Week 6 - Rutgers

 Week 6 

After winning against Indiana last week, the question became, could they do it again? Could Mickey Joseph do what Scott Frost did one time and win against Big Ten opponents in back-to-back weeks? Well for Husker fans everywhere, the hope was very bleak after the first half. 

Entering what may very well be Rutgers’ most important game of the season, Rutgers got the “sellout” for just the second time this season and had their Blackout theme. This sellout was simply embarrassing with the stadium being about a third empty with the bare bench bleachers being visible in nearly all the sections of the stadium. Nonetheless, this couldn’t take away the fact that Rutgers came ready to play on their blackout night. 

Rutgers started off the game strong marching down the field and scoring with Nebraska Transfer Noah Vedral pulling a read option 21 yards for a touchdown. The Huskers then started poorly offensively ending their streak of opening drive touchdowns at 5 weeks. The Huskers struggled offensively much of the first half by turning the ball over, punting, (which in turn led to a blocked punt), and having our offensive line be non-existent leading to sacks, QB hits, and multiple QB hurries. Yet throughout this hostile environment, the Husker defense persevered around the offensive woes and held the game within reach. 

While the Huskers were already down 7-0, the Huskers were tasked with punting the ball from their own 39 yet it was blocked, however, contrary to last week, Blaise Gunnerson gave it all and tracked down the returner Day and stopped him from scoring at the 9-yard line. While this didn’t seem very important at the moment, the Huskers then allowed a mere 2 yards, causing Rutgers to settle for a field goal to take a 10-point lead. Going into half Rutgers led 13-0 in what led all Husker fans to again feel deflated with 30 minutes yet to play. 

Coming out of the half, the Huskers got on the board with a long drive marching down the field getting 4 first downs while feeding off of Rutgers’ sloppy aggressiveness leading to 2 penalty awarded first downs. Nonetheless, Travis Vokolek received a 7-yard touchdown pass cutting the lead to 6 and 13-7. The Husker defense quickly resumed its stiff nature and denied the Rutgers offense from scoring any more points the rest of the game. Following a crucial interception by Brandon Moore, Casey Thompson came back out and responded with a dime of a throw to the back of the endzone to Trey Palmer for a 27-yard touchdown pass. It was from that point that the Huskers didn’t look back and turned what was a game to forget into a game to build on snapping their streak of one-possession losses at 10. 

With the grit this team showed and alongside their resiliency, they proved just how crazy college football is. Following the Oklahoma game, it seemed that the Husker season was over, yet following Indiana and now Rutgers, it’s clear the Huskers have truly rallied around one another and believe in what coach Mickey Joseph is preaching as they have done what Scott Frost was unable to do and have a winning record as the head coach and win a one-score game. 

Going into Oklahoma week, all the blackshirts were revoked to reset the message and urgency needed, and following back-to-back second-half scoreless showings and wins, maybe it is time to hand out some new ones. Some players on my mind for their showings include Garrett Nelson, Nick Henrich, Ochaun Mathis, Ty Robinson, and Luke Reimer, with my bold *inexperienced* pick of Malcolm Hartzog picking up blackshirts. Regardless of if the blackshirt tradition comes back or if these players are the ones that do receive them, there is no denying how crucial they have been in the recent success. 

While next week we face a true hostile environment in Purdue, it’s clear that the Huskers are learning how to win four quarters of a game and win a game within one score. Regardless, the Huskers have now been (tied) atop the Big Ten West for two weeks running and I am hopeful that it doesn’t change for a while. 

Go Big Red.