The Matchup: Huskers and Wildcats

NEBRASKA at NORTHWESTERN

NOV. 7, 2020 | RYAN FIELD

EVANSTON, ILL. | 11 A.M. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO

TV – BTN (Cory Provus, J Leman, Olivia Dekker)

RADIO – Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin

SATELLITE RADIO – XM 382, Sirius 138

INTERNET RADIO – Huskers.com, TuneIn.com

APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App, TuneIn App

HUSKERS

Record: 0-1, 0-1 Big Ten

Last Game: Ohio State (L, 52-17)

Rankings: NR

Coach: Scott Frost

Career/NU Record: 28-23 (5th Year)/9-16 (3rd Year) 

vs. Northwestern: 1-1

WILDCATS

Record: 2-0, 2-0 Big Ten

Last Game: at Iowa (W, 21-20)

Rankings: NR

Coach: Pat Fitzgerald

Career/NU Record: 101-79 (15th year)/Same

vs. Nebraska: 4-5

The Matchup

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will get back on the field this Saturday when they travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in a Big Ten West contest. Game time at Northwestern’s Ryan Field is set for 11 a.m. CT with the game televised on the Big Ten Network. 

Nebraska is coming off an unexpected off week following the cancellation of last week’s matchup with Wisconsin last Wednesday. The Huskers opened the season with a 52-17 loss at No. 5 Ohio State on Oct. 24, a game in which Nebraska was tied at 14-14 in the second quarter. 

Northwestern enters the game with a 2-0 record following a 21-20 victory at Iowa on Saturday. The Wildcats fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter, but rallied to close the deficit to 20-14 at halftime, and  scored a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter for the only points of the second half.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald’s team has played stout defense through two games, allowing just 23 total points and 250.0 yards per game in wins over Iowa and Maryland. The Wildcats have been particularly strong against the run, allowing just 70.5 yards rushing per game. Northwestern has also forced seven turnovers in two games. Offensively, Northwestern has run the ball effectively, averaging 234.0 yards per game.  

Nebraska and Northwestern have a history of closely contested games in the series. Overall, since joining the Big Ten Nebraska has won five of nine matchups with Northwestern, including a 3-1 record at Ryan Field.

Series History

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Northwestern 8-5, including a 5-4 edge since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. 

• Nebraska has won three of the five all-time meetings in Evanston. Of the nine conference meetings between the Huskers and Wildcats, the only two games decided by more than seven points were a 38-17 Husker victory in Evanston in 2014 and a 24-13 Nebraska win at Ryan Field in 2016.

• The series with Northwestern has featured several record-setting performances for Nebraska. In a 66-17 win at the 2000 Alamo Bowl, the Huskers set a school record for the most points in a bowl game, while Dan Alexander’s 240 yards rushing were a Nebraska bowl record. In 2012, Nebraska rallied from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 29-28, tying for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in program history. The next season, Nebraska won on the first game-winning Hail Mary pass in school history.

• Nebraska has had only three walk-off wins in the history of Memorial Stadium, and two have come against Northwestern (Hail Mary in 2013 and game-winning field goal in 2019).

• Scott Frost is 1-1 in his career against Northwestern and Wildcat head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Close Contests Highlight Husker-Wildcat Series

Since Nebraska and Northwestern became conference foes in 2011, the one constant has been close games between the two schools. In nine meetings between the two programs as Big Ten Conference foes, Nebraska has outscored Northwestern 239-215, with an average score of 27-24.

• Seven of the nine meetings between the teams as conference foes have been decided by a touchdown or less, including six by three or fewer points. Three of Nebraska’s five Big Ten victories over Northwestern have come by three points or less. All four of the Wildcats’ wins have come by a touchdown or less, including three wins decided by three or fewer points and two overtime wins.

• The matchups have been especially close the past three seasons, when each game was either decided on the final play of regulation or in overtime. The combined score of the past five meetings is 120-118 in favor of Nebraska, although Northwestern has won three of those five contests.

Brief Recaps of Nebraska-Northwestern Close Games

• Nebraska 13, Northwestern 10 (Oct. 5, 2019): Although Northwestern never led, the Wildcats tied the game at 10-10 with 11:20 to play in the third quarter. Neither team would score again until the final snap of the game. Northwestern drove into Husker territory with just over a minute remaining, but Lamar Jackson intercepted an Aidan Smith pass, and Nebraska drove 42 yards in six plays covering one minute to set up Lane McCallum’s game-winning, walk-off 24-yard field goal.

• Northwestern 34, Nebraska 31 in OT (Oct. 13, 2018): Nebraska nearly handed Northwestern its only Big Ten West loss of the 2018 season, but the Huskers were unable to hold a 10-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. Trailing 31-21, Northwestern got a field goal to pull within seven with 2:27 remaining in regulation. After Nebraska went 3-and-out and took just 24 seconds off the clock, the Wildcats drove 99 yards in eight plays to score the game-tying touchdown with 12 seconds remaining. Nebraska then threw an interception on its overtime possession, and Northwestern won the game on a walk-off 37-yard field goal from Drew Luckenbaugh.

