Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
WHEN: Saturday, August 27 | 11:30 AM (CT)
WHERE: Aviva Stadium (51,700 / Natural Grass) | Dublin, Ireland
TV: FOX (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard)
RADIO: Huskers Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Jessica Coody)
SERIES HISTORY
- Nebraska leads all-time series 9-6
- As Big Ten foes: Nebraska leads 6-5
- At Neutral Site: Nebraska leads 1-0
- Last Meeting: Nebraska 56, Northwestern 7 (10/2/2021)
- Win Streak: Nebraska, 1 game
NEBRASKA
- 2021 Record: 3-9
- Last Game: vs. #17 Cockeye (L 21-28 in 2021)
- Streak: Lost 6
- Rank: N/A
- Head Coach: Scott Frost (15-29 5th year | 34-36 7th year overall)
- Coach Record vs. Northwestern: 2-2
NORTHWESTERN
- 2021 Record: 3-9
- Last Game: at Illinois (L 14-47 in 2021)
- Streak: Lost 6
- Rank: N/A
- Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (109-90 17th year | 109-90 17th year overall)
- Coach Record vs. Nebraska: 5-6
Numbers to Know
1 - Saturday's game between Nebraska and Northwestern is the earliest date of a conference game in Big Ten history. The previous earliest date of a Big Ten Conference game came last season when Nebraska traveled to Illinois on Aug. 28
2 - The Aer Lingus Classic will mark just the second international matchup in Big Ten history. The only other Big Ten game played on foreign soil was Wisconsin's 41-20 win over Michigan State on Dec. 5, 1993 at the Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, Japan
6 - Six of the first 11 Big Ten Conference matchups between Nebraska and Northwestern have been decided by three or fewer points (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019). The Huskers and Wildcats have also had two overtime contests in the past five matchups.
Nebraska kicks off its 133rd football season on Saturday when the Huskers take on the Northwestern Wildcats at the Aer Lingus Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Saturday's season opener will be the 1,358th game in Nebraska football history but only the second ever played on foreign soil.
The only other international game in Husker history was Nebraska's victory over Kansas State at the 1992 Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, Japan. One year later, Wisconsin defeated Michigan State at the 1993 Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, which to date is the only Big Ten Conference game played outside of the United States. Saturday's game also marks the earliest date of a conference matchup in Big Ten history.
Head coach Scott Frost begins his fifth season at his alma mater in 2022, while Saturday's contest will mark Pat Fitzgerald's 200th game as Northwestern's head coach. Nebraska won last year's matchup in Lincoln 56-7, scoring its most points ever in a Big Ten Conference game and posting its largest margin of victory (49 points) in a Big Ten game and in any conference game since 2001 (59-0 vs. Baylor).
Before last year's Husker win, each of the previous four meetings between Nebraska and Northwestern had been decided by one score, including back-to-back overtime wins for the Wildcats in 2017 and 2018. Overall, eight of the first 11 Big Ten meetings between the two programs have been one-score games.
Nebraska returns 46 letterwinners from last year's team, bringing back five full-time defensive starters and four offensive starters plus nine other players (seven on offense and two on defense) who started multiple games in 2021. The Huskers have bolstered their roster with the addition of 44 newcomers, including 22 transfers, 18 of whom have previous playing experience at the FBS or FCS level.
Nebraska vs. Northwestern History
1902: Nebraska 12, Northwestern 0 (Lincoln)
1931: Northwestern 19, Nebraska 7 (Evanston)
1974: #10 Nebraska 49, Northwestern 7 (Lincoln)
2000: #9 Nebraska 66, #18 Northwestern 17 (Alamo Bowl)
-------------Big Ten-------------------
2011: Northwestern 28, #9 Nebraska 25 (Lincoln)
2012: Nebraska 29, Northwestern 28 (Evanston)
2013: Nebraska 27, Northwestern 24 (Lincoln)
2014: #19 Nebraska 38, Northwestern 17 (Evanston)
2015: Northwestern 30, Nebraska 28 (Lincoln)
2016: #20 Nebraska 24, Northwestern 13 (Evanston)
2017: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 24 (OT) (Lincoln)
2018: Northwestern 34, Nebraska 31 (OT) (Evanston)
2019: Nebraska 13, Northwestern 10 (Lincoln)
2020: Northwestern 21, Nebraska 13 (Evanston)
2021: Nebraska 56, Northwestern 7 (Lincoln)
Huskers in Season Openers
Nebraska has an impressive history in season openers. The Huskers have won 98 of their 132 season openers, winning their first game more than 76 percent of the time, going 98-29-5. Nebraska is 32-4 in season openers dating back to 1986.
