Nebraska Football Defense's Goal Line Gumption Hands Rutgers Their First Loss

In Nebraska, where no one-score victory is ugly, getting a stop when you absolutely have to get one is cause for celebration.

The Cornhusker defense did it in the final two minutes, securing a 14-7 victory over Rutgers in a classic, brutal, November-style Big Ten battle that took place on what might have been the hottest day in Memorial Stadium's history, where it was 97 degrees kickoff on the first Saturday in October with a blast furnace wind blowing through the old ballpark.

Upperclassmen like Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Marques Buford and DeShon Singleton made the big plays for Nebraska when they needed them, and the same was true for young guys like James Williams, who had five tackles, including two sacks, for the Big Red.

The 5-1 Huskers have proven they still aren't capable of stringing together four solid quarters of adequate offensive football, but the Blackshirts kept the conference's best running back at bay, still haven't given up a rushing touchdown this season and put on a heroic goal-line stand in the third quarter that turned the game in Nebraska's favor.

Leading 14-0 at halftime despite allowing 65 rushing yards to Kyle Monangai, the Huskers had a blast as Dylan Raiola and the offense swooned in the second half. But it wasn't easy to hand Rutgers its first Big Ten loss.

The Blackshirts found themselves in a precarious position when the latest in a depressing series of special teams fumbles – the Scarlet Knights' second blocked punt of the game – gave Rutgers the ball at the Husker 2-yard line with 7:50 left End of third quarter. But the Huskers attacked Monangai for a three-yard loss that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the series. Although a holding penalty in the end zone against Singleton gave the Knights new life at the 2-yard line, the Blackshirts stopped Monangai twice more and Singleton tackled Kenny Fletcher with a rushing pass for a one-yard loss before Buford knocked the door down slammed a fourth down pass near the goal line.

Tenacity in the red zone and strength in the third period (Rutgers converted just 2 of 14) were crucial in a matchup that likely had more than one Husker fan thinking their team had just clinched an Iowa-style victory He trudged tiredly to his vehicle at dusk.

It was probably even uglier than an Iowa win (but perhaps not as ugly as an Alabama loss to Vanderbilt), considering Rutgers wideout Ben Black caught an 11-yard scoring pass with 3:40 to play caught that was supposed to do had two touchdowns. He dropped six surefire points early in the fourth quarter when Buford fell to the ground in coverage on Black's deep pass. But in Big Ten games, sometimes it comes down to things like that, or perhaps coach Matt Rhule's best decision of the day: going for the wind in the fourth quarter instead of the third.

Then there was Brian Buschini, who unleashed a crucial, wind-assisted, 69-yard punt with 2:28 left, forcing Rutgers to start its final drive at its own 11-yard line. And then it was up to the Blackshirts, remembering that they had allowed quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis to lead Minnesota to a game-winning touchdown on the final drive of the 2023 season opener. This time they knocked him out after four straight misses, with Williams hitting Kaliakmanis to force the Knights' final quarterfinal game into an incomplete.

Kaliakmanis had a tough time most of the day, completing just 15 of 37 passes for 186 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions (from Buford and Ceyair Wright). Raiola didn't make it any better. In what was easily his worst performance of his young career, the true freshman completed 13 of 27 passes for 134 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception, and received little help from a Husker running game that completely disappeared in the fourth quarter, yielding less than 100 yards for the game.

After its excellent first half, Monangai only managed 13 more rushing yards on nine runs in the second half, finishing with 78.

Buschini, who had blocked two punts and looked seriously hurt for a moment after the Scarlet Knights tackled him on the first punt, single-handedly pulled an otherwise weak Nebraska special teams performance out of the doldrums. He held Rutgers at 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 not even that could ignite the Husker offense in the second half.

Nebraska only had four first downs in the entire second half as Raiola and his offensive line appeared completely bewildered by the Rutgers defense.

If you had called Bushini 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,” said Rhule.

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

During the offseason, special teams coordinator Ed Foley plays “Whack-a-Mole.” Whether it's bad snaps on field goals, poor coverage from his punt gunners, or blocked punts, something new happens almost every week. Nebraska's kicking game is a net liability for the team, although Nebraska's consistent plus-one performance in turnover margin has usually been enough to offset that.

On offense, the most surprising statistic of the first half of the season is that tight end Thomas Fidone doesn't have a single touchdown catch. Fidone caught three passes for just 15 yards and no big plays on Saturday. He and Raiola had an awkward exchange in the second of three consecutive three-and-out games by Nebraska in the fourth quarter. Fidone was open for the first down on a third-and-six play from deep in his own territory, but the usually accurate Raiola delivered the ball at about knee height to the lanky Council Bluffs native, who leaned over but couldn't score a ball which should probably be considered catchable. It's October and the two really haven't developed a good rhythm, which is costing the offense a lot of consistency.

With a serious 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, leaving the Huskers ugly but in fifth place in the Big Ten, and it will be undoubtedly his will also be a prized possession at the end of the season.

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