Huskers Run Rule in a Raritan River Romp over Rutgers

On a cold November afternoon on the banks of the Raritan River in Piscataway, the Nebraska Cornhuskers dominated from start to finish in a 31-0 romp over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Nebraska improved to 8-0 all-time against Rutgers, tying for the most wins without a loss by the Huskers against an FBS opponent (also Utah State and Wyoming). It was also its first-ever shutout in a Big Ten Conference game, and their first shutout in a conference game since 2003 against Iowa State. It was their first shutout in a conference road game since 1997 at Kansas.

Granted, Rutgers was missing arguably their three best players (a QB, RB and a WR) and more Scarlet Knights were injured and scattered on the field throughout the game. But Nebraska was also missing its best two defenders in defensive back Andrew Marshall who suffered a foot injury against Illinois and had surgery this week, and linebacker Owen Chambliss, who is battling an AC joint injury. Marshall is done for the year, but hopefully Chambliss can return next week. Safety Dwayne McDougle, who is battling a wrist injury also did not play and should be ready to go against Ohio State. At this point of the season, everyone has to cope with injuries that sideline players and it should not diminish a game in which the Huskers played decently for all four quarters.

The Blackshirts held Rutgers to 143 total yards and 42 passing yards, both numbers were the fewest for a Husker opponent in the Big Ten era and the fewest overall since 2010 against Kansas, when the Jayhawks had 87 total yards and 42 passing yards. When Nebraska shut out Rutgers in the first half, it was the fourth scoreless first half for an opponent this season and it was the sixth time in 10 games the Huskers have held the opposition without a first-half touchdown. Nebraska also won the turnover battle as Caleb Benning and Jeremiah Charles both picked off Rutgers quarterback AJ Surace for their first career interceptions. Benning had a 39-yard return on his pick while Charles managed a 23-yard return on his interception. Both plays stemmed legitimate scoring opportunities for Rutgers and helped to preserve the goose egg.

Nebraska vs. Rutgers football — Nov 14, 2026; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Sean Ashenfelder (6) drops back to pass during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at SHI Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta- | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nebraska opened the scoring on their first possession with a 16-play, 94-yard drive that consumed 9:17. It marked Nebraska’s longest drive of the season in terms of plays and time. They added a 10-play, 90-yard drive in the second quarter and now have five TD drives in the past three games of more than 90 yards. In the last droppings, I harped on how poor Nebraska’s offensive efficiency was with the Yards Per Point (YPP) metric. Even with the long drives, the Huskers YPP this week was a very respectable 13.8, a significant improvement from the 32.8 last week. Nebraska scored a TD in each quarter and even managed a field goal in the fourth as they totaled 429 yards of offense, and has now out yarded their opponent in every game this year.

Nebraska had 237 rushing yards, improving to 6-0 this season when rushing for at least 150 yards. Against the worst rush defense in the Big Ten, Nebraska committed to the run, with 43 of its 68 plays on the ground (63%). In Nebraska’s 5-0 start, the Huskers ran it 56% of the time and threw it 44%. During Nebraska’s four-game losing streak, those numbers were reversed with 56% passes and only 44% runs. The Scarlet Knights had also been vulnerable to running QBs allowing a 65.4 yard per game average to UMass, Northwestern, Maryland, Boston College and Michigan quarterbacks along with five TDs. Anthony Colandrea followed suit running for 66 yards on just 9 carries and scoring on a 6-yard TD in the second quarter.

The Husker’s rushing attack was led by running back Jamal Rule who had a career-high 22 carries for 103 yards, his third 100-yard rushing game this season and first in Big Ten play. Rule became just the second Husker true freshman running back to have 100 rushing yards in a Big Ten Conference game, joining Maurice Washington who had 109 rushing yards against Minnesota in 2018. Eight different Huskers carried the ball and as a group they averaged 5.5 yards per attempt. Mekhi Nelson had just three carries but netted 31 yards and scored on an 11-yard run on the third quarter, his team-high sixth TD run of the season.

