Northwestern looks to continue its four-game winning streak when it heads to Nebraska for a Big Ten clash on Saturday in Lincoln.
The Wildcats (5-2, 3-1) blanked Purdue 19-0 at home last Saturday for their first shutout since a 39-0 win against Minnesota in 2017.
Preston Stone passed for 132 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Joseph Himon rushed for 87 yards on 22 carries and Griffin Wilde caught a touchdown. The Wildcats compiled a 232-87 edge in rushing yards and didn’t allow a sack.
Coach David Braun said his offensive line, quarterback and running backs are playing the style of football he wants.
“Momentum is a real thing,” Braun said. “In a day and age when you talk about analytics and numbers — which are all things you need to utilize — but momentum is real. It’s something that you can’t take for granted.”
After Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) allowed nine sacks in a 24-6 loss last week at Minnesota, coach Matt Rhule knows all about how momentum can swing in the wrong direction. After watching the film, Rhule said Dylan Raiola, who completed 17 of 25 passes for 177 yards, avoided another “four or five sacks.”
“Nine sacks is not good enough,” Rhule said. “Three are on the running backs. It’s all around. The ball has to get out faster. We have to protect the quarterback better. Backs have to step up and win one-on-ones. But we are not going to walk away from that. If you are an offensive lineman you cannot give up nine sacks.”
The Golden Gophers didn’t allow a touchdown and the Cornhuskers only managed 213 yards of offense.
“It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we didn’t get in the end zone,” Rhule said. “We had opportunities. We had guys open and we didn’t hit them. We had guys open but didn’t have enough protection to get the ball to them. It’s just not good enough, at all.”
