Emmett Johnson’s 129 rushing yards, 103 receiving yards and three touchdowns propelled Nebraska to a 28-21 victory over UCLA Saturday in Pasadena, Calif. Johnson became the first-ever Husker running back with 100 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in the same game. Johnson cleared the third consecutive game and the sixth time this season. He’s the first Nebraska (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) running back with 100 receiving yards since Rahmir Johnson against Michigan in 2021.
Freshman quarterback TJ Lateef was sharp in his first career start as a Cornhusker. He completed his first 11 attempts and ended the game 13-for-15 for 205 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing five times for 31 yards. He outdueled Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who ended the game 17-for-25 for 191 yards and two touchdown passes while also rushing for 86 yards on 15 carries.
Nebraska couldn’t have started the game better. After forcing a three-and-out by UCLA (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) on the first drive, the Huskers marched 61 yards on nine plays (eight runs), with Lateef finding Jacory Barney, Jr., for a two-yard touchdown. NU led 7-0 with eight minutes to go in the first quarter. Then the Bruins went on a march: 17 plays, 75 yards, consuming nine minutes, 46 seconds. UCLA picked up three third downs and a fourth down before Jalen Berger punched in the tying touchdown from one yard out.
The Huskers’ next drive started at their 25. After Lateef passes to Barney and Johnson picked up 15 yards and a first down, Johnson ran for three yards. On the next play, Lateef lobbed it to Johnson on a screen pass. Johnson darted and weaved through the Bruins defense, scoring a 57-yard touchdown to give Nebraska a 14-7 lead with 10:58 remaining in the first half. UCLA drove from its 21 to the NU 38. On third-and-two, Iamaleava threw an incomplete pass. On fourth-and-two, Iamaleava ran and was stuffed by DeShon Singleton, losing two yards and turning the ball over on downs to Nebraska.
The Huskers took it from their 40 and churned down the field, with Johnson slipping his way into the end zone from one yard out to push the Nebraska advantage to 21-7 with 1:47 remaining in the second quarter. The Bruins attempted a 49-yard field goal but missed on the next possession, and the teams went to the halftime locker room with Nebraska leading, 21-7.
The second-half kickoff went to the Huskers, and Johnson took NU from its 25 to the Huskers’ 44 with three runs. Three plays later, Lateef connected with Johnson again for a 40-yard touchdown, boosting the Nebraska lead to 28-7 with 11:44 to go in the third quarter.
But UCLA wasn’t done. Iamaleava hit Anthony Woods for a 45-yard touchdown on the next drive to cut NU’s lead to 28-14 with just under 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. It remained a two-touchdown lead for Nebraska into the fourth quarter. With 11:33 to go in regulation, an Archie Wilson punt aided by a penalty buried the Bruins at their four. The first play of the possession was a run that Vincent Shavers, Jr., stopped in the backfield for a two-yard loss. But UCLA worked out of the hole and drove to the Huskers’ nine, where Iamaleava found Anthony Frias, II for a nine-yard touchdown pass to cut Nebraska’s lead to 28-21 with 4:54 remaining.
The Huskers took over at their 24, and two Johnson runs started the drive and gained 10 yards. Lateef followed with two sharp passes, one to Dane Key, the second to Nyziah Hunter, to take the ball to the Bruins’ 41. Johnson ran twice again to take the ball to the UCLA 31, and the Huskers ran out the clock to finish off the win.
Singleton finished the game as Nebraska’s leading tackler, with 11, including a tackle for loss and with a pass breakup. The Huskers outgained the Bruins, 361-348, despite the fact that UCLA ran 10 more plays than Nebraska.
The Huskers have the next week off, before heading to Happy Valley to face Penn State on Nov. 22. Kickoff time and television broadcast outlet has not yet been announced, though the game will be broadcast on KLIN and Froggy 98.