Jamal Rule - Nebraska Cornhuskers football — Nov 14, 2026; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Jamal Rule (25) is tackled by Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive line Rondo Porter (99) during the first half at SHI Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta- | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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A quick shout out to the offensive line, who did not allow a sack, and with injuries during the game to Brendan Black and Tree Babalade, were playing musical chairs switching sides and positions. It should be noted that center Justin Evans, a New Jersey native, made his 41st career start, tying him with Jeremiah Sirles for the second-most starts by an offensive lineman in program history.

Colandrea finished 15-of-22 through the air gaining 188 yards and two touchdowns, as he connected with Luke Lindenmeyer and Carter Nelson. It is worth noting that in the first half Colandrea was 8 for 12 with five of those grabs by running backs and three were to tight ends. The wide receiver corps contributed drops. Running back Isaiah Mozee had four receptions for 48 yards, tying his career high in receptions. In the second half, WR Jacory Barney did have 3 catches for 28 yards, but Kwazi Gilmer was 0 for 1 and Nyziah Hunter lost 5 yards on his only catch. In recent weeks this wide receiver group has been largely ineffective, and it was good to see the tight ends included in the offense. Luke Lindenmeyer had a 15-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, his second TD catch of the season and he finished with three catches for 52 yards. With those catches, Lindenmeyer increased his season receptions total to 35, moving him within three catches of Austin Allen’s NU season tight end record of 38 catches in 2021. He also increased his career total to 69 receptions, moving past Kyler Reed (67) into second place on the NU career list, 13 catches from Mike McNeill’s Husker record of 82 receptions. The other tight end, Carter Nelson, had a career long 40-yard reception to set up a Nebraska touchdown in the second quarter. He then added a 13-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter, his second TD reception this season.

The defense forced seven punts, a turnover on downs and two picks on Rutgers ten possessions. They were led by Vincent Shavers, Jr who had ten stops and a PBU. Jamir Conn returned from his injury and contributed 7 tackles while Dexter Foster had 6 tackles. With Andrew Marshall sidelined, true freshman cornerback Danny Odem III made his first career start and had 4 tackles. This kid has a huge upside, and it will be exciting to watch his development. In addition to his pick, Caleb Benning continued his solid play and also had 4 tackles including a TFL. Defensive tackle Jahsear Whittington had a 6-yard sack in the second quarter, giving him a team-leading 5.5 sacks on the season and added another tackle for loss in the third quarter, giving him 6.5 TFL on the year. He left with an undisclosed injury late in the third and Husker fans certainly hope he can recover quickly. Defensive end Jordan Ochoa had a 2-yard sack in the second quarter, marking his second straight game with a sack. There were several other defenders who were quite disruptive including Cam Lenhardt, Dawson Merritt, Donovan Jones, Dylan Berymon, and Mason Goldman.

Carter Nelson - Nebraska football — Nov 14, 2026; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Carter Nelson (29) celebrates a touchdown reception during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta- | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Special teams helped more than hurt for a change, although the fake punt pass by Carter Nelson to a wide-open receiver was woeful. John Hohl nailed a 41-yard field goal in the fourth to close out the scoring and hopefully it will be a confidence boost in the place-kicking department. Hohl also had 3 touchbacks on 6 kickoffs, and none were returned by the Scarlet Knights. Punter Archie Wilson averaged 43.7 yards on 3 punts with a long of 51 and two inside the 20, the last one downed at the one.

Penalties were better than the bad average of 70.8 yards per game, but the Huskers still committed six infractions for 50 yards. The pre-snap penalties are especially galling as two of them stalled a drive in the first quarter. Baby steps, I guess.

Nebraska was expected to win by a couple of TDs and they over-performed against a team that only lost to Michigan by 7 and USC by 8. The biggest benefit is that after five attempts, the Huskers are finally bowl eligible. The Huskers also picked up a rare November win, just the eighth November victory in the last 10 years (not the 10 wins the Big Ten Network said in their post-game wrap-up). The Huskers are 8-30 in November in that span and Matt Rhule picked up just his 3rd win against 11 losses. With Ohio State and Iowa left, it certainly doesn’t get easier, but interim offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas called a decent game today and if the Huskers can gain a little confidence and consistency, an upset still isn’t out of the question. As an example, look at Wisconsin, who had defeated Penn State and USC, but Saturday lost to Maryland 24-21. Yes, we have a chance, but it will require four good quarters against far better opponents. Go Big Red!!!

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