It wasn’t pretty, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers won their second Big Ten game of the year after defeating Rutgers on Friday night 14-13 in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Cornhuskers improved their record to 3-2 (2-1) on the season with the victory. The win is the first conference-winning streak the Cornhuskers have had since 2018. It was also Nebraska’s first Big Ten road win since winning at Rutgers in 2020.
Interim Defensive Coordinator Bill Busch continues to work wonders with the Husker’s defense. The Blackshirts were able to force three turnovers and only gave up 348 total yards. They weren’t flawless and did allow several big plays in the passing game, but the unit has come a long way from where they were just a few weeks ago against Oklahoma.
It was a tough night all around for the Nebraska offense, which was only able to amass 304 yards of total offense. Casey Thompson had the roughest night of all, going 23 for 36 for 232 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. In true Thompson fashion, though, he made a couple of big throws late that helped the Cornhuskers take the lead in the fourth quarter. The offensive line didn’t help by allowing Rutgers to put Thompson under heavy pressure the entire night.
The running game did not have much luck against the Scarlet Knight’s defense either. Anthony Grant had 47 yards on 19 carries for an average of 2.4 yards per carry. Grant had been averaging 120 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry heading into Friday.
Trey Palmer scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter to give the Huskers the lead. The transfer pass catcher had four catches for 64 yards and one touchdown. For the season, he has 40 receptions for 544 yards and three touchdowns. Palmer remains on pace to shatter Nebraska’s single-season records for catches and yards.
With the win, Interim Head Coach Mickey Joseph improves his records to 2-1 on the year. Nebraska now prepares for another road night game against a Big Ten East opponent as the Huskers head to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers.
Below is a collection of social media reactions to Nebraska’s win against Rutgers on Friday night.