Nebraska Football: Blackshirts carry Huskers to win over Michigan State

Nebraska football got a very satisfying win over Michigan State Saturday and the Huskers won 9-6 thanks to the Blackshirts.

It was apparent that the Nebraska football team desperately wanted a win over Michigan State. It was also clear early on that the only way it was going to come was with a great game from the Blackshirts.

Thankfully, for Nebraska football and its faithful, the Blackshirts delivered. Boy did they ever.

On a day when snow and wind circulated the field at Memorial Stadium, points were at a premium. Neither team scored a touchdown in the 9-6 Nebraska victory, which was sealed by three fourth-quarter field goals from Barrett Pickering, including a career long with just over five minutes left.

But more than Pickering or an offense that scored just nine points, the heroes Saturday in Lincoln were the defenders that were much-maligned all season along. Antonio Reed, Lamar Jackson, Luke Gifford, Tre Neal, Mo