The tackle seemed unremarkable. An afterthought. A momentary delay of a full-scale momentum change. But Nate Boerkircher’s sprint to knock the Rutger’s defender out at the two-yard line may have quietly been the play of the game.
After Nebraska allowed a disastrous blocked punt, the second of the game, the junior tight end’s save of a scoop and score set up the Husker defense to complete a phenomenal six-play goal line stand. Isaac Gifford, Nash Hutmacher, and Deshon Singleton wrecked plays behind the line of scrimmage. Marques Buford broke up a fourth down pass. And the Blackshirts exorcised some goal-line demons lingering from the Illinois loss.
But none of it happens without Boerkircher’s effort. His winning play turned out to be the difference in a 14-7 Nebraska victory over Rutgers in a game only a football deviant could love. Temperatures nearly broke triple digits, winds certainly broke offenses, and special teams broke, well…broke. Period.
Yet the ugliness of the game couldn’t detract from yet another dominant performance from the Husker defense.
Blackshirt Barrier Holds Strong
Early in the game, the nation’s fifth best rushing attack looked like it would pose a major problem for the Husker defense. Behind the physical running of Monongai, the Scarlet Knights powered their way to 76 yards in its first 3 drives.
They would net just two more yards for the rest of the game.
Husker defensive coordinator Tony White brought a fourth lineman into its front, his defenders shored up their tackling, and Rutgers opted to turn to the throw game; unleashing Nebraska’s fierce pass rush.
Still, the Knights did enough to frequently threaten the endzone. Rutgers entered Nebraska territory nine times, but could break the Blackshirt barrier only once. Each of the first eight tries, the Huskers would stifle the ground attack, pressure quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis into off-target throws, or bring him to the ground. Only with 3:40 left in the game, did Rutgers finally break through the endzone with a tipped pass turned completion to narrow the score to one touchdown.
In the Knight’s next and last opportunity to even the score, the Blackshirts secured the win by repeatedly harassing Kaliakmanis until the Knights turned the ball over on downs. The quick stop capped off a gem of a performance by the Husker defense, which lifted the team above struggles from the other two phases of the game.
Husker Offense & Special Teams Provide Mixed Bag
The Husker’s first drive of the game ended in a violent blocked punt that appeared to have knocked punter Brian Buschini out of the game and perhaps out for the season. Luckily Buschini was able to grit out the rest of the game despite being in obvious discomfort all day, but the play was certainly a tone-setter for how the day would mostly go for all units other than the defense.
Yet the first half was largely successful for the offense even in the face of a gusty swirling wind. After the Blackshirts stopped a fake Rutgers field goal attempt to set up the Huskers’ second possession, Dylan Raiola led a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a beautifully designed and masterfully executed 36-yard screen pass to Rahmir Johnson that used wideout Jacory Barney as a decoy on a fake reverse. Sophomore running back Dante Dowdell would later cap off the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge to put the Huskers ahead 7-0.
Offensive Coordinator Marcus Satterfield wasn’t finished reaching into his bag of misdirection. After Nebraska reached the 11-yard line with four effective runs by Nebraska’s trio of backs complimenting a 31-yard pass to Jahmal Banks, Satterfield again used Barney as a decoy. The electric freshman motioned hard to the right as if to receive one of his frequent speed sweeps, only to continue to the flat and block a path for fellow receiver Janiran Bonner who followed from his wingback position. The sturdy sophomore from Georgia took a hand-off in front of Raiola and rambled into the endzone for a key score with just of two-and-a-half minutes left in the first half.
Unfortunately, the points ended there, and so did the good vibes on offense. The 147 yards gained on those two drives accounted for almost 60% of Nebraska’s yardage for the day. Raiola struggled for the first time all season; throwing his first truly bad interception of the year, hitting just 2 of 9 passes for 14 yards in the second half, and taking four sacks and an intentional grounding penalty. The running game couldn’t get uncorked in the second half either, netting just 11 yards in the entire period.
The lack of offensive production was stunning.
The wind was certainly a factor. So was field position, as the Huskers started drives inside its own two-yard line three times in the second half. Part of that, of course, was due to that second blocked punt on special teams. Despite those two catastrophic plays, however, the unit did provide some positive impact. This was mostly due to Buschini. While constantly grimacing in pain, he threw a perfect pass on a fake punt to keep an important drive alive and averaged 50.2 yards per punt, including a booming 69-yard dagger downed at the 11 that all but sealed Rutger’s fate on its final possession. His efforts earned him Big Ten specialist of the week and a blackshirt at the urging of his defensive teammates.
Like Boerkircher’s tackle, his play showed big-time effort, and Nebraska needed every bit of it. Teams that have two punts blocked, get out-yarded by their opponents, and fail to score in the second half likely lose those games 99.9% of the time.
Yet the Huskers won.
It will take that same type of fight for the Huskers to keep the momentum of their 5-1 record into a challenging second half of the season.