Huskers Handle Bulls and Honor First Responders on 9/11 Anniversary | KLIN

The following Saturday was a victory in prospect for Nebraska football.

“I’m telling you that puts everything in perspective,” Frost said. “Everything I do, everything everyone else does. “

The Huskers (2-1) honored the first responders with alternate uniforms, a Tunnel Walk similar to the 2001 Rice game the week after the 9/11 attacks, and several presentations before and during the game.

Frost presented a match jersey to Corporal Daegan Page’s family. Corporal Page was killed last month in Afghanistan.

“Daegan was in there and didn’t come back and that’s a lot more important than a first down, a third down or a ball game in general,” Frost said. “And what a beautiful family. Her sister Emerson was so sweet and mom and dad and it was touching and it puts into perspective how important it is to what we do.

Former Navy SEAL Damian Jackson, who starred in the alternate uniform video, led first responders down the red carpet and hoisted the flag as he sprinted across the field.

As for the game itself, Nebraska was able to survive several mistakes and easily manage Buffalo (1-1) 28-3. It could have been as high as 58-3, but the Huskers had three touchdowns recalled for penalties in addition to three missed baskets.

Frost was not focused after the game on the number of points remaining on the field.

“I’m ready for next week,” Frost said.

It was also the third straight game to start this season in which a return from a punt resulted in a turnaround.

In the fourth quarter, Cam Taylor-Britt stumbled on a short punt, but his blockers had fallen back enough to get in their way. The ball bounced off a Nebraska foot and Buffalo recovered.

Errors of special teams. A weekly issue.

“I’m scratching my head a bit because two of our best players on our entire football team are Connor Culp and Cam Taylor-Britt,” said Frost. “We have to scream and scream and get everyone away from that (punt).

“I’m not sure what’s going on with Connor, but he will fix it. I don’t want it to become a mental thing for him, he’s too talented.

“Punt’s return has bitten us again. We have to scream and scream and get everyone away from this one (turnover). And

Culp wasn’t the only place kicker with problems on Saturday. Buffalo’s Alex McNulty was a little impressive 1v4 that day, making the game 1v7 combined kickers.

A giant bright spot in the contest was Adrian Martinez. The fourth-year starting quarterback went 13 for 19 for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding nine runs for 115 yards. That rushed outing included a 71-yard run after he was nearly sacked.

“When I saw (the long haul) on the jumbotron, it looked pretty hectic,” Martinez said.

QB1 was clearly more comfortable and loose against Buffalo than he has been most of the time so far this season.

“I felt really good today,” Martinez said.

Martinez’s output has earned him over 2,000 yards in his career, which, added to his more than 6,000 career passing yards, makes him the fifth Big Ten Conference player to exceed those milestones together.

The two pass touchdowns were encounters with Samori Touré, who finished with two catches for 136 yards.

Chris Hickman was also in the game on reception, with three catches for 90 yards.

On the outside running side of Martinez, Gabe Ervin Jr. led all running backs with 10 carries for 56 yards. Sevion Morrison had 24 yards on eight carries while Markese Stepp added 17 yards on nine carries.

Defensively, Luke Reimer clocked a career-high 16 tackles with his first-ever interception. The North Star product flew all over the court in a game that required quick linebacker play.

“That’s what we’ve seen of Luke since his first day here,” Frost said. “He’s going to do a lot of plays around here. “

Buffalo was limited to 135 rushing yards and 224 passing yards. This is the seventh straight game in which an opponent from Nebraska has failed to reach 400 yards of total offense.

The health of this team is something to watch for in the future. Omar Manning and Oliver Betts were both out to start the match. Zavier Betts and Austin Allen both suffered injuries during the game. Subsequently, Ben Stille and several others limped as they left the field after the game.

The road for the Huskers to make their first bowl game under Frost doesn’t get any easier next week when they head to Norman. The Oklahoma No.4 (1-0) had no problem with Western Carolina after a tighter-than-expected opener against Tulane.

NU Athletics Post-Game Notes
• First responders participating in today’s tunnel walk included Terry Wagner, Lancaster County Sheriff (also participated in the first responders tunnel walk on 9/20/2001); Dr Alissa Clough, President, Associate Inpatient Physicians; Vicki Barada, firefighter / paramedic; Alex Nobbe, firefighter / paramedic.

