Huskers crush Wyoming 52-17 with dominant fourth quarter
Up 17-0 over Wyoming midway through the second quarterback, it appeared Nebraska would cruise to an easy victory.
But the Cowboys wouldn’t go away that easily. They put the Huskers on upset alert by pulling with 24-17 late in the third quarter, but a slew of costly turnovers allowed NU to pull away and secure a 52-17 victory. Nebraska outscored Wyoming 28-0 in the fourth quarter.
Unlike in its win over Fresno State in the season opener, Nebraska couldn’t get much going on the ground, rushing for just 136 yards on 3.2 yards per carry. Luckily for the Huskers, the passing game proved more than capable of picking up the slack.
Outside of a second-quarter interception in the red zone, Tommy Armstrong had one of the finest game’s of his career. The senior threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns, passing Taylor Martinez for the school’s career record (57).
Nathan Gerry, who missed the opener with a suspension, paced the defense with seven tackles, a pass breakup and a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions that essentially killed Wyoming’s upset bid.
The Huskers forced six turnovers, including three in the fourth quarter. They hounded Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen into five interceptions - by four different players - and a fumble on a backwards pass. NU scored 28 points off turnovers in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Nebraska kicked off the scoring when Armstrong found the end zone with a seven-yard run midway through the first quarter. Wyoming then missed a field goal – one of two the Cowboys kicker would fail to convert – and the Huskers moved the ball to the 14-yard line. But Armstrong threw a ghastly interception, one of his few mistakes, to spoil the scoring chance.
The Blackshirts kept Wyoming off the board, and Nebraska got a Drew Brown 29-yard field goal and a 63-yard touchdown reception from Alonzo Moore to take a 17-0 lead. It appeared that would be the halftime score, but Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen gunned a 35-yard scoring strike with eight seconds left in the half.
The Cowboys kept the momentum with a field goal on the opening drive of the second half, then stuffing a fake punt run by punter Caleb Lightbourn on the ensuing drive. Aaron Williams ended that drive with an interception, and after another NU drive stalled, Kieron Williams picked off Allen and took it back 23 yards for a touchdown.
The team’s traded scores on the next two drives, the latter of which was a phenomenal snag by Jordan Westerkamp. But Allen’s backward pass rewarded Devin Ozigbo with a short touchdown, then Gerry sealed Wyoming’s fate with another interception. The Huskers packed on a few more turnover-aided scores to produce the final margin.
The victory should give Nebraska some much-needed confidence heading into its much-anticipated matchup with No. 24 Oregon.