How ‘an hour of momentum’ put NU in firm control against Fordham and what the Huskers can learn from it | Football

Nebraska, which has been hampered before by pre- and post-halftime slumps, never recovered in a 30-22 loss.

It was a different story against Fordham, even at a slight sign of trouble.

NU carried momentum into the third quarter Saturday, forcing a quick three-and-out. But Cam Taylor-Britt muffed a punt and the Rams had new life.

It didn’t defuse any juice. Nick Henrich and Garrett Nelson combined on a short-gain tackle on first down, and senior safety Deontai Williams intercepted a pass — his second of the game — along the NU sideline to kill the Fordham drive at the NU 36.

Fordham punted on its next four possessions.

“Obviously, it can be sometimes demoralizing when (you) just make a big third-down stop and then you see, ‘OK, something happened,’ and we got to go back out there,” Heinrich said. “But all week we emphasized we want to be on the field and let’s do what we do.”

The Husker offense did its part, too.

Williams’ first interception gave Adrian Martinez 2:27 to work with before halftime. The senior QB hit Samori Toure for 30 yards and later for 23 more. NU recorded four first downs on the drive and capped it with Sevion Morrison’s 1-yard TD run.

NU’s first offensive series of the second half was just as efficient, but with a bigger emphasis on the ground. Markese Stepp broke free for 19 yards to open the drive and carried the ball on six consecutive plays as the Huskers marched down the field. Chancellor’s Brewington’s short TD catch from Martinez put NU in firm control at 31-7.