A no-doubter for Nebraska football.
The Husker handled business Saturday to down Northern Illinois 35-11. The first win of the Matt Rhule Era gets NU to 1-2 on the season.
“I know for a lot of the fans, for a lot of people that care deeply about this program, this game was probably about having some hope that things are moving in the right direction,” Rhule said. “For me, this was about belief.
“I believe that what we’re doing is working. I believe we’re doing it the right way. I believe that we can overcome the first two games.”
A new quarterback saw snaps as the starter in this one, with Jeff Sims sidelined by an injury from the Colorado. Kearney Catholic grad Heinrich Haarberg got his first start at NU. Haarberg led the offense on five scoring drives, though the final one ended with Chubba Purdy taking his lone snap and handing it off to Gabe Ervin for a rushing touchdown.
Haarberg went 14-of-24 through the air for 158 yards and two touchdowns, adding 113 yards on the ground on 21 carries.
“I know I’m not the prototypical quarterback” Haarberg said. “I’m heavier, I’m faster, and I’m stronger, so I’m going to use that to my advantage and try to push my teammates.”
Haarberg was sacked just once, where he lost the ball and set up the Huskies for their only points until the final drive of the game.
This is the third game where the quarterback has been credited with double-digit runs and the second in which the QB had more than 100 rushing yards.
“We’re a zone option team,” Rhule said. “We’re gonna (run the quarterback). It’s part of our offense. I don’t care who the leading rusher is. We’re gonna run all those guys.”
NIU had trouble getting anything going on offense due to the relentless play of the Blackshirts. The Huskies managed just 149 yards, with 75 of those coming on the final drive.
The Blackshirts forced six three-and-outs on the day, helping the Huskers to a time of possession lead of 36:17 to Northern Illinois’ 23:43.
“I can’t sit here and tell you who played great on defense because I felt like they all did,” Rhule said.
Nebraska stays home to close out the non-conference slate next Saturday, hosting Louisiana Tech.
Nebraska Communications Notes
- Nebraska improved to 4-1 all-time against Northern Illinois and 8-1 all-time against current members of the Mid-American Conference.
- The Huskers have won 36 of their past 38 home openers with tonight’s win and improved to 50-10 all-time in night games at Memorial Stadium.
- Sophomore quarterback Heinrich Haarberg made his first career start in tonight’s game. Haarberg is the first Nebraska native to start at quarterback since Noah Vedral started games against Indiana and Minnesota in 2019.
- Haarberg is just the fourth Nebraska native to start a game at quarterback since 2001 (Vedral, Ryker Fyfe, Ron Kellogg III). Haarberg is the first Nebraska native to start and win a game since Ryker Fyfe led Nebraska to a win over Maryland in 2016.
- Haarberg completed 14-of-24 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Haarberg also rushed for a career-high 98 yards on 21 carries.
- Nebraska allowed 149 yards of total offense, the fewest by a Nebraska opponent since Kansas had 87 yards against the Huskers on Nov. 13, 2010.
- Nebraska limited Northern Illinois to 26 rushing yards, the fewest by a Husker opponent since Purdue had -2 rushing yards on Dec. 5, 2020.
- The Nebraska defense had 3.0 sacks and 5.0 tackles for loss. The Huskers entered the game leading the nation with 11 sacks. Nebraska has had at least three sacks in all three games this season. This is the first time NU has had three sacks in three straight games in the same season since the first three games of 2019 (South Alabama, Colorado, Northern Illinois). Overall, Nebraska has had at least three sacks in four straight games including last year’s season finale at Iowa.
- Nose tackle Nash Hutmacher had a career night, with a career-high six tackles, including a career-best 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. His previous highs were four tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss. Hutmacher had a pair of tackles for loss on a red zone drive in the first quarter when Nebraska limited NIU to a field goal.
- Tight end Thomas Fidone II caught a career-high four passes for 42 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown, in the first half. This marks Fidone’s second straight game with a touchdown reception.
- Senior receiver Billy Kemp IV had an 8-yard TD reception in the first quarter to open the scoring, marking his first touchdown as a Husker. Kemp had three catches in the game to push his career total to 200 receptions. Entering this week, only six active FBS players had 200 career catches.
- Senior linebacker Luke Reimer had two tackles increasing his career total to 257. Reimer moved into 10th place on the Nebraska career tackles list, passing Marc Munford (256) and tying Ed Stewart (257).
- Northern Illinois converted a Husker fumble in the first quarter into a field goal. That ended a streak of four straight games of not allowing a point in the first quarter for the Nebraska defense.
- Offensive tackle Turner Corcoran made his 30th career start.
Today’s game captains were C Ben Scott, RB Rahmir Johnson, DT Ty Robinson and LB Nick Henrich.