Vols too much for Huskers in 38-24 defeat in Music City Bowl

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After losing three of its final five games to close out the regular season, one of the biggest motivations for Nebraska going into its Music City Bowl matchup with Tennessee was to end the year on a high note.

Friday’s 38-24 defeat served as anything but.

The Huskers (9-4) were out of rhythm and out of sync on both sides of the ball all game long, and the Volunteers’ speed proved to be too much to handle.

When all was said and done, Tennessee (9-4) racked up more than 500 yards of total offense and nearly double-up NU in the process.

Against a UT defense that had allowed more than 600 yards and at least 36 points in each of its final three regular-season games, the Huskers were inconsistent at best and only managed 86 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Senior quarterback Ryker Fyfe, who made just his third career start, ended the night with nearly 250 passing yards and three total touchdowns, but much of it was too little, too late.

"They did what we couldn't allow them to do," head coach Mike Riley said. "Kind of two major factors: We had a hard time blocking defensive front, and of course, No. 9 (Derek Barnett) in particular, and then we gave up big plays. You know, When we crawled back in it and gave up that big pass, that's kind of indicative of what that game was like for us defensively. We just gave up too many big plays."

After a first quarter that only produced a combined 108 total yards and five punts, Tennessee finally got things going offensively to open the second quarter.

The Volunteers used a 31-yard pass from quarterback Josh Dobbs to wide out Josh Malone and a 28-yard touchdown run by running back John Kelly to march 73 yards on just four plays for the game’s first score.

Another quick three-and-out by the Huskers gave the ball back to UT, and Dobbs again had little problem driving 66 yards on 11 plays and scoring on 10-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 7:36 left in the half.

Just when it looked like Tennessee was on it’s way for another score, defensive end Ross Dzuris blew up a reverse to help force a punt.

Nebraska got the ball back, and after a 33-yard catch and then a nine-yard run by tight end Cethan Carter, Fyfe hit receiver Brandon Reilly on a double-move deep ball for a 38-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 14-7 with 1:36 left before half.

The catch marked Reilly’s first touchdown reception of the season.

"With Ryker back there, we know he's going to put the ball where we can catch it," Reilly said. "Kind of took a little longer than we wanted, but once he got in a rhythm and rolling, got some time, it shows we could be pretty explosive at times."

The celebration wouldn’t last long, however. Dobbs once again picked NU’s defense apart and got the ball into the redone with 30 seconds on the clock, and then senior quarterback capped it off with a two-yard touchdown run to push the lead back to 21-7 with nine seconds left.

When the first half finally came to a close, the Volunteers had already racked up 308 total yards to just 119 by Nebraska and held an 18-6 advantage on first downs. Dobbs was virtually unstoppable, accounting for 234 yards of total offense (163 passing, 71 rushing) and two touchdown runs.

"I think that the athleticism of the quarterback was a factor," Riley said. "He did a nice job of throwing a lot of balls right on time, but it looked like to me, too, that when it wasn't there, when it wasn't right on time, he moved around, bought time where he moved around and ran.

"Those plays were hard on us. You know, they had a big impact on that... His athleticism gave them a lot of extra opportunities."

The second half started off with more of the same, as receiver De’Mornay Pierson-El was stripped for a fumble on what would have been a first-down catch at midfield. That marked Nebraska’s first turnover committed in its past 15 quarters.

The Blackshirts came up with a big fourth-down stop to get the ball back, but the offense continued to sputter. Tennessee would eventually add to its lead with a season-long 46-yard field goal from Aaron Medley.

Desperately needing a spark, running back Devine Ozgibo finally provided one with a career-long 42-yard run down to the Volunteer 14. Two plays later, Fyfe connected with Reilly for a second touchdown pass from nine yards out to get it to 24-14 with 3:26 left in the third.

The score moved Reilly into a tie with four other players for the Music City Bowl record for receiving yards in a game.

"I told him before the game, if you get one-on-one, I'm going to get you the ball and hopefully get one touchdown," Fyfe said. "He had two today, so good for him."

Yet again, Dobbs and Volunteers didn’t waste any time coming up with an answer. Tennessee came right back with a nine-play, 76-yard drive and Dobbs scampered in for his Music City Bowl record third rushing score from three yards.

Kicker Drew Brown made it a one-score game again at 31-17 with a 45-yard field goal with 12:06 remaining, and the Huskers got a big break when JoJo Domann forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Mohamed Barry scooped it up at the UT 31.

Nebraska capitalized on the opportunity when Fyfe took it in himself with a nine-yard touchdown run to make it 31-24 with 10:02 still to play.

Just when it seemed like the comeback was on, though, Dobbs made sure to get things back under control by connecting with wide out Josh Malone for a 59-yard touchdown pass.

"I think the experience of playing in this game for us will be good for our team," Riley said. "And it's kind of the end of one team and the beginning of another, as leadership emerges right after the results of this game are in and we get back to campus. It should be a great motivator for the guys that were playing in this game that are coming back for next year's team."