Strong defense from Dante Dowdell and Janiran Bonner and a rushing touchdown led Nebraska to a 14-7 victory over Rutgers in Big Ten action on Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) had four sacks and limited the Scarlet Knights to 78 yards on their own. Nebraska also intercepted Rutgers quarterback Ahsan Kaliakmanis twice. Kaliakumanis completed 15 of 37 passes for 186 yards.
The Scarlet Knights (4-1, 1-1) were 2 of 14 on third downs and 2 of 6 on fourth downs.
Nebraska led 14-0 until Kaliakmanis threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ben Black with 4:08 left. He capped off a nine-play, 50-yard drive with a TD.
Rutgers’ final possession started at its own 11-yard line with 2:17 left. The Scarlet Knights moved the ball to the Nebraska 26-yard line and turned it over on downs with 1:17 left.
Rutgers had two blocked punts in the game, the second by Jamie Wright-Collins midway through the third quarter, but was recovered by Shaquan Royal and returned 14 yards to the Nebraska 2-yard line. However, the Scarlet Knights were unable to capitalize as Nebraska forced a turnover on downs.
It was the third punt and fifth kick blocked by a Nebraska opponent this season.
The Cornhuskers scored on both red zone chances and led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and 14-0 at halftime.
Dowdell scored on the fourth-goal play from the Rutgers 1-yard line to give Nebraska a 7-0 lead, and John Hall added another point with 3:09 left in the first quarter. It was the first time this season that Rutgers allowed a touchdown in the first quarter.
Bonner scored on an 11-yard run with 1:48 left in the first half, helping to double Nebraska’s lead.
Dowdell led Nebraska’s rushing attack with 57 yards on 14 carries. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 13 of 27 for 134 yards. He was intercepted once.
Nebraska has held five of its six opponents to 10 points or less. The Cornhuskers are the only FBS team that hasn’t allowed a rushing TD this season.
–Field level media