- For the third straight year, Nebraska is opening the season away from home. The Huskers are opening the season at a neutral site for the first time since #4 Nebraska defeated #24 West Virginia 31-0 on Aug. 28, 1994 at the Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, New Jersey to begin a 13-0 national championship season. The Huskers are 4-0 all time when opening the season at a neutral site.
- Nebraska is 11-3 when it opens the season against a conference opponent. The Huskers are facing a conference foe in the season opener for just the fifth time since 1950, but Saturday will mark the third consecutive year that Nebraska opens the season with a Big Ten Conference game.
Nebraska Nearly Perfect in August
Saturday's game will mark just the 16th August game in the history of Nebraska football. The Huskers have lost just once in the month, bringing a 14-1 August record into Saturday's contest. Not only is Nebraska 14-1 in the month of August all-time, but the average score of those 14 wins has been 39-16. The Huskers are 7-1 in August when facing current Power Five Conference opponents. The lone August loss for Nebraska came last season on the road to Illinois, 22-30.
Nebraska August Games
1983: vs. #4 Penn State (W 44-6)
1988: vs. #10 Texas A&M (W 23-14)
1994: vs. #24 West Virginia (W 31-0)
1995: at Oklahoma State (W 64-21)
1997: Akron (W 59-14)
1998: Louisiana Tech (W 56-27)
2001: TCU (W 21-7)
2002: Arizona State (W 48-10)
2002: Troy (W 31-16)
2003: #24 Oklahoma State (W 17-7)
2008: Western Michigan (W 47-24)
2013: Wyoming (W 37-34)
2014: Florida Atlantic (W 55-7)
2019: South Alabama (W 35-21)
2021: at Illinois (L 22-30)
FBS International Games
According to available research, Saturday's game will be just the 14th FBS conference football game played on foreign soil in FBS history. The Nebraska-Northwestern contest will also mark just the second FBS conference matchup ever played in Europe, along with the 2016 Aer Lingus Classic in Dublin played between ACC foes Georgia Tech and Boston College.
International FBS Matchups
1980: UCLA 34, Oregon State 3 (Tokyo)
1981: Air Force 21, San Diego State 16 (Tokyo)
1982: Clemson 21, Wake Forest 17 (Tokyo)
1983: SMU 34, Houston 12 (Tokyo)
1985: USC 20, Oregon 6 (Tokyo)
1985: Wyoming 24, UTEP 21 (Melbourne, Australia)
1986: Stanford 29, Arizona 24 (Tokyo)
1987: California 17, Washington State 17 (Tokyo)
1987: BYU 30, Colorado State 26 (Melbourne)
1991: Clemson 33, Duke 21 (Tokyo)
1992: Nebraska 38, Kansas State 24 (Tokyo)
1993: Wisconsin 41, Michigan State 20 (Tokyo)
2016: Georgia Tech 17, Boston College 14 (Dublin)
2022: Nebraska vs. Northwestern (Dublin)
View attachment 224860
Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern lost its final six games last season to finish 3-9. The Wildcats scored 14 or fewer points in seven of their final eight games. Offensively, Northwestern returns its top three running backs from last season, including 1,000-yard rusher Evan Hull. The Wildcats also return Cam Porter, who was on the preseason Doak Walker Award watch list last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury in fall camp. In the passing game, Ryan Hilinski returns after starting five games at quarterback in 2021, when he completed 54 percent of his passes for a team-high 978 yards. Northwestern lost its leading receiver from last year but the Wildcats return their next four most productive receivers who combined for 88 catches and 1,130 receiving yards in 2021.
