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It had been nearly a year since Nebraska last won a football game – 357 days, to be exact.
As they nearly saw a 21-point lead erased in the dying seconds, the Huskers finally tasted victory once again in a 30-23 loss to Penn State on Saturday.
In a winless team battle, Nebraska (1-2) was edged 501-298 in total yardage and scored just three points in the second half. But the Nittany Lions (0-4) only managed one touchdown in six red zone attempts and had two turnovers converted to 13 NU points.
Redshirt rookie Luke McCaffrey made his first career start in place of junior Adrian Martinez, and he finished 13 of 21 for 152 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing 13 times for a high 67 yards and a score.
McCaffrey’s opening practice as a starter couldn’t have gone much better, as he made three of his first four passes and rushed for 24 yards, including a lead of one yard for one. touchdown at 3:34 in the game.
The Nebraska defense then followed that up with Cam Taylor-Britt removing Sean Clifford and sending him 53 yards down the Penn State 15 yard line.
The Huskers should have put another touchdown on the board, but McCaffrey’s third and goal pass bounced off Kade Warner’s chest in the back of the end zone. Instead, they had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Connor Culp who made it 10-0 with 6:14 left in the first.
Penn State responded with a 14-play, six-minute drive to the 15-yard NU line, but had to settle for a 33-yard basket by Jake Pinegar to start the second quarter.
McCaffrey continued to roll over Nebraska’s possession, this time throwing a jet sweep pass at Zavier Betts and the rookie taking 45 yards around the right end for a touchdown. It marked the Huskers’ longest game since scrum this season and pushed the lead to 17-3.
The snowball only continued into the next series, as safety Deontai Williams came on a blitz and finished the defensive trifecta – sacking Clifford, stripping the ball and recovering the fumble for a 26-yard touchdown.
Clifford was eventually benched for second Will Levis after making just 5 of 8 passes for 37 yards, an interception and a lost fumble.
Penn State went for a fourth and one from their 34-yard line, and Caziah Holmes broke away for a 36-yard rush to move into NU territory. But the 13-game record finally stalled, and the PSU only came away with a basket from Pinegar 40 yards away.
Nebraska had the last laugh in the half, however, scoring a 25-yard field goal by Connor Culp as time expired to take a 27-6 lead at halftime.
The Huskers totaled 203 yards and McCaffrey completed 10 of 15 passes for 132 yards and a score in the first half. But the story was the defense, which forced two turnovers that led to 13 points and failed to allow a back-to-back quarterback touchdown for the first time this season.
Pinegar’s 56-yard basket was well short of Penn State’s first practice of the second period, but Keyvone Lee hit a 31-yard gut touchdown to reduce NU’s lead to 27-13 with 7: 51 to play in the third quarter.
Nebraska quickly came out to three and Jahan Dotson returned the 21-yard punt to spot the Nittany Lions in midfield. Penn State came down to NU 7, but once again came away with three runs on a 27-yard field goal from Pinegar, his third of the day.
The Huskers managed to calm things down a bit and chew 5:27 on the clock with an 11-game practice, but they also only came away with a 30-yard basket from Culp to take a 30- lead. 16 with 10:34 remaining.
But just like that, Penn State made it a one-scoring game with a 74-yard pass from Levis to Pat Freiermuth to the one-yard line, then a touchdown by Devyn Ford.
Things got worse from there, when McCaffrey got hit while throwing the ball, and Brandon Smith fell with the interception at Nebraska 48. The Nittany Lions methodically walked the field – including converting a fourth. and five – and put first and 10 at NU 11.
Faced with a second start-up quarter after three consecutive failures, Lévis’s pass was interrupted by Dicaprio Bootle for a turnover on the drops.
The offense couldn’t do anything with the occasion, however, and the Huskers returned the ball just after being just 50 seconds behind.
With only 37 remaining in the game, Penn State faced a fourth of 13 goals coming out of their final timeout. The pocket collapsed on Levis as he fell back, and he was wrapped up and threw a pass that hit the turf without a receiver.
McCaffrey knelt in the dying seconds and the Huskers claimed their first victory of the season.
Lévis completed 14 of 31 passes for 219 yards and 61 yards rushing, while Wan’Dale Robinson carried the ball 16 times to the top of the team for 60 yards for the Huskers.
Nebraska is expected to return to action next week when Illinois comes to town for an 11 a.m. kick.
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