Michigan St. 20
Nebraska 17

Nov. 4, 2023 • 11 a.m. Central
Spartan Stadium •East Lansing, MI • FS1
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Nebraska0100717
Michigan St.373720
Embed from Getty Images
Emmett Johnson runs for yardage during the second quarter.
First quarter
MSU: Jonathan Kim 35 field goal, 11:51
Second quarter
NEB: Heinrich Haarberg 5 run (Alvano kick) 12:40
MSU: Christian Fitzpatrick 11 pass from Katin Houser (Kim kick) 9:14
NEB: Alvano 24 field goal, 0:06
Third quarter
MSU: Kim 50 field goal, 5:11
Fourth quarter
MSU: Montorie Foster 25 pass from Sam Leavitt (Kim kick) 12:13
NEB: Emmett Johnson 4 run (Alvano kick) 3:35

                         NEB       MSU
FIRST DOWNS ............. 18        11
  RUSHING ............... 10         3
  PASSING ................ 5         8
  PENALTY ................ 3         0
RUSHES-NET YARDS .... 41-154     31-63
NET YARDS PASSING ...... 129       232
  COMP-ATT-INT ..... 12-28-2   15-24-0
TOTAL OFFENSE ....... 69-283    55-295
FUMBLES-LOST ........... 2-1       0-0
PENALIZED-YARDS ........ 0-0      7-70
PUNTS-AVERAGE ........  5-35      7-48
PUNT RETURNS-YDS ....... 1-4       1-8
KICKOFF RETURNS-YDS .... 0-0      1-11
INTERCEPTIONS-YDS ...... 0-0      2--3
POSSESSION TIME ...... 31:31     28:29
THIRD-DOWN CONV. ...... 5-15      3-14
FOURTH-DOWN CONV. ...... 1-1       1-1
RED ZONE SCORES ........ 3-3       2-2
SACKS BY-YARDS ........ 3-20      7-37

RUSHING
  NEB: E.Johnson 13-57; Haarberg 14-37; Grant 9-35; Fleeks 4-19; Lloyd 1-6/
  MSU: Carter 15-50; Houser 10-13; Leavitt 2-2; Mangham 1-minus-1; A.Brown 3-minus-1. 

PASSING
  NEB: Haarberg 12-28-2 129.
  MSU: Houser 13-20-0 165; Leavitt 1-2-0 25; Brown 1-1-0 42; Foster 0-1-0 0.

RECEIVING
  NEB: Fidone 3-43; Bullock 3-37; Coleman 2-39; Johnson 1-6; Hahn 1-5; Fleeks 1-3; Lloyd 2-minus-4.
  MSU: Foster 4-94; Henry 4-54; Fitzpatrick 2-15; Carter 2-9; Franklin 1-46; Parachek 1-17; Mangham 1-minus-3.

Attendance: 68,134




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Huskers fall flat in East Lansing

Nebraska made a game of it at the end, but the offense went AWOL for too much of the second half and Michigan State upset the Huskers in East Lansing.

A minus-3 turnover margin and seven quarterback sacks allowed hurt Nebraska’s quest for its sixth win and bowl eligibility. So did the Spartans’ commanding edge in the punting game.

After a 10-10 first half, Michigan State took a 13-10 lead early in the third period with a 50-yard field goal, and Nebraska’s offense got little done for the rest of the quarter. After a punt pinned the Huskers at their own 7 near the end of the period, a Nebraska three-and-out gave MSU the ball at the NU 38. A 25-yard touchdown pass extended the Spartans’ advantage to 20-10.

The Huskers’ hopes were revived when quarterback Heinrich Haarberg’s 43-yard jaunt set up Emmett Johnson’s short touchdown run with 3½ minutes left in the game, making it a 20-17 contest. But on Nebraska’s next possession, Haarberg fumbled the ball away, which seemed to all but seal the Spartans’ victory. Nebraska did get one last chance on offense, though, and advanced to the NU 46, but the Huskers’ chances essentially ended with an 18-yard strip sack (some would say it should have been ruled an incomplete pass).

During the 10-10 first half, the Spartans took an early lead with a field goal that was set up by a 46-yard pass to the NU 19. After an exchange of three-and-outs, the Huskers drove to midfield from their own 15. Haarberg’s deep pass on third down was intercepted at the MSU 4, amounting to an “arm punt,” and the Huskers soon were back in business at their own 41.

A third-down pass from Haarberg to Thomas Fidone netted 27 yards, and an 11-yard run by Emmett Johnson on third and 10 got the Huskers to the MSU 15. Four plays later, Haarberg scored on a five-yard keeper to give Nebraska a 7-3 lead.

MSU answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive that saw former Husker Alante Brown complete a 42-yard pass on a trick play. Nebraska tied it up with a short field goal in the waning seconds of the second quarter after a 71-yard drive aided by 40 yards in Michigan State penalties.

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MON | TUE | THU
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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 had three catches for 43 yards. | Nebraska Athletics

Commentary

Stryker

Growing pains bit Nebraska hard and often on offense, but possibly the Huskers’ most disappointing failures of the game came on defense and in the kicking game.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax/All Huskers
Christopherson

Spartans threw the kitchen sink at Nebraska – with tricks and obviously a lot of fuel to have a last stand for its season.

Brian Christopherson
Husker247
Shatel

Did these Huskers, strangers to this moment, relax? Or does a team with flaws, a team that lives each week with a small margin for error eventually take a spill off the wire?

Tom Shatel *
Omaha World-Herald
Just

The Huskers should be better than this. They are better than this. And yet they’re walking away from East Lansing with a loss.

Amie Just *
Lincoln Journal Star
Maier

Nebraska’s offense is simply not suited to overcome even an average day from the opposing sideline.

Joseph Maier
Daily Nebraskan
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