Blackshirts stymie UTEP offense, Huskers cruise in season-opener

Mark Fischer,

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska opened up their 2024 season in dominating fashion Saturday, stomping UTEP 40-7 in Memorial Stadium.

The long awaited debut of true-freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola didn’t disappoint.

After only playing two and a half quarters, Raiola finished with 19 completions, 238 yards and two touchdowns.

But it was the run game that shined for the Huskers. As a team, Nebraska ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

Emmett Johnson led the way with 71 yards, while Gabe Ervin Jr. hit pay dirt twice.

Isaiah Neyor led Nebraska through the air with 121 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Blackshirts played a physical brand of football, holding the Miners to just seven points and 205 total yards.

Nebraska will be back in Memorial Stadium next Saturday to take on Colorado.

First Quarter

Nebraska started the game off with a bang. The arm angles of Dylan Raiola, the speed of Jacory Barney Jr. and the power of Dante Dowdell sent the Huskers down the field in a hurry to take a 7-0 lead after the first drive.

The sea of red was ready for football to start. Crowd noise caused two false starts and a timeout in the first three plays for UTEP.

But the Miners responded to the adversity. They used their fast-paced offense to drive down the field and get a 38-yard touchdown pass from Skyler Lockyear to Kam Thomas.

The score is tied 7-7 to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Nebraska started the second quarter with a promising drive, but a Dowdell fumble inside the 5-yard line gave UTEP the ball back.

The Blackshirts had something to say about that. Nash Hutmacher blew through the line of scrimmage and tackled the quarterback in the end zone for a safety, giving the Huskers a 9-7 lead.

After the safety, Raiola’s arm came to life. A 59-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Neyor put the Huskers up 16-7.

Towards the end of the second quarter, Nebraska’s run game came to life.

Gabe Ervin Jr. and Emmett Johnson took the Huskers down the field and into scoring position once again. Ervin punched in a 3-yard rush to give Nebraska a 23-7 lead.

An interception from Malcolm Hartzog Jr. allowed the offense to get back to work. A 21-yard dart from Raiola to Jahmal Banks gave Nebraska a 30-7 lead to end the half.

Nebraska ended the first half with 340 yards of total offense. Neyor led the team in receiving with 107 yards, while Dowdell and E. Johnson each had 55 yards rushing.

UTEP only notched 115 yards of total offense in the first half.

Third Quarter

Nebraska didn’t miss a beat coming out of the locker room. A strong defensive stop to start the quarter, followed by an 11 play drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown rush from Ervin put the Huskers up 37-7.

Fourth Quarter

As the backups came in to close the game out, quarterback Heinrich Haarberg led the offense down the field to get 3 points from Kick Tristan Alvano, making the score 40-7 in Nebraska’s favor.

An interception from Rahmir Stewart towards the end of the fourth quarter helped seal the game for Nebraska.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE —

The Miners are led by first-year head coach Scotty Walden, who had a lot of praise for Nebraska’s squad.

UTEP runs their offense at a very quick pace. Nebraska’s defense is going to need to get set quickly if the Miners get rolling.

Maurice Westmoreland is UTEP’s best player.

The defensive end will be matched up with Turner Corcoran, and that matchup will determine the success of Nebraska’s offense.

Nebraska is playing their home opener against a non-conference opponent at Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2019. The past four years Nebraska has played a Big Ten foe on the road or at a neutral site to start the year.

This week’s numbers

  • 2: Dylan Raiola is only the second true freshman quarterback to start the season opener at Nebraska. The first quarterback to do so was Adrian Martinez.
  • 15: Nebraska ranked 15th nationally in total rush defense last season. The Huskers return a majority of those blackshirts and look to raise the bar even higher.
  • 42: Bryce Benhart has started 41 games at right tackle for the Huskers over his career. His 42nd start this afternoon will be a program record.

Score predictions

Nate Johnson: 24-10, Nebraska

Jake Homan: 35-10, Nebraska

Mark Fischer: 41-6, Nebraska

Categories: Husker Sports, Sports
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