Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
WHEN: Saturday, September 16, 2023 | 6:00 PM (CT)
WHERE: Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Jeff Levering, Mark Helfrich)
RADIO: Husker Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
HUSKERS
Record: 0-2, 0-1 Big Ten
Last Game: at #22 Colorado (L 14-36)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Matt Rhule (0-2, 1st year NU | 47-45, 8th year overall)
Rhule vs. NIU: 0-0
HUSKIES
Record: 1-1, 0-0 MAC
Last Game: vs. Southern Illinois (L 11-14)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Thomas Hammock (18-28, 5th year NIU & Overall)
Hammock vs NU: 0-1
THIS WEEK'S NUMBERS
5 - Saturday's game between Nebraska and Northern Illinois will be the fifth matchup between the two schools, with all five contests at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska holds a 3-1 edge, most recently posting a 44-8 victory in 2019.
8 - Nebraska's defense registered eight sacks last Saturday at Colorado. The eight sacks are the most by a Husker defense since Nebraska had nine sacks in the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game against Texas.
100 - Nebraska is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium throughout its 2023 home season. The first game played at Memorial Stadium took place on Oct. 13, 1923.
THE MATCHUP
After a two-game road trip to open the season, Nebraska opens its 2023 home season on Saturday night when the Huskers play host to Northern Illinois at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff between the Huskers and Huskies is set for shortly after 6 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on FS1 and the radio broadcast can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com and the official Huskers App.
Nebraska's Sept. 16 home opener is the latest in the calendar for the Huskers since they opened their 1981 home schedule on Sept. 19 (excluding 2020 Covid season). The home opener begins a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium in 2023. Nebraska began playing its home games at Memorial Stadium in 1923 and has won nearly 75 percent of its home games in the historic venue over the past century. Included in that is a 77-19-4 record in home openers at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska enters Saturday's matchup with an 0-2 record following a 36-14 loss at then-No. 22 Colorado on Saturday. The Huskers and Buffs were scoreless for the game's first 25 minutes before the Buffs scored 13 points in the final 4:20 of the first half to take control. Nebraska pulled within six midway through the third quarter but could get no closer. Colorado capitalized on Nebraska miscues, with 17 of its points coming off of Husker turnovers.
Northern Illinois heads to Lincoln with a 1-1 record following a 14-11 loss against Southern Illinois on Saturday in DeKalb, Ill. Like Nebraska, a big factor in the loss was in the turnover department, as the Huskies were -3 in the loss to Southern Illinois. The Huskies had opened the season with an impressive 27-24 overtime victory at Boston College on Sept. 2.
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and Northern Illinois will meet for the fifth time in program history on Saturday night in Lincoln. The Huskers hold a 3-1 edge with all four games being played at Memorial Stadium.
- Nebraska rushed for better than 400 yards in each of the first two series meetings in 1989 and 1990.
- The Huskers won the most recent meeting between the two teams in 2019, with a 44-8 victory. Ironically, that game also followed a Husker trip to Boulder to play Colorado.
- Northern Illinois' lone victory in the series was in 2017, with the Huskies escaping Lincoln with a 21-17 victory on the strength of two defensive touchdowns.
- Nebraska has a 7-1 all-time record against current members of the Mid-American Conference, with the lone setback the 2017 loss to the Huskies. Nebraska's most recent game against a MAC opponent was a 28-3 win over Buffalo in 2021.
HUSKERS IN HOME OPENERS
Nebraska plays the first of seven 2023 home games at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night after opening the season with road games at Minnesota and Colorado.
• This is the first time Nebraska has opened with a pair of road games since 1995. The Sept. 16 home opener is the latest in the calendar since the 1981 season. (excluding 2020 Covid season)
• The Huskers have won their past four home openers and 35 of its past 37 home openers at Memorial Stadium.
UNDER THE LIGHTS IN LINCOLN
Nebraska will host its first night game of the 2023 season on Saturday, hosting the NIU Huskies under the Memorial Stadium lights.
• Nebraska has a history of success in night games at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers are 49-10 all-time in home night games since the first prime-time game at Memorial Stadium in 1986.