• The kick-off temperature for this afternoon’s match was 91 degrees. In games at Memorial Stadium since 1985, this equates to the 5th hottest kickoff temperature. It’s the hottest kickoff temperature as it was also 91 degrees at the kickoff of a 2017 game between Nebraska and Rutgers.

• Nebraska improved to 7-1 against opponents in the Mid-American Conference.

• Quarterback Adrian Martinez ran nine times for 112 yards. With 112 rushing yards, Martinez moved up to fifth place among Nebraska quarterbacks with 2,032 career rushing yards, passing Tommie Frazier (1,955 yards).

• With 2,032 career rushing yards, Martinez became the 12th quarterback in Big Ten history to run for 2,000 career yards. Martinez is the fifth player in Big Ten history with 6,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards, joining Taylor Martinez (Nebraska), Antwaan Randle El (Indiana), Denard Robinson (Michigan) and JT Barrett (Ohio) State).

• Martinez’s 71-yard run in the second quarter was the second longest of his career, behind his 75-yard run in this year’s season opener at Illinois.

• Martinez’s 100-yard rushing game was the sixth of his career and his second in 2021 (111 yards at Illinois).

• Martinez totaled 408 yards on offense, marking his 15th career game with 300 yards on offense and his second in 2021 (Illinois). He has now exceeded 400 total attacking yards six times in his career.

• With Martinez’s 71-yard run and a 68-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to Samori Touré, today’s game marked the first time in seven seasons, Nebraska played two 60-yard games in the same match. In Nebraska’s victory at Fresno State in 2014, Tommy Armstrong Jr. landed a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Westerkamp and Imani Cross ran for 62 yards.

• Touré finished the game with two catches for 136 yards, both catches were touchdowns. Touré is the first Husker wide receiver to post consecutive 100-yard games since JD Spielman did so in 2018 against Purdue and Wisconsin.

• Nebraska had a 100-yard receiver in each of the first three games this season. The last time Nebraska had a 100-yard receiver in three straight games was during the 2017 season, when Stanley Morgan (twice) and JD Spielman combined to accomplish the feat in back-to-back games with Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue.

• Prior to today’s game, Buffalo had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in the last 16 games, and only one in the last 23 games.

• Running back Gabe Ervin Jr. opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter, scoring his first career touchdown. He added a 1 yard TD in the fourth quarter.

• Nebraska limited Buffalo to three points after beating Fordham 52-7 last week. This is the first time Nebraska have allowed single-digit points in back-to-back games since 2010, when Nebraska defeated Kansas 20-3 and lost 9-6 to Texas A&M.

• Nebraska limited Buffalo to 359 total attacking yards, marking the seventh straight game the Huskers have held their opponents to less than 400 yards. It is the first time that NU has held seven consecutive opponents within 400 yards of attack since an eight-game streak spanning the last two games of 2009 and the first six of 2010.

• The Blackshirt defense held Buffalo scoreless in the first half, marking the Huskers’ first shutout since holding a 34-0 lead at Maryland in 2019.

• Nebraska did not allow Buffalo any points until 9:17 remained in the third quarter (FG), giving Nebraska a 79:57 streak of play without allowing a runs, including the last 44 : 14 of last week’s game with Fordham.

• Nebraska did not allow any runs in the fourth quarter, the fourth straight game the Huskers held their opponent scoreless in the fourth.

• Husker’s defense forced four turnovers in the past two weeks, with the four takeaways leading to Nebraska touchdowns (28 points).

• Linebacker Luke Reimer recorded a career-high 16 tackles in the game, including eight before halftime. His previous record was 12 tackles in Iowa last season. It was the third double-digit tackle game of Reimer’s career. Reimer’s 15-tackle game was a Husker’s first since Marquel Dismuke last season against Penn State.

• Reimer’s interception in the fourth quarter and the 22-yard return to Buffalo 1 resulted in a touchdown for a 21-3 lead in Nebraska. It was Reimer’s first career interception.

• Defensive end Garrett Nelson tallied two TFLs for four yards, scoring the fifth time in the last six games that he has had at least one TFL.

• Tight end Chris Hickman set career highs with three receptions for 90 yards. Hickman then landed a 27-yard catch throughout his career in the third quarter before later hitting a 54-yard pass in the fourth quarter.

• Buffalo quarterback Kyle Vantrease punted 81 yards in the second quarter. This is the fourth longest punt by an opponent from Nebraska and the longest since 1995.