Football Articles

Stryker: Riley confirms winning is difficult

9/23/17 | Tad Stryker
It was not a jubilant crowd that filed out of Memorial Stadium in the Saturday evening twilight. It was more like a big, collective exhale. There was friendly banter here and there, but lots of furrowed foreheads and much quiet, purposeful walking. Don’t read too much into that. Nebraskans, after all, are a fairly stoic bunch. But they’re smart football…

Eichorst is out

9/21/17 | HuskerMax
Shawn Eichorst has been fired as Nebraska's athletic director, and the search  for his replacement is under way. Check our Fresh Links for all the coverage and commentary. The university's press release appears below. Chancellor calls for higher level of competitiveness, begins search for new director of athletics The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has announced it has begun a search for a new director of athletics. The university…

Pernell: How hot should Mike Riley’s seat be?

9/20/17 | Jeremy Pernell
Nebraska essentially paid Northern Illinois $820k to put its head coach on the hot seat. Following an inexcusable 21-17 loss to the Huskies, Nebraska is now sitting at 1-2 - and could very easily be 0-3 - heading into conference play. Mike Riley is in year 3 and losing to MAC teams coming off a 5-7 season should not be…

Husker Doc Talk: NIU postgame edition

9/19/17 | HuskerMax
Has the season gone to hell in a handbasket? In this week's installment, Dr. Rob Zatechka tells us if he thinks Mike Riley will make it through the season as the cries for a firing get louder. Listen to the entire podcast here.CLICK FOR FULL PODCAST

Rutgers pregame stats 2017

9/17/17 | HuskerMax
Rutgers 2017 Football Statistics CLICK FOR PDF VERSION Game Results Team Statistics Individual Statistics Defensive Statistics Combined Statistics Game Highs Game Results Date Opponent Score Overall Conf. Time Att 09/01/17 Washington L, 14-30 0-1-0 0-0-0 3:11   46093 09/09/17 Eastern Mich. L, 13-16 0-2-0 0-0-0 3:40   37661 09/16/17 Morgan St. W, 65-0 1-2-0 0-0-0 3:23   39892 Team Statistics…

2017 Nebraska-Rutgers stats matchup

9/17/17 | HuskerMax
      NEBRASKA 1-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten RUTGERS 1-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten Avg. Natl. Rank Avg. Natl. Rank Rushing offense 139.7 91 195.0 T-42 Passing offense 263.0 47 176.0 108 Pass efficiency 109.81 112 112.56 106 Total offense 402.7 71 371.0 93 Scoring offense 31.7 T-62 30.7 T-68 Rushing defense 122.7 T-46 92.7 20 Pass defense 302.7 113 203.0…

Stryker: Soft September in Lincoln

9/16/17 | Tad Stryker
Endless Summer. That sounds like carefree days indeed. Were the Beach Boys thinking of Mike Riley’s Nebraska football program when they recorded that album? Unfortunately for Riley and his coaching staff, it’s September now and they have to play real football games. After a brutally disappointing 21-17 loss to Northern Illinois, the Huskers are 1-2 and reeling. A coach who…

Husker Dan: Time for a gut check

9/16/17 | Husker Dan
No. Illinois 21, Nebraska 17 Let that sink in for a while. Nebraska finished the non-con season going 1-2 against three unranked teams. And the lone win was against Arkansas State in a game that came down to the last play. And with that scare, Nebraska could very easily be 0-3. And what is going to happen once conference play…

Postgame video: 2017 Arkansas State football

9/16/17 | HuskerMax
 Mike Riley    Danny Langsdorf    Cole Conrad    Jerald Foster    Stanley Morgan    Lamar Jackson    Nick Gates    Tanner Lee    Tre Bryant    JD Spielman    Eric Lee  Tyjon Lindsey    Luke Gifford    Chris Weber    Dicaprio Bootle    Luke McNitt

Highlights: 2017 Arkansas State @ Nebraska football

9/16/17 | HuskerMax
 Huskers.com highlights ?? from yesterday's W.?????? #GBR pic.twitter.com/x94v2flrTJ— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) September 3, 2017    BTN highlights    De'Mornay Pierson-El TD, fourth quarter    Joshua Kalu INT, fourth quarter

Rally falls short in Eugene

9/9/17 | HuskerMax
After giving up 42 points in the first half, the Huskers held Oregon scoreless the rest of the way with help from this Aaron Williams interception, but a late turnover foiled Nebraska’s rally. Get all the coverage, commentary and multimedia on the game page.

