Huskers Top Bruins, 28-21, for Seventh Win

Nebraska reached seven regular-season wins for the first time since 2016, as the Huskers built a 21-point lead and held on for a 28-21 win over UCLA Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

TJ Lateef completed 13-of-15 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start while Emmett Johnson became the first Husker running back to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game.

Johnson finished with 129 yards rushing and a score on 28 carries, while catching three passes for a career-high 103 yards, including TD receptions of 56 and 40 yards. Johnson became the first Husker since 2017 to have three straight 100-yard games in Big Ten play as he now has 1,131 rushing yards this season.

Lateef and Johnson were at their best on the Huskers’ final drive, as Nebraska (7-3. 4-3 Big Ten) ran out the final 4:47 to seal the win. After Johnson had rushes of eight and two yards for a first down, Lateef completed back-to-back passes, including a 17-yard completion to Nyziah Hunter to keep the chains moving. Johnson then closed out the game with pair of rushes to get the final first down.

Lateef completed his first 11 passes and did not have an incompletion until the fourth quarter, as Nebraska scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions while the fifth was a one-play drive before the half en route to its first win in the Rose Bowl since 1993.

Nebraska broke open the scoring with a nine-play, 61-yard scoring drive on the Huskers’ first offensive drive after the Blackshirts forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the game.

Runs of 14 and 13 yards from TJ Lateef and Emmett Johnson, joined with a 16-yard pass to Hunter had the NU offense down to the UCLA 20-yard line. Back-to-back five-yard runs from Johnson moved the Big Red to the UCLA 10-yard line before a two-yard pass to Jacory Barney Jr. from Lateef on third-and-goal gave Nebraska a 7-0 lead.

The Bruins responded with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that took 9:46 off the clock to tie the game at seven with 13:14 left in the second quarter. A trio of third-down conversions and a three-yard rush on four-and-1 extended the drive for the UCLA offense, while a one-yard rushing touchdown by Jalen Berger made it a 7-7 game.

The Husker offense found the end zone for the second consecutive drive to grab a 14-7 lead with 11:01 left in the second quarter. Lateef connected on passes of nine and seven to Barney Jr. and Johnson, while a 56-yard screen pass to Johnson down the Nebraska sideline gave the Big Red its 14-7 lead.

The Blackshirts forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive, setting the table for the Huskers to double the lead to 21-7 with 1:47 left in the half. Lateef directed a nine-play, 60-yard drive, highlighted by a 29-yard pass to Dane Key and capped off with a one-yard scoring run from Johnson.

Nebraska marched 75 yards down the field in six plays to jump out front 28-7 with 11:44 remaining in the third quarter. The Big Red reached the UCLA 40-yard line in five plays, before Lateef found Johnson on a wheel route down the NU sideline for a 40-yard scoring pass for his third touchdown on the night.

UCLA answered immediately with a four-play, 69-yard scoring drive to make it a 28-14 game with 9:58 left in the third quarter. Keona Davis’s sack backed the Bruins up eight yards to the NU 45-yard line, before a 45-yard scoring play on a pass from Nico Iamaleava to Anthony Woods brought the Bruins within 28-14.

The Bruins continued to rally in the fourth quarter, going 96 yards in 12 plays to pull to within 28-21 with 4:59 left after a nine-yard touchdown pass from Iamaleava to Anthony Frias III.  The Bruins converted kept the drive alive with two long third-down conversions, including a 24-yard pass from Iamaleava to Mikey Matthews and a 17-yard scramble by Iamaleava to get the ball to the NU 9-yard line to set up the touchdown pass on the next play.

 Iamaleava completed 17-of-25 passes for 191 yards and two TDs while rushing for 85 yards on 17 carries.

The Huskers will return to action on Nov. 22 as the Huskers travel to Penn State. The kickoff time and TV network has not been determined.