By Mike Marut
Northwestern and Nebraska traded blows throughout the game until midway through the third quarter when Nebraska scored its first touchdown of the final frame. The Cornhuskers forced the Wildcats to punt in every possession in the second half while Nebraska kept scoring . Most impressively, Tommy Armstrong Jr. nearly capped a 53 yard drive in the fourth quarter by hurdling some NU defenders. The original call of the touchdown was reversed and Nebraska had to put it in the old fashioned way: Ameer Abdullah 1 yard touchdown carry, his fourth of the night. Abdullah had one breakaway play for 50 yards and officially broke the 1000 yard marker with 146 yards making him the first running back in Nebraska football history to have three 1000+ yard seasons with the team.
Northwestern had trouble throughout the second half to get any offense going. Justin Jackson did his best to get the ball moving forward, but when the Wildcats were stuck in long third down situations, it became difficult for Siemian to hit his targets and convert.
Chris Gradone struggled to punt it away early in the game but increasingly set the Cornhuskers deeper until late in the fourth with a low punt that De’Mornay Pierson-El returned to the Northwestern 20 yard line. Despite the advantageous field position, the ‘Cats held the Cornhuskers to a field goal.
On the final drive for Northwestern, the Wildcats started at their own 25 and drove to their own 41 where the offense stalled. Cornhuskers got one first down then took to the victory formation and finished the game with 38 points.
Final Score: Northwestern 17 – Nebraska 38