Nebraska
Key stats of the game in Nebraska's win over Boston College
Key stats of the game in Nebraska’s win over Boston College
NEW YORK — Nebraska held on and got the job done on Saturday.
The Huskers traveled to New York City to play in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College and will fly home with a 20-15 win.
It wasn’t pretty — is it ever with this program? — as NU led 20-2 with three minutes left in the third quarter but allowed BC to score two touchdowns in the final 6:11 of the game.
NU ends its 2024 season with a record of 7-6 (3-6 in Big Ten). That’s the most wins since the 2016 team went 9-4. It’s also the first bowl victory for the Huskers since the 2015 team beat UCLA 37-29 in the Foster Farms Bowl.
Here are three key statistics that stood out from NU’s win over the Eagles.
A good showing in the red zone from Nebraska’s offense
One of the top stats that usually equals winning football involves making the most of your trips to the red zone. On Saturday, the Husker offense was good enough once it entered BC’s 20-yard line.
NU finished the game by scoring points on three of its four red zone opportunities, and all of them were touchdowns. All three of NU’s scoring drives that entered the red area lasted at least seven plays, too, so the Huskers were going on some drives in Yankee Stadium.
The only red-zone appearance that didn’t end in a score was a fake field goal that had punter/holder Brian Buschini attempting to run the ball on a fourth-and-goal from the BC 8-yard line. That didn’t work as Buschini got 1 yard to seal a turnover on downs.
Nebraska turned the ball over twice, but John Butler’s defense put out the fires
NU’s offense turned the ball over twice in the game, both of which came in the first half thanks to a Dylan Raiola interception and an Emmett Johnson lost fumble.
Those could have been back-breaking mistakes, but they weren’t because defensive coordinator John Butler’s defense, which featured several young players getting opportunities, stood tall after each turnover.
The Huskers did not allow BC to score points off those turnovers. NU may have bent — the Huskers allowed BC to convert 5-of-10 third downs in the first half — but it never really broke until late in the game when the Eagles scored their first touchdown at the 6:11 mark of the fourth quarter.
On a wet and slippery field, yes, there were missed tackles and sloppy play at times. But the Huskers flew around like a team who had fun in the city for a week before flipping a switch and winning a football game, just like Matt Rhule wanted.
If BC was going to win this game, it needed to run the ball — that didn’t happen
Nothing against BC quarterback Grayson James. He played as well as he could and made some good throws while being pressured by NU’s defense all day.
But if BC was going to win this game, it needed to have an effective run game. That didn’t happen — BC would have liked to have its first-team All-ACC right tackle Ozzy Trapilo, who opted out — as the Husker defense limited the Eagles’ rushing attack to just 47 yards overall and 40 in the first half. That rushing total rises to 64 yards if you take away the 17 sack yards NU’s defense had.
BC entered the game with a top-50 rush offense nationally at 176 yards per game, good for 46th in the country.
The defensive front that played for NU today — guys like Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Cam Lenhardt, Elijah Jeudy, Keona Davis, MJ Sherman, Willis McGahee and Co. — held up well against BC’s offensive line and tight ends and allowed the linebackers behind them, like Javin Wright, Vincent Shavers Jr. and John Bullock, to clean up, which they did.
The Wright-Shavers-Bullock trio combined for 18 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
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LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Medical experts at the Lincoln Regional Center have determined a doctor arrested for two different cases involving minors is now competent to stand trial.
Dr. Travis Tierney, 56, was taken into custody by a fugitive team at the airport last May. He is accused of sneaking into a West Omaha home to have sex with a boy between the ages of 12 and 15.
Investigators allege Tierney did this three weekends in a row in April 2024.
Last summer, Tierney, a former Nebraska City neurosurgeon, was wanted for allegedly swapping nude photos with a 16-year-old boy in Sarpy County. He was out on bond and not supposed to leave the county when investigators realized he was in Arizona.
State psychiatrists have now determined he is competent to stand trial in both cases.
