Nebraska 28
Louisiana Tech 14

Sept. 23, 2023 • 2:30 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • BTN
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Louisiana Tech070714
Nebraska0771428
Anthony Grant
Anthony Grant runs for 34 yards in the third quarter. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Second quarter
NU: Billy Kemp 9 run (Tristan Alvano kick) 11:31 
LT: Jacob Fields 14 run (Jacob Barnes kick) 6:07
Third quarter
NU: Anthony Grant 2 run (Alvano kick) 9:57
Fourth quarter
NU: Thomas Fidone 29 pass from Heinrich Haarberg (Alvano kick) 14:52  
NU: Haarberg 72 run (Alvano kick) 11:13
LT: Cyrus Allen 20 pass from Turner (Barnes kick) 5:17

                         LT         NU
FIRST DOWNS ............ 17         20
  RUSHING ............... 6         12
  PASSING .............. 10          5
  PENALTY ............... 1          3
RUSHES-NET YARDS .... 21-46     48-312
NET YDS PASSING ....... 292        107
  COMP-ATT-INT .... 27-42-1     8-18-0
TOTAL OFFENSE ...... 63-338     66-419
FUMBLE-LOST ........... 3-0        3-0
PENALIZED-YARDS .... 12-100       6-55
PUNTS-AVERAGE ........ 7-42       6-45
PUNT RETURNS-YDS ..... 5-32        1-8
K.O. RETURNS-YDS ..... 2-33       2-47
INTERCEPTIONS-YDS ..... 0-0        1-3
POSSESSION TIME ..... 27:50      32:10
THIRD-DOWN CONV. ..... 3-12       3-11
FOURTH-DOWN CONV. ..... 0-1        2-2
RED ZONE SCORES ....... 2-2        2-2
SACKS BY-YARDS ......  3-24        0-0

Attendance: 87,115




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Huskers pull away in second half for win

Heinrich Haarberg and Anthony Grant each rushed for more than 130 yards as the Huskers downed Louisiana Tech by dominating the final two quarters after a 7-7 first half.

It was Haarberg’s 72-yard touchdown dash early in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach at 28-7. That score came less than four minutes after Nebraska had taken a 21-7 lead on the first play of the period, a 29-yard pass from Haarberg to tight end Thomas Fidone. That drive required just 54 yards after a Brian Buschini punt pinned the Bulldogs at their own 5 and the Blackshirts delivered a three-and-out.

After a sluggish first half, Nebraska’s running game woke up on the opening possession of the third quarter. It was the Anthony Grant show as the running back accounted for 76 of the Huskers’ 85 yards on a drive capped by Grant’s 2-yard touchdown run.

The first half saw both teams struggle to put up points. The Huskers broke the scoring ice in the second quarter on a 79-yard drive aided by a fake field goal. The Bulldogs answered with an 87-yard drive of their own to tie things up at 7-7. A 42-yard Nebraska drive in the final two minutes of the half came up empty when Tristan Alvano missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.

Omaha World-Herald*
Lincoln Journal Star*
Husker247
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Pregame & team info
2023 schedule
04/22White 21, Red 7
08/31@ MinnesotaL 10-13
09/09@ ColoradoL 14-36
09/16N. IllinoisW 35-11
09/23Louisiana TechW 28-14
09/30MichiganL 7-45
10/06@ IllinoisW 20-7
10/21North­westernW 17-9
10/28PurdueW 31-14
11/04@ Michigan St.L 17-20
11/11MarylandL 10-13
11/18@ WisconsinL 17-24
11/24IowaL 10-13
Thomas Fidone scores on a 29-yard pass play.

Commentary

Stryker

Baby steps — call it incremental progress if you like — won’t beat Michigan ... but it could beat Illinois the following week. Is there more growth in this team?

HuskerMax/All Huskers
Christopherson

Nebraska’s best offense came of the old school variety. Fullbacks and QB option, the latter of which Louisiana Tech looked lost sometimes in defending.

Stukenholtz

While the D will keep Nebraska in almost every game from here on out, I’m interested in learning more about how the offense will do its part.

All Huskers/KLIN
Shatel

Haarberg left, Haarberg right. With Anthony Grant for good measure. The injuries say so. So do the circumstances of Rhule’s rebuild.

Omaha World-Herald
McKewon

When NU wanted to break a halftime tie, it did so with blunt force.

Omaha World-Herald
Meier

Rhule needs to figure out how to start hotter than they did Saturday. If the Huskers repeat a similar first-half effort, they’ll find themselves in irreparable holes.

Daily Nebraskan
Sherman

Even if a Sims-led offense would come with a higher ceiling, Nebraska can’t really turn away from the native son.

The Athletic
Just

The road to bowl eligibility is a bumpy one. But if Nebraska continues to dominate in the run game? The Huskers have a fighting chance at making things competitive down the stretch.

Lincoln Journal Star
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