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The Northern Illinois Huskies (1-2) couldn’t make it two in a row against Nebraska as they were blown out by the Nebraska Cornhuskers tonight. Nebraska (2-1) was able to bowl over this Huskie defense all night, both through the air and on the ground, as they won the game 44-8 and gained more than 500 total yards.
The Cornhuskers were the first team since November of 2017 to have a 100+ yard rusher against NIU. Dedrick Mills carried the ball 11 time for 116 yards, including a run of 61-yards and a 24-yard TD scamper, breaking the 17 game streak the Huskies had entering Saturday.
Adrian Martinez, the Nebraska quarterback, was able to find plenty of open space for the Huskers. He finished the night 16/27 passing for 257 yards and had 11 carries for 44 yards, with three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and sat for the majority of the fourth quarter.
Ross Bowers and the Huskie offense never got anything going. The O-line struggled all game, leading to Bowers starting an abysmal 2 for 11 and, even worse, gave up two blocked punts in the first half which led to Nebraska points.
Despite the 300+ yard the Huskies netted on offense, they were never able to find the endzone. Well...except they did. There was one play early in the fourth quarter in which the Huskies clearly broke into the endzone...but the refs called the player short and the “review” was deemed inconclusive, despite everyone - including the announcers - clearly being able to see the ball break the plane of the goal-line (no, I’m not bitter...why would you say that?).
The Huskies will have plenty to talk about (and work on) during their bye week next weekend, as NIU doesn’t play again until September 28th.
We’ll see if the Huskies can correct their offensive woes and get their defense back on track two weeks from now when they’ll head to Nashville to take on against a tough SEC opponent, the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Stats
Nebraska:
Total yards: 525 (287 passing, 238 rushing)
Martinez: 16/27, 257 yards, 2 TD; 11 carries, 44 yards, 1 TD
Mills: 11 carries, 116 yards, 1 TD
Maurice Washington: 4 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD
JD Spielman: 4 cathces, 76 yards
NIU:
Total yards: 350 (276 passing, 74 rushing)
Blocks: 3 (two field goals, one extra point)
Bowers: 25/44, 248 yards, 1 INT
Jordan Nettles: 9 carries, 43 yards
Tre Harbison: 12 carries, 30 yards