Stryker: Scary B-movie finish ends well for Big Red

9/3/17 | Tad Stryker
Did you ever have one of those dreams where you’re almost safely home, but out of nowhere, a pursuing monster comes closer and closer, and the harder you run, the slower you move? Yeah, a real B-film climax. That’s what Nebraska-Arkansas State degenerated into. Luckily for Nebraska fans – at least the ones who stayed to the final play –…

That 1997 vibe

7/27/17 | HuskerMax
The Huskers’ alternate uniforms for 2017 have a mesh look that pays homage to the 1997 national championship team. They will be worn in the Oct. 7 game against Wisconsin. From University of Nebraska Athletics: The University of Nebraska and adidas Football today unveiled the new Husker '97 alternate football uniform, which will be worn Saturday, October 7 vs. Wisconsin.…

Coin-toss surprise

7/21/17 | Web Apps
After ten months away from home, welcome Home Staff Sergeant Hawke. pic.twitter.com/TzOcrJjysg — Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) April 15, 2017

Tad Stryker: Stop the sitting and waiting already

3/27/17 | Tad Stryker
A quick look at the best ways to shorten the duration of major college football games As late as the Turner Gill/Mike Rozier era, relatively few Nebraska home games were televised. Non-televised games typically started at 1:30 p.m. and usually ended about 4:10, consuming about 2 hours, 40 minutes. Televised games ran longer, to be sure, but usually wrapped up…

1975 Nebraska football Red-White spring game recap

1/14/17 | HuskerMax
Whites defeat Reds 20-6; Garcia leads upset Lincoln, Nebraska—(May 3, 1975)—Behind the quarterbacking of sophomore Randy Garcia, the White squad upset the favored Red team 20-6 before 19,429 fans at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. From the very start of the contest, the Red team, featuring the Huskers' top players, was dominated by the underdog White squad. The opening kickoff went to…

Stryker: A bad year for Pipelines

12/20/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: A bad year for Pipelines Cavanaugh, punchless o-line dragged down Huskers with late-season swoon BY TAD STRYKER ON 12/30/2016 The long, slow improvement of Nebraska’s offensive line looked slightly ahead of schedule in September. But then something happened. Several things, actually, and almost none of them good for coach Mike Cavanaugh and his young pupils. After Terrell Newby broke a 63-yard…

Stryker: Fyfe gets a win on Senior Day

11/19/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Fyfe gets a win on Senior Day Blackshirts shut down Maryland running game, clinch unbeaten home season BY TAD STRYKER ON 11/19/2016 It’s welcome back to the upper middle class for Nebraska, which made it back to the nine-win mark without Tommy Armstrong and without second-half drama. Breaking out of mold they’ve cast for themselves, Nebraska played three nice quarters of…

Stryker: Hawkeyes 40, Huskers 10: This one leaves a stench

11/19/16 | Tad Stryker
Hawkeyes 40, Huskers 10: This one leaves a stench Collapse in Iowa City shows how Armstrong-dependent NU has become BY TAD STRYKER ON 11/19/2016 The Nebraska senior class of 2016 gave the Cornhusker State a lot of golden moments this fall. But Friday’s dismal performance at Iowa City has left a dramatically different taste on this season. Thankfully, gold cannot tarnish, but…

Stryker: Warrior mentality means you can never count Tommy Armstrong out

11/12/16 | Tad Stryker
Nebraska's senior quarterback overcomes ankle injury to lead game-winning 91-yard fourth-quarter touchdown drive against Minnesota BY TAD STRYKER ON 11/12/2016 You’ve complained about him on and off for four years now, but you’ll miss the Warrior when he’s gone. Thirty times, he has left the field a winner. No. 30 did not come easily, but when Tommy Armstrong Jr. walked slowly, painfully,…

Stryker: Devastating loss in Columbus starts with poor o-line play

11/5/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Devastating loss in Columbus starts with poor o-line play Huskers need someone to succeed up front — and soon BY TAD STRYKER ON 11/06/2016 A Nebraska football team with a fragile, paper-thin offensive line is a sad sight to behold. When an offensive line can’t stand and fight, all its playmakers are nullified, and soon it puts the entire team in…

