Nebraska

McMaster’s Keys to the Game: Nebraska Football vs. Northern Iowa

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2024

McMaster’s Keys to the Game: Nebraska Football vs. Northern Iowa

The Nebraska Cornhuskers welcome the Northern Iowa Panthers in a game that can take the Huskers to 3-0 for the first time since 2016. While on paper this should be an easy victory for the Big Red, the Panthers bring a style of play and a backfield talented enough to crash the party at Memorial Stadium.

Here are Matt McMaster’s keys to the game.

After Nebraska’s dominant win over the Colorado Buffaloes last week, the Huskers enter Saturday’s contest ranked No. 23 (AP) in the country. While this is not the end goal for Big Red, it’s a step in the right direction and a distinction they haven’t received in five years.

The team’s early-season success has brought the nation’s attention and high expectations. With that comes pressure that can crumble a team.

But they also possess momentum that the program hasn’t had in ages. The positivity flowing around the buildings in Lincoln hasn’t been there since the Bo Pelini era. The easiest way to lose the positive stigma is to have a letdown week against an FCS opponent.

A loss against Northern Iowa would destroy the program’s momentum and perceived progress over the last few weeks. Even a close win deteriorates what NU has accomplished this season.

The Huskers need to take the momentum from the win over the Buffaloes and roll it into their performance against Northern Iowa. They need to take the confidence instilled from rewriting the biggest wrong of last season and turn it into another masterclass on both sides of the ball.

I’m always on the side of deferring to receive the ball in the second half if you win the coin toss, but not in this game. Nebraska needs to make this a boat race.

The Northern Iowa offense is a boa constrictor that gives opposing defenses a slow and painful death. This team likes to dominate up front.

Over their first two games, they’re averaging an astounding 298 rushing yards. The Panthers want to suffocate opponents on offense. They want to take the ball, pound it up the middle, tire you out, and drain the clock. They do this with two elite backs, Tye Edwards and Amauri Pesek-Henderson. Henderson and Edwards are elite FCS backs, averaging over 6 yards per carry. Nebraska’s gap integrity must be at its best, or the Huskers will get gashed all night by these two.

While UNI’s rushing game is elite, the passing game is far from it. The Panthers have 215 passing yards in two games. They simply don’t have the quarterback or outside weapons to compete on the outside against FBS opponents, let alone one of the better secondaries in the Big Ten.

While UNI’s style of play works for them, it’s not meant to get into shootouts. If the Huskers are aggressive early on offense, they can force the Panthers to veer away from their preferred style of play.

This is going to be a physical game on defense for the Cornhuskers. The Panthers’ goal is to play 130 snaps of smash-mouth football. They want to bring the fight and wear down this elite Nebraska defense.

NU must use its depth to its advantage and constantly rotate guys in and out on all three levels. This is crucial due to the nature of the UNI offense as the Panthers want to punish teams defensively, making every run easier and easier for their elite backs.

How UNI plays exposes teams that need more depth to ensure that the players on the field are always fresh. The Blackshirt coaching staff will play a significant role in ensuring they’re divvying up snaps correctly, not to make things easier on the Panther run game.

Failure at this will not only lead to a long day on defense but even injuries.

Kickoff at Memorial Stadium Saturday is slated for 6:30 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network, with Huskers Radio Network affiliates providing coverage across the state.

MORE: I-80 Club’s Saturday Morning Coffee: Nebraska Football Finishes the Non-Con

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MORE: McMaster’s Big Ten Football Power Rankings After Week 2

MORE: Nebraska Unveils $165M Osborne Legacy Complex

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, following HuskerMax on X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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Nebraska

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

Published

7 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.

The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.

Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.

“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”

Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.

“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.

“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”

Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.

“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”

This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).

“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.

UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).

The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.

“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”

UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.

Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.

Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.

UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.

“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”

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Nebraska

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.

A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.

But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.

Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-5-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-09-17-25

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing

Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing

Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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