Defensively, Northwestern must replace Chris Bergin, who led the nation with 141 tackles last season, which were 52 more tackles than any other Wildcat. Bryce Gallagher is Northwestern's top returning tackler after he made 89 stops in 2021, while Adetomiwa Adebawore is back after leading the Wildcats with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season.
About Northwestern
Northwestern University has fielded a football team since 1882 and was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference (originally the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives) in 1896. The Wildcats have won eight Big Ten championships (1903, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1995, 1996, and 2000). Additionally, Northwestern has won two Big Ten West Division titles and twice played in the Big Ten Championship Game (2018 and 2020). Northwestern has had 14 consensus All-America selections and 142 first-team All-Big Ten selections.
First Year: 1882
All-Time Record: 547-686-44
Bowl Record: 6-10
Conference Titles: 8
National Titles: 0
Stadium: Ryan Field
Capacity: 47,130
Surface: Natural Grass
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Enrollment: 8,327
Colors: Purple & White
About Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald is in his 17th season at Northwestern and will coach his 200th game on Saturday. He owns a 109-90 career record with the Wildcats and is the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten. Before taking over as head coach of his alma mater in 2006, Fitzgerald was a Wildcat assistant from 2001 to 2005. Previously, he coached at Idaho (2000), Colorado (1999) and Maryland (1998). In his first 16 years as a head coach, Fitzgerald has taken the Wildcats to 10 bowl games and two Big Ten Championship Games. Although Northwestern was just 3-9 in 2021, Fitzgerald has guided the Wildcats to two of the last four Big Ten West championships.
Fitzgerald vs. Nebraska (5-6)
2011: W 28-25
2012: L 28-29
2013: L 24-27
2014: L 17-38
2015: W 30-28
2016: L 13-24
2017: W 31-24 (OT)
2018: W 34-31 (OT)
2019: L 10-13
2020: W 21-13
2021: L 7-56
Last Meeting: October 2, 2021
Nebraska 56, Northwestern 7
Lincoln - In a game that resembled Nebraska's days of dominance in the 1990s, the Big Red buried defending Big Ten West Division champion Northwestern 56-7 on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
Nebraska improved its record to 3-3 overall and 3-0 at home this season by rolling up 657 yards of offense, including 427 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns, while shutting down Northwestern's running game (37 yards, 26 carries). After running one offensive play in the third quarter, the Huskers owned six rushing scores, including three by quarterback Adrian Martinez on its way to a 42-7 lead.
After the Big Red pushed its lead to 49-7 on its third offensive play of the second half, a 38-yard touchdown strike from Martinez to Samori Toure, Nebraska substituted freely with Logan Smothers taking over at quarterback midway through the third quarter, leading the Huskers on a successful scoring drive in the fourth. No. 3 quarterback Matt Masker took the rest of the snaps in the fourth for the Big Red, marching Nebraska down the field until taking a knee inside the Northwestern 15 to end the game.
Nebraska's offensive totals came against a proud Northwestern defense that entered the game allowing just 20 points per contest and 186 yards on the ground per game this season. In 10 previous games as Big Ten foes, the two teams had split 5-5 with eight games decided by just one score with the Huskers outscoring the Wildcats by a total of six points (252-246) in the 10 games.
Nebraska's margin matched the most recent meeting against the Cats as non-conference foes, a 66-17 shellacking of No. 18 Northwestern in the 2000 Alamo Bowl by No. 9 Nebraska. It was also the largest margin by a Husker team over Northwestern in Memorial Stadium, surpassing a 49-7 win by No. 10 Nebraska on Sept. 28, 1974.
In a dominant first half, Nebraska sprinted to a 21-0 lead in the game's first 11 minutes on the strength of three touchdown runs by Martinez. The Husker quarterback moved the Huskers with both his legs and his right arm, while freshman running back Jaquez Yant also carried a huge load.
