Nebraska’s 2025 home opener was as dominant a performance as the Huskers have authored in some time, as Nebraska clobbered outmatched Akron, 68-0, Saturday in front of the 404th consecutive sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium.
The Cornhuskers (2-0) outgained the Zips (0-2), 728-175. The Nebraska defense held Akron to 1-14 on third down, while the Huskers converted 8-of-10 third downs. Nebraska had 14 possessions and scored on 10 of them, while running out the clock for both halves in two other drives. 108 players of the 125 on the roster got into the game for Nebraska, with 40 making tackles, eight carrying the ball and 15 at least being targeted in the passing game. The 68 points scored by NU were its most since tallying 73 against Idaho State in 2012. The 68-point margin of victory for Nebraska is the largest since the 1982 Huskers throttled New Mexico State, 68-0.
Dylan Raiola threw for a career-high 364 yards while connecting for a career-high four touchdowns. After completing his last 11 passes against Cincinnati, Raiola completed his first nine against the Zips, breaking David Humm’s 1974 school record of 14 consecutive completions, set against Kansas on Oct. 19, 1974.
Emmett Johnson cleared the 100 rushing yard mark for the second straight game, running for a career-high 140 yards on 14 carries. All but six of those yards came before halftime. Jacory Barney, Jr., also set a new career high with 132 receiving yards on seven catches. It was just the 10th time that Nebraska had a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game. It happened twice in 2022, against Northwestern and Georgia Southern.
Nebraska’s 728 yards of total offense ranks eighth in school history, while the 494 passing yards ranks second behind the school record 519 vs. K-State in 2019.
The Huskers took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, 77 yards in seven plays, with Johnson busting a 47-yard touchdown run up the middle to get NU on the board. Akron earned one first down on its first drive and punted back to Nebraska. The Huskers looked they were marching to a two-score lead, but Johnson fumbled inside the five, and the Zips recovered at their two-yard line. Akron lost a yard with a first down run, then gained two on second down. On third-and-nine from the three, Kade Pietrzak swallowed up Zips running back Jordan Gant in the end zone for a safety to push the Huskers’ lead to 9-0 and give NU the ball back with 4:44 to go in the quarter.
Nebraska was stopped on fourth-and-goal at the one on the next drive and had to settle for a field goal on the next drive to push the lead to 12-0 with 13:56 to go until halftime. But after the Blackshirts forced an Akron three-and-out, the Huskers took over at their 41 and marched down the field. Johnson ripped off a 36-yard run to bring NU to the doorstep, then Raiola hit Johnson for a four-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 19-0, and the rout was on from there.
The lead was 33-0 at halftime and 54-0 through three quarters. To top off the night, Nebraska tight end Luke Lindenmeyer proposed marriage to his girlfriend immediately after the game. She said yes.
In all, it was a virtually perfect night for the Huskers as they captured their second win of the season, with another favorable matchup against Houston Christian (1-1) looming next week at 11 a.m. at Memorial Stadium. Pregame coverage will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday on KLIN and Froggy 98.
