It took an entire half to get going, but Nebraska eventually pulled away in what ended as a 43-10 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night.
Sophomore running back Devine Ozigbo led the way with a career-high 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Huskers, while the defense held the Bulldogs to just 274 yards of total offense and only 31 yards on the ground.
Nebraska’s opening series was an inauspicious three-and-out, but what followed was one of the most memorable moments of the night. The Huskers took the field for their first punt with only 10 players on the field, intentionally not bringing out a punter in honor of the late Sam Foltz.
The play clock ran to zero and Fresno State declined the delay of game penalty without hesitation.
The Bulldogs tried to swing some of the emotion in their favor on their first drive, as they marched all the way down to the NU 15-yard line but missed a 32-yard field goal attempt by Kody Kroening.
The Huskers responded on their ensuing possession by powering right at FSU’s defense, running the ball on 15 of their first 16 plays and punching in the game’s first score on a one-yard touchdown by Ozigbo with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
That momentum took a dramatic shift midway through the second quarter, however. The Bulldogs brought the house on on a punt and blocked freshman Caleb Lightbourn’s kick to take over possession at the NU 32 with 8:15 left in the half.
A seven-yard touchdown pass from Chason Virgil to Aaron Peck would capitalize on the mistake and cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-7.
Fresno State’s rally wasn’t done there, either. With the help of a targeting call on linebacker Luke Gifford on a play that would have ended the drive, the Bulldogs drove down the field in the final minutes of the half and kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to go into halftime down 14-10.
Nebraska’s offense got back in gear to open the second half, as a nine-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong capped off a nine-play, 57-yard drive that pushed the lead back up to 21-10.
Armstrong ended the night completing just 5-of-10 passes for 108 yards and a score.
With less than a minute left in the third quarter, junior safety Kieron Williams picked off Virgil to give Nebraska the ball at its own 38. Two plays later, Armstrong connected with senior wide out Alonzo Moore for a 57-yard touchdown pass, marking the longest play of the game.
The Huskers continued to pad their lead with a four-yard rushing score by Armstrong and then a two-point conversion on a run by sophomore Zack Darlington that made it 36-10 with 9:50 left to play.
True freshman Tre Bryant capped off the night with a three-yard touchdown run to give the game its final score with 4:20 to go.
Fresno State had one last chance to make the score a little more respectable with less than a minute remaining, but Virgil was intercepted in the end zone by junior cornerback Chris Jones to put a stamp on the victory.
Nebraska returns to action next week when it plays host to Wyoming for an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN2.
