LINCOLN, Neb. – Sixth-ranked North Dakota suffered its first defeat of the season, 34-7, on Saturday night against FBS foe Nebraska from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
UND (3-1), who entered with one of the best offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), could only muster 205 yards against a stout Nebraska (3-0) defense while the Huskers finished with 493 yards, including 277 on the ground.
Jerry Kaminski finished 9-for-18 with 106 yards and one touchdown while
Matt Lawson led the rushing attack with 34 yards on seven carries.
Deng Deng hauled in four catches for 59 yards and
Caleb Goodloe collected his second TD reception of the season in the third quarter.
Mike Deveraux led the Hawks defensively with 10 tackles, including six solo stops, while
Kylyn Macklin had three stops behind the line of scrimmage to pace NoDak.
Nebraska opened up a 14-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a pair of long drives that were capped off by rushing touchdowns. Husker quarterback Anthony Colandrea scored the first on a 10-yard scamper to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive, then Jamar Rule scored on a three-yard rush to finish off an 11-play, 90-yard drive.
UND closed the opening quarter with a 32-yard pass play from Kaminski to Deng to move into Huskers' territory for the first time.
After converting a fourth-down attempt in the first quarter, the Fighting Hawks' offense tried again in the second quarter but this time came up short, turning the ball over on downs just over a minute into the stanza.
UND's defense held up on the next drive as Nebraska would miss a 54-yard field goal attempt. The Fighting Hawks' offense went three-and-out on its next two possessions, failing to cut into the home team's advantage.
The Huskers would move the ball into UND territory on their final drive of the first half and were able to manage three points as Kyle Cunanan would make a 32-yard field goal in the closing minute to push Nebraska's lead to 17-0.
Nebraska's defense limited UND to just 69 yards of total offense and the Fighting Hawks struggled on third down, failing to convert any of their five attempts in the first half.
UND went three-and-out on its first two possessions after the break and Nebraska sandwiched a 55-yard touchdown run by Rule on its first play between those to extend its lead to 24-0.
After forcing a Nebraska punt, the Fighting Hawks would make their way into the red zone for the first time. An unnecessary roughness penalty on the Huskers helped extend the drive and an 18-yard reception by
Watson Hafer put the ball on the Nebraska 16.
UND would go for it again on a 4
th-and-one from seven-yard line. Kaminski would get the first down and more as he found Goodloe on a seven-yard scoring strike to put the Fighting Hawks on the scoreboard, trimming the deficit to 24-7.
The Huskers would get that touchdown back on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Colandrea found Quinn Clark on a five-yard scoring pass, giving Nebraska a 31-7 advantage before closing the game with a field goal to seal the 34-7 victory.
UND wraps up a three-game road swing next Saturday with its Missouri Valley Football Conference opener at Indiana State. The Fighting Hawks and Sycamores will kickoff at noon (CT) on ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES
- UND falls 1-17 all-time vs. FBS opponents – 0-3 all-time vs. Nebraska.
- Nebraska outgained UND 493-205 and went 7-for-15 on third down, while allowing the Fighting Hawks to convert only one third down on 12 chances.
- Deng's 32-yard reception to close the first quarter matched his longest of the season.
- Kylyn Macklin had a career-high five solo tackles, including a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss.
- The quartet of Mike Devereaux (10) Grant Noland (eight), Tyler Erkman (eight), and Grant Tylutki (seven) each made a career-high in tackles.
- Jerry Kaminski finished with 106 passing yards and one touchdown
- Neither team turned the ball over
- UND was held to just 99 rushing yards while Nebraska scampered for 277
- NoDak went 3-for-5 on fourth down, including scoring its only touchdown of the game
- Both teams had six tackles for loss
How It Happened
First Quarter
10:31 – NEB | Anthony Colandrea 10-yard rush (Kyle Cunanan kick). 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:29
00:54 – NEB | Jamal Rule 3-yard rush (Cunanan kick). 11 plays, 90 yards, 5:54
Second Quarter
00:36 – NEB | Cunanan 32-yard field goal. 9 plays, 71 yards, 3:21
Third Quarter
13:57 – NEB | Rule 55-yard rush (Cunanan kick). 1 play, 55 yards, 00:11
5:49 – UND |
Caleb Goodloe 7-yard pass from
Jerry Kaminski (
Kenten Laughman kick). 12 plays, 62 yards, 4:46
Fourth Quarter
14:55 – NEB | Quinn Clark 5-yard pass from Colandrea (Cunanan kick). 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:54
01:51 – NEB | Cunanan 40-yard field goal. 6 plays, 36 yards, 2:25
For more information on North Dakota Football, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media
@UNDFootball.