In his second career college game, Yant rumbled for 109 yards on seven carries in the first half alone to ignite the Big Red onslaught. Martinez added 57 yards on eight carries in the half, while Rahmir Johnson erupted for 74 yards on 12 totes and two first-half scores. He did not carry the ball in the second half.
Nebraska's offense diced the Wildcat defense for 241 rushing yards in the half, while the Blackshirt defense flexed its muscles by holding Northwestern to minus-2 yards on the ground in the half thanks to three sacks of Cat quarterback Ryan Hilinski.
Martinez completed 10-of-16 passes for 164 yards in the half, including a 70-yard bomb to Toure on the game's opening drive. It took the Huskers just 50 seconds to take a 7-0 lead in the game, flying 75 yards on three plays capped by Martinez's one-yard touchdown run. Martinez finished the game 11-for-17 for 202 yards and a score, while Toure finished with two receptions for 108 yards in his third 100-yard receiving game as a Husker.
After a quick stop by the Blackshirts, who forced a punt on 4th-and-21, Yant exploded for a 64-yard burst on his second career carry to set the Big Red up at the Northwestern 4. Two plays later, Martinez sprinted into the end zone from one yard out for the second time in five minutes to put the Big Red up 14-0. Yant finished his Husker debut with 127 yards on 13 carries.
The Blackshirts kept the momentum rolling for Nebraska, forcing a quick three-and-out and another Northwestern punt on 4th-and-17 from its own 18. On a balanced and more methodical drive, Nebraska then made it 21-0 when Martinez sprinted around the right end for a 25-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-10 to stake the Huskers to a 21-0 lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter.
With its back against the wall in a road night game at Memorial Stadium, Northwestern found an answer, converting on 3rd-and-1 at its own 27, before getting back-to-back big pass plays of 32 yards and 28 yards from Hilinski to Stephon Robinson Jr. to cut the margin to 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.
While the Cats (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) found an answer on the offensive side, their defense still came up empty against the Husker offense, as Nebraska rolled 75 yards on 10 plays in four minutes capped by Rahmir Johnson's five yard touchdown run to put the Big Red up 28-7 with 12:37 left in the half.
Northwestern responded with a march of its own, arriving at 1st-and-Goal at the NU 1. But after an interior stop by Deontre Thomas and Ben Stille on a quarterback keeper, Thomas and JoJo Domann blasted through the Wildcat line and smashed Hilinski, forcing a fumble recovered by Thomas at the Nebraska 10 to stop the Northwestern threat. Domann finished with a team-high nine tackles and two forced fumbles, while Luke Reimer, Quinton Newsome and Chris Kolarevic each added five stops.
After the two teams exchanged turnovers on downs at midfield, Nebraska extended its lead with a powerful five-play, 59-yard drive that featured 34 rushing yards by Johnson, including a 23-yard burst to set up his nine-yard touchdown run on the next play, sending the Big Red to the locker room with a 35-7 halftime lead.
Nebraska, which has suffered three road losses this season by a touchdown or less, including two to top-20 foes, wasted little time in the second half putting the game out of reach. Northwestern received the second-half kickoff and the Blackshirts forced a three-and-out and a punt.
Starting from his own 18, Martinez handed off to wide receiver Zavier Betts, who sprinted 83 yards around the left end to paydirt - the longest rushing play for Nebraska this season on Betts' first career carry to put the Huskers up 42-7 just over one minute into the second half.
The Blackshirts forced another turnover on downs on the ensuing drive and the Big Red kept its foot on the gas. After a Yant four-yard run to open Nebraska's drive, Betts drew a pass interference penalty to set up Martinez and the Huskers 1st-and-10 at the NU 38. Martinez then connected on his only pass attempt of the second half, a 38-yard scoring strike to Toure extend the Husker margin to 49-7 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.
