The Nebraska Cornhuskers return home following a 28-10 bounce-back win over the Purdue Boilermakers. However, the win wasn’t pretty. Penalties and missed field goals riddled the first half before the Huskers cleaned up in the second. Now, they’re facing a team that thrives on opponent’s mistakes.
Rutgers is 4-0 on the season, but several key moments in their last two wins went in their favor. In the Scarlet Knights’ win over Virginia Tech, the Hokies struggled in the first, which saw a punt return fumble that became a Rutgers touchdown.
Virginia Tech also failed a fourth-down conversion and coughed up a safety, giving Rutgers a 16-7 lead. The Scarlet Knights scored a touchdown out of halftime and almost did it again after the Hokies fumbled on the next drive. Rutgers failed on fourth and goal.
The Scarlet Knights managed to get a go-ahead field goal after Virginia Tech tied the game 23-23. But were it not for some of the Hokies’ mistakes, Rutgers would not have snatched the win.
The same occurred in last week’s bout against Washington. The Huskies only punted twice on their 11 drives but missed three field goals and failed two fourth-down conversions.
The play of the game, however, occurred when Washington allowed a blocked field goal to turn into a Rutgers touchdown due to a 12th player coming onto the field in celebration following the block. Washington also coughed up penalties that halted drives, resulting in points scored.
These scenarios are too similar to Nebraska’s win over Purdue, which the Huskers cannot allow to happen again. Nebraska continues to control its own fate each game, and the same applies here.
The offense needs to be clean and stop letting penalties halt drives. The defense can’t let Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis go off in his third game against the Huskers. The same can be said about Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai, who averages 6.1 rushing yards off 97 total carries. Finally, Nebraska needs to capitalize on field goal opportunities, not allowing any blocks or misses.
If the Huskers can carry their second-half play against Purdue into this game, they’ll be fine.
Score Prediction: Nebraska 24, Rutgers 14
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