Council Bluffs native, who ducked but couldn’t get a ball . grip on a ball that should probably be considered catchable. It’s October and the two haven’t really developed a good rhythm yet, which costs the offense a lot of consistency.

With one major stumble against Illinois, it was the defense that carried Nebraska through the first half of the season and to a win over previously undefeated Rutgers, which, while ugly, has the Huskers tied for fifth in the Big Ten and that will undoubtedly be the case. will be a valuable asset as the season comes to an end.

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