Ball-busting Blackshirts and Bushini Bombs are returning heroes for the Huskers.

In the hottest October home game in Husker history, the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 14-7 in a typical hard-hitting, low-scoring Big Ten contest. The official kickoff temperature today was 97 degrees, the highest kickoff temperature at Memorial Stadium for a home game since at least 1985. Temperatures of over 109 degrees were recorded on the field before kickoff. It was also windy with a steady southwest wind of 19 mph, gusting to 35 mph at times.

The Huskers are now 5-1 on the season for the first time since 2016 and handed Rutgers its first loss in five games. The Huskers are now 7-0 against the Scarlet Knights, but this game was a slugfest from the start and special team errors made things even more difficult. The Huskers won the toss and elected to receive, forgoing the customary second-half postponement. Head coach Matt Rhule wanted to be able to choose to have the wind in the fourth quarter and that proved to be a smart decision.

Nebraska drove to the Rutgers 44 on first down before punter Brian Buschini scored on his punt attempt, which was blocked and went just 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. It appeared he hyperextended his back during the game and wore a back brace on the sideline between punts the rest of the game. Later, in the third quarter, another blocked punt was returned to the Huskers’ 2-yard line. In both cases, the Rutgers players hit right down the middle. The Rutgers staff recognized a weakness on the tape and took advantage of it, which is not unusual for the Scarlet Knights as they have blocked a total of 43 punts and 73 kicks under head coach Greg Sciano. This mistake needs to be corrected by special teams coordinator Ed Foley, as his squads have been doing more harm than good to the team so far.

Without Buschini’s other incredible contributions on Saturday, the game could well have been lost. Buschini had a 61-yard punt in the second quarter and a 69-yard punt in the fourth quarter that pinned Rutgers at its own 11-yard line with 2:17 left. He now has three 60-yard punts this season and seven in his career at Nebraska. Buschini averaged 50.2 yards on his five punts, including two inside the 11-yard line. He also threw a 30-yard strike to Jaylen Lloyd on a fake punt, which accounted for more than half of the 55 yards the Huskers gained after halftime.

This game was put on the Blackshirts’ backs and they did not disappoint. They held Rutgers scoreless in the first half, becoming the second straight opponent to be shut out in the first half. Overall, NU has posted three first-half shutouts and allowed just 20 first-half points in six games this season. With the Knights having just seven points, this is the fifth opponent in six games in which the Huskers have scored 10 or fewer points. Unsurprisingly, it also means five wins for the Huskers.

Nebraska didn’t allow a rushing touchdown today and is the only team in the country that hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown this season. But it took Rutgers stopping it on six snaps from the 2-yard line to accomplish that. After the second blocked punt was returned to the NU 2, Hutmacher and Gifford intercepted Monangai for a 3-yard loss, Kaliakmanis then passed incompletely in the end zone, but Singleton was called for stopping. With the ball back at the 2, Monangai rushed for a yard (J. Bullock and Jeudy) and was then held for no gain (Hatter again). On 3rd-and-goal, Kaliakmanis’ completed pass to Fletcher was stopped, resulting in a 1-yard loss by Singleton. Kaliakmanis’ fourth down pass was then blocked by Buford, even though it was a disallowed illegal pick play. By far the defensive level of the season. Not a bad tribute to all-time outstanding defensive player Ndamukong Suh, who was in attendance this weekend following his induction into the Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame.

Rutgers crossed midfield on eight of its first nine drives and did not score a single point. On consecutive possessions, Rutgers lined up at the Nebraska 2 and 28 yard lines without scoring a point. Rutgers managed 70 yards in the first quarter and just 8 yards total in the final three quarters. Rutgers spent most of the second half in Nebraska territory but managed just 119 yards, 50 of which came on its only scoring drive. Their running back, Kyle Monangai, finished the game with 19 carries for 78 yards, but only gained 13 yards on nine carries in the second half.

The Scarlet Knights came into the game with just two turnovers in the first four games before the Huskers intercepted two passes from Athan Kaliakmanis and won the turnover battle again. Nebraska is now +6 in turnovers this season, with the Huskers outscoring their opponents 35-0 in turnovers. The Blackshirts recorded four sacks (Rutgers had previously given up just four in four games), nine tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hurries and nine passes, along with interceptions from Marques Buford Jr. and Ceyair Wright. The win on third and fourth down was significant as Rutgers was just 2 for 14 on third down and just 2 for 6 on fourth down. What a difference it can make coming off the pitch to keep the defense fresh.