Stryker: Huskers can’t break through in Madison

10/30/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Huskers can’t break through in Madison Talent-depth deficit, lack of precision by Armstrong prove costly BY TAD STRYKER ON 10/30/2016 Grit and heart can carry you a long way, but as Nebraska found out Saturday night, eventually a lack of depth and talent catches up with you. Whether by a little or by a lot, Wisconsin continues its advantage in the…

Stryker: Ugly but undefeated: Huskers are stressed in win over Purdue

10/22/16 | Tad Stryker
Ugly but undefeated: Huskers are stressed in win over Purdue Blackshirts shine, o-line struggles as NU prepares for Wisconsin showdown BY TAD STRYKER ON 10/22/2016 For Nebraska football, victories in October have been a precious commodity over the past decade. So for that reason alone, Nebraska’s unconvincing 27-14 win over a weak Purdue team is nothing to sneer at. But I can’t…

Stryker: Huskers keep believing, stay unbeaten at season’s midpoint

10/15/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Huskers keep believing, stay unbeaten at season’s midpoint Chris Jones leads strong performance by defensive backfield as NU wins seventh in a row BY TAD STRYKER ON 10/15/2016 What in the world is a new generation of Husker fans to make of their football team? A hang-on-by-your-fingernails 27-22 win over a talented and very respectable Indiana team that threw a lot…

Stryker: Steady Huskers figure out how to finish off Illinois

10/1/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Steady Huskers figure out how to finish off Illinois Terrell Newby, beat-up offensive line spark another decisive fourth quarter BY TAD STRYKER ON 10/1/2016 I have to confess that near the end of the third quarter, when Illinois led Nebraska 16-10 and ESPN pulled out the graphic that showed the last time the Illini beat Nebraska in back-to-back seasons (1923 and…

Stryker: Armstrong helps Huskers avoid drama, beat Northwestern

9/25/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Armstrong helps Huskers avoid drama, beat Northwestern ‘Steady as she goes’ gets it done for Riley and the Big Red BY TAD STRYKER ON 9/25/2016 There was no drama. There was no last-minute comeback, no Hail Mary, no big-time controversy. And that was just fine, thank you. A Steady Eddie Big Ten road win is just fine. Especially when it comes…

Stryker: Riley, Nebraska grab their chance, break through against Ducks

9/17/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Riley, Nebraska grab their chance, break through against Ducks Big plays by Armstrong give Cornhuskers a pivotal victory BY TAD STRYKER ON 9/17/2016 Both the Nebraska football program and its head coach seemed to be running out of chances to break through to national relevance. Call it stage fright. Call it bad karma. Call it negative thought patterns. Call it lousy…

Stryker: Blackshirts’ five interceptions help finish off Wyoming

9/10/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Blackshirts’ five interceptions help finish off Wyoming Now Riley gets possibly his best shot at longtime nemesis Oregon BY TAD STRYKER ON 9/10/2016 It’s inevitable that Tommy Armstrong’s fingerprints were all over the wreckage of the Wyoming Cowboys after Nebraska’s 52-17 win Saturday. Armstrong deserves cheers for setting the Nebraska career record for touchdown passes (his 57 TDs eclipse the old…

Stryker: Staying the course, Riley, Huskers find fourth-quarter benefits

9/3/16 | Tad Stryker
Stryker: Staying the course, Riley, Huskers find fourth-quarter benefits Positive signs in offensive line, I-backs, turnover margin to name a few BY TAD STRYKER ON 9/3/2016 All kinds of bad things happened to Mike Riley at the end of games last season, so it was a nice change of pace to see a bunch of things go his way in the fourth…

Stryker: Great moments reborn while examining the Huskers by number

7/23/16 | Tad Stryker
Memorable moments are like cherished snapshots, and Husker football history is filled with them. As I look back at my favorite Nebraska football moments of all time, it quickly becomes obvious that not many of them took place last fall, but there’s one I’ll always remember. Although wins over Michigan State and UCLA were the highlights, and the Tommy Armstrong-to-Brandon…

Stryker: Iowa proves consistency beats cute more often than not

11/27/15 | Tad Stryker
Never underestimate the value of a quarterback who doesn’t beat himself and a defense that does not allow big plays. They made all the difference Friday as Iowa won its 12th consecutive game and kept itself in the hunt for the College Football Playoffs with a 28-20 win over Nebraska. The Hawkeyes were impressive in their refusal to buckle under…

