For some reason the point spread for the Nebraska-Michigan State game at Memorial Stadium Saturday was the Huskers by 12.5. Or so I was told.
That seemed a bit much. But when Nebraska scored a touchdown, an Emmett Johnson 2-yard run, on its first possession, and then Jamir Conn blocked a Michigan State punt and Carter Nelson returned it 3 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead to 14-0 just under 6 minutes into the game …
Then things turned. Michigan State scored a touchdown early in the second quarter to cut the lead in half, on a drive two pass interference penalties kept alive, and that’s where the score remained. The Huskers, who looked so good at the start, couldn’t take advantage of two DeShon Singleton interceptions or a 57-yard Jacory Barney Jr. punt return.
Barney returned a punt 82 yards in the second half for what would’ve been a touchdown if not for a block in the back. That was reflective of how the third quarter went. Nebraska tried a fake fourth-down punt that failed on its first possession of the second half and Dylan Raiola threw an interception on the second possession. Michigan State scored two touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead.
The Huskers certainly didn’t look like 12.5-point favorites.
They did tie the score by the end of the third quarter, on a 23-yard Johnson run. And then they took charge in the fourth quarter, sort of, scoring 17 points to take a 38-21 lead with 4:27 remaining.
Kyle Cunanan kicked a 27-yard field goal. Nyziah Hunter and Raiola teamed up for a touchdown on a 59-yard pass play, at the beginning of which Hunter lost a shoe, and Johnson scored his third touchdown on an 11-yard run. Nebraska definitely looked like a 12.5-point favorite, leading 38-21.
But Michigan State scored with 2:01 remaining to cut the final deficit to 38-27.
Why all of this talk about point spread? I took it as a reflection of the attitude toward the Huskers in Matt Rhule’s third season, that they were expected to handle Michigan State without question.
For most of three quarters it didn’t look that way, underscoring the fact we still don’t know how good this Nebraska team is or can be.
Among the adjustments in the two weeks since the Huskers lost to Michigan was the move of offensive tackle Gunnar Gottula from the left side to the right and starting Elijah Prichett at the left. Despite the line shift, the Spartans sacked Raiola five times and Nebraska rushed for a net of only 67 yards.
That total increased to 109 disregarding the sack yardage. Even so, the Huskers need to be better.
Nebraska had only 54 yards of offense at halftime. The Huskers finished with 261.
There were positives, looking at the numbers
Johnson rushed for 83 yards and the three touchdowns on 13 carries and caught six passes for 37 yards. Hunter had four catches for 93 yards, Barney two for 47. Raiola was 16-of-24 passing for 194 yards and the touchdown, with one interception, only his second of the season.
The Huskers hit the road next, playing at Maryland, coming off a 24-20 loss to Washington, which scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, and then at Minnesota. Has Nebraska shown it can continue to win against teams, like the Huskers, that are probably in the middle third of the Big Ten?
Numbers don’t tell the story, of course, except for those on the scoreboard at the end. Nebraska proved it was better than Michigan State, which also came into the game with a 3-1 record, even though the Huskers came up just short of the projected point spread — so I was told.
