Tag: Big Ten Conference football

Defensive back Issac Gifford named to 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

Nebraska defensive back Isaac Gifford was named to the 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List on Thursday.

Another Husker football player enters the 2024 season on an award watchlist. Nebraska defensive back Isaac Gifford was named to the 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List on Thursday.

Named for Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 National Championship-winning quarterback of the University of Florida Gators, the Wuerffel Trophy is presented to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field.

Gifford actively contributes to the Huskers’ Life Skills program, volunteering extensively at the Lincoln Food Bank, speaking at schools, and helping with hospital visits.

In the spring of 2024, Gifford received the Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award and was named to the Tom Osborne and Brook Berringer Citizenship Teams for his community work.

On the field, Gifford led Nebraska with 86 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss, and was second on the team in pass breakups with eight. Gifford is one of 11 semifinalists for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy and will be honored as part of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

The 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy finalists and recipients will be selected on ESPN’s Home Depot College Football Awards Show in December. The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Presentation Gala will take place in February at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

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Frank Solich to be inducted into the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame added a former Husker to the class.

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame added a former Husker to the class. Nebraska alumni Frank Solich will be the 22nd Husker to be inducted into the hall of fame and is Nebraska’s first inductee since 2022 when Zach Wiegert earned an induction.

Solich played and coached for Nebraska, serving as the Huskers’ fullback and head coach. As a fullback, Solich joined Bob Devaney’s first recruiting class and finished as a three-year letterman. In his final season, Solich was named All-Big Eight fullback and the Huskers’ 1965 team co-captain.

He still holds the school’s single-game rushing record for fullbacks, which he set in 1965 against Air Force. In the game, Solich rushed for 204 yards, which added to his season rushing total of 580 yards.

Following his playing career, Solich rejoined Nebraska’s football team as a coach in 1979, coaching the freshmen and then the running backs until 1998. Solich then took over as head coach upon Tom Osborne’s retirement and held the role until 2003 before being let go.

In his tenure as the Huskers’ head coach, Solich went 58-19, leading Nebraska to bowl games each year, including the Fiesta Bowl in 1999 and the Rose Bowl in 2001. Solich then joined the University of Ohio as its head coach and remained there until 2020, when he officially retired.

Solich finished his coaching career with a record of 173-101 in games and 7-9 in bowl games.

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Oregon running back Dante Dowdell transfers to Nebraska

Oregon running back Dante Dowdell announced that he is transferring to the Huskers for the upcoming season.

Nebraska football received its second big transfer in less than 24 hours after its first. Oregon running back Dante Dowdell announced that he is transferring to the Huskers for the upcoming season.

Dowdell enters the 2024 season as a sophomore after playing his freshman year at Oregon. The four-star recruit out of Picayune, Mississippi native came out of high school rushing for 5,301 yards and 65 touchdowns.

The six-foot-two 215 pounder competed in six games for the Ducks in his first year. Across the six games, Dowdell rushed for 90 yards off 17 carries and a touchdown. Dowdell’s big game came against Portland State, where he finished with 55 yards and a touchdown off eight carries.

Dowdell joins a deep running back room for Nebraska, who finished second in the Big Ten in yards per game. Dowdell is also joining Texas wide receiver Isaiah Neyor as big transfers coming to Nebraska.

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Texas wide receiver Isaiah Neyor commits to Nebraska

The Huskers received another big addition to their team in the offseason, this time coming from the transfer portal.

The Huskers received another significant addition to their team in the offseason, this time coming from the transfer portal. Texas wide receiver Isaiah Neyor announced on Twitter late Friday night that he is committed to Nebraska after spending two seasons with the Longhorns.

The 6-foot-3 wide receiver transfers from Texas with two years of eligibility left and is coming to Lincoln with a solid resume. However, his time with the Longhorns resulted in minimal action for the Fort Worth, Texas, getting just one catch for 14 yards.

But before Texas, Neyor made a name for himself at Wyoming. In three seasons with the Cowboys, Neyor hauled in 52 catches for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Neyor came out of high school as a two-star wide receiver and will be the second Texas wide receiver to transfer to Nebraska in the past three years, joining former Husker Marcus Washington.

Neyor is also just the second player to commit to Nebraska from the transfer portal this offseason, the first being cornerback Blye Hill from Saint Francis University.

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Nebraska falls in overtime to Wisconsin

Based off the first two drives, it seemed as though Nebraska came to dominate on offense against Wisconsin.

