Huskers Handily Harness the Hawks and Honor a Heroic Hall of Famer

ThotDoc's Brain Droppings on the North Dakota game

Nebraska 34 - North Dakota 7 | David Max

On a cool and cloudy September evening in Memorial Stadium, the Nebraska Cornhuskers easily dispatched the high scoring North Dakota Fighting Hawks 34-7 to finish undefeated in non-conference play and improve to 17-0 all time against FCS opponents. Nebraska has won 11 straight non-conference games dating back to 2023. The high-flying Hawks, ranked #6 in the FCS, were averaging 50.3 points and 540 yards over three games against their division. Against the Nebraska Blackshirts, they went 1-for-13 on third down, their QB was sacked five times, and 6 times they were forced to punt. Going into their final possession with just 1:51 remaining, the Hawks had just 171 yards of total offense with only 65 yards on the ground.

The Huskers began the game efficiently as they moved out to a 14-0 lead on scoring drives of 75 and 90 yards. They bogged down a bit in the second quarter with a missed 54-yard field goal and a three and out before driving 71 yards in 9 plays and converting a 32-yard field goal just before intermission.

The defense opened the second half with a three and out. Jacory Barney then returned the punt 17-yards to the NU 45 before Jamal Rule took an off-tackle play 55-yards for a scintillating score as he followed Kwazi Gilmer’s extended block along the sideline to extend Nebraska’s lead to 24-0.   After trading punts, North Dakota faced a 3rd and 17 and the defense forced QB Jerry Kaminski out of bounds after a 9-yard gain before Victor Evans bumped into him eliciting a rather suspect “unnecessary roughness” penalty and giving the Hawks new life at the NU 34-yard line. Five plays later, North Dakota converted a 4th down for their lone score from the Nebraska 7-yard line. Nebraska answered by driving 75 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Colandrea to Quinn Clark on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Husker reserves maintained that lead until Kyle Cunanan added a trey with 1:51 remaining to complete the scoring. The game moved along briskly despite the TV timeouts and was completed in just 2 hours and 53 minutes. 

Nebraska continued their balanced offensive attack by rushing for 277 yards and passing for 216 more, marking the third straight game Nebraska has topped 200 yards in both categories. This is the first time the Huskers have managed three straight 200-200 games since 2016. Nebraska converted 7-of-15 on third down, went 2-for-2 on fourth down and were 4-for-4 in the red zone.

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea accounted for 214 yards of total offense, including 195 passing yards and 19 rushing yards. He rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter to open the scoring and threw for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Colandrea set the tone on the fourth play of the game when he rushed to the left and banged hard into a pair of Hawks defenders. Head Coach Matt Rhule said in his presser that “you’ve got your best soldiers to handle your biggest problems” and he referred specifically to Colandrea and Gilmer.

The offensive line played a clean game with no penalties, not allowing a sack and just two QB hurries. Despite North Dakota loading the box in the second quarter, Nebraska rushers still averaged 6.2 yards per carry for the game. Nebraska appeared to have more success running to the left side behind Pritchett and Mubenga than they did on the right side behind Black and Gottula. We shall see if this group continues to gel when faced with Big Ten defensive fronts.

Freshman running back Jamal Rule continued to impress rushing 15 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns, his second 100-yard rushing game of the season.   He also caught two passes for 35 yards, his second game this season with at least 150 yards from scrimmage. Mekhi Nelson added nine carries for 54 yards, including 44 yards on the opening drive, and Isaiah Mozee contributed 40 yards on 10 carries primarily in the second half. They each also added a reception totaling another 20 yards. Kwinten Ives had a nice 30-yard burst late in the game. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Anthony Colandrea (10) hands the ball off to running back Jamal Rule (25). aCredit: Dylan Widger- | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Colandrea’s 15 completions were spread between 8 different receivers with wideouts Kwazi Gilmer and Nyziah Hunter nabbing three a piece for 42 and 24 receiving yards, respectively. TJ Lateef went 2 for 3 for 22 yards and Daniel Kaelin also had a completion as the reserves involved three more receivers. Jacory Barney had 2 catches for 32 yards with an outstanding grab for 29 yards as he stretched over a defender. Tight end Luke Lindenmeyer rumbled for a career long 33 yards on a 3rd quarter reception in which he carried defenders for 14 yards after the catch. He was also open for a potential score on a ball batted down late in the first half. I’d still like to see him targeted a bit more and his blocks to seal the edge have been very solid. Carter Nelson (1 catch for 6 yards) appears to be the only casualty as he had an apparent leg injury and finished the game on crutches.

The story of the game was really the defensive effort led by Dwayne McDougle’s 7 stops and Owen Chambliss’ six tackles, including a half sack and a QB hurry. Chambliss is still recovering from a hamstring injury but his leadership on the field brings a sense of order to the Blackshirts defensive chaos. Nebraska’s five sacks were one more than the four from the previous two games combined. Donovan Jones, Jahsear Whittington, Riley Van Poppel, Dawson Merritt, and Owen Stoudmire (.5 sack) all got to the QB and totaled 48 yards in lost yardage. The defensive line created constant pressure against a veteran offensive line and allowed the backers to fill holes quickly. The hitting and tackling appeared to be fiercer with a couple of shots by Andrew Marshall being highlight worthy. Nebraska’s defensive stand on 4th down from the 10-yard line in the final quarter was the first red zone scoring stop since Sept 6, 2025. Prior to that series opponents had scored on 39 straight trips to the Husker red zone. Other than the “late hit” penalty by Evans noted above, the only other defensive penalty was a very suspect pass interference on Danny Odem on a ball that landed 3 yards out of bounds and certainly didn’t appear to be catchable.

Special team’s contributions were generally positive except for the fourth holding call in two weeks on a punt return. This one was costly as it wiped out a 28-yard Barney return to the Hawks 45-yard line and moved it back 34 yards to the Husker 21. Barney had 25 yards on his other 3 punt returns. Kyle Cunanan missed a field goal attempt from 54 yards but converted from 32 yards before half and from 40 yards in the fourth. On the 32-yarder a defender rolled into him and took out his legs and the officials called the minor foul instead of roughing which would have extended the drive. Cunanan is now 2 for 4 on field goals so far.   John Hohl had 5 touchbacks on 7 kickoffs as North Dakota managed just 16 yards on their only return. Archie Wilson averaged 39 yards on just 3 punts with one fair caught at the 10-yard line. 

Saturday night after the game, revered former head coach Tom Osborne was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame, the first person to be alive while being inducted into this esteemed group. I believe his induction was a foregone conclusion and is long overdue and it’s a blessing that the 89-year-old Osborne is still with us to experience this very well-deserved honor.

The preliminaries are over and the Huskers did what they were supposed to do in winning all three non-conference games handily. They improved in penalties this week with just four called (and two of those were questionable) and have committed just a single turnover this season. Next week the Huskers go on the road to East Lansing to take on a 2-1 Michigan State squad who lost at Notre Dame 27-10 Saturday. The early line shows Nebraska as a 5 ½ point favorite. Home dogs are always a dangerous proposition as winning on the road is a precarious challenge in the Big Ten. Time to see if Nebraska can take the next step toward relevance and take it to the Spartans. Go Big Red!!

More stories and stats are on the North Dakota game page.

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