Lincoln - Senior I-back Terrell Newby rushed for a career-high three touchdowns and senior quarterback Ryker Fyfe won the first game as a starter of his career to lead No. 19 Nebraska to a 28-7 victory over Maryland on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska improved to 9-2 on the season to record its 50th nine-win season in school history. The Big Red improved to 6-2 in the Big Ten, while Maryland slipped to 5-6 overall and 2-6 in the conference. The Huskers also completed a perfect 7-0 home season in front of the NCAA-record 354th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.
Newby finished his final game at Memorial Stadium with 22 carries for 98 yards including touchdown runs of eight, five and one yards. He added two receptions for 16 yards in a strong home finale.
Fyfe completed a Nebraska team season-high 23 passes in 37 attempts for 220 yards including a four-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp to earn the victory. Fyfe was starting in place of injured senior Tommy Armstrong Jr., who was not in uniform while battling leg injuries. Fyfe became the first Husker starting quarterback other than Armstrong or Taylor Martinez to win a game for the Huskers since Cody Green against Colorado in 2010.
The Huskers honored their 30-player senior class in pregame ceremonies, including punter Sam Foltz who passed away in a car accident prior to the start of the season while at a kicking camp in Wisconsin.
Nebraska's Blackshirt defense posted its most dominant performance of the season, silencing the Terrapins for three quarters and holding them to just 207 total yards, with 92 of those yards coming on a screen pass that went for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to spoil the Husker shutout. The Blackshirts held Maryland to just 11 rushing yards and recorded a season-high five sacks.
Fyfe led Nebraska to 401 yards of total offense, including 220 passing and 181 yards on the ground. Freshman I-back Tre Bryant contributed a career-high 56 yards on 13 carries, while senior wide receiver Brandon Reilly added three carries for 16 yards and Fyfe pitched in 10 yards on five carries.
Westerkamp led the Husker receiving corps with 85 yards on eight catches including his touchdown, while Reilly pitched in four receptions for 49 yards and senior receiver Alonzo Moore added four more catches for 15 yards.
Fyfe, one of 16 seniors who came to Nebraska as walk-ons, led the Huskers to a 14-0 first-quarter lead by completing 5-of-7 passes for 76 yards. He added a then-season-long 14-yard run on 4th-and-1 to set up Nebraska's second touchdown run by Newby.
Fyfe led the Huskers on seven-play scoring drives of 72 and 57 yards in the first quarter, as the Huskers rolled up 123 total yards on 16 plays in the first quarter. Newby scored on touchdown runs of eight and five yards among his six carries for 28 yards in the quarter.
Fyfe kept the Huskers moving in the second quarter, marching Nebraska 92 yards after starting a drive at its own 3, before being sacked on third down. Nebraska set up for a 32-yard field goal for senior Spencer Lindsay, who replaced junior starter Drew Brown who was injured making a tackle on the opening kickoff. Lindsay's kick was blocked to end NU's third drive.
The Blackshirts continued to silence the Terp offense and Nebraska took over again. This time, the Huskers consumed the clock and converted the drive to points, thanks in part to Fyfe's career-long 21-yard run on 3rd-and-10 from the NU 45. Fyfe's conversion and a 15-yard pass interference penalty on Maryland while defending a Fyfe pass to Reilly in the end zone, helped set up Fyfe's four-yard touchdown strike to Westerkamp to give the Huskers a 21-0 halftime lead. It was Westerkamp's 18th touchdown of his career and fifth of the season. It was also his fifth catch for 69 yards in the first half.
Nebraska not only dominated the scoreboard, the Huskers dominated statistically with 270 yards of total offense including 117 rushing and 153 passing in the first half. Fyfe completed 14-of-20 passes for 153 yards in the half, while adding four carries for 23 yards. Newby racked up 45 yards on 10 carries with two first-half scores, while Bryant had 36 yards on seven first-half carries.
The Blackshirts held the Terps just 91 total yards while notching their first first-half shutout of the season. Maryland managed just 28 rushing yards and 63 passing yards. Nebraska owned the ball for 18:23 in the first half. Senior linebacker Josh Banderas led the Blackshirts with eight of his team-high nine tackles in the first half, including a TFL. Sophomore defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun added four of his five stops in the game as well, including a six-yard sack of Max Bortenschlager to end the first half.
Akinmoladun picked up where he left off in the first half, tying his career high with his second sack of the game to end Maryland's first drive of the third quarter. The Husker offense then took over and produced their fourth touchdown in six drives capped by Newby's career-high third touchdown run of the game. Newby's one-yard dance into the end zone gave him 15 carries for 74 yards with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
In the third quarter, the Blackshirts held Maryland to minus-11 total yards on just six plays from scrimmage, and Nebraska ended the quarter with a 29:55-15:05 edge in time of possession in the game. The Huskers finished with a season-high 38:58 in time of possession.
The Blackshirts lost the shutout early in the fourth quarter, when Borntenschlager found D.J. Moore on a short screen pass. Moore made several Huskers miss with jump cuts in the open field and raced 92 yards to paydirt. The play outdistanced Maryland's yardage total (88) on their first 40 plays from scrimmage in the game.
Borrtenschlager finished 14-for-29 for 191 yards on the day, while Moore had six receptions for 124 yards.
Nebraska closes the regular season at Iowa on Friday.
Senior day success. #SF27@HuskerFBNation takes down Maryland in final home game. https://t.co/j1KfvaURAq
— Nebraska On BTN (@NebraskaOnBTN) November 19, 2016
No. 19 Nebraska 28, Maryland 7
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2016
Scoring Summary
First Quarter (NEB 14-0)
NEB 9:42 - Terrell Newby 8 run (Spencer Lindsay kick), 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:30, NEB 7-0
NEB 4:28 - Newby 5 run (Lindsay kick), 7 plays, 57 yards, 3:06, NEB 14-0
Second Quarter (NEB 21-0)
NEB - 0:17 - Jordan Westerkamp 4 pass from Ryker Fyfe (Lindsay kick), 16 plays, 78 yards, 5:56, NEB 21-0
Third Quarter (NEB 28-0)
NEB - 3:30 - Newby 1 run (Lindsay kick), 14 plays, 69 yards, 7:47, NEB 28-0
Fourth Quarter (NEB 28-7)
MD - 13:22 - D.J. Moore 92 pass from Max Bortenschlager (Adam Greene kick), 2 plays, 93 yards, 0:49, NEB 28-7
Game Start: 11:02
Attendance: 89,704
Time of Game: 3:06