Based on the first two drives, it seemed as though Nebraska came to dominate on offense against Wisconsin. But those hopes were soon extinguished on a gutsy fourth-down call by head coach Matt Rhule. Instead of attempting a 50-yard field, the Huskers went for it on fourth and one, only to be halted by the Badgers.

Then everything changed. Wisconsin outscored Nebraska 24-3 from there on out, resulting in a 24-17 overtime win for the Badgers.

Chubba Purdy earned the start for the Huskers and delivered the best showing by a Nebraska quarterback in the last few weeks. Purdy threw for 169 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown. Purdy’s touchdown pass saw him throw a dot to freshman Jaylen Lloyd, who broke a tackle and took off for a score.

But Nebraska never found its way into the endzone after that. Tristan Alvano sent the game into overtime with a 30-yard field goal after missing a 42-yarder earlier, but the inconsistent offensive play resulted in the loss.

Despite surrendering 24 points, the defense made big stops on the night, including back-to-back fourth down stops and holding Braelon Allen to just 62 yards rushing. Allen did score two touchdowns as Wisconsin slowly but surely worked its way into the endzone each time.

Nebraska falls to 5-6 on the season and will return home to host Iowa on Friday afternoon. The Huskers need to win their season finale to become bowl-eligible. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be viewed on CBS.

Turnovers doom Nebraska football in 13-10 loss to Maryland

The Huskers spent the entire season struggling to perform on offense.

The Huskers spent the entire season struggling to perform on offense. Nebraska averaged under 20 points and over two turnovers per game, with two quarterbacks heading into its Saturday showdown with Maryland. Somehow, the Huskers’ offense hit rock bottom, losing to the Terrapins 13-10.

Nebraska saw three quarterbacks sit under center throughout the game: Heinrich Haarberg, Jeff Sims, and Chubba Purdy. The trio combined for 86 passing yards, 66 rushing yards and five turnovers. Haarberg got the start but was benched after an interception and an injury. Sims took over and helped Nebraska score all 10 points. But he threw two interceptions and fumbled once.

Purdy then came in on what would be Nebraska’s final drive and almost led the Huskers to a game-winning score. But threw an interception in the endzone, which ended up being the play of the game for Maryland. The Terrapins marched down the field and kicked a game-winning field goal on the next drive for the win. They only scored six points off the five turnovers, but it was enough to secure a win.

This overshadowed the rest of Nebraska’s play in the game, as they rushed for 183 yards and held Maryland to its lowest-scoring scoring performance of the season, as well as forcing three turnovers.

The Huskers now stand at 5-5 on the regular season and will travel to Wisconsin next Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be viewed on NBC.

Huskers disappointed with performance in loss

Following Nebraska’s 20-17 defeat to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon, head coach Matt Rhule expressed his disappointment in the result. 

Following Nebraska’s 20-17 defeat to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon, head coach Matt Rhule expressed his disappointment in the result.

“You know, obviously disappointed in the result today. A lot of credit goes to Michigan State. They battled, they fought. They’re a team that’s lost these games this year in the fourth quarter and they found a way to win it. That’s a credit to them, credit to coach Barnett. It was a great atmosphere. Disappointed. Just wasn’t our best game today. I think all across the board. We didn’t tackle the way we normally do. We gave up some big plays.”

The Husker defense only allowed 295 total yards of offense but did surrender 232 yards in the air for an average of 9.7 yards per pass. The offense struggled heavily, with only 277 yards of total offense and three turnovers. The Husker head coach also said he was proud of the way his team played, regardless of the result.

“Proud of the guys’ effort. I thought they fought at the end to go back and get the ball back on defense and try to block the kick. Go down and try to give us a chance to kick a field goal and tie the game, which I expect us to go do. But, the whole performance was just not our best.”

Nebraska will now prepare to host the Maryland Terrapins this Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and can be seen on Peacock.

Find social media reactions to the game below.

How will delayed season impact the BIG 10 long term?

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the status of the BIG 10 following a decision to delay the season.

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the status of the BIG 10 following a decision to delay the season.

The Big Ten releases a statement about instructions for fall camp

An update from the Big Ten on instructions for fall camp

On top of the news that the MAC is cancelling their fall football season, things are not looking great for the Big Ten conference this fall.

This morning, the Big Ten conference released a statement about the upcoming start of fall camp and announced that they would be taking a very cautious approach. Within the release, the conference detailed that athletes will wear helmets only, and will not move to pads beyond the first two days.

The decision is related to the fact that there is still uncertainty surrounding a start date to the season, and if that start date will come this fall.

Here is the complete release from the Big Ten.

Next … Big Ten statement on fall camp progression

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