Stryker: Huskers party on after snatching victory from unbeaten Spartans

11/7/15 | Tad Stryker
If you’ve ever watched a late-night party at Memorial Stadium, it’s like nothing else you’ve seen. If you were there in the gigantic old concrete cathedral Saturday night, you won’t soon forget it. It was a scarlet soiree. The Red Sea pitched and rolled in time with the high-decibel music that echoed through the house. The student section rocked. The…

Stryker: Return of Rose-Ivey highlights Riley’s first win at NU

9/13/15 | Tad Stryker
With three starters standing on the sidelines, the Blackshirts’ health took an uptick Saturday night against South Alabama. Small wonder – they had their heart back. Nebraska’s 48-9 victory over USA went about as well as it should have. The offensive line showed some promise, springing Terrell Newby for 198 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore placekicker Drew Brown made both…

Stryker: Armstrong paddling hard under the surface to remain Husker QB

4/11/15 | Tad Stryker
Tommy Armstrong led the Nebraska offense last fall for Bo Pelini. Barring injury, he’ll do the same for Mike Riley this fall. It’s difficult to draw many solid conclusions from a spring football game, but here’s one. After weeks of hearing about A.J. Bush closing the gap on Armstrong in their race for the starting quarterback spot, Armstrong still has…

Happy 100th, Bill Glassford!

3/7/14 | J. Hudson
What does an old coach do when the odometer of life rolls over to triple digits? Have a party, of course. That’s what Bill Glassford has planned for Saturday, his 100th birthday, at his residence in Scottsdale, Ariz. Three days later, he’ll travel to Las Vegas and meet up with several former Nebraska players: Jim “Pev” Evans, Dirkes Rolston, Bill…

Hail Mary: 2013 Northwestern-Nebraska

11/2/13 | HuskerMax
  Northwestern @ Nebraska, Nov. 2, 2013 BTN Live interviews: Kellogg | Westerkamp & Davison           It was a pleasure having @JordanWesty1 in studio today to re-watch his 2013 Hail Mary game. Full video on BTN's FB: https://t.co/kI1RjLiGTV— Alex Roux (@arouxBTN) April 26, 2017          

Tad Stryker: Pelini stakes his future on ability to turn defense around

9/21/13 | Tad Stryker
Judging by the response at Memorial Stadium Saturday, Bo Pelini seems to have made some progress repairing his relationship with Nebraska's fan base. That seemed easy enough. It'll likely take a lot more work to go to get his defense fixed, though, and in the final analysis, Pelini's success or failure in Lincoln will be decided by his team's results…

Stryker: Will Huskers learn from bowl loss to more talented Southern opponent?

1/1/13 | Tad Stryker
For those of us who say we long for old-time Cornhusker football, at least this game had some familiar themes. You had an academically high-achieving Nebraska team giving a good effort against a Southern team with more speed and athletic ability, but talent carried the day in Georgia's 45-31 victory Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl. It reminded me of…

Stryker: Wisconsin beatdown of Huskers stunningly inconceivable

12/1/12 | Tad Stryker
The story of Nebraska's 70-31 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game will possibly never be fully understood, nor will the catastrophic way the Blackshirts fell apart Saturday night in Indianapolis. How could a battle-tested, senior-dominated defense – one that had been improving each game throughout the second half of the season – make so many fundamental breakdowns…

Stryker: Return of Superman is a thing of beauty

11/23/12 | Tad Stryker
A national television audience may have thought Nebraska’s 13-7 win over Iowa on Black Friday was sluggish, even dull. But Husker fans around the nation recognized the beauty of Rex Burkhead’s return to action. After sitting out roughly the equivalent of five full games, Superman reappeared in the second half on a cold, windy day in Iowa City, and none…

Stryker: A cameo by the old master and consistency on the horizon

11/17/12 | Tad Stryker
There was a time not so long ago when Nebraska was a football program that could pretty much disregard what other teams were doing. If Nebraska was right, it really didn't matter how poorly or well the other guy was playing. It was only a matter of time before he'd fall to the Big Red. That was the process; if…

