Nebraska (4-1, 1-1) returned from its bye week to welcome Michigan State (3-2, 0-2) to Lincoln. Both teams came off their first loss of the season and were looking to bounce back. Following a rough middle portion, the Huskers took off in the second half, taking a 38-27 victory.
Nebraska started strong, going up 14-0, but the Spartans quickly rebounded by scoring 21 straight, which was capped off by Dylan Raiola throwing a pick. But the Huskers stormed back, scoring 24 straight points, to go up 38-21 with under five minutes left in the game.
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Though Michigan State scored a touchdown with just over two minutes left, it ran out of timeouts, and after Nebraska recovered the onside kick, the game was set.
Special teams plagued the Spartans, as the Huskers blocked a punt and recovered a kickoff, resulting in 10 points. The kickoff recovery, especially, played a crucial part in swinging momentum, with Nebraska turning a 21-14 deficit into a 24-21 lead. After multiple punts, Raiola then found Nyziah Hunter for a 59-yard touchdown before Michigan State failed a fourth-down conversion, leading to Emmett Johnson running it in a few plays later.
Despite outscoring the Spartans, the Huskers finished with 21 yards more than them on total offense, tallying 261. Raiola only threw 24 passes on the day due to high winds but still put together a 16-of-24, 194-yard, one-touchdown outing. Though he threw an interception at the start of the second half, it did not result in a game-changing mishap.
Johnson bounced back from his lackluster outing against Michigan, earning 120 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and hauled in six catches for 37 yards. Hunter’s 59-yard score with one shoe helped elevate him to a team-high 93 yards off four catches. Jacory Barney also picked up 47 receiving yards on two catches, one of them being for 45.
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The Blackshirts played fiercely against the Spartans, allowing just 84 rushing yards on 38 carries, despite surrendering three touchdowns. Nebraska also held Michigan State to 15-of-30 in passing for 156 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Huskers now hit the road for the first time since August, heading to the East Coast to take on Maryland on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska football bounces back to topple Michigan State 38-27