• Nebraska has won its past 12 night games at Memorial Stadium against non-conference opponents, most recently the 2019 win over Northern Illinois.
ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois has fielded a football team since 1899, and the Huskies have totaled over 600 wins as a program. NIU has claimed one national title and 12 conference championships, including six Mid-American Conference titles.
The Huskies have made 14 bowl game appearances, claiming four wins. NIU's last bowl appearance came in 2021 when the Huskies took on Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl. Coastal Carolina came away with the victory in a 47-41 high-scoring affair with the Huskies.
First Year: 1899
All-Time Record: 605-522-51
Bowl Record: 4-10
Conference Titles: 12
National Titles: 1 (1963, Division II)
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Capacity: 23,595
Playing Surface: FieldTurf
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Enrollment: 15,649
Colors: Cardinal & Black
NORTHERN ILLINOIS SCHEDULE/RESULTS
at Boston College (W 27-24 OT)
Southern Illinois (L 11-14)
at Nebraska
Tulsa
at Toledo
at Akron
Ohio
Eastern Michigan
at Central Michigan
Ball State
Western Michigan
at Kent State
ABOUT 2023 NIU HUSKIES
Northern Illinois has split its first two games of the 2023 campaign after picking up an overtime win on the road at Boston College and dropping its home opener vs. Southern Illinois last weekend.
The Huskies enter Saturday night's contest averaging 349.0 yards per game, with 234.5 yards per game through the air and 114.5 yards per game on the ground. Rocky Lombardi has completed 36-of-67 passes for 462 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Kacper Rutkiewicz has 11 receptions for 185 yards and a score, followed by Chris Carter with five receptions for 100 yards and Grayson Barnes' three grabs for 40 yards. Antario Brown has 112 yards on the ground with a touchdown, while Gavin Williams has totaled 71 yards on 17 carries to lead the Huskies' rushing attack.
Defensively, the Huskies are allowing 19.0 points per game and 266.5 yards per game this season. CJ Brown leads the NIU defense with a team-high nine tackles, followed by Jaden Dolphin with eight stops. Roy Williams and George Gumbs have posted team-high totals of 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackle for losses through two games.
ABOUT NIU COACH THOMAS HAMMOCK
Thomas Hammock is in his fifth season as the head coach at Northern Illinois.
A former player and assistant coach at Northern Illinois, Hammock returned to the Huskies in 2019. In his third season at the helm of the NIU program, Hammock led the Huskies to a 9-5 overall record and won the MAC Championship Game with a 41-23 victory over Kent State in 2021.
Hammock returned to NIU after spending five seasons in the NFL as a running backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens. Prior to the Ravens, Hammock served three seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin and four seasons at Minnesota. Hammock began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin in 2003-04, before becoming an assistant on the NIU staff in 2005.
Hammock will be facing Nebraska for the second time in his career on Saturday. Hammock is 0-1 after suffering a 44-8 setback against the Huskers in Lincoln on September 14, 2019.
LAST MEETING: SEPTEMBER 14, 2019
Nebraska 44, Northern Illinois 8
Lincoln, Neb. - Adrian Martinez accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and had a hand in three touchdowns, while Dedrick Mills rushed for 116 yards and a score on just 11 carries, as Nebraska rolled to a 44-8 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday night.
Playing in front of the 370th consecutive sellout with 89,593 fans at Memorial Stadium, Martinez completed 16-of-27 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns, and added 44 yards and another score on the ground to finish with 301 yards of total offense. Nebraska closed non-conference play with a 2-1 record, while Northern Illinois slipped to 1-2 on the season.
Martinez and Mills led a balanced Big Red offense that put up 525 yards of total offense, including 287 passing and 238 rushing yards. Northern Illinois managed 350 total yards, but just 74 on the ground, as the Blackshirts kept the Huskies out of the end zone, surrendering just a pair of field goals on the night.
In an action-packed first half that featured big plays and blocked kicks, Nebraska powered its way to a 30-5 halftime lead.
Nebraska struck quickly, winning the toss and taking the opening drive 58 yards in eight plays capped by Isaac Armstrong's 36-yard field goal to give the Huskers a 3-0 lead just 2:29 into the game.
