On a balmy Saturday afternoon and evening in East Lansing, the Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the Michigan State Spartans 31-13 to improve to 4-0 for the first time in a decade. You have to go back to the Bo Pelini era to find the last time the Huskers won at Spartan Stadium (2012). It’s also the first time since 2019 that Nebraska has won a Big Ten opener. Conference road games tend to be rock fights, and any away victory is cause for celebration. Matt Rhule can attest to this because before this game his Husker teams were just 4-10 at Memorial Stadium. This game was generally seen as a must-win for the Huskers so they could continue to demonstrate their improvement and take another step toward national relevance. The team kept its promises.
Despite a step in the right direction, the game was hardly pretty. Sloppy play, penalties and now injuries are a concern, but the Huskers survived and dominated the Spartans, who may have set a record for most injury timeouts in a single game. Their sideline looked like a MASH unit. The Spartans’ biggest loss was an injury to running back Cam Edwards on MSU’s second possession. Edwards played a key role in their offensive scheme, and without him, the Spartans scored just 39 yards on the ground. Nebraska also lost a running back as Jamal Rule injured his ankle early in the first quarter and Jacory Barney left with an undisclosed injury after losing the ball on a fumble in the second quarter. Hopefully neither injury is serious.
Both teams scored on drives extended by defensive penalties. The Huskers blocked a punt, but were given new life on a defensive call and then scored on a 44-yard Anthony Colandrea bomb where Kwazi Gilmer made a spectacular grab. The Spartans’ first goal (a 48-yard field goal) was aided by a pass interference call on 3rd and 11, then a defensive holding penalty.
The game saw significant momentum shifts as Michigan State dominated time of possession in the first and third quarters and Nebraska dominated the second and fourth quarters. In fact, after intermission, the Huskers had two punts and a turnover on downs, with just 4 yards of offense when they took possession with 1:27 left and then scored on a 12-play, 66-yard drive. The difference was that when Nebraska’s offense was struggling, the Blackshirts limited MSU to just a field goal in each of their dominant quarters.
Michigan State was successful when they played at a fast pace and the defense couldn’t substitute, but the Blackshirts’ relentless pressure led to six sacks and ten tackles for loss. The other big factor was Nebraska’s 3-0 advantage in turnovers as Owen Chambliss and Andrew Marshall each had an interception and Donovan Jones picked off the QB and recovered the fumble. Nebraska fumbled twice, but one went out of bounds and the other was recovered by center Justin Evans. The Huskers also benefited from a key reversal in replay review when a 23-yard Spartan pass to the Nebraska 8-yard line was overturned, bringing the ball back to the 31 and the threat finally ended with a blocked field goal.
Nebraska’s offense continues to be sparked by the mobility of quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who has been able to escape pressure and find open receivers, or scramble to gain significant ground to extend drives. In fact, Colandrea was the Huskers’ leading rusher with 66 yards on 10 carries and no tackles for loss. He also had 15 on 27 passes for 212 yards, for a total of 278 yards, the third time in four games that he has topped 250 total offensive yards. His elusiveness made it difficult for the Spartan defenders and thwarted their defensive strategy, changing the dynamics of the game.
The offense didn’t produce the gaudy numbers it had against non-conference foes, but still racked up 369 yards including 212 through the air and 167 on the ground. This led to two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. The Huskers have had at least one rushing and passing touchdown in every game this season, and how about that for a surprising stat. The last time the Huskers had a touchdown both rushing and passing in each of the first four games was in 1999.
With Jamal Rule limited to just 4 yards on 4 carries, Mekhi Nelson had 61 yards on 15 carries and Isaiah Mozee added 23 more on 7 carries. With MSU selling to stop the run, it would have seemed like RPOs would have been more successful. But the Huskers managed to generate a ground game late in Game 4 by eating up 5:37 of the clock on a 71-yard, 11-play drive that essentially ended any hopes of a Spartans comeback.
Fifth-year senior backup Vincent Genatone stepped in to play fullback for the Huskers and was a surprise star as the North Platte native caught a 13-yard TD pass with two seconds left in the first half to give Nebraska a 24-10 lead. It was his first career reception and his first career touchdown. He then added his second touchdown on a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. One could question the clock management at the end of the first half, but the Huskers pulled it off because no one expected Genatone to pass the ball in a crossover pattern. Genatone became the third Husker to score both a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same game this season, joining Mekhi Nelson and Jamal Rule. Remarkably, before this year, only three Huskers in the last 10 seasons had a game with both a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown.
With the Blackshirts adding 6 sacks, they now have 15 sacks in four games, allowing them to far surpass the 22 sacks in 13 games last season. Williams Nwaneri had two sacks for a career-high and team-leading -25 yards. Donovan Jones’ strip-sack and fumble recovery in the third quarter marked the second straight week that Jones had a sack and it was also the first forced and recovered fumble of his career. Jamir Conn had a sack with 4 tackles, Dawson Merritt had a sack on MSU’s first possession and Jahsear Whittington had the final sack. The Spartans lost 52 yards on sacks and another 7 yards on extra tackles for loss. Riley Van Poppel made one of those tackles for loss and has made at least 1 TFL in every game this season.
Along with his second-quarter interception, Owen Chambliss led the team with a season-high eight tackles. Dwayne McDougle and Victor Evans each added seven saves, with Evans notching two TFLs. After a pass breakup and strong coverage in the first quarter, MSU stayed away from cornerback Andrew Marshall, but then made the mistake of forcing his way through again in the fourth quarter and he landed his first pick of the season and second of his career.
Special teams play was once again a mixed bag, but at least there was no holding back on Jacory Barney’s 12-yard punt return. Fortunately, Archie Wilson’s blocked punt was negated by a penalty, and he averaged 43.7 on his other 3 punts. Kyle Cunanan converted a 32-yard field goal and is now 3 of 5 in four games. Nyziah Hunter had a nice 18-yard kickoff return as the Spartans started from midfield and Nebraska contained former Husker Kenneth Williams who totaled just 63 yards on four returns. Williams Nwaneri was credited with a blocked field goal in the third quarter when he deflected a 52-yard attempt.
With the Huskers winning by 18 on the road and the offense only playing well for two quarters, one wonders how explosive they could be if they played well for an entire game. The third quarter slump is becoming far too common and one hopes that Rhule and Company can find a solution. The Big Ten continues to have weekly upsets with Iowa beating Michigan on the final play of the game, and Wisconsin surprising Penn State with a 14-point comeback in the 4th quarter. Dylan Raiola even shined in leading Oregon to a road victory against USC. Next week’s opponent, the Maryland Terrapins, were embarrassed at home 54-3 by UCLA. There are rumors that Terp head coach Mike Locksley may not be at the helm when the team arrives in Lincoln. Still, the Huskers need to take care of business, clean house and try to play a complete game next Saturday to improve to 5-0. So be it. Go big red!!
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