Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw two touchdown passes and ran for the game winner midway through the fourth quarter, as No. 21 Nebraska rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit for a 24-17 victory over Minnesota on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
With the victory, Nebraska improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten, while Minnesota slipped to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the conference. It was Nebraska’s 19th consecutive win at home at night at Memorial Stadium.
Armstrong’s 13-yard scoring run with 7:17 left in the game capped a 13-play, 91-yard drive that consumed 5:40 and kept the Huskers in contention for a Big Ten West Division championship. It also tied Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch for the Nebraska total touchdown record with 90 in his career. Armstrong’s game-winning touchdown run came after he was helped off the field on the previous drive with a lower leg injury. After his touchdown run, Armstrong, who spent the week in the concussion protocol after being knocked out of last Saturday’s game at Ohio State, was helped off the field by his teammates while favoring his leg. He did not return to the game.
Although his night ended early, Armstrong completed 19-of-27 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while adding nine carries for 61 yards on the ground. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Tre Bryant in the second quarter gave the Huskers their first lead early in the second quarter. Armstrong’s second scoring pass went 31 yards to Terrell Newby midway through the third quarter to tie the game at 17. Newby added 16 carries for 85 yards on the ground, including several big fourth-quarter carries to help the Huskers to victory.
Playing in front of more than 90,000 fans in the NCAA-record 353rd consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, Armstrong helped the Huskers battle their way to 374 yards of total offense, including 217 passing and 157 rushing. While the offense was able to overcome a stingy Minnesota defense and eight penalties for 81 yards, Nebraska’s Blackshirt defense shut out the Golden Gophers in the second half and limited Minnesota to just 265 total yards (180 passing, 80 rushing).
Junior safety Kieron Williams and sophomore defensive back Aaron Williams teamed for the game’s biggest defensive play to secure the win for the Huskers. With Minnesota knocking on door with 1st-and-10 at the NU 17, Aaron Williams deflected a Mitch Leidner pass intended for Drew Wolitarsky. The ball ricocheted into the waiting arms of Kieron Williams at the NU 2 for his team-leading fifth interception of the season. Kieron Williams returned the pass 12 yards to give backup quarterback Ryker Fyfe and the Big Red offense enough breathing room to kneel to victory over the final 1:29.
Kieron Williams finished with five tackles on the night, while Aaron Williams finished with a career-high 11 stops including a tackle for loss. Senior linebacker Josh Banderas added 11 tackles and two tackles for loss, while senior defensive tackle Kevin Maurice matched his career high with eight tackles for the Blackshirts.
Leidner led the Golden Gophers to a 17-10 halftime lead and finished the night 18-of-27 through the air for 180 yards. His favorite target was Wolitarsky, who hauled in eight receptions for 90 yards. Leidner added eight carries for 15 yards on the ground, including a one-yard touchdown plunge with 4:54 left in the first half to give Minnesota a 14-10 lead.
Rodney Smith, who capped a massive 14-play, 75-yard drive that consumed the game’s first 7:33 with a three-yard touchdown run, led the Gopher ground game with 17 carries for 53 yards.
The Golden Gophers were able to tack on a 42-yard Emmit Carpenter field goal as time expired in the second quarter to calm the Memorial Stadium crowd at the half, but the Huskers wasted little time in bringing the crowd back into it with an 11-play, 79-yard march on the opening drive of the third quarter to tie the score at 17.
Nebraska returns to Memorial Stadium next Saturday to take on Maryland. The Senior Day battle with the Terrapins will mark the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools in history.
It was announced on Sunday The Huskers game with Maryland on Nov. 19 will kick off at 10 am MT and be televised by ESPN News.