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Nebraska got punched in the face.

After jumping out to a 21-6 lead in the third quarter, Northwestern stormed back to tie it. The Wildcats never quit while outgaining the Huskers in total yards and dominating on the ground.

A bad interception from Dylan Raiola set the Wildcats up to take the lead, but an even worse pick from Preston Stone gave the Huskers another chance.

With their backs against the wall, Raiola and company put forth the best drive of the season. The 13-play, 64-yard drive capped off by a four-yard touchdown run from Emmett Johnson put Nebraska up late and ultimately sent them bowling for the second year in a row.

After a 24-6 loss to Minnesota last week, the heart of Nebraska players and coaches were questioned. However, it’s easy to tell that this team wanted to win this game, no matter what came their way. Several plays and calls that went against the Huskers could have destroyed them, but unlike last week, the Huskers had an answer for everything in an inspired second half performance.

“It was a fight that we knew would be a battle to the very end,” head coach Matt Rhule said postgame. “I’m proud of our guys. I thought they showed tremendous resolve.”

Rhule made the adjustments necessary to put Nebraska in position to succeed against a gritty Northwestern team. After just 16 running back carries against the Golden Gophers, the Huskers ran the ball 39 times compared to just 22 throws.

After having 14 carries at Minnesota, Johnson erupted for a season-high 27 carries. He saw the ball early and often, recording 38 yards and a score on the opening drive. While moving away from him at times, the junior was always ready for the next carry and put the game away with his legs.

Raiola responded to his brutal interception by delivering some of the best throws of his career on the final drive. The sophomore connected on four third down conversions to keep the drive alive.

“He doesn’t care about the noise or whatever just happened,” Nzyiah Hunter said of Raiola postgame. “After that pick, he didn’t put his head down. He didn’t pout or anything. He just came off the field and was ready for what’s next.”

It helped that Raiola had a relatively clean pocket for most of the game. Despite being banged up, the offensive line allowed just one Northwestern sack while paving the way for Johnson. The Wildcats finished with two quarterback hurries, with Raiola safely throwing the ball away.

The quick turnaround from allowing nine sacks just a week ago to one Saturday is an honorable mark, especially for a group on its third right tackle and second left tackle.

The Blackshirt defense may not have been the best on paper and once again had a rough day against the run, but they also made some of their biggest plays of the season. After two weeks without a turnover, John Butler’s unit forced two huge picks, resulting in 14 Husker points.

Butler also showed the aggressiveness he lacked in Minneapolis. Even though Nebraska finished without a sack, its pressure on third and fourth down late forced consecutive inaccurate throws. This mix, along with the defense not allowing a single Wildcat point off of two Husker turnovers, kept them ahead.

“He didn’t care about the score,” Rhule said of Butler postgame. “He was like ‘Hey, we’re gonna go play,’ and that’s a lot of growth from last week.”

Special teams continued to be the most consistent unit on Nebraska that can turn momentum to its favor. Kenneth Williams’ 95-yard kick return touchdown to start the second half ignited the Huskers while Archie Wilson’s 54-yard boot led to a Donovan Jones interception the next play.

All three units made the plays needed for Nebraska to prevent another heartbreaking loss. After waiting until the second-to-last game of the season to secure bowl eligibility last year, the Huskers now can play freely for the last four regular season games with bigger aspirations ahead of them.

“Last year, we hugged after we beat Wisconsin, and people were going nuts because we were bowl eligible,” Rhule said. “We didn’t even mention it (this time).”

Anthony Rubek is the Senior Sports Editor at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @AnthonyRubek.

sports@dailynebraskan.com