Nebraska football steamrolls Akron, eclipses 700 yards of total offense
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Nebraska football team rolled past Akron on Saturday, beating the Zips 68-0 at Memorial Stadium.
This is the largest margin of victory for the Huskers since 1982, when they beat New Mexico State 68-0.
Sixty-eight points is also the most the Huskers have scored since 2012, when they beat Idaho State 73-7.
The win also marks Nebraska’s first shutout since 2009, when the Huskers beat Arizona 33-0 in the Holiday Bowl.
The Huskers racked up 728 yards of total offense compared to Akron’s 175 yards.
Quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 24 of his 31 passes for a career-high 364 yards and four touchdowns.
Backup quarterback TJ Lateef went 6-for-7 with 128 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Emmett Johnson also had a career night, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. He also hauled in a receiving touchdown.
Jacory Barney Jr. was the workhorse for Nebraska’s receiving core Saturday, hauling in seven catches for 132 yards.
Luke Lindenmeyer, Dane Key and Quinn Clark each had a touchdown catch for the Huskers.
The defense was also solid for the Huskers, forcing a safety in the first quarter and stalling Akron drive after drive.
Akron finished the game with a 1-for-14 mark on third down and only reached the red zone once.
The Huskers will return to Memorial Stadium on Saturday for a matchup with Houston Christian at 11 a.m.
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Fourth Quarter
The Huskers stuff the Zips on fourth down to start the fourth quarter.
A 1-yard touchdown rush from Mekhi Nelson extends Nebraska’s lead to 61-0 with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
A bad snap from Akron was recovered by Nebraska. The Huskers take over from their own 40-yard line.
Backup quarterback TJ Lateef took the ball on a zone read for an 8-yard touchdown rush, giving Nebraska a 68-0 lead.
Third Quarter
Nebraska started with the third quarter with a stop on defense and got a 39-yard punt return from Jacory Barney Jr.
On their first drive of the second half, the Huskers got a 6-yard touchdown run from Emmett Johnson to give the Huskers a 40-0 lead.
A promising Akron drive ended in a blocked field goal, keeping the score at 40-0.
Dylan Raiola takes the offense down the field and finds Dane Key for a 12-yard touchdown pass, giving the Huskers a 47-0 lead.
The backups are now in the game for the Huskers.
A 28-yard touchdown run from Kwinten Ives gives Nebraska a 54-0 lead with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Second Quarter
The Zips start the second quarter with 3rd and 8 from their own 2-yard line.
Despite incredible field position, Nebraska got a field goal from Kyle Cunanan to extend Nebraska’s lead to 12-0.
Huskers force another punt and take over with great field position.
Dylan Raiola throws a 4-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Johnson to extend Nebraska’s lead to 19-0.
On the next defensive possession, Nebraska forced another punt.
Raiola slings a 37-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman receiver Quinn Clark to give Nebraska a 26-0 lead with just over two minutes left in the second quarter.
On the very next drive, Raiola found a wide open Luke Lindenmeyer for a 10-yard touchdown to give Nebraska a 33-0 lead.
To end the first half, Akron missed a 46-yard field goal as it doinked off the left upright.
At the end of the first half, Nebraska has 399 yards of total offense compared to Akron’s 58 yards.
Raiola has completed 19 of his 23 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
Emmett Johnson has 13 rushes for 134 yards and a touchdown. He also has a receiving touchdown.
Nyziah Hunter leads Nebraska’s receiving core with 84 yards on four catches.
Akron will receive the second half kickoff.
First Quarter
Nebraska runs out of the tunnel for its first game at Memorial Stadium in 2025. Kickoff is next.
Akron wins the toss a defers to the second half. Huskers on offense first.
A 47-yard touchdown run from Emmett Johnson gives the Huskers a 7-0 lead.
The Nebraska defense forces a punt on Akron’s first drive, giving the ball back to the offense.
After a long and efficient drive, Johnson fumbles the ball at the goal line, giving the ball back to Akron.
Safety! The Huskers’ defense gets on the board with a tackle in the end zone, giving Nebraska a 9-0 lead with just ender five minutes left in the first quarter.
Nebraska proceeded to take the ball down the field quickly, but was stuffed at the goal line on 4th and Goal.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE: The Nebraska football team looks to start its season 2-0 on Saturday, playing host to the Akron Zips in the home opener at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska (1-0) comes into the game fresh off a 20-17 victory over Cincinnati last Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
SEE ALSO: A one-score win: Nebraska defeats Cincinnati in season opener
The matchup with Akron starts a four-game home span for the Huskers, keeping the Big Red in Lincoln until mid-October.
Stick with Channel 8 throughout the game for live updates and field coverage from Sports Director Nate Johnson and sports reporter Jake Homan.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Akron need-to-knows
Akron comes into the game at 0-1 after dropping a 10-0 home contest against Wyoming last Thursday.
The Zips held Wyoming to three points until a touchdown in the final five minutes provided the final margin.
Akron is in its fourth season under the direction of Coach Joe Moorhead, who previously served as the head coach at Fordham and Mississippi State.
Moorhead holds an 8-29 career record with the Zips.
He also had stints as the offensive coordinator at Penn State and Oregon.
Akron finished the 2024 season with a 4-8 record and lost more than 30 players to the transfer portal, including 10 starters.
The Zips run an RPO-heavy offense with high tempo.
Nebraska struggled with Cincinnati’s tempo in week one, and will look to matchup with it again.
Quarterback Ben Finley isn’t known as a mobile quarterback, though, rushing for -4 yards on six carries in week one.
On the defensive side of the ball, Akron is known for getting good push on the line of scrimmage and causing chaos in the backfield.
The Zips racked up six tackles-for-loss against Wyoming, with six different players getting into that mix.
Akron’s defense gave up six chunk plays against the Cowboys, so look for Nebraska to push the ball downfield a little bit more Saturday night.
This week’s numbers
2: Nebraska’s matchup with Akron will mark the second official meeting between the two squads, but the third time the Zips have traveled to Lincoln. The two teams kicked off in 2018 before severe thunderstorms cancelled the game indefinitely.
7: Nebraska has won its last seven games against non-conference opponents. That is Nebraska’s longest non-conference win streak since a seven-game streak from 2004 to 2006.
100: Running back Emmett Johnson produced his second-career 100-yard rushing game against Cincinnati with 108 yards on a career-high 25 carries.
Score predictions
Nate Johnson: Huskers win, 38-10
Jake Homan: Huskers win, 41-17
Mark Fischer: Huskers win, 41-3
