Nebraska’s 28–21 win over Northwestern wasn’t just another one-score grind — it was the exact kind of response game the Huskers needed a week after stalling out against Minnesota. They built a 15-point lead, watched it disappear, then put together a long, composed, grown-up drive to take it back. That, more than the style points, is what will matter in November.
The plan early was obvious: lean on Emmett Johnson and make life easier for Dylan Raiola. Nebraska ran the ball on seven of its first 10 snaps, and Johnson kept finding 4- and 5-yard chunks behind a line that was clearly determined to look better than it did the week before. That commitment set up the first score — a Johnson-heavy series that ended with Raiola’s short red-zone toss — and gave Nebraska a 7–3 lead after the first quarter. Johnson would go on to have a workhorse performance: 27 carries, 124 yards, and two touchdowns, his effort on the final drive sealing it.