Nebraska 26
Minnesota 21

Sept. 26, 1964 • 1:30 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Minneapolis, MN • NBC
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1964 Nebraska winning touchdown vs MinnesotaNebraska’s winning touchdown was this close to being an interception. The ball went through Mike Reid’s hands and off his helmet before the Huskers’ Kent McCloughan snagged it on the ricochet and scored. · Minneapolis Star Tribune · Newspapers.com

Second Quarter
UM: Aaron Brown 8 pass from John Hankinson (Mike Reid kick)
NU: Fred Duda 1 run (kick failed)
NU: Kent McCloughan 10 run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
UM: Hankinson 32 run (Reid kick)
Fourth Quarter
UM: Billy Crockett 80 punt return (Reid kick)
NU: Solich 45 pass from Duda (Duncan Drum kick
NU: McCloughan 18 pass from Duda (Drum kick)

                         NU        UM
First downs ............ 18        12
  By rushing ............ 9         7
  By passing ............ 9         4
  By penalty ............ 0         1
Rushing net ........ 47-155    37-150
Passing net ........... 188        97
  Comp-Att-Int .... 13-25-1   12-25-0
Total offense ...... 72-343    62-247
Punts .............. 5-35.0    7-28.2
Punt returns-yds ..... 2-34      4-87
Kickoff returns-yds .. 2-27     5-109
Fumbles-lost .......... 2-1       4-2
Penalized-yards ...... 7-61      9-95

RUSHING
  NU: Wilson 3-40, McCloughan 8-31, Smith 15-28, Solich 7-25, Duda 9-23, Hohn 2-7, Kirkland 2-1, Johnson 1-0.
  UM: Crockett 16-57, Lofquist 1-27, Farthing 7-26, Hankinson 10-26, Reid 3-14.

PASSING
  NU: Duda 13-25-1 188.
  UM: Hankinson 12-25-0 97.

RECEIVING
  NU: Jeter 4-51, White 3-40, Wilson 3-19, Solich 1-45, McCloughan 1-18, Hohn 1-15.
  UM: Brown 5-52, Crockett 4-7, Farthing 2-24, Whitlow 1-14.

Attendance: 49,769

Coverage

Stats & recap
Complete stats

Two late TD passes rally Huskers past Gophers

Nebraska’s Cornhuskers staged one of the most sensational comebacks in their 75-year history to pull out a 26-21 victory over the Minnesota Gophers before a national TV audience.

With 7:52 left to play, following Billy Crockett’s 80-yard punt return for a TD, the Huskers trailed 21-12. Then came the fireworks. On the third play after the kickoff, quarterback Fred Duda rolled out to pass, but Gopher defenders piled up the Huskers’ two primary receivers. Duda spotted faking fullback Frank Solich sprinting straight down the middle behind the Minnesota safety and rifled a 45-yard scoring pass.

Still, the Huskers were down 21-19 with only 7:31 left in the game. After halting a Gopher drive and forcing a punt that went only 19 yards into a stiff wind, Nebraska took over at the Minnesota 44. Seemingly stymied, Duda came up to a fourth down with 13 yards to go and connected with Freeman White on a 14-yard pass. Then Duda fired a 15-yarder to Bob Hohn at the 18. On the next play, Duda passed again, and the ball ripped through the hands of Gopher defender Mike Reid and skittered off his helmet. Receiver Kent McCloughan lunged for the deflected ball, caught it, then plowed through two Gophers at the one-yard line to score the winning tally.

NOTE: This game marked the return to two-platoon football for the Huskers. Substitution rules essentially banned two-platoon ball from 1953 through 1963.

Recap source: 1965 NU media guide

Game stories
Omaha World-Herald
Minneapolis Tribune
Associated Press
Pregame & team info
1964 schedule
05/09White 24, Red 15
09/19South DakotaW 54-0
09/26@ MinnesotaW 26-21
10/03@ Iowa St.W 14-7
10/10South CarolinaW 28-6
10/17Kansas St.W 47-0
10/24@ ColoradoW 21-3
10/31MissouriW 9-0
11/07@ KansasW 14-7
11/14Oklahoma St.W 27-14
11/21@ OklahomaL 7-17
01/01ArkansasL 7-10

Commentary

Johnson

It was Duda’s refusal to settle for anything but a victory that turned the tide for his team.

Charles Johnson
Minneapolis Tribune
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