Nebraska capped the rout with Sevion Morrison's four-yard touchdown run with 9:44 left in the game. Morrison carried five times for 26 yards in the game, as one of 11 Big Red rushers in the game.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (0-0, 0-0) | vs. | NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (0-0, 0-0) |
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WHEN: Saturday, August 27 | 11:30 AM (CT)
WHERE: Aviva Stadium (51,700 / Natural Grass) | Dublin, Ireland
TV: FOX (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard)
RADIO: Huskers Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Jessica Coody)
SERIES HISTORY
- Nebraska leads all-time series 9-6
- As Big Ten foes: Nebraska leads 6-5
- At Neutral Site: Nebraska leads 1-0
- Last Meeting: Nebraska 56, Northwestern 7 (10/2/2021)
- Win Streak: Nebraska, 1 game
NEBRASKA
- 2021 Record: 3-9
- Last Game: vs. #17 Cockeye (L 21-28 in 2021)
- Streak: Lost 6
- Rank: N/A
- Head Coach: Scott Frost (15-29 5th year | 34-36 7th year overall)
- Coach Record vs. Northwestern: 2-2
NORTHWESTERN
- 2021 Record: 3-9
- Last Game: at Illinois (L 14-47 in 2021)
- Streak: Lost 6
- Rank: N/A
- Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (109-90 17th year | 109-90 17th year overall)
- Coach Record vs. Nebraska: 5-6
Numbers to Know
1 - Saturday's game between Nebraska and Northwestern is the earliest date of a conference game in Big Ten history. The previous earliest date of a Big Ten Conference game came last season when Nebraska traveled to Illinois on Aug. 28
2 - The Aer Lingus Classic will mark just the second international matchup in Big Ten history. The only other Big Ten game played on foreign soil was Wisconsin's 41-20 win over Michigan State on Dec. 5, 1993 at the Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, Japan
6 - Six of the first 11 Big Ten Conference matchups between Nebraska and Northwestern have been decided by three or fewer points (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019). The Huskers and Wildcats have also had two overtime contests in the past five matchups.
Nebraska kicks off its 133rd football season on Saturday when the Huskers take on the Northwestern Wildcats at the Aer Lingus Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Saturday's season opener will be the 1,358th game in Nebraska football history but only the second ever played on foreign soil.
The only other international game in Husker history was Nebraska's victory over Kansas State at the 1992 Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, Japan. One year later, Wisconsin defeated Michigan State at the 1993 Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, which to date is the only Big Ten Conference game played outside of the United States. Saturday's game also marks the earliest date of a conference matchup in Big Ten history.
Head coach Scott Frost begins his fifth season at his alma mater in 2022, while Saturday's contest will mark Pat Fitzgerald's 200th game as Northwestern's head coach. Nebraska won last year's matchup in Lincoln 56-7, scoring its most points ever in a Big Ten Conference game and posting its largest margin of victory (49 points) in a Big Ten game and in any conference game since 2001 (59-0 vs. Baylor).
Before last year's Husker win, each of the previous four meetings between Nebraska and Northwestern had been decided by one score, including back-to-back overtime wins for the Wildcats in 2017 and 2018. Overall, eight of the first 11 Big Ten meetings between the two programs have been one-score games.
Nebraska returns 46 letterwinners from last year's team, bringing back five full-time defensive starters and four offensive starters plus nine other players (seven on offense and two on defense) who started multiple games in 2021. The Huskers have bolstered their roster with the addition of 44 newcomers, including 22 transfers, 18 of whom have previous playing experience at the FBS or FCS level.
Nebraska vs. Northwestern History
1902: Nebraska 12, Northwestern 0 (Lincoln)
1931: Northwestern 19, Nebraska 7 (Evanston)
1974: #10 Nebraska 49, Northwestern 7 (Lincoln)
2000: #9 Nebraska 66, #18 Northwestern 17 (Alamo Bowl)
-------------Big Ten-------------------
2011: Northwestern 28, #9 Nebraska 25 (Lincoln)
2012: Nebraska 29, Northwestern 28 (Evanston)
2013: Nebraska 27, Northwestern 24 (Lincoln)
2014: #19 Nebraska 38, Northwestern 17 (Evanston)
2015: Northwestern 30, Nebraska 28 (Lincoln)
2016: #20 Nebraska 24, Northwestern 13 (Evanston)
2017: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 24 (OT) (Lincoln)
2018: Northwestern 34, Nebraska 31 (OT) (Evanston)
2019: Nebraska 13, Northwestern 10 (Lincoln)
2020: Northwestern 21, Nebraska 13 (Evanston)
2021: Nebraska 56, Northwestern 7 (Lincoln)
Huskers in Season Openers
Nebraska has an impressive history in season openers. The Huskers have won 98 of their 132 season openers, winning their first game more than 76 percent of the time, going 98-29-5. Nebraska is 32-4 in season openers dating back to 1986.
