Cory Edmondson, KFGE
Emmett Johnson picks up a first down on a five-yard catch early in the fourth quarter. Johnson ran for three of the Huskers' four offensive touchdowns.

Nebraska 38
Michigan St. 27

Oct. 4, 2025 • 3 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE • FS1
1st 2nd 3rd 4th  F 
Michigan St. 0 7 14 6 27
Nebraska 14 0 7 17 38
Jamir Conn blocks Michigan State's first punt. Carter Nelson took the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
Nebraska Athletics via X
Jamir Conn blocks Michigan State’s first punt. Carter Nelson took the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
First quarter
  NEB: Johnson 2 run (Cunanan kick) 9:09
  NEB: C.Nelson 3 return of blocked punt (Cunanan kick) 7:37
Second quarter
  MSU: Velling 2 pass from Milivojevic (Connington kick) 12:52
Third quarter
  MSU: Chiles 16 run (Connington kick) 6:08
  MSU: Chiles 4 run (Connington kick) 2:37
  NEB: Johnson 23 run (Cunanan kick) 1:11
Fourth quarter
  NEB: Cunanan 27 field goal, 13:32
  NEB: Hunter 59 pass from Raiola (Cunanan kick) 6:45
  NEB: Johnson 11 run (Cunanan kick) 4:27
  MSU: Milivojevic 1 run (pass failed) 2:01

                        MSU       NEB
FIRST DOWNS ............ 17        15
  By rushing ...........  8         7
  By passing ...........  7         6
  By penalty ...........  2         2
RUSHES-YARDS .......  38-84     31-67
PASSING-YARDS ......... 156       194
  Comp-Att-Int .... 15-30-2   16-24-1
TOTAL OFFENSE ...... 68-240    55-261
Punt Returns-Yds ...... 0-0     5-109
Int. Returns-Yards .... 1-0       2-7
Punts-Avg .......... 5-40.8    4-30.0
Fumbles-Lost .......... 1-1       1-0
Penalized-Yards ...... 5-45      6-44
Possession Time ..... 33:24     26:36
Third-Down Conv. ..... 2-14      5-13
Fourth-Down Conv. ..... 4-5       0-2

Attendance: 86,496

RUSHING
  MSU: Frazier 18-58; Chiles 13-23; Tullis 5-4; Milivojevic 1-1, TEAM 1-minus-2.
  NEB: Johnson 13-83; M.Nelson 1-11; Mozee 3-9; Haarberg 1-2; Raiola 9-minus-17, TEAM 4-minus-21.

PASSING
  MSU: Chiles 9-23-2 85; Milivojevic 6-7-0 71. 
  NEB: Raiola 16-24-1 194.

RECEIVING
  MSU: Marsh 4-41; Velling 3-37; Tullis 1-24; Frazier 4-17; McCray 1-14; Boyd 1-14; Kelly 1-9.
  NEB: Hunter 4-93; Barney 2-47; Johnson 6-37; Mills 1-10; Lindenmeyer 1-6; C.Nelson 1-3; Haarberg 1-minus-2.
Nyziah Hunter no shoe
Cory Enmondson, KFGE
Missing a shoe is no problem for Nyziah Hunter as he goes 59 yards with a short pass for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

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Huskers snap out of offensive funk, beat Spartans

An offense that went AWOL for much of the game had the Huskers in trouble, but Nebraska rebounded in the final 18 minutes for a win over Michigan State.

The Huskers started fast, driving 48 yards for a touchdown on their initial possession and following that up with Jamir Conn’s blocked punt, which Carter Nelson returned for a touchdown. Just halfway into the first quarter, Nebraska led 14-0.

But what followed was a confounding stretch of ineptitude for the Huskers’ offense for much of the second and third quarters. The Spartans took a 21-14 lead on a pair of third-quarter touchdowns set up by a failed fake punt and an interception.

Then the Nebraska offense woke up. Sparked by a 45-yard pass from Dylan Raiola to Jacory Barney on third-and-10, the Huskers marched 75 yards in just five plays to tie the game, then got the ball back on MSU’s mishandling of the ensuing kickoff. Kyle Cunanan’s 27-yard field goal put the Huskers on top, 24-21, early in the fourth.

MSU went three-and-out after Archie Wilson’s punt pinned the Spartans inside their own 10 with 8½ minutes left. In a flash, the Huskers made it a two-score game – 31-21 – when Nyziah Hunter fielded an inside screen pass in traffic from Raiola and took it 59 yards to the house despite losing a shoe on the play.

Nebraska’s defense and offense then combined to essentially put the game away. In desperation mode, MSU tried to convert a fourth-and-8 from its own 27, but Cam Lenhardt’s 10-yard sack of Aidan Chiles gave the Huskers the ball at the Spartans’ 17. Two plays later, Emmett Johnson’s 11-yard run – his third TD jaunt of the day – upped the Huskers’ advantage to 38-21 with 4½ minutes remaining.

An MSU touchdown with two minutes left was followed by an unsuccessful onside kick, and the Huskers ran out the clock for the 38-27 win.

Omaha World-Herald*
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2025 results
08/28 @ Cincinnati W 20-17
09/06 Akron W 68-0
09/13 Houston Christian W 59-7
09/20 Michigan L 27-30
10/04 Michigan St. W 38-27
10/11 @ Maryland W 34-31
10/17 @ Minnesota L 6-24
10/25 Northwestern W 28-21
11/01 South­ern Cal L 17-21
11/08 @ UCLA W 28-21
11/22 @ Penn State L 10-37
11/28 Iowa L 16-40
12/31 Utah L 22-44
— 2024 | 2026 —

Commentary

Stryker

To their credit, the Huskers didn’t buckle. In fact, they finished strong, picking up 154 of their 231 total offense yards in the final 17 minutes.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax/On SI
Henry

Mike Ekeler’s unit more than earned their keep in this one.

Kaleb Henry
HuskerMax/On SI
Rubek

Several glaring issues from the Michigan game reappeared and showed that they are here to stay.

Anthony Rubek
Daily Nebraskan
Christopherson

The Huskers had four sacks and the pressure was the best we've seen from the defense all year.

Brian Christopherson
Husker247
Shatel

Who are these guys? The team that looks so improved in so many areas? Or the group with one foot still in the quicksand?

Tom Shatel *
Omaha World-Herald
Sipple

Nebraska has gone from experiencing special teams nightmares to causing them. Now that’s progress. Serious progress.

Steven Sipple *
HuskerOnline
Callahan

It was a rough afternoon at times in pass protection. However, when it mattered late, we saw the passing offense turn on 103 yards on 8-of-10 passing in the fourth quarter.

Sean Callahan *
HuskerOnline
Couch

The Spartans began looking like a complete team. And then it all fell apart in the final 17-plus minutes.

Graham Couch *
Lansing State Journal
Frommer

Nebraska’s mistakes were quickly piling up as Saturday’s game went on. But when it mattered most the Huskers found answers and did it on their own terms.

Justin Frommer *
Hastings Tribune
Just

Disjointed. Uninspiring. Lethargic. Exciting. Exhilarating. Electric. All six words could be used to describe Nebraska’s game against Michigan State.

Amie Just *
Lincoln Journal Star
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