Postgame notes: 2023 Nebraska vs. Louisiana Tech football

Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Heinrich Haarberg runs 72 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

  • Nebraska improved to 3-0 all-time against Louisiana Tech, all in Lincoln. The Huskers improved to 8-0 all-time against current members of Conference USA.
  • Nebraska rushed 312 yards, marking the third straight game with better than 200 rushing yards. This is Nebraska’s first time with 200 rushing yards in three consecutive games since 2018 games against Northwestern, Minnesota and Bethune-Cookman. Nebraska has topped 180 rushing yards in all four games this season. Nebraska’s previous most recent stretch of four straight 180-yard rushing games was also in 2018 when they topped that mark in five straight games (Northwestern, Minnesota, Bethune-Cookman, Ohio State and Illinois).
  • Nebraska’s rushing total marks the most by the Huskers since rushing for 427 yards against Northwestern on Oct. 2, 2021.
  • Running back Anthony Grant rushed 22 times for 135 yards and a 2-yard touchdown. Today’s game marked Grant’s sixth 100-yard rushing game at Nebraska and first in 2023.
  • With his 135 rushing yards, Grant increased his career rushing total to 1,123. He is the 68th player in Nebraska history with 1,000 career rushing yards.
  • Quarterback Heinrich Haarberg rushed 19 times for 157 yards for his first career 100-yard rushing game. His previous high was 98 yards last week against Northern Illinois. Haarberg’s 157 rushing yards are the most by a Husker quarterback since Adrian Martinez also had 157 at Rutgers in 2020. Today’s effort is the 18th 150-yard rushing in school history by a Nebraska quarterback.
  • Haarberg had the two longest runs of his career with a 72-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and a 43-yard run in the first quarter. His previous high was a 20-yard touchdown run last week against Northern Illinois.
  • Grant and Haarberg marked the first pair of Husker runners to top the century mark in the same game since Dedrick Mills and Adrian Martinez at Rutgers on Dec. 18, 2020.
  • Haarberg has led Nebraska to wins in each of his first career starts. He is the first Husker quarterback to begin his career 2-0 since Tommy Armstrong Jr., who led Nebraska to victories over South Dakota State and Illinois in 2013.
  • Receiver Billy Kemp IV opened the scoring for the second straight week with a 9-yard TD run in the second quarter. The touchdown run was the first of Kemp’s career and tied his career long rush. It was his 10th career touchdown overall.
  • Thomas Fidone II caught a 29-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter, and has a TD catch in three straight games. He is the first Husker tight to have a receiving touchdown in three consecutive games since Mike McNeill, who caught a touchdown pass in each of the final three regular-season games in 2008 (Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado).
  • Fidone is the first Husker tight end with three touchdown catches in a season since Jack Stoll had three receiving touchdowns in 2018. The last Nebraska tight end with more than three TD catches in a season was Kyler Reed who had eight in 2010. 
  • Nebraska held Louisiana Tech scoreless in the first quarter, marking the fifth time in the past six games Nebraska has held the opposition scoreless in the first quarter. NU has allowed a total of three first-quarter points in those six games.
  • Nebraska held Louisiana Tech to 46 rushing yards and has held each of its four opponents to less than 60 yards.
      • This is the first time this century Nebraska has held four straight opponents to fewer than 60 rushing yards. The last time the Huskers held four consecutive opponents to fewer than 60 rushing yards was the first four games of the 1999 season.
      • This is the first time NU has held four straight opponents to less than 100 rushing yards since a 5-game stretch in 2003-04 (final 2 games of 2003 and first 3 games of 2004).
      • The last time Nebraska had held four straight opponents under 100 rushing yards in the same season was the first four games of 1999.
  • Safety Isaac Gifford recorded seven tackles in the game to increase his career total to 105. Gifford also notched the game’s only turnover with his interception on Louisiana Tech’s final offensive play of the game.