The Big Red made it 10-0 on Maurice Washington's 21-yard touchdown catch on a short forward pass with 6:22 left in the opening quarter. Washington's score on a pass from Martinez was the only play of a short drive that was set up by heavy pressure by Nebraska's punt-block unit. NIU punter Matt Ference felt fierce pressure from Isaiah Stalbird and dropped the ball to the turf without punting it. The fumble was recovered by tight end Austin Allen to set up the score.
Nebraska kept the explosive plays going in the second quarter, as Washington raced 60 yards for a touchdown with 12:20 left in the half to give the Huskers a 16-0 lead. However, Armstrong's extra point try was blocked. Washington finished the night with three receptions for 18 yards, while adding 57 rushing yards on just two carries.
Northern Illinois got on the board with 7:58 left in the half on John Richardson's 45-yard field goal to cut Nebraska's lead to 16-3. The Huskies then tried to surprise the Big Red with an on-side kick. The attempt failed and set Nebraska up again with a short field. It took just four plays and 39 seconds for the Husker offense to capitalize, as Mills scampered 24 yards to the end zone to extend Nebraska's margin to 23-3 with 7:19 left in the half. Mills' touchdown was set up by a 26-yard pass from Martinez to Mike Williams to convert on 3rd-and-10.
The teams exchanged block kicks over the next five minutes - with Stalbird blocking a Ference punt to set the Huskers up inside the NIU 20. The offense was unable to capitalize, as a 32-yard Armstrong field goal attempt was blocked by the Huskies.
The Blackshirts stopped the Huskies on the ensuing drive, and instead of putting another Ference punt in harm's way, quarterback Ross Bowers booted a 46-yard punt that pinned Nebraska at its own 4. On the next play, Jordan Cole took down Washington in the end zone for a safety on a completed pass to cut the Husker lead to 23-5 with 1:49 left in the first half.
The defense shut down NIU on the ensuing drive and forced another Bowers punt. Martinez and the Big Red offense took over at the NU 13 with just 44 seconds left. Five plays later, Martinez connected with Kanawai Noa for his first touchdown catch as a Husker - a spectacular 27-yard grab in the back corner of the end zone that sent Nebraska to the locker room with a 30-5 edge.
Noa ended the night with three receptions for 51 yards.
Nebraska averaged 11.2 yards per play in the first half, rolling up 369 yards of total offense on just 33 plays, including three first-half receptions for 73 yards from JD Spielman, who finished the game with four catches for 76 yards. The Blackshirts held Northern Illinois to 144 first-half yards on 43 plays.
NIU opened the second half with the ball and methodically marched 66 yards on 12 plays in 5:13, but had to settle for Richardson's 27-yard field goal to cut the Big Red lead to 30-8. Nebraska's offense sputtered early in the half, before Martinez capped a seven-play, 48-yard drive with his 10-yard touchdown run with 3:00 left to send the Huskers to the fourth quarter with a 37-8 advantage.
The Blackshirts made their final stand midway through the fourth, holding the Huskies out of the end zone on a 4th-and-inches from inside the 1. Martinez and the offense were able to drive out of the shadows of their own goal post before Armstrong's punt left Northern Illinois with a long field and time running short.
Redshirt freshman Braxton Clark then grabbed his first career interception to set the Husker offense up at the NIU 42 with 6:32 left in the game.
Noah Vedral then took the reins of the Husker offense and marched the Big Red to end zone, capped by his own three-yard touchdown run with 4:04 left to complete the scoring. Freshman running back Rahmir Johnson carried three times for nine yards on the drive, while Darien Chase (13 yards), Kurt Rafdal (9) and Jaevon McQuitty (8) added key receptions on the drive.
Mohamed Barry led the Blackshirts with 10 tackles, while fellow linebacker Will Honas contributed six stops. Defensive tackle Carlos Davis was also a disruptive force in the middle, notching six tackles, including 1.5 sacks, while adding a pair of breakups with deflections at the line of scrimmage.