- For the third straight year, Nebraska is opening the season away from home. The Huskers are opening the season at a neutral site for the first time since #4 Nebraska defeated #24 West Virginia 31-0 on Aug. 28, 1994 at the Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, New Jersey to begin a 13-0 national championship season. The Huskers are 4-0 all time when opening the season at a neutral site.
- Nebraska is 11-3 when it opens the season against a conference opponent. The Huskers are facing a conference foe in the season opener for just the fifth time since 1950, but Saturday will mark the third consecutive year that Nebraska opens the season with a Big Ten Conference game.
Nebraska Nearly Perfect in August
Saturday's game will mark just the 16th August game in the history of Nebraska football. The Huskers have lost just once in the month, bringing a 14-1 August record into Saturday's contest. Not only is Nebraska 14-1 in the month of August all-time, but the average score of those 14 wins has been 39-16. The Huskers are 7-1 in August when facing current Power Five Conference opponents. The lone August loss for Nebraska came last season on the road to Illinois, 22-30.
Nebraska August Games
1983: vs. #4 Penn State (W 44-6)
1988: vs. #10 Texas A&M (W 23-14)
1994: vs. #24 West Virginia (W 31-0)
1995: at Oklahoma State (W 64-21)
1997: Akron (W 59-14)
1998: Louisiana Tech (W 56-27)
2001: TCU (W 21-7)
2002: Arizona State (W 48-10)
2002: Troy (W 31-16)
2003: #24 Oklahoma State (W 17-7)
2008: Western Michigan (W 47-24)
2013: Wyoming (W 37-34)
2014: Florida Atlantic (W 55-7)
2019: South Alabama (W 35-21)
2021: at Illinois (L 22-30)
FBS International Games
According to available research, Saturday's game will be just the 14th FBS conference football game played on foreign soil in FBS history. The Nebraska-Northwestern contest will also mark just the second FBS conference matchup ever played in Europe, along with the 2016 Aer Lingus Classic in Dublin played between ACC foes Georgia Tech and Boston College.
International FBS Matchups
1980: UCLA 34, Oregon State 3 (Tokyo)
1981: Air Force 21, San Diego State 16 (Tokyo)
1982: Clemson 21, Wake Forest 17 (Tokyo)
1983: SMU 34, Houston 12 (Tokyo)
1985: USC 20, Oregon 6 (Tokyo)
1985: Wyoming 24, UTEP 21 (Melbourne, Australia)
1986: Stanford 29, Arizona 24 (Tokyo)
1987: California 17, Washington State 17 (Tokyo)
1987: BYU 30, Colorado State 26 (Melbourne)
1991: Clemson 33, Duke 21 (Tokyo)
1992: Nebraska 38, Kansas State 24 (Tokyo)
1993: Wisconsin 41, Michigan State 20 (Tokyo)
2016: Georgia Tech 17, Boston College 14 (Dublin)
2022: Nebraska vs. Northwestern (Dublin)
View attachment 224860
Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern lost its final six games last season to finish 3-9. The Wildcats scored 14 or fewer points in seven of their final eight games. Offensively, Northwestern returns its top three running backs from last season, including 1,000-yard rusher Evan Hull. The Wildcats also return Cam Porter, who was on the preseason Doak Walker Award watch list last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury in fall camp. In the passing game, Ryan Hilinski returns after starting five games at quarterback in 2021, when he completed 54 percent of his passes for a team-high 978 yards. Northwestern lost its leading receiver from last year but the Wildcats return their next four most productive receivers who combined for 88 catches and 1,130 receiving yards in 2021.
