Game Week: at Rutgers – University of Nebraska

NEBRASKA at RUTGERS
OCT. 7, 2022 | SHI STADIUM
PISCATAWAY, N.J. | 6 PM (CT)

BROADCAST INFO

TV – FS1 (Adam Alexander and Devin Gardner)

RADIO NETWORK – Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Jessica Coody)

INTERNET RADIO – Huskers.com

APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App

HUSKERS

Record: 2-3, 1-1 B1G

Last Game: vs. Indiana (L, 35-21)

Rankings: NR

Coach: Mickey Joseph

Career/NU Record: 14-8 (3rd Year)/1-1 (1st Year)

vs. Rutgers: First Meeting

SCARLET KNIGHTS

Record: 3-2, 0-2 B1G

Last Game: at Ohio State (L, 49-10)

Rankings: NR

Coach: Greg Schiano

Career/Rutgers Record: 79-83 (14th Year)/79-83 (14th Year)

vs. Nebraska: 0-1

SERIES HISTORY

All-Time Series: Nebraska leads, 5-0

In Piscataway: Nebraska leads, 2-0

Last Game: Nebraska, 28-21 (12/18/20) (in Piscataway)

Win Streak: Nebraska, 5 games

The Matchup

Nebraska heads on the road for the first time in six weeks, as it will travel to New Jersey for a Friday evening matchup with Rutgers in Piscataway. Game time from SHI Stadium is set for shortly after 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. local), with FS1 providing national television coverage.

The Huskers opened the season away from Lincoln with a neutral site game against Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland, but will be playing their first true road game of the 2022 season on Friday. Following the Northwestern game, Nebraska has played four straight games at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska stands at 2-3, following a 35-21 victory over Indiana at Memorial Stadium last Saturday night. The win was the first for Nebraska under interim head coach Mickey Joseph and evened the Huskers’ Big Ten Conference record at 1-1. Nebraska used a strong performance from its defense and a balanced offensive attack to secure the win. The Huskers limited Indiana to just 79 total yards in the second half, and Indiana converted just 2-of-15 third-down conversions in the contest. Offensively, Nebraska controlled the clock for nearly 35 minutes, while running the ball 51 times and passed for 270 yards.

Rutgers heads into the matchup with a 3-2 overall record and an 0-2 mark in Big Ten play. Coach Greg Schiano’s team opened the year with consecutive non-conference victories over Boston College, Wagner and Temple. In Big Ten action, the Scarlet Knights dropped a 27-10 decision to Iowa on Sept. 24 and lost 49-10 at No. 3 Ohio State last Saturday.

Rutgers has leaned on a strong defense this season, allowing just 282.2 yards per game, including just 95.6 rushing yards per contest. The Scarlet Knights average 170.0 rushing yards per contest on offense.

Series History: Nebraska vs. Rutgers

Nebraska and Rutgers will be meeting for the sixth time overall and the fifth time as Big Ten Conference opponents. The Huskers have won each of the five matchups in the series, including victories at SHI Stadium in 2015 and 2020.

• The most recent meeting occurred in the 2020 season finale and was part of the Big Ten Champions week during the COVID-19 shortened season. The Dec. 18, 2020, game at Rutgers was Nebraska’s latest regular season game since 1894.

• Before the 2014 matchup in Lincoln, the schools had not met since a 28-0 Nebraska victory in 1920 at the famous New York Polo Grounds.

Huskers to Play Rare Friday Night Game

Nebraska is not a stranger to playing Friday games with its traditional Thanksgiving weekend Black Friday contest. However, Friday games other than Thanksgiving weekend are a rare occurrence for the Huskers.

• This week’s contest will mark the second straight Nebraska-Rutgers game to be played on a Friday evening at Rutgers. The Huskers’ 28-21 win in 2020 was also played on a Friday evening.

• Outside of Nebraska’s Thanksgiving Friday contests, this will mark just the third Husker regular-season game on Friday in the past several decades. Nebraska was also victorious in a Friday night contest at Illinois in 2017.

• Nebraska has a long history of playing on Black Friday. Nebraska has played on Black Friday every year since 1990, including the past 12 seasons against Iowa.

Grant Pacing Husker Running Game

Nebraska has an impressive group of newcomers pacing the offense this season. Through five games, running back Anthony Grant has been one of nation’s top running backs. Grant posted three straight 100-yard rushing games to open his Nebraska career, including a 189-yard effort in the victory over North Dakota. His play against the Fighting Hawks earned Grant recognition as the co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Grant began his career at Florida State where he played in 12 games in 2018. He came to Nebraska after rushing for 2,549 yards in junior college and earning the 2021 National Offensive Player of the Year.

• Grant added a fourth 100-yard rushing game with 32 carries for 136 yards against Indiana. Grant is averaging 120.0 yards rushing per game to rank eighth in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten. His 189 rushing yards against North Dakota were the most by a Husker since the final game of the 2020 season at Rutgers when Dedrick Mills ran for 191 yards.

• Grant’s four 100-yard rushing games are the most by a Husker since Devine Ozigbo had five 100-yard rushing games in 2018.

• Grant’s 32 carries against Indiana were a career high, and marked the first time a Nebraska player had 30 rushing attempts since Tre Bryant rushed 31 times against Arkansas State on Sept. 2, 2017.

• Grant was the first Husker running back to post three straight 100-yard rushing games since Devine Ozigbo had three straight 100-yard games in 2018. Grant became the first Husker to open a season with three straight 100-yard rushing games since Taylor Martinez in 2010.

• Grant was the first Husker running back to rush for 100 yards in the first three games of a season since Dan Alexander in 2000. He is also the first Nebraska running back to rush for 100 yards in the first three games of a Husker career since Bobby Reynolds in 1950.

• Grant has five rushing touchdowns in 2022, and he was the first NU running back with consecutive multiple TD games (Northwestern, North Dakota) since 2018.

• Grant is among the nation’s leaders with 15 runs of 10 or more yards, including a pair of 46-yard touchdown runs.

This Week’s Numbers

5 – Running back Anthony Grant and quarterback Casey Thompson each have five rushing touchdowns this season. Nebraska is one of only five teams in the country with two players with five or more rushing touchdowns, joining Kansas, Ole Miss, Syracuse and UNLV.

41 – Nebraska opened the season away from Lincoln against Northwestern in Dublin, before four straight home games. There will be 41 days between the Northwestern contest and Friday night’s matchup at Rutgers.

50 – Nebraska fifth-year senior edge rusher Caleb Tannor is scheduled to play in his 50th career game at Rutgers. Tannor will join a select group of players to appear in 50 career games and is on track to challenge the school record for career games played. The mark is currently held by Cameron Meredith, who played in 56 games between 2008 to 2012.