Isaac Gifford led the Blackshirts with eight tackles, including 1.5 TFL, a breakup and a rush, while DeShon Singleton and James Williams each added five stops. Williams led the Huskers with two sacks and two more runs scored by Kaliakmanis. The “Sack Man” caused chaos late in the fourth period with the game on the line. Defensive lineman Ty Robinson had a nine-yard sack in the second quarter, leading his team to its fourth sack of the season. Robinson finished the game with three tackles, including two tackles for loss and a PBU. Nash Hutmacher also had a sack in his three crucial stops. Ceyair Wright’s interception in the second quarter was his first of his career and he also added two pass breakups to the game. Marques Buford’s second-quarter interception was his first of the season and third of his career. Buford also added three pass breakups in the game, a career-best.

Offensively, the Huskers totaled 261 yards despite outrunning Rutgers until the last three knee downs lost 6 yards. The first half was decent as the Huskers scored 7 plays and 75 yards and 7 plays and 72 yards. Ten more drives only gained 114 yards and ended with 8 punts and an interception. The second half was brutally ugly as the offense hasn’t played four quarters in all six games so far. To be fair, Nebraska was buried deep inside its own three-yard line on three drives in the second half and failed to dig its way out of that hole. As a result, the game’s call may have been more conservative so as not to make matters worse.

Dylan Raiola had his worst game as a Husker. After starting 7-for-10, he finished the game 6-for-17, going just 2-for-9 in the second half. His 70% completion rate suffered a minor setback. Raiola finished the game with 134 passing yards, only 14 of which came after halftime. As mentioned above, Buschini had more passing yards in the second half with 30. Is it because he made mistakes as a newbie, or was there something else wrong? He didn’t seem to exude the same energy and confidence as in previous games. I wondered if Heinrich Haarberg provided the necessary spark in the second half and at least created a running threat. The offensive line provided good pass protection, but Raiola was often hesitant and didn’t pass the ball to open receivers like we’re used to. When the Huskers were on a roll in the first half, Micah Mazzccua returned and provided a bit of a nasty guard.

Dante Dowdell led all rushers with 57 yards on 14 carries and scored a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter. Rahmir Johnson managed a 36-yard reception all season to set up Nebraska’s first touchdown and had a catch of at least 10 yards in five straight games. Johnson finished the game with five carries for 34 yards and three receptions for 40 yards. Janiran Bonner had his second rushing touchdown of the season with an 11-yard score in the second quarter. Before the 11-yard run, Bonner had five carries in his career totaling nine yards. Emmett Johnson also added 33 yards on 14 carries.

In total, the fourteen completed passes went to seven different receivers. Jahmal Banks had one reception of 31 yards all season in the second quarter, but that was his only catch of the game. Jaylen Lloyd (2 catches) had the 30-yard reception on a fake punt in the fourth quarter and of his 12 career receptions, eight have traveled at least 25 yards. Jacory Barney and Thomas Fidone each had three balls for 28 and 15 yards, respectively. Surprisingly missing was Isaiah Neyor, who went without a catch despite four goals. Our top two receivers, Neyor and Banks, were targeted eight times with just one reception.

I touched on the special teams difficulties above, but should add that they stopped a Rutgers fake punt on fourth down for no gain and the Knights also kicked a 52-yard field goal from the right upright. Jon Hohl had two touchbacks on three kickoffs and there was no significant return yardage in the kicking game.

In many ways, Nebraska outplayed Rutgers on Saturday by minimizing mistakes and making the most of the opportunities that came their way. Most importantly, the Huskers prevailed in a one-point game for the first time this season. Thank God for the bye week. It comes at a crucial time for the Huskers to recover and prepare for an Indiana team that took a 6-0 lead with a 41-24 win over Northwestern on Saturday. The Washington team, which lost to Rutgers last week, emphasized how hard it is to win on the road in the Big Ten, defeating Michigan at home, and Minnesota also prevailed at home, defeating Southern Cal. Defeating the Hoosiers in Bloomington will likely require a four-quarter performance unlike any we’ve seen this season. Go Big Red!!

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