Lincoln, IL—On Saturday night, in head coach Matt Rhule’s home debut at Memorial Stadium, the Big Red defeated Northern Illinois 35–11 thanks to a strong defensive effort by the Blackshirts and an efficient quarterback Heinrich Haarberg in his first career start.
After leading the Husker attack to 382 yards of total offense—224 rushing and 158 passing—Haarberg finished with 256 total yards. The starting quarterback for Northern Illinois, Rocky Lombardi, was only able to complete 11 of 28 passes for 73 yards and one interception as the Blackshirts limited him to just 26 rushing yards. Lombardi also succeeded in gaining minus-17 yards on five carries.
Haarberg completed 14 of 24 passes for two touchdowns and 158 yards. The 6-5, 215-pound sophomore from Kearney, Neb., added 21 carries for a game-high 98 yards to lead Nebraska’s rushing attack as well, including a 20-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run.
While Northern Illinois dropped to 1-2 on the season, Nebraska advanced to 1-2.
After the Blackshirts’ initial stop, which gave Haarberg and the offense their first possession at the NU 45, the Huskers took the lead early on. With six plays remaining in the first quarter, Haarberg and Billy Kemp IV connected for a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving the Huskers a 7-0 lead.
Until late in the second quarter, Nebraska maintained its 7-3 lead. The Huskers then capitalized on another short field that was produced by a strong Blackshirt defense and a low snap that NIU’s punter momentarily mishandled in the end zone.
After four plays, 6-6, 250-pound sophomore tight end Thomas Fidone was celebrating his 16-yard touchdown reception from Haarberg that put Nebraska ahead 14-3 with 3:15 remaining in the half. The Husker offense began its second scoring drive at the NIU 36. Fidone ended the game with four receptions for 42 yards, a team high.
Haarberg completed 8 of 12 passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns, and added 11 rushes for 39 yards on the ground to give Nebraska a 14-3 lead at the half. NIU was only able to muster three rushing yards on fifteen carries as the Huskers outgained the Huskies 138-58 in the first half.
Nebraska’s most comprehensive drive of the game came halfway through the second half, a 14-play, 76-yard march that took up
The march was concluded by a three-yard touchdown run up the middle by Gabe Ervin Jr. The night’s total for the sophomore running back was 14 carries for 67 yards.
With 8:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, Haarberg led another strong drive that moved the Big Red 65 yards in nine plays, culminating in his see own 20-yard touchdown run that gave the Huskers a 28-3 lead.
