Nebraska snaps longest power conference bowl drought in rout of Wisconsin
Yesterday at 08:08 PM
Nebraska football entered its “Sea of Red” aiming to shed a title attached to them for too long. The Cornhuskers endured the longest such bowl drought for a school representing a power conference.
The ‘Huskers now know their season will stretch to December. Nebraska reignited its offense to trounce Wisconsin 44-25 Saturday in Lincoln for the Freedom Trophy. The Cornhuskers even threw some subtle shade at their Big 10 Conference rival online by posting a “W” in their X (formerly known as Twitter) caption.
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) November 23, 2024
Wisconsin already was dealing with a rigid week. The Badgers lost quarterback Cole LaCrue to the transfer portal. Head coach Luke Fickell even fired his offensive coordinator Phil Longo after the Oregon loss from Nov. 16.
But more important for Nebraska, the ‘Huskers snapped a long skid of missing bowl games. How long has it been? Eight seasons for the Cornhuskers.
Mike Riley represents the last head coach to take Nebraska to a bowl game, which was the 2016 season. That Riley-led Nebraska team finished 9-4 overall but lost in the Music City Bowl.
The Cornhuskers since have cycled through Riley. Scott Frost, 2022 interim head coach Mickey Joseph before turning to Matt Rhule. Now in his second season, Rhule has won over the “Go Big Red” crowd by ending the bowl skid. He shared these words via Nebraska insider for The Athletic Mitch Sherman postgame.
“The cloud that hangs over everything,” Rhule began. “It’s gone.”
He then blurted out one bold prediction after the cloud metaphor.
“This will be the last time we celebrate six wins,” Rhule said, implying Nebraska will only improve from here.
And his coaching work, plus Nebraska victory, sparked plenty of online reactions.
Who reacted to Nebraska snapping long bowl game drought vs Wisconsin
School support showed up on X for Nebraska football. The women’s volleyball team threw their support of the accomplishment by turning to the Cornhuskers’ popular hashtag “GBR,” which stands for “Go Big Red.”
On the fan side, one man posted in bowl letters “We going bowling!! Finally!!” on X.
The school’s X account shared a quartet of pictures — showing how stoic Cornhusker fans became as they rushed the field.
Core memory unlocked pic.twitter.com/XOcX5K053H
— University of Nebraska-Lincoln (@UNLincoln) November 24, 2024
How did Nebraska break the skid? By shedding out of a brief slow start in the first quarter.
Both teams were knotted up at 7-7 after the first quarter. The ‘Huskers, however, outscored the Badgers 17-3 in the second quarter and took a 24-10 halftime lead.
The home team pummeled Wisconsin by turning to a past staple from the Badgers: The ground attack. Nebraska gashed the Badgers with 180 rushing yards and four total ground-based scores. Emmett Johnson led with 113 yards. Dante Dowdell busted the hat trick by scoring three times and finished with 41 yards on 10 carries. Johnson added 85 receiving yards as he became a pivotal checkdown option for quarterback Dylan Raiola.
Jahmal Banks caught four passes for 52 yards. He hasn’t been with the team long, but the Wake Forest transfer saw how impactful the final scene became.
"Everybody who loves Nebraska won today" – Jahmal Banks#Huskers at a loss for words after the bowl clinching win. (@1011_News, @kevinsjuts) https://t.co/ROjS8R4bTzpic.twitter.com/l4jpZG3ccf
— Chase Matteson (@ChaseMatteson) November 24, 2024
Nebraska has one more regular season game left. But after the Iowa game on Black Friday, the Cornhuskers will aim to even their bowl record at 27-27 come December.
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