Two were enough — touchdowns, that is.
Nebraska scored two touchdowns in the first half, then the defense made them hold up in a 14-7 victory against Rutgers Saturday at heat-drenched and wind-swept Memorial Stadium.
And senior punter Brian Buschini was considered a 12th member of the defense.
Defensive tackle Ty Robinson regarded Buschini part of the defense, anyway, and asked if he should be awarded a Blackshirt, Robinson replied: “Might have to.”
Buschini’s performance showed his “character,” Robinson said.
Buschini stepped up despite two of his punts being blocked, including the first on which he was slow getting up from the hit he took. As a result, his back was “hurting,” he said. But that wasn’t enough to keep him off the field … fortunately for the Huskers.
Consider two key plays, the first a 30-yard pass to Jaylen Lloyd on fourth-and-8 from the Nebraska 33-yard line a minute into the fourth quarter. That’s right, a pass, the first one Buschini had ever thrown.
The play was designed to take advantage of Rutgers’ punt-blocking propensity. “We knew we were going to call that fake punt,” said Coach Matt Rhule. “We almost called it the first time.”
Had the Huskers done that, Rutgers probably would’ve backed off on its punt rush.
“We expected them to play less aggressively,” Buschini said.
Buschini’s second key play came with 2:28 remaining in the game, on fourth-and-19 from the Nebraska 20-yard line. The possession had begun at the Husker 29 after Rutgers scored its only touchdown and was trying to tie the score.
Before Buschini went on the field, former Husker kicker Brett Maher, who played five seasons in the NFL and is now on Nebraska’s staff, “came up to me and said, ‘There’s not too many times a punter has a chance to put a dagger in the game,’” said Buschini.
So he did. With the wind at his back, he punted 69 yards to the Rutgers 11. The Scarlet Knights could get no farther than their 26-yard, where they turned the ball over on downs.
Dylan Raiola downed the ball three times to kill the final 1:16.
“Brian, we thought, was the unsung hero last week, and I say he’s the unsung hero this week,” Rhule said.
Buschini also had a 61-yard punt earlier in the game.
One player doesn’t win a game, though. It’s a team effort, and though Nebraska was out-yarded by three, 264 to 261, the defense was sturdy enough to protect the two touchdowns. A series after the second blocked punt, and 15-yard return, midway through the third quarter underscored that.
Rutgers had first-and-goal at the Husker 2-yard line. Five plays later, the Scarlet Knights were still 2 yards away, on fourth down, after two snaps from the 1. Rutgers went no-huddle, shotgun, with an Athan Kaliakmanis pass broken up by Marques Buford Jr.
Buford intercepted a pass in the second quarter, and broke up two others. Ceyair Wright also intercepted a pass and broke up two. Nebraska finished two-to-one in turnovers.
Kaliakmanis finished 15-of-37 for 186 yards and a touchdown, with the two interceptions.
“I thought it was as great a defensive performance as I’ve been around,” Rhule said.
Isaac Gifford led the Huskers with eight tackles. James Williams had two of Nebraska’s four sacks, for 29 yards in losses. Robinson and Nash Hutmacher had the others.
Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai, ranked third nationally averaging 147.3 rushing yards per game, had 64 yards on eight carries in the first quarter, then managed only 1 yard on his next eight carries in the second and third quarters before finishing with 78 yards on 19 carries.
Raiola had an off-game by his standard, completing 6-of-9 for 78 yards in the first quarter but finishing 13-of-27 for 134 yards with one interception. The defense had his back, however.
Ndamukong Suh, who was inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame Friday, spoke to the team before the game. “He really hounded us, or asked this one question: ‘What’s your ‘why’?’” Robinson said. “He explained what his ‘why’ was to us and why he was the player that he was. That was kind of a big message for us this whole week, from my own coach, Coach (Terrance) Knighton, to Coach Rhule, to Dr. (Michael) Stout” (Director of Football Mental Performance).
“It kinda just seemed like everybody was coming from a different angle and just asking, ‘What’s your ‘why’? Why are you here. Why do you do it?’ And I think tonight we found out that a lot of guys found their ‘why,’ and I think it’s just going to get better from here.”
