LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Dante Dowdell and Janiran Bonner scored on 1-yard runs, and Nebraska leaned on its defense on a day Dylan Raiola struggled to beat Rutgers 14-7 on Saturday.
The Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) prevailed in the hottest conditions ever for an October game at Memorial Stadium and moved within one win of becoming eligible for their first bowl since 2016.
The Scarlet Knights (4-1, 1-1), whose offense scuffled for 3 1/2 quarters, made it a one-score game with 4:08 left when Athan Kaliakmanis hit Ben Black with an 11-yard touchdown pass.
“In many ways it was a tough day,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “Credit to Rutgers, credit to Greg Schiano. They did a ton of things against us. But we didn’t turn the ball over but once. We won the turnover battle. And it was as great a defensive performance as I’ve been around.”
Temperature at kickoff was 97 degrees with a swirling and gusty wind and both teams struggled in the passing game.
“I’ve been doing this 37 years. I’ve not been in conditions like we were today,” Schiano said. “Usually, if you have a wind like that, it’s a storm, some kind of hurricane, tropical storm.”
Raiola, Nebraska’s freshman quarterback, never was able to find a rhythm. He completed just 13 of 27 passes for 134 yards, all season lows.
“Those games happen, hate to say it,” Raiola said. “We won the game, which is all that matters.”
The work of the defense surely was something former Nebraska great Ndamukong Suh could appreciate. Suh, a 2009 Heisman Trophy finalist and consensus All-American before he went on to a long NFL career, was on hand for his Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame induction.
Suh led the Huskers out of the tunnel before the game and then watched the Blackshirts sack Kaliakmanis four times, limit the nation’s third-leading rusher, Kyle Monangai, to 78 yards on 19 carries and hold Rutgers to 264 total yards. Kaliakmanis was 15 of 37 for 136 yards, and he was intercepted twice. The Huskers also kept Rutgers out of the end zone 6 times on plays from inside the 2.
“Nothing short of elite,” cornerback Marques Buford Jr. said.
Rutgers had great chances to score but couldn’t until late. The Scarlet Knights’ second blocked punt of the game set them up at the Nebraska 2, but the Huskers held them out of the end zone on three straight plays after Monangai appeared to score but was marked short of the goal line with no challenge from Schiano. He said he didn’t want to use a timeout to challenge the mark because it was reviewed at the replay center in Chicago and he was told it would stand.
Later, Buford slipped in coverage, leaving Black wide open to run under Kaliakmanis’ deep ball along the sideline. But the ball bounced off the side of Black’s helmet and to the turf.
“They’re a hard, physical team up front,” defensive lineman Ty Robinson said. “I just think our roster decided to play a little harder.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights’ identity has been the run game, and they might have given up on it too soon. They rushed for 70 yards on their first two possessions going into the wind, and Monangai broke off three runs of at least 14 yards. When Rutgers tried to go back to the run, there wasn’t much there, and it finished with 78 yards rushing for the game.
Nebraska: As great as the defense played, the Huskers go into their open date with concerns on offense. Raiola was just 2 of 9 for 14 yards in the second half, and the run game averaged 2.3 yards per carry largely because of Raiola getting sacked four times.
BUSCHINI BOUNCES BACK
It was a rough day for Nebraska’s punter for three quarters. He had two punts blocked and moved gingerly the rest of the game after being shaken up on the first one.
But in the fourth quarter, Buschini made one of the plays of the game when he received the snap, took a step and pulled up and threw a pass Isaiah Neyor turned into a 30-yard gain. The Huskers ended up punting, and Buschini got off a 41-yarder that pinned Rutgers at its 5. His last one went 69 yards and forced Rutgers to start its final possession at its 11 with 2:28 left.
UP NEXT
Rutgers: Hosts Wisconsin.
Nebraska: Open date before visiting No. 23 Indiana on Oct. 19.
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