Nebraska 17
North­western 9

Oct. 21, 2023 • 2:30 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • BTN
1st2nd3rd4th F 
North­western33039
Nebraska370717
Embed from Getty Images

Malachi Coleman celebrates with teammates after his fourth-quarter touchdown.

First quarter
NW: Jack Olsen 45 field goal, 7:18
NU: Tristan Alvano 47 field goal, 3:11
Second quarter
NW: Olsen 37 field goal, 5:48
NU: Heinrich Haarberg 3 run (Alvano kick) 0:23
Fourth quarter
NU: Haarberg 44 pass to Malachi Coleman (Alvano kick) 14:03
NW: Olsen 25 field goal, 11:09

                         NW         NU
FIRST DOWNS ............ 12         14
  RUSHING ............... 6         11
  PASSING ............... 5          2
  PENALTY ............... 1          1
RUSHES-NET YARDS .... 39-81     39-163
NET YARDS PASSING ..... 176         85
  COMP-ATT-INT .... 12-23-1     8-17-2
TOTAL OFFENSE ...... 62-257     56-248
FUMBLES-LOST .......... 2-0        3-0
PENALIZED-YARDS ...... 8-75       3-30
PUNTS-AVERAGE ........ 7-43       7-41
PUNT RETURNS-YDS ..... 1--1        1-1
K.O. RETURNS-YDS ..... 2-40       2-55
INTERCEPTIONS-YDS .... 2-10        1-0
POSSESSION TIME ..... 30:52      29:08
THIRD-DOWN CONV. ..... 3-15       4-12
FOURTH-DOWN CONV. ..... 0-1        0-0
RED ZONE SCORES ....... 3-3        1-2
SACKS BY-YARDS ........ 0-0       8-51

RUSHING
  NW: Tyus 6-63; Porter 9-20; Himon 5-15; Lausch 3-1; Henning 2-minus-2; Sullivan 14-minus-16.
  NU: E.Johnson 12-73; Haarberg 16-72; Grant 6-22; Fleeks 3-4.

PASSING
  NW: Sullivan 12-23-1 17.
  NU: Haarberg 8-17-2 85.

RECEIVING
  NW: Kirtz 3-96; Henning 3-40; Johnson 3-27; Himon 1-7; Porter 1-6; Lang 1-0.
  NU: Coleman 1-44; Fidone 3-18; Bullock 1-15; Boerkircher 1-7; Doss 1-4; Kemp 1-minus-3.

Attendance: 86,769




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Huskers tame Wildcats, improve to 4-3 on season

A big fourth-quarter play from Nebraska’s struggling passing game helped the Huskers put away the Wildcats. Timely defensive stops also were key in the 17-9 victory.

After a 10-6 first half and a scoreless third quarter, Nebraska needed some separation from the ‘Cats. The Huskers got exactly that when Heinrich Haarberg hit Malachi Coleman in stride for a 44-yard touchdown early in the fourth period, upping Nebraska’s lead to 17-6.

Northwestern answered with a 66-yard bomb to the NU 9, but Malcolm Hartzog’s touchdown-saving tackle on the play, followed by another big stop by Hartzog on third down, helped the Huskers hold the Wildcats to a field goal.

Eleven minutes remained, but Northwestern wouldn’t get beyond its own 36 yard line the rest of the way. Win No. 4 against three losses was in the books for Nebraska.

The game started ominously for the Big Red as Haarberg threw interceptions in Husker territory on Nebraska’s first and third possessions. Northwestern got just three points from those opportunities, however, as the Wildcats were held to minus-7 and minus-14 yards after the turnovers. Tristan Alvano’s 47-yard field goal tied the game at 3-3, and Nebraska took a 10-6 lead into the locker room after a 77-yard touchdown drive late in the second quarter.

Nebraska’s defense kept the ‘Cats out of the end zone all afternoon and registered eight sacks and five other tackles for loss.

The Haarberg-to-Coleman touchdown accounted for more than half the Huskers’ passing yardage. Haarberg finished with eight completions in 17 attempts for 85 yards. Emmett Johnson was Nebraska’s leading rusher with 73 yards, followed by Haarberg with 72.

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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
Emmett Johnson with a first-half gain. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Commentary

Stryker

The patient is still unpredictable, capable of irrational self-destructive decisions, but seems to be stabilizing.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax/All Huskers
Stukenholtz

Some might call it ugly. But Nebraska’s 17-9 victory over Northwestern had a great personality.

Cole Stukenholtz
All Huskers/KLIN
Christopherson

Unfortunately for Nebraska, the slop we saw in the second half against Illinois carried over.

Brian Christopherson
Husker247
Shatel

Win by one. It counts. Ugly counts. Winning is beautiful. Husker fans appreciate beauty. They like winning better.

Tom Shatel *
Omaha World-Herald
Maier

Regardless of the latest offensive debacle, the Blackshirts attack every play as if it's in a vacuum.

Joseph Maier
Daily Nebraskan
Just

The potential for the Huskers to lose another two of their offensive pillars — two single-digit jersey earners, no less — sours this victory.

Amie Just *
Lincoln Journal Star
McHugh

Nebraska has been a program that lives and swims in adversity ... adversity that comes with dealing with excessive expectations and losing at the same time.

Nate McHugh
Corn Nation
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