The losing streak is gone, and Nebraska finally got the kind of November result Matt Rhule has been waiting on.
The Huskers rolled past Rutgers 31-0 on Saturday at SHI Stadium, snapping a skid and locking up bowl eligibility for the third straight season after a seven-year drought. It was Nebraska’s first win in 42 days, and while the performance still came with some of the same rough edges that had shown up during the four straight Big Ten losses, the formula was clear: lean on the run game, control the tempo and let the defense finish the job.
Nebraska piled up 237 rushing yards on 43 carries under newly promoted offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas. Freshman back Jamal Rule led the way with 103 yards on a career-high 22 carries, while Anthony Colandrea distributed the ball to his backs and tight ends and helped guide scoring drives of 94 and 90 yards in the first half. Those possessions featured 20 runs and six passes.
“That’s who we are,” Rhule said. “That’s who we want to be.”
The shutout carried extra weight. It was Nebraska’s first conference shutout since a 28-0 win over Iowa State in 2003, and Rutgers managed only 143 total yards and 42 passing yards - both Big Ten-era bests for the Huskers on defense.
The victory came after a rough stretch that pushed frustration among Nebraska fans to a high point. Rhule, now 25-23 in four seasons at Nebraska, fired offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen last week after the 24-13 loss at Illinois.
He also extended defensive coordinator Rob Aurich’s contract, though that did little to quiet the criticism. Beating a Rutgers team sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten and dealing with injuries at quarterback and wide receiver won’t end the debate either.
Still, Nebraska is 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the league, with Ohio State coming to Lincoln on Saturday and Iowa waiting on Black Friday.
“Hopefully people back home are happy with the result,” Rhule said. “I know the guys were.”
The Huskers looked much more like a team with a defined offensive plan. After four losses since Oct. 10 in which Nebraska often had chances but never settled into an identity, Rhule made sure Saturday started with the ground game. Thomas called run plays on the first seven offensive snaps, and Nebraska finished with a 43-25 run-pass split.
“This is what I want the football team to look like,” Rhule said. “We’re going to run the ball.”
Rhule said he was more involved in the offensive plan during the week and in the play calling Saturday. That even contributed to some early helmet communication issues, according to Colandrea. But the approach paid off, especially once the run game opened up play-action opportunities.
Nebraska’s wide receivers didn’t catch a pass in the first half, yet the Huskers still built a 14-0 lead by leaning on tight ends and backs. Eleven of Nebraska’s 16 receptions came from those groups.
Colandrea finished 15 of 22 for 188 yards with touchdown passes to tight ends Luke Lindenmeyer and Carter Nelson. He also ran for 66 yards and a score.
There were still reminders that this team has work to do. Nebraska entered Saturday leading the Big Ten in penalties at 8.3 per game for 70.8 yards, and the first two possessions were messy. Three pre-snap flags hit the Huskers early, including a false start on left guard Gibson Pyle and an illegal shift on wide receiver Jacory Barney on the second drive.
Rhule burned a timeout before a third-and-14 on that possession, and even after the stoppage, the route concept broke down when Quinn Clark and Kwazi Gilmer converged and Colandrea’s pass fell incomplete.
After that, things cleaned up. Nebraska spotted a Rutgers weakness on a third-down punt and checked into a fake, though Jeremiah Charles’ throw to Carter Nelson came up short.
“The most important thing for me today,” Rhule said, “it wasn’t perfect. But it was certainly a step in the right direction.”
The Huskers were flagged six times for 50 yards.
There’s still plenty in front of them, and Rhule made clear the standard has to rise if Nebraska wants to do more than just get bowl-eligible. The next two games will demand sharper football than what showed up Saturday. But after the way October and early November went, a convincing win in November matters.
“Our record right now isn’t showing who we are,” safety Jamir Conn said. “We’re one of the best teams in the nation. And these next couple games, we’re going to put it out there.”
Rutgers, meanwhile, kept getting hit by injuries. The Scarlet Knights were already without top quarterback Dylan Lonergan, and with three-game starter AJ Surace hurt last week against Wisconsin, Sean Ashenfelder got the start. He was injured on Rutgers’ third offensive possession after being sacked by Jahsear Whittington, and Surace took over.
Nebraska then took control on defense, intercepting Surace twice. Caleb Benning and Jeremiah Charles each picked him off in the second half.
The shutout came with one more concern for Nebraska, though. Whittington, one of the Huskers’ top defensive linemen, left in the second half after recording a tackle for loss and appeared to suffer a lower-body injury. Nebraska was already missing defensive end Anthony Jones, linebacker Owen Chambliss and cornerback Andrew Marshall, and left guard Paul Mubenga also exited in the first half.
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