Stalbird starred for the Husker special teams, finishing the game with three tackles, including two for loss, a forced fumble and a blocked punt.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES (1-1) | at | NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (0-2) |
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WHEN: Saturday, September 16, 2023 | 6:00 PM (CT)
WHERE: Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Jeff Levering, Mark Helfrich)
RADIO: Husker Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
HUSKERS
Record: 0-2, 0-1 Big Ten
Last Game: at #22 Colorado (L 14-36)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Matt Rhule (0-2, 1st year NU | 47-45, 8th year overall)
Rhule vs. NIU: 0-0
HUSKIES
Record: 1-1, 0-0 MAC
Last Game: vs. Southern Illinois (L 11-14)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Thomas Hammock (18-28, 5th year NIU & Overall)
Hammock vs NU: 0-1
THIS WEEK'S NUMBERS
5 - Saturday's game between Nebraska and Northern Illinois will be the fifth matchup between the two schools, with all five contests at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska holds a 3-1 edge, most recently posting a 44-8 victory in 2019.
8 - Nebraska's defense registered eight sacks last Saturday at Colorado. The eight sacks are the most by a Husker defense since Nebraska had nine sacks in the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game against Texas.
100 - Nebraska is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium throughout its 2023 home season. The first game played at Memorial Stadium took place on Oct. 13, 1923.
THE MATCHUP
After a two-game road trip to open the season, Nebraska opens its 2023 home season on Saturday night when the Huskers play host to Northern Illinois at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff between the Huskers and Huskies is set for shortly after 6 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on FS1 and the radio broadcast can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com and the official Huskers App.
Nebraska's Sept. 16 home opener is the latest in the calendar for the Huskers since they opened their 1981 home schedule on Sept. 19 (excluding 2020 Covid season). The home opener begins a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium in 2023. Nebraska began playing its home games at Memorial Stadium in 1923 and has won nearly 75 percent of its home games in the historic venue over the past century. Included in that is a 77-19-4 record in home openers at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska enters Saturday's matchup with an 0-2 record following a 36-14 loss at then-No. 22 Colorado on Saturday. The Huskers and Buffs were scoreless for the game's first 25 minutes before the Buffs scored 13 points in the final 4:20 of the first half to take control. Nebraska pulled within six midway through the third quarter but could get no closer. Colorado capitalized on Nebraska miscues, with 17 of its points coming off of Husker turnovers.
Northern Illinois heads to Lincoln with a 1-1 record following a 14-11 loss against Southern Illinois on Saturday in DeKalb, Ill. Like Nebraska, a big factor in the loss was in the turnover department, as the Huskies were -3 in the loss to Southern Illinois. The Huskies had opened the season with an impressive 27-24 overtime victory at Boston College on Sept. 2.
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and Northern Illinois will meet for the fifth time in program history on Saturday night in Lincoln. The Huskers hold a 3-1 edge with all four games being played at Memorial Stadium.
- Nebraska rushed for better than 400 yards in each of the first two series meetings in 1989 and 1990.
- The Huskers won the most recent meeting between the two teams in 2019, with a 44-8 victory. Ironically, that game also followed a Husker trip to Boulder to play Colorado.
- Northern Illinois' lone victory in the series was in 2017, with the Huskies escaping Lincoln with a 21-17 victory on the strength of two defensive touchdowns.
- Nebraska has a 7-1 all-time record against current members of the Mid-American Conference, with the lone setback the 2017 loss to the Huskies. Nebraska's most recent game against a MAC opponent was a 28-3 win over Buffalo in 2021.
HUSKERS IN HOME OPENERS
Nebraska plays the first of seven 2023 home games at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night after opening the season with road games at Minnesota and Colorado.
• This is the first time Nebraska has opened with a pair of road games since 1995. The Sept. 16 home opener is the latest in the calendar since the 1981 season. (excluding 2020 Covid season)
• The Huskers have won their past four home openers and 35 of its past 37 home openers at Memorial Stadium.
UNDER THE LIGHTS IN LINCOLN
Nebraska will host its first night game of the 2023 season on Saturday, hosting the NIU Huskies under the Memorial Stadium lights.
• Nebraska has a history of success in night games at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers are 49-10 all-time in home night games since the first prime-time game at Memorial Stadium in 1986.
