Huskers Master Maryland amid Mistakes, Miscues and a Momentum-Moving McDougle

On a lovely Homecoming afternoon in Memorial Stadium, the Nebraska Cornhuskers rebounded from an incredibly sloppy start and scored 34 straight points to defeat the Maryland Terrapins 48-23.

The Huskers have now won 15 of their past 17 Homecoming games and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016 and 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2017. This is the first time Nebraska has scored more than 30 points in five consecutive games since 2018, and the first time NU has scored at least 30 points in each of the first five games since 2014. It is also the first time the Huskers have won five straight games by at least 17 points since the 2001 season.

But it didn’t look like a cakewalk early as Nebraska was out yarded 207-38 in the first quarter and trailed 16-7.

Coming into this contest, the Nebraska defense had only allowed 9 plays of 20 or more yards through four games. They surrendered five of those explosive plays to the Terps with four of them in the first 21 minutes as Maryland moved out to a 23-14 lead. Maryland had 10 first half possessions, but fortunately the Blackshirts held Maryland to treys on three of those drives. Maryland also moved quickly on their scoring drives taking just 7:49 off the clock on those five possessions.

The turning point of the game came with just 2:53 left in the first half. Maryland faced a third down and 7 at the Nebraska 25-yard line and were threatening to take a three-score lead when Dwayne McDougle stepped in front of a Malik Washington pass and returned it 81 yards for a pick-six. It was McDougle’s seventh career interception and his first as a Husker. Instead of potentially being down 30-14, the Huskers had cut the score to 23-21.

The momentum shift was monumental as the Blackshirts held Maryland to a three and out and with 1:49 until intermission and no timeouts, Nebraska mounted an 8-play 80-yard drive scoring with 5 ticks on the clock and led 28-23. The Huskers had been outgained by 106 yards and had broken a school record with 10 first-half penalties for 91 yards and still led at the break. (There were actually 11 penalties called on Nebraska, because they had two on a kickoff and only one was accepted.)

Dwayne McDougle III takes it away and HOUSES it!@HuskerFootball pic.twitter.com/2kTOsZKDOD
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 3, 2026

The momentum carried over to the second half as Maryland was held to 95 yards offensively with 33 of them coming on their final possession. Maryland was shutout for the last 39 minutes and were outscored 34-0 in that span and 20-0 in the second half. The defensive adjustments were significant as Maryland was held to just 19 yards rushing in the third quarter and zero passing yards. For the game, the Terps were 1 for 14 on third downs with their only conversion on a 3rd and 1 late in the fourth quarter. Through five games, the Blackshirts are only allowing a third down conversion rate of 21.3% (13 of 61).

The yellow laundry in the game was a plague for both sides. Nebraska totaled 16 penalties for 132 yards and the combined total was 28 penalties for 247 yards. Head Coach Matt Rhule commented about the flags in his presser, “I thought it was ridiculous. I thought it was poorly handled by the officials and poorly done by us…There's things I've never had called before, can't explain.” He was also puzzled how the officials could call defensive holding on a quarterback run. There have been complaints about Big Ten officials for years and today the zebras overshadowed the game at times. It’s probably not surprising that the lead referee also was instrumental in giving Michigan that extra second against Western Michigan that robbed the Broncos of a well-deserved victory. With all the money in collegiate football, why not spend a bit more on professional full-time officials.

Nebraska QB Anthony Colandrea was not nearly as sharp throwing the ball as he missed open receivers on several throws but still finished 26 for 39 for 238 yards with three touchdown tosses. He also threw his first legitimate pick of the season (the Barney one against Ohio was debatable), that led to a Maryland field goal. But, for the second week in a row, he led the team in rushing netting a career high 108 yards on 10 carries highlighted by a career long 51-yard scramble in the fourth quarter. With his 346 yards of total offense, he increased his career total to 10,084 yards. Colandrea is the first Husker quarterback to top 100 rushing yards since Heinrich Haarberg rushed for 157 yards against Louisiana Tech in 2023. With Jamal Rule unable to play, and Maryland stifling the Husker run game, Colandrea’s heady play was a difference maker even though the offensive line did yield two sacks.