Defensively, Northwestern must replace Chris Bergin, who led the nation with 141 tackles last season, which were 52 more tackles than any other Wildcat. Bryce Gallagher is Northwestern's top returning tackler after he made 89 stops in 2021, while Adetomiwa Adebawore is back after leading the Wildcats with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season.
About Northwestern
Northwestern University has fielded a football team since 1882 and was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference (originally the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives) in 1896. The Wildcats have won eight Big Ten championships (1903, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1995, 1996, and 2000). Additionally, Northwestern has won two Big Ten West Division titles and twice played in the Big Ten Championship Game (2018 and 2020). Northwestern has had 14 consensus All-America selections and 142 first-team All-Big Ten selections.
First Year: 1882
All-Time Record: 547-686-44
Bowl Record: 6-10
Conference Titles: 8
National Titles: 0
Stadium: Ryan Field
Capacity: 47,130
Surface: Natural Grass
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Enrollment: 8,327
Colors: Purple & White
About Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald is in his 17th season at Northwestern and will coach his 200th game on Saturday. He owns a 109-90 career record with the Wildcats and is the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten. Before taking over as head coach of his alma mater in 2006, Fitzgerald was a Wildcat assistant from 2001 to 2005. Previously, he coached at Idaho (2000), Colorado (1999) and Maryland (1998). In his first 16 years as a head coach, Fitzgerald has taken the Wildcats to 10 bowl games and two Big Ten Championship Games. Although Northwestern was just 3-9 in 2021, Fitzgerald has guided the Wildcats to two of the last four Big Ten West championships.
Fitzgerald vs. Nebraska (5-6)
2011: W 28-25
2012: L 28-29
2013: L 24-27
2014: L 17-38
2015: W 30-28
2016: L 13-24
2017: W 31-24 (OT)
2018: W 34-31 (OT)
2019: L 10-13
2020: W 21-13
2021: L 7-56
Last Meeting: October 2, 2021
Nebraska 56, Northwestern 7
Lincoln - In a game that resembled Nebraska's days of dominance in the 1990s, the Big Red buried defending Big Ten West Division champion Northwestern 56-7 on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
Nebraska improved its record to 3-3 overall and 3-0 at home this season by rolling up 657 yards of offense, including 427 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns, while shutting down Northwestern's running game (37 yards, 26 carries). After running one offensive play in the third quarter, the Huskers owned six rushing scores, including three by quarterback Adrian Martinez on its way to a 42-7 lead.
After the Big Red pushed its lead to 49-7 on its third offensive play of the second half, a 38-yard touchdown strike from Martinez to Samori Toure, Nebraska substituted freely with Logan Smothers taking over at quarterback midway through the third quarter, leading the Huskers on a successful scoring drive in the fourth. No. 3 quarterback Matt Masker took the rest of the snaps in the fourth for the Big Red, marching Nebraska down the field until taking a knee inside the Northwestern 15 to end the game.
Nebraska's offensive totals came against a proud Northwestern defense that entered the game allowing just 20 points per contest and 186 yards on the ground per game this season. In 10 previous games as Big Ten foes, the two teams had split 5-5 with eight games decided by just one score with the Huskers outscoring the Wildcats by a total of six points (252-246) in the 10 games.
Nebraska's margin matched the most recent meeting against the Cats as non-conference foes, a 66-17 shellacking of No. 18 Northwestern in the 2000 Alamo Bowl by No. 9 Nebraska. It was also the largest margin by a Husker team over Northwestern in Memorial Stadium, surpassing a 49-7 win by No. 10 Nebraska on Sept. 28, 1974.
In a dominant first half, Nebraska sprinted to a 21-0 lead in the game's first 11 minutes on the strength of three touchdown runs by Martinez. The Husker quarterback moved the Huskers with both his legs and his right arm, while freshman running back Jaquez Yant also carried a huge load.
