Nebraska 48, Maryland 23: Huskers Go 5-0, 2-0 in the Big Ten

Maryland had 207 yards to Nebraska’s 38 in the first quarter and led 16-7. The question was whether that was a warning or a fluke. Nebraska answered it with 41 of the next 48 points and won 48-23 at Memorial Stadium.

The Huskers are 5-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten, their first 5-0 start since 2016 and their first 2-0 conference start since 2017. They have won all five games by at least 17 points, the first time that has happened since 2001.

The first quarter was real

Maryland’s threat was the passing game, and it showed up immediately. Chris Durr Jr. caught a 65-yard touchdown from Malik Washington on the third play of a 38-second drive, and he finished with 7 catches for 149 yards. Maryland added three Sean O’Haire field goals and led by nine. Running back DeJuan Williams, listed questionable on Thursday’s availability report, ran 10 times for 78 yards and scored.

Then Nebraska stopped giving up yards. After the first quarter the Terrapins gained 188 yards the rest of the way, including 19 yards on eight snaps in the third. Maryland converted one of 14 third downs.

The turn

Nebraska’s first touchdown, a 19-yard run by Mekhi Nelson, came off a blocked punt by Jeremiah Charles. His 5-yard run in the second quarter cut it to 16-14.

The swing was Dwayne McDougle III. Maryland scored to lead 23-14, and McDougle took an interception back 81 yards for a touchdown, the first Nebraska pick-six since Ceyair Wright at USC in 2024 and the longest by a Husker since Bo Ruud went 93 against Iowa State in 2007. It was McDougle’s first interception as a Husker. Luke Lindenmeyer caught a 1-yard touchdown with five seconds left in the half, and Nebraska went to the locker room up 28-23.

Maryland did not score again. Nebraska outscored it 34-0 from that 23-14 mark.

The third quarter, again

Nebraska held the ball for 11:05 of the third quarter and scored nothing, and Kyle Cunanan missed a 52-yard field goal. It was the second straight week without a third-quarter point, after the same scoreless stretch in Nebraska’s 31-13 win at Michigan State. Nebraska was also flagged 16 times for 132 yards.

Then it scored 20 in the fourth. Vincent Genatone ran it in from the 1, and Kwazi Gilmer caught touchdown passes of 5 and 30 yards.

The person

Anthony Colandrea threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 108, a career high, including a 51-yard run that is the longest of his career. His 346 yards of total offense made him the first Husker quarterback to top 100 rushing yards since Heinrich Haarberg in 2023.

Gilmer caught double-digit passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, the first Husker with back-to-back 100-yard games since Samori Toure in 2021. Kade Pietrzak had the first interception of his career.

The series now stands 4-1 Nebraska, 2-1 in Lincoln. The visiting team had won each of the last three meetings, and the home team won this one. The Huskers have won 15 of their last 17 Homecoming games, in front of 85,033.

Indiana is next, the first defending national champion in Lincoln since 2006. Husker Nation, that game tells us whether Nebraska can fix the first quarter and the third before a team like that makes it count.