Tierney is currently in custody at the Sarpy County Jail on a $5 million bond.
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LINCOLN, Neb — Nebraska Extension is inviting feedlot owners, managers, employees, and allied industry professionals to attend the 2026 Beef Feedlot Roundtable Series, set for Feb. 17–19 at three locations across western and central Nebraska. The series will feature research-based discussions on feedlot management, cattle health, nutrition, and market outlooks, offering practical information for participants to apply to their operations. Each roundtable will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a $20 attendance fee payable at the door. Lunch will be provided, and pre-registration is requested for meal planning. The events will take place on Feb. 17 at the Prairie Winds Community Center in Bridgeport, Feb. 18 at the Bayer Water Utilization Learning Center in Gothenburg, and Feb. 19 at the Nielsen Community Center in West Point. Featured presentations include “Maximizing calf gain in the backgrounding phase” by Dr. Jim MacDonald, “Managing cattle health from feedlot arrival to finish” by Dr. Dan Thomson and Dr. Jacob Hagenmaier, “University of Nebraska–Lincoln research highlights” by Dr. Galen Erickson, “New World screwworm: What feedlots need to know” by Dr. Matt Hille, and “Beef cattle market outlook” by Dave Weaber from Terrain (Farm Credit).
FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL Draft scouting reports before the Combine in February. Here’s a look at Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson.
2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Emmett Johnson
Emmett Johnson (RB – Emmett Johnson)
5-foot-11 | 200 Pounds
Background
Emmett Johnson was a three-star recruit who redshirted in 2022, then worked his way into the running back rotation over the next two years, finishing with 90-411-2 (4.6) in 2023 and 117-598-1 (5.1) in 2024, also catching 39-286-2 that season. This past season, Johnson took over as the team’s workhorse and put together a huge 251-1,451-12 (5.8) line with 46-370-3 receiving.
Positives
Established himself as the lead back in Nebraska’s balanced rushing attack in 2025. Shows nice flexibility and knee-bend, with a naturally low center of gravity. Bread and butter are one-cut concepts where he can stretch the defense laterally before planting his foot and getting upfield. Has solid speed to outrun defenders to the corner on sweeps, tosses, etc. Makes very clean, crisp cuts as a runner.
Johnson skinnies through congestion, with a good feel for pockets of space. Shifty jitterbug type with impressive suddenness and lateral quickness to make defenders miss in a phone booth; very difficult to tackle one-on-one, and was rarely brought down by the first defender in range. Has a lot of creativity in his game and can salvage something out of nothing at times. Mixes in a lot of different moves, from stutter-steps to jukes to spins to back-jukes, with outstanding stop-start movement skills.
Not the most powerful back, but shows the ability to work through some arm tackles. Good competitiveness and leg drive in short-yardage situations. Ball security has been very solid, with only three career fumbles as a runner, plus one as a receiver. Johnson’s role as a receiver expanded significantly this past year, where he showed reliable hands. Has ideal quickness/creativity to scheme into space against opponents.
Negatives
On the smaller side for a feature back, with a thinner build than usual. As his size might suggest, Johnson doesn’t bring a ton of power as a runner and isn’t going to consistently push the pile. Rather than burrowing ahead for what he can get, his tendency to escape and bounce runs can compound problems when the blocking isn’t there.
Johnson’s pad level rises on contact. When combined with his competitive finishing, it leads him to take a lot of punishment from opponents. Struggles in pass protection. Doesn’t have the ideal contact balance when taking on opponents in blitz pickup. Might not be the ideal choice to protect the quarterback on third downs, which may limit his usage in the passing game overall.
Summary
A very quick, agile back who makes crisp cuts upfield and shows excellent creativity to make defenders miss in space. His impressive, statement-making 2025 campaign put him on the map.
While Johnson is not a very powerful back and struggles in pass protection, he should be able to contribute as a change-of-pace type at the next level. Looks poised to be among the first handful of backs off the board on draft day.
Projection: Round 4
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