Friday Five: Nebraska finds a way at Arrowhead
Nebraska football opened its season Thursday night in front of a roaring Arrowhead crowd, taking down Cincinnati 20-17 to open the season.
Nebraska football opened its season Thursday night in front of a roaring Arrowhead crowd. We’ll get to that, but we also need to talk about Nebraska volleyball too. The Huskers powered through two top-10 opponents at Pinnacle Bank Arena last weekend before hitting the road.
With those two in mind, here are five stories to carry into the weekend.
Nebraska defeats Cincinnati, 20–17
Nebraska’s season opener had the feel of a heavyweight fight with tight quarters, body blows and one or two decisive swings that tilted the outcome.
The first came late in the second quarter, when Cincinnati appeared to have a clean completion before Vincent Shavers delivered a big hit. The ball popped loose and officials initially ruled it incomplete. On the field, Matt Rhule waved his arms in frustration, unaware the call had been overturned. By the time word filtered down, his defense had already celebrated the fumble recovery. Moments later, Dylan Raiola found Nyziah Hunter for a touchdown with just 11 seconds left in the half.
The second swing came at the very end. Protecting a three-point lead, Nebraska’s defense bent on Cincinnati’s final drive but didn’t break. John Butler dialed up a Cover 2 that put Malcolm Hartzog in position to leap in front of a deep throw and snuff out the Bearcats’ last hope.
“That’s what Malcolm Hartzog does,” Rhule said. “He doesn’t talk a lot. He just makes plays.”
Hartzog’s version was just as fitting.
“I did my assignment, looked up, seen the ball and I just made the play, man,” he said post-game. “And it felt unreal.”
This wasn’t a flawless debut. Nebraska committed costly penalties, left points on the field and nearly saw the game flip when a Raiola fumble slipped out of a Cincinnati defender’s grasp. But for once, the Huskers got the bounces, leaned on their defense and finished.
“Everybody says we can’t finish games,” running back Emmett Johnson said. “You see that’s what we did tonight.”
Post-game notes worth knowing
Nebraska improved to 99-32-5 all-time in season openers. It’s the first time since 2003 the Huskers opened with a win over a Power 4 opponent.
Arrowhead history tilts positive now: Nebraska is 2-1 all-time at the stadium, adding to a 1998 win over Oklahoma State.
The Huskers are 16-3 in August games, including 14-0 against non-conference opponents. This was their seventh straight non-conference win, the longest streak since 2006.
Transfer kicker Kyle Cunanan drilled a 52-yard field goal, a career long and tied for the 10th-longest in school history.
Emmett Johnson set new career highs with 25 carries for 108 yards, his second career 100-yard rushing game.
Dylan Raiola finished 33-of-42 for 243 yards and two touchdowns, putting him over 3,000 career passing yards. His 33 completions rank fourth in school history for a single game.
DeShon Singleton and Dasan McCullough both reached 100 career tackles.
Tight end Luke Lindenmeyer posted career highs with five catches and a 19-yard reception.
The stat sheet tells its own story: Nebraska leaned on Johnson to keep drives alive, trusted Raiola to deliver in key spots and had a defense that bent but refused to break.
Nebraska volleyball’s stage only grows
Dani Busboom Kelly couldn’t have asked for a stronger debut week. Nebraska took down No. 3 Pitt in four sets and swept No. 6 Stanford in the AVCA First Serve Showcase, flexing its depth and firepower in front of more than 15,000 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Now comes the road test.
The Huskers travel to Nashville for the Broadway Block Party, beginning tonight at Lipscomb and then facing No. 7 Kentucky on ABC Sunday morning. The Wildcats are projected as a December contender and the matchup—played in an NHL arena on national television—sets up as one of the sport’s premier early-season showcases.
Busboom Kelly knows the challenge.
“(Kentucky) will be good enough to be a team in December that makes it all the way, in my opinion, based on their roster,” she said. “That’ll be a heck of a challenge for us. And then you throw in the ABC and the 11 a.m. start. There’s a lot going on there.”
Nebraska knows it’ll have fans in the stands. The Huskers always do. This road test is instead about how Nebraska handles the unfamiliar of things like travel and a morning start time.
Looking at the weekend’s opponents
Lipscomb isn’t a pushover in its league, just to be clear. The Bison won 19 matches last year and nearly made the NCAA field but this weekend is a different weight class. They’re replacing four of their top six point scorers, including middle blocker Meg Mersman, who left with four All-ASUN honors. That kind of production doesn’t get patched over in one offseason. Drawing Nebraska and Kentucky to open the year is about the toughest hand a mid-major program can be dealt.
Kentucky is a much different story. Craig Skinner has his program right back in the thick of the national conversation, even after losing setter Emma Grome, one of the best to play the position in the SEC, plus outside hitter Megan Wilson and libero Eleanor Beavin. The reload came through the portal, with Purdue star Eva Hudson joining the fold. She’s an addition that could make the Wildcats’ attack pretty explosive.
Nebraska’s won 10 in a row in the series but this isn’t a match you chalk up as an automatic extension of the streak. It’s a ranked showdown on a neutral floor, broadcast nationally on ABC and a measuring stick for how well Busboom Kelly’s team handles its first road test of the year.
Johnson’s heavy heart
Before leaving the postgame podium Thursday night, Emmett Johnson made one request.
“Can you guys pray for some families back home?” he asked.
The Minneapolis native had played in honor of those affected by Wednesday’s shooting at a Catholic school that killed two children and injured several others. Annunciation Church, where the tragedy occurred, is just two miles from Johnson’s high school.
With “PRAY 4 MPLS” written on his wrist tape, Johnson carried 25 times for 108 yards and added seven catches for 27 more.
“Please pray for Minneapolis,” he said.
A somber reminder that even in a season-opening win, some burdens are heavier than the box score.
Nebraska football left Arrowhead with a win but with plenty to clean up. Rhule said the Huskers will get back to Lincoln and right to work. No surprise there.
Nebraska volleyball, on the other hand, rolls into Nashville with two top-10 wins and the country’s No. 1 ranking.
That’s a pretty good way to start a Friday.