by T.J. Birkel
Nebraska took a 14-0 lead into halftime against Rutgers on Saturday, and then held on for a gritty 14-7 win over the Scarlet Knights. In what was a tough, physical, old school Big Ten brawl between two of the conference’s newest members, the Huskers stood tall in the end. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano always brings a well prepared, well coached, tough minded squad, and this team came into Lincoln at 4-0. The Big Red will take this win all day long.
Now, onto the topline takeaways.
Cheers to That
Winning a One Score Game. My very first key to victory prior to the Rutgers game was “Get Ready for a Street Fight.” It’s always a street fight against Rutgers. On an unseasonably hot, incredibly windy day in Lincoln, a physical showdown unfolded between two teams whose coaches embrace hard nosed football. And it was wild. There were two blocked punts. A missed field goal. A failed fake field goal. A successful fake punt. A dropped touchdown pass. A superhuman goal line stand. In the end, Rutgers scored to make it 14-7 with just over four minutes to play, and then got the ball back with a chance to tie with about two minutes left. The Nebraska defense held firm, never allowing Rutgers to get close enough to make it interesting.
How many times has Nebraska lost a game like this in recent years? For the second week in a row, the Huskers had their back against the wall in a close game (reminder: Purdue led 3-0 halfway through the 3rd quarter). For the second week in a row, the team figured out a way to win. And in this case, the boys in red finished the job in a one score game, something that’s been a challenge for this program for a long time. It hasn’t always been pretty, but this is what it looks like when you’re re-learning how to win after seven losing seasons. Nebraska fans should celebrate this one. This is a good win over a good Rutgers team, one that just last week beat a Washington team that toppled Michigan by 10 points on Saturday.
DEFENSE!!!! Speaking of that defense…they are who we thought they were. Holy smokes. Somewhere, Charlie McBride, Jerry Murtaugh, and the Peter brothers were smiling. Just like at Purdue last week (and really, for most of the season), the Blackshirts refused to let the Huskers lose. They gave up only 264 yards on the day, and that goal line stand–which started at the 2 yard line!–was a thing of beauty. Rutgers stud running back Kyle Monangai came into the game averaging 147 yards per game. The Big Red held him to 78. What’s more impressive is that he had 68 of those yards in the first quarter. It looked like it might be a long day for Tony White’s crew, but the defense buttoned it up and pretty much shut him down for the rest of the game.
This defense has been really good all year long, but it’s been particularly impressive how they…