• Northwestern 31, Nebraska 24 in OT (Nov. 4, 2017): Northwestern ended the 2017 season with an eight-game winning streak which included an NCAA-record three consecutive overtime wins, the final of which came against Nebraska. The Huskers used a 10-0 third quarter to build a 24-17 lead, but Clayton Thorson tied the game on a seven-yard touchdown with 5:32 remaining in regulation and gave the Wildcats the lead with a one-yard touchdown run on the first overtime series. Northwestern secured the win when Kyle Queiro broke up a fourth-down pass on Nebraska’s overtime possession.

• Northwestern 30, Nebraska 28 (Oct. 24, 2015): In a back-and-forth game that featured five lead changes, Northwestern held on during an eventful fourth quarter. The Wildcats led 20-19 entering the final period, but Nebraska took a 22-20 lead just five seconds into the quarter. Northwestern answered with 10 straight points to build a 30-22 lead before Tommy Armstrong Jr. capped a 75-yard touchdown drive with a three-yard touchdown run. Trailing 30-28, Nebraska failed to convert its two-point conversion, and Northwestern picked up three first downs on its ensuing possession to run out the game’s final 4:18.

• Nebraska 27, Northwestern 24 (Nov. 2, 2013): Nebraska and Northwestern were tied at 21 for more than 20 minutes of game time until a dramatic final two minutes. Nebraska took over on its own 18-yard line with 2:25 to play and threw an interception four plays later. Northwestern gained just three yards on its ensuing possession, but that was enough to kick a go-ahead 21-yard field goal. Nebraska began its game-winning drive on its own 17 with 1:14 remaining. Ameer Abdullah broke a tackle to pick up a first down on a 4th-and-15 play and the game’s final snap came with four seconds remaining. With the ball at the Northwestern 49-yard line, Ron Kellogg III dropped back and launched a deep pass that was tipped and caught by Jordan Westerkamp right at the goal line for the first game-winning Hail Mary pass in Nebraska history.

• Nebraska 29, Northwestern 28 (Oct. 20, 2012): Nebraska scored a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes to tie the largest fourth-quarter comeback in program history. The Huskers trailed 28-16 with 8:31 to play before a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Nebraska then forced a 3-and-out defensively and got the ball back at its own 24-yard line, trailing 28-23 with 4:10 to play. The Huskers found the end zone in only six plays, taking a 29-28 lead following a failed two-point conversion. Northwestern then drove into Nebraska territory and missed a 53-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining, essentially ending the game. 

• Northwestern 28, Nebraska 25 (Nov. 5, 2011): In the first game between the programs as Big Ten foes, Northwestern never trailed in an upset of the ninth-ranked Huskers. The Wildcats led 7-3 at the half and the teams traded third-quarter touchdowns before an explosive fourth quarter. Northwestern took a 21-10 lead on an 81-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the final quarter, but the Huskers answered that score three-and-a-half minutes later. Northwestern responded with a 13-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. Trailing 28-18 with 1:18 remaining, Nebraska scored a touchdown with 18 seconds left, but the Huskers could not recover the ensuing onside kick.

Martinez at His Best Against Big Ten West

Adrian Martinez has put up big numbers in 11 career games against Big Ten West foes. 

• Martinez owns the Nebraska record with four career games with 400 yards of total offense. Each of those games has come against a Big Ten West Division foe, as Martinez has recorded 400 yards of total offense in four of his 11 career games against West Division teams. Martinez had 446 yards at Illinois in 2019 for the No. 3 total offense mark in school history, 441 yards in 2018 at Wisconsin (5th), 409 yards in 2018 against Purdue (12th) and 401 yards against Minnesota in 2018 (16th).

• Martinez averages 313.7 yards of total offense in 11 career games against Big Ten West teams. He is completing 64.7 percent of his passes (229-of-354) with 17 touchdowns, while averaging 252.2 passing yards per game. Martinez has rushed for 676 yards and six touchdowns against the Big Ten West, averaging 61.5 rushing yards per game.

• Twenty-four of Martinez’s 43 career total touchdowns have come against West Division opponents (56 percent), including 17 of 27 touchdown passes (63 percent).

Frost Offenses Traditionally Impressive on Opening Drives

One common theme of a Scott Frost-led offense has been a fast start. That trend continued in the opener, when Nebraska opened the scoring last week with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive at No. 5 Ohio State, needing just 1:51 to find the end zone.

• In Frost’s three seasons, Nebraska has scored on its opening possession 12 times in 25 games (11 TD, 1 FG).

• Nebraska scored on its first possession seven times in 12 games in 2018, including six of the final seven games. All seven of NU’s opening scoring drives resulted in touchdowns. In 2019, the Huskers scored points on their opening drive four times in 12 games, including three touchdowns.

• Over the last four seasons – 2018-20 at Nebraska and 2017 at UCF – Frost’s offenses have scored a touchdown on their opening possession 20 times in 38 games (53 percent). The average length of the touchdown drive in that span is 74 yards.

• In five years as a head coach, Frost’s offenses have scored on their opening drive 25 times in 51 games, with 23 touchdowns and two field goals. In 91 games over eight seasons as a play-caller, Frost’s offenses have scored on their first possession of the game 46 times, putting points on the board in more than half of their opening possessions.

• Nebraska has received the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown nine times in 25 games under Frost. In 2018, the Huskers had a game-opening touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead in five straight games during the Big Ten Conference season.

• Frost’s Opening Drive Scoring Percentage: 51% (46 of 91 drives)    

• Frost’s Opening Drive Touchdown Percentage: 44% (40 of 91 drives)