Today was a first for me. Yes, I am sure you all want to hear about it.
At halftime I took my dog to the track to run around. I took some headphones with me and I ended up walking around the track and I listened
to the first half of the third quarter on the radio. It was kind of nice. I’ll probably do it again.
On that walk I encountered something I had never seen or heard of in my entire life. First, there was nothing. Then all the sudden out of the corner of my eye, I saw it.
It was an “abrupt movement.”
I’m not sure exactly what it was. It seemed silly and random at the time. Apparently it is a penalty in a college football game.
Nebraska defensive lineman, Elijah Jeudy, shifted in a way which the official declared that it was done in order to cause the offense to false start. This appears to be a cousin to the “disconcerting signals” that was called against Nebraska in a game against Michigan in 2021.
Toward the end of the third quarter I walked into my house to see Northwestern go for it on fourth down. It was 4th and three at Nebraska’s 29 and Northwestern completed a pass. It was right at the first down line and the officials called it a first down. Not a travesty.
Then they reviewed the spot. Northwestern’s Eligon was coming back to the ball when he caught it. However, he did not catch it cleanly. He was fumbling it as he continued to come back toward the quarterback and finally secured it but he was clearly short of the first down line.
Not to worry. This is what the review process is for. My reaction upon seeing the replay was that this was an easy overturn call. Perfect. The defense just got Northwestern to turn it over on downs. Time for the offense to take advantage of the situation. Nebraska is currently up 21-6 and time to make it 28-6 or 24-6.
Here are some of the other reactions to seeing the replay review, before they announced their decision.
Then the replay review upheld the call. Insane. Northwestern then scores a touchdown two plays later. The score is now 21-13 Nebraska. It was a potential 10-14 point swing.
Here is an objective reaction to that replay review.
I have one more this morning.
With 12:48 left in the 4th quarter it was still 21-13 and Northwestern had the ball. It was 2nd and 9 at the Northwestern 21. Northwestern’s quarterback threw a long incomplete pass up the right sideline. There was some contact between Nebraska’s Andrew Marshall and Northwestern’s Eligon but not much. In fact, Northwestern’s receiver pushed off but it was not enough to earn an offensive pass interference. However, Eligon’s push off was enough to warrant a defensive pass interference.
Northwestern scores on a 56 yard touchdown run three plays later.
To be fair we should fast forward to the end of the game as Northwestern is driving with Nebraska up a touchdown. There was 1:13 left and Northwestern was at Nebraska’s 35 yard line hoping to score a touchdown. Unfortunately for Northwestern it was 4th and six. Northwestern’s best wide receiver, Griffin Wilde ran a double move and was held by Andrew Marshall. The defensive holding was not called and Nebraska benefited from the missed call.
The Athletic’s Mitch Sherman tweeted this out about the missed holding call:
I like Mitch but I absolutely disagree. If that review, which was obvious, was overturned then Northwestern likely is not even in the position to tie the game at the end. I would say the same about the defensive pass interference call in the fourth quarter against Andrew Marshall. Northwestern scores two touchdowns immediately after those blown calls.
The “abrupt movement” call was just a sign of things to come.
So no, the frustrations with the officials were not nullified. It was not even close.
Northwestern is a good football team and I think more programs should be looking to hire David Braun. This was a great win for Nebraska. They are bowl eligible and have a great opportunity this coming Saturday against USC. Time to make amends for last week’s debacle against Minnesota.
The Morning After
What we learned from Nebraska’s win over Northwestern
After four quarters of back-and-forth football, Nebraska held on for a 28-21 victory over Northwestern on Saturday afternoon. As a result, the Hsukers are bowl eligible for the second year in a row.
Here are five of our biggest takeaways from the win and what it means for NU going forward…
Steven Sipple: Nebraska puts Minnesota debacle behind with win in white-knuckle brawl
Survive and advance.
Emphasis on survive.
My heavens, watching a program try to grow is exhausting. Nebraska football fans surely would agree with that sentiment, particularly after watching Saturday’s white-knuckle brawl with Northwestern in Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska-Northwestern postgame press conference nuggets
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule and a handful of players met with the media following Saturday’s 28-21 victory over Northwestern.
Here is a full recap of what they had to say…
Nebraska Football Report Card: Huskers Grind Past Northwestern 28-21
Nebraska football survived an ugly Big Ten special against Northwestern, pulling out a 28-21 win where all three phases had big plays — but also ones it would want back.
More importantly, the Huskers seized a little momentum heading into the USC game a week from Saturday.
Here’s the report card:
What Rhule had to say about that one fourth-down spot
When a call went to review late in the third quarter, many Husker fans were probably in a pretty good headspace, expecting their side was about to get the ball back after a big stop.
Up 21-6 with the ball. Nebraska fans had to be feeling pretty good in the moment.
Rapid Reaction: Northwestern football shows fight, but mistakes plague ‘Cats in 28-21 loss
Northwestern might not have put a mark in the win column this afternoon, but there was no doubt that the ‘Cats — cue the band — at least tried to fight for victory. Head coach David Braun and the Wildcats walked into Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium looking for an upset victory, and despite going down multiple scores, stormed back before eventually falling to the Cornhuskers.