• Nebraska has won its past 12 night games at Memorial Stadium against non-conference opponents, most recently the 2019 win over Northern Illinois.
ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois has fielded a football team since 1899, and the Huskies have totaled over 600 wins as a program. NIU has claimed one national title and 12 conference championships, including six Mid-American Conference titles.
The Huskies have made 14 bowl game appearances, claiming four wins. NIU's last bowl appearance came in 2021 when the Huskies took on Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl. Coastal Carolina came away with the victory in a 47-41 high-scoring affair with the Huskies.
First Year: 1899
All-Time Record: 605-522-51
Bowl Record: 4-10
Conference Titles: 12
National Titles: 1 (1963, Division II)
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Capacity: 23,595
Playing Surface: FieldTurf
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Enrollment: 15,649
Colors: Cardinal & Black
NORTHERN ILLINOIS SCHEDULE/RESULTS
at Boston College (W 27-24 OT)
Southern Illinois (L 11-14)
at Nebraska
Tulsa
at Toledo
at Akron
Ohio
Eastern Michigan
at Central Michigan
Ball State
Western Michigan
at Kent State
ABOUT 2023 NIU HUSKIES
Northern Illinois has split its first two games of the 2023 campaign after picking up an overtime win on the road at Boston College and dropping its home opener vs. Southern Illinois last weekend.
The Huskies enter Saturday night's contest averaging 349.0 yards per game, with 234.5 yards per game through the air and 114.5 yards per game on the ground. Rocky Lombardi has completed 36-of-67 passes for 462 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Kacper Rutkiewicz has 11 receptions for 185 yards and a score, followed by Chris Carter with five receptions for 100 yards and Grayson Barnes' three grabs for 40 yards. Antario Brown has 112 yards on the ground with a touchdown, while Gavin Williams has totaled 71 yards on 17 carries to lead the Huskies' rushing attack.
Defensively, the Huskies are allowing 19.0 points per game and 266.5 yards per game this season. CJ Brown leads the NIU defense with a team-high nine tackles, followed by Jaden Dolphin with eight stops. Roy Williams and George Gumbs have posted team-high totals of 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackle for losses through two games.
ABOUT NIU COACH THOMAS HAMMOCK
Thomas Hammock is in his fifth season as the head coach at Northern Illinois.
A former player and assistant coach at Northern Illinois, Hammock returned to the Huskies in 2019. In his third season at the helm of the NIU program, Hammock led the Huskies to a 9-5 overall record and won the MAC Championship Game with a 41-23 victory over Kent State in 2021.
Hammock returned to NIU after spending five seasons in the NFL as a running backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens. Prior to the Ravens, Hammock served three seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin and four seasons at Minnesota. Hammock began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin in 2003-04, before becoming an assistant on the NIU staff in 2005.
Hammock will be facing Nebraska for the second time in his career on Saturday. Hammock is 0-1 after suffering a 44-8 setback against the Huskers in Lincoln on September 14, 2019.
LAST MEETING: SEPTEMBER 14, 2019
Nebraska 44, Northern Illinois 8
Lincoln, Neb. - Adrian Martinez accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and had a hand in three touchdowns, while Dedrick Mills rushed for 116 yards and a score on just 11 carries, as Nebraska rolled to a 44-8 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday night.
Playing in front of the 370th consecutive sellout with 89,593 fans at Memorial Stadium, Martinez completed 16-of-27 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns, and added 44 yards and another score on the ground to finish with 301 yards of total offense. Nebraska closed non-conference play with a 2-1 record, while Northern Illinois slipped to 1-2 on the season.
Martinez and Mills led a balanced Big Red offense that put up 525 yards of total offense, including 287 passing and 238 rushing yards. Northern Illinois managed 350 total yards, but just 74 on the ground, as the Blackshirts kept the Huskies out of the end zone, surrendering just a pair of field goals on the night.
In an action-packed first half that featured big plays and blocked kicks, Nebraska powered its way to a 30-5 halftime lead.
Nebraska struck quickly, winning the toss and taking the opening drive 58 yards in eight plays capped by Isaac Armstrong's 36-yard field goal to give the Huskers a 3-0 lead just 2:29 into the game.