In his second career college game, Yant rumbled for 109 yards on seven carries in the first half alone to ignite the Big Red onslaught. Martinez added 57 yards on eight carries in the half, while Rahmir Johnson erupted for 74 yards on 12 totes and two first-half scores. He did not carry the ball in the second half.
Nebraska's offense diced the Wildcat defense for 241 rushing yards in the half, while the Blackshirt defense flexed its muscles by holding Northwestern to minus-2 yards on the ground in the half thanks to three sacks of Cat quarterback Ryan Hilinski.
Martinez completed 10-of-16 passes for 164 yards in the half, including a 70-yard bomb to Toure on the game's opening drive. It took the Huskers just 50 seconds to take a 7-0 lead in the game, flying 75 yards on three plays capped by Martinez's one-yard touchdown run. Martinez finished the game 11-for-17 for 202 yards and a score, while Toure finished with two receptions for 108 yards in his third 100-yard receiving game as a Husker.
After a quick stop by the Blackshirts, who forced a punt on 4th-and-21, Yant exploded for a 64-yard burst on his second career carry to set the Big Red up at the Northwestern 4. Two plays later, Martinez sprinted into the end zone from one yard out for the second time in five minutes to put the Big Red up 14-0. Yant finished his Husker debut with 127 yards on 13 carries.
The Blackshirts kept the momentum rolling for Nebraska, forcing a quick three-and-out and another Northwestern punt on 4th-and-17 from its own 18. On a balanced and more methodical drive, Nebraska then made it 21-0 when Martinez sprinted around the right end for a 25-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-10 to stake the Huskers to a 21-0 lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter.
With its back against the wall in a road night game at Memorial Stadium, Northwestern found an answer, converting on 3rd-and-1 at its own 27, before getting back-to-back big pass plays of 32 yards and 28 yards from Hilinski to Stephon Robinson Jr. to cut the margin to 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.
While the Cats (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) found an answer on the offensive side, their defense still came up empty against the Husker offense, as Nebraska rolled 75 yards on 10 plays in four minutes capped by Rahmir Johnson's five yard touchdown run to put the Big Red up 28-7 with 12:37 left in the half.
Northwestern responded with a march of its own, arriving at 1st-and-Goal at the NU 1. But after an interior stop by Deontre Thomas and Ben Stille on a quarterback keeper, Thomas and JoJo Domann blasted through the Wildcat line and smashed Hilinski, forcing a fumble recovered by Thomas at the Nebraska 10 to stop the Northwestern threat. Domann finished with a team-high nine tackles and two forced fumbles, while Luke Reimer, Quinton Newsome and Chris Kolarevic each added five stops.
After the two teams exchanged turnovers on downs at midfield, Nebraska extended its lead with a powerful five-play, 59-yard drive that featured 34 rushing yards by Johnson, including a 23-yard burst to set up his nine-yard touchdown run on the next play, sending the Big Red to the locker room with a 35-7 halftime lead.
Nebraska, which has suffered three road losses this season by a touchdown or less, including two to top-20 foes, wasted little time in the second half putting the game out of reach. Northwestern received the second-half kickoff and the Blackshirts forced a three-and-out and a punt.
Starting from his own 18, Martinez handed off to wide receiver Zavier Betts, who sprinted 83 yards around the left end to paydirt - the longest rushing play for Nebraska this season on Betts' first career carry to put the Huskers up 42-7 just over one minute into the second half.
The Blackshirts forced another turnover on downs on the ensuing drive and the Big Red kept its foot on the gas. After a Yant four-yard run to open Nebraska's drive, Betts drew a pass interference penalty to set up Martinez and the Huskers 1st-and-10 at the NU 38. Martinez then connected on his only pass attempt of the second half, a 38-yard scoring strike to Toure extend the Husker margin to 49-7 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.
Nebraska capped the rout with Sevion Morrison's four-yard touchdown run with 9:44 left in the game. Morrison carried five times for 26 yards in the game, as one of 11 Big Red rushers in the game.
