Almost everything was executed to perfection for the Huskers in their Blackout game. The fans understood the assignment, the field was painted for the special occasion, the atmosphere was electric, and the Huskers led 14-6 after the first half.
Then Dylan Raiola would go down with an ankle injury, the Huskers would allow for two big touchdowns, and a slip-up on the last gasp fourth down play to end the game saw the Huskers drop another heartbreaker to the USC Trojans, 21-17.
“Anytime we give up 200 rushing yards, we’re not going to be happy,” Head Coach Matt Rhule said. “At the same time, I don’t think anyone has held them to 21 points. They’re explosive, so I thought they had some really, really good moments, some valiant moments. We lost the game, so we’ll have to get better.”
After USC went three-and-out on its opening drive, Raiola and the Husker offense made a statement drive, with a pass to Dane Key from 14 yards out starting with a score. After trading punts, USC would add a 24-yard field goal from Ryon Sayeri early in the second quarter. The Trojans had to settle for the field goal after a false start penalty moved moved the Trojans back from the Nebraska 2 yard line. After another USC drive stalled out near midfield, Sayeri nailed another field goal from 49 yards out.
Nebraska’s next drive would have the passing that fans have wanted, with long connections to Emmett Johnson (14 yards) and Luke Lindenmeyer (23 yards), and Johnson would punch in the score from the 10 to head into halftime.
Nebraska’s first drive for the second half ended in a punt, but the Huskers would be right back into prime field position with an Andrew Marshall interception, giving the Huskers the ball back right at the Trojan 34 yard line. Four plays later, disaster would strike for the Huskers, as Raiola was taken down after the pocket collapsed around him, losing the ball in the process. That ensuing drive would end in no points for USC, as the Trojans would turn it over on downs around midfield.
With Raiola out for the rest of the game, it was TJ Lateef time and his first drive was steady handoffs to Johnson. His only passing attempt was to Johnson, but sniffed out quickly by USC’s defense. The Huskers would burn two timeouts in the drive. One of the timeouts was burned to potentially review a call that was unreviewable, and the second timeout was used to switch from a potential trick play with Heinrich Haarberg taking the snap, to going for a 52 yard field goal. The attempt was a doink of despair for Kyle Cunanan, and USC would tie the game up five plays later with a Jayden Maiava 16yd rushing score, and King Miller to score on the two-point conversion.
Nebraska would briefly retake the lead with a Kyle Cunanan 39 yard field goal, but King Miller would take the lead for Nebraska with a six yard scamper. The Huskers next two drives were futile, with the Huskers forced to punt four plays later, and the next drive ended when Johnson fell short on fourth down when he got tangled up with Lateef.
Nebraska was 15-22 when passing the ball for 98 yards, and a bulk of the offense came through Emmett Johnson, with 29 carries for 165 yards and a touchdown. Javin Wright led the way defensively with 11 tackles, and freshman Rex Guthrie had eight.
Nebraska is now 6-3 on the year, and they travel to California next week to take on UCLA. Kickoff is set for 8PM Central on FOX, and pregame coverage will start at 4PM on KGFW and 7:15PM on Hits 106 (105.9 FM)