The Big Red made it 10-0 on Maurice Washington's 21-yard touchdown catch on a short forward pass with 6:22 left in the opening quarter. Washington's score on a pass from Martinez was the only play of a short drive that was set up by heavy pressure by Nebraska's punt-block unit. NIU punter Matt Ference felt fierce pressure from Isaiah Stalbird and dropped the ball to the turf without punting it. The fumble was recovered by tight end Austin Allen to set up the score.
Nebraska kept the explosive plays going in the second quarter, as Washington raced 60 yards for a touchdown with 12:20 left in the half to give the Huskers a 16-0 lead. However, Armstrong's extra point try was blocked. Washington finished the night with three receptions for 18 yards, while adding 57 rushing yards on just two carries.
Northern Illinois got on the board with 7:58 left in the half on John Richardson's 45-yard field goal to cut Nebraska's lead to 16-3. The Huskies then tried to surprise the Big Red with an on-side kick. The attempt failed and set Nebraska up again with a short field. It took just four plays and 39 seconds for the Husker offense to capitalize, as Mills scampered 24 yards to the end zone to extend Nebraska's margin to 23-3 with 7:19 left in the half. Mills' touchdown was set up by a 26-yard pass from Martinez to Mike Williams to convert on 3rd-and-10.
The teams exchanged block kicks over the next five minutes - with Stalbird blocking a Ference punt to set the Huskers up inside the NIU 20. The offense was unable to capitalize, as a 32-yard Armstrong field goal attempt was blocked by the Huskies.
The Blackshirts stopped the Huskies on the ensuing drive, and instead of putting another Ference punt in harm's way, quarterback Ross Bowers booted a 46-yard punt that pinned Nebraska at its own 4. On the next play, Jordan Cole took down Washington in the end zone for a safety on a completed pass to cut the Husker lead to 23-5 with 1:49 left in the first half.
The defense shut down NIU on the ensuing drive and forced another Bowers punt. Martinez and the Big Red offense took over at the NU 13 with just 44 seconds left. Five plays later, Martinez connected with Kanawai Noa for his first touchdown catch as a Husker - a spectacular 27-yard grab in the back corner of the end zone that sent Nebraska to the locker room with a 30-5 edge.
Noa ended the night with three receptions for 51 yards.
Nebraska averaged 11.2 yards per play in the first half, rolling up 369 yards of total offense on just 33 plays, including three first-half receptions for 73 yards from JD Spielman, who finished the game with four catches for 76 yards. The Blackshirts held Northern Illinois to 144 first-half yards on 43 plays.
NIU opened the second half with the ball and methodically marched 66 yards on 12 plays in 5:13, but had to settle for Richardson's 27-yard field goal to cut the Big Red lead to 30-8. Nebraska's offense sputtered early in the half, before Martinez capped a seven-play, 48-yard drive with his 10-yard touchdown run with 3:00 left to send the Huskers to the fourth quarter with a 37-8 advantage.
The Blackshirts made their final stand midway through the fourth, holding the Huskies out of the end zone on a 4th-and-inches from inside the 1. Martinez and the offense were able to drive out of the shadows of their own goal post before Armstrong's punt left Northern Illinois with a long field and time running short.
Redshirt freshman Braxton Clark then grabbed his first career interception to set the Husker offense up at the NIU 42 with 6:32 left in the game.
Noah Vedral then took the reins of the Husker offense and marched the Big Red to end zone, capped by his own three-yard touchdown run with 4:04 left to complete the scoring. Freshman running back Rahmir Johnson carried three times for nine yards on the drive, while Darien Chase (13 yards), Kurt Rafdal (9) and Jaevon McQuitty (8) added key receptions on the drive.
Mohamed Barry led the Blackshirts with 10 tackles, while fellow linebacker Will Honas contributed six stops. Defensive tackle Carlos Davis was also a disruptive force in the middle, notching six tackles, including 1.5 sacks, while adding a pair of breakups with deflections at the line of scrimmage.
Stalbird starred for the Husker special teams, finishing the game with three tackles, including two for loss, a forced fumble and a blocked punt.
