Nebraska hosts undefeated Rutgers in Big Ten play

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Back home, home again are the Huskers as they return to Memorial Stadium after a short trip east.

Nebraska (4-1, 1-1) hosts Rutgers (4-0, 1-0) in a crucial Big Ten matchup on Saturday – a game that should give each fan base a clearer picture of their season progression in 2024. This will be a scorcher both literally and figuratively, with record-breaking temperatures predicted at kick-off time in Lincoln.

GAME INFO

• WHEN: 3 p.m., Saturday, October 5th
• WHERE: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb.
• REGARD: FS1 (streaming on FOX Sports)
• HEAR: Huskers Radio Network
• VEGAS ODDS: Rutgers +6.5, O/U 39.5

The Huskers were successful on their first road trip of the season, defeating Purdue 28-10 after a dominant second half. It wasn’t perfect by any means, however, especially in the first half when Nebraska’s lack of red zone execution saw it miss two field goals and miss another wide left.

Luckily for the Husker offense, the Blackshirts kept them in the game, and they turned it around in the second half, scoring on the first three drives of the third quarter and slamming the door on the Boilermakers.

Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola had another solid performance, rushing for 257 yards and a touchdown in 17:27. Raiola was efficient and steady through the first five games of his college career, completing 70 percent of his passes for 1,225 with 9 touchdowns to just two interceptions.

That sample size now appears to be large enough to say he’s a good quarterback, period — and the Huskers are starting to open the playbook for him.

“I’ve said it from day one: However we want Dylan to play when he’s a junior, we’re just trying to coach him that way now,” head coach Matt Rhule said in his Monday press conference, raving about it boys signal – preparing the caller. “(The coaching staff) has a system built into the really high-level things because he can do high-level things. “I think he’s rare.”

Now Raiola and his group of weapons like receivers Isaiah Neyor, Jahmal Banks and Jacory Barney, Jr. will look to carry the momentum from last week’s second half into a home game against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday.

It’s been a season full of firsts for the Huskers since 2024, but this time it’s their opponent aiming for a long-awaited milestone.

Rutgers has gradually improved over the last four years under head coach Greg Schiano – who led the program to its first bowl game in a decade last season – and now the Scarlet Knights enter Saturday with a chance to move to 5-0 coming for the first time since 2006.

Who was your coach in 2006? None other than Schiano, who will be fronting the Scarlet Knights for the second time. He previously led Rutgers to six straight winning seasons from 2005 to 2009 before leaving in 2011 and returning in 2019.

“There are a lot of coaches who are considered ‘the best coaches in college football,’ but not many of them could do what (Schiano) did,” Rhule said. “You’re going to win at Rutgers, you know, before he got there, not many people had won there. He won there at a high level, left and came back, and he’s winning there again at a high level. He is a great football coach. Just a great football coach.”

He also has good players.

Athan Kaliakmanis is a name that may sound familiar to the Big Red Nation. The 6-foot-3 senior was Minnesota’s quarterback the past two seasons and went 2-0 against Nebraska. He led the game-winning series and defeated the Huskers 13-10 in last year’s season opener – Rhule’s debut with Nebraska.

Sharing the backfield with Kaliakmanis is one of the best running backs in the country: Kyle Monangai. Monangai – who was a 1,000-yard rusher last season – has had tremendous success in the first four appearances of his senior season, rushing for 589 yards and six touchdowns.

Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.