Anthony Colandrea - Nebraska football — Anthony Colandrea passes during the first quarter. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Receiver Kwazi Gilmer was targeted 17 times and tied his career high with 10 receptions for a career-high 147 yards, bettering his previous high of 101 yards last week at Michigan State. His 10-catch effort is the first double-figure reception game by a Husker since Trey Palmer in 2022, and this was the third time this season Gilmer has had at least five catches. Gilmer had two fourth quarter touchdown receptions of 5 and 30 yards. Isaiah Mozee added 4 grabs for 30 yards with 26 yards gained after the catch and fellow running back Mekhi Nelson contributed 3 receptions for 14 yards as the checkdown passes were a mainstay of the Husker offense. Tight end Luke Lindenmeyer had 3 receptions for 20 yards including a 1-yard TD pass to close the first half, marking his first touchdown catch of the season and the third of his career. It was a clever play as Nebraska lined up in the offset Maryland I and the defense bit on the run fake, leaving Lindenmeyer wide open in the end zone. Quinn Clark had a brilliant 18-yard grab that was negated from the stat sheet as the defender was flagged for pass interference.

With Colandrea running for 108, the balance of the rushing attacked netted just 101 yards with Mozee carrying 8 times for 46 yards and Nelson toting it 14 times for 39 yards with nearly half that total coming on a 19-yard TD run for the Huskers first score. Vincent Genatone made his solo carry count as he scored from the 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The defense was led by linebacker Owen Chambliss and defensive back Donovan Jones who contributed 8 stops a piece. Vincent Shavers had five tackles and the Blackshirts lone sack, a paltry sum given that the Huskers came into the game with 15 and were in the top five nationally. Shavers now has 103 career tackles and Jamir Conn’s four tackles pushes his career tackles total to 102. The defense did manage five tackles for loss. McDougle’s 81-yard interception return for a touchdown was the longest pick-six for a Husker player since Bo Ruud had a 93-yard interception for a touchdown against Iowa State in 2007. Defensive end Kade Pietrzak’s second-quarter interception was his first career pick and led to a raucous celebration from his teammates who were flagged for it being excessive.

Special teams continued with another yo-yo performance. Jeremiah Charles blocked a first-quarter punt to set up a Nebraska touchdown, his first career blocked punt and Nebraska’s second blocked punt of the year. Even though it was not verified on review, it certainly appeared that Charles also got a piece of the ball on the Terrapins’ first punt as well, as it only traveled 24 yards. Even though he was flagged for “running into the kicker” on the play, he probably touched more ball than punter. Jacory Barney had a nifty 22-yard punt return out to the Husker 33 which prevented the offense from starting in a hole. Archie Wilson averaged 43.6 yards on five punts with a long of 53 and two inside the 20. Kyle Cunanan missed badly on a 52-yard field goal attempt as the holder bobbled the snap and he also missed the first extra point of his career when Maryland made illegal contact with the snapper. I’m not sure in that case why the ball wasn’t re-kicked, but the penalty yards were applied on the kickoff.

With the plethora of penalties and sloppy play early in the game, it was fortunate that Nebraska was playing the worst team in the Big Ten. They can hardly afford that kind of start next week against defending national champion Indiana who will also be 5-0 after dispatching Rutgers in Piscataway 47-15. It has been more than 10 years since the Huskers defeated a ranked opponent and the Hoosiers will come into Lincoln ranked in the top five. In fact, four of the remaining seven opponents were ranked in the top 15 in last week’s polls. Despite the Husker’s holding a 43.6-14.2 points per game average, they have yet to play a complete game. The Husker ceiling remains high if they can eliminate mistakes and put it together. Why not do so next Saturday? Go Big Red!!

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