Stryker: Husker coaches make the right moves to shut down Penn State

11/10/12 | Tad Stryker
In Lincoln, it's not just the players who have learned to be resilient in the homestretch of the 2012 season. On Saturday in windblown Memorial Stadium, Bo Pelini and his coaching staff stepped up as well. It took a while for them to figure it out. They were thoroughly outcoached in a first half that went exactly the way Penn…

Stryker: Martinez the difference maker in East Lansing

11/3/12 | Tad Stryker
Someday, we’ll look back with the benefit of years of hindsight -- and we’ll still wonder exactly how Taylor Martinez and the Cornhuskers pulled this season off. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nebraska football teams methodically steamrolled their opponents using superior depth, talent and execution. Back in those days, Husker supporters sometimes complained about the games being boring. But this…

Stryker: Husker senior Blackshirts come up big against Michigan

10/27/12 | Tad Stryker
Bo Pelini had reason to celebrate as he walked off the field at Memorial Stadium Saturday night. Just a couple weeks after being on the brink of completely losing control of a season that was headed downhill fast, Pelini has his team in good position to win the Legends Division. This was a game he absolutely had to have, and…

Stryker: After edging Northwestern, Huskers on the brink of something

10/20/12 | Tad Stryker
That sinking feeling in your gut late Saturday afternoon was Nebraska’s proud football program teetering on the brink of irrelevancy in college football. Then again, that surge of pride – and relief – was Nebraska getting up off the deck and throwing punches, staging two gutsy fourth-quarter drives that showed resilience and character in a game where everything seemed to…

Stryker: Buckeyes’ Miller outclasses Martinez, Blackshirts

10/6/12 | Tad Stryker
This football team is in no condition to travel. A challenging road trip requires a dependable vehicle, but dependability is in short supply on the Nebraska football team. Ohio State's offense, which had struggled throughout the unbeaten Buckeyes' first five games, suddenly got quite healthy indeed against the Cornhuskers in a 63-38 rampage, It seems hard to believe that this…

Stryker: Has Martinez left ‘erratic’ in rearview mirror?

9/29/12 | Tad Stryker
Nebraska's second-biggest come-from-behind victory was a lot like its first, and Taylor Martinez was right in the middle of both. Last year, when NU roared back from 21 points down to beat Ohio State, Martinez had a forgettable first half and a memorable second. It was the same story Saturday night in Memorial Stadium, where Nebraska scrambled from 17 down…

Stryker: I-back quartet Huskers’ best since 1995

9/22/12 | Tad Stryker
Nebraska is rebuilding its identity as a power running team. The Cornhuskers are back in the top 10 for rushing yardage and have had four different players crack the 100-yard barrier so far this season. Much has been made of Taylor Martinez's new footwork and his prediction that he'll complete 70 percent of his passes this season. Those are important,…

Stryker: Huskers start a defensive youth movement?

9/15/12 | Tad Stryker
Now is a chance to start building goodwill in the Husker Nation. Nearly endless negativity was flowing throughout the kingdom last week in the wake of a disappointing loss to UCLA in Pasadena. Then we heard that Bo Pelini had been taken by ambulance from Memorial Stadium at halftime of the Arkansas State game. We saw the Nebraska defensive unit…

Stryker: Is there a playmaker in the house? NU defense needs to show up

9/8/12 | Tad Stryker
So, that West Coast trip idea didn't turn out real well for Nebraska. Looking back, here's a list of what the Cornhuskers accomplished Saturday night as they fell 36-30 to UCLA, dropping to 1-1 on the season: • Getting beat up on both sides of the line of scrimmage in the second half by a pastel-tinted football program that has…

Stryker: Retooled Martinez passes first test in a big way

9/1/12 | Tad Stryker
The much-anticipated 2012 Nebraska football season started with a flash of the old Rex Burkhead, but when the All-Big Ten running back went down early with strained knee ligaments, it opened up the game for what looked like a new Taylor Martinez. Round two of Tim Beck's reign as offensive coordinator began well as Nebraska recorded a 49-20 win over…

“Close the Gates of Mercy”

3/18/12 | HuskerMax
Coach Francis Schmidt earned his unusual nickname by running up the score with a wide-open offense in the era between the two world wars. He’s in college football’s Hall of Fame, yet few Nebraska fans today seem aware of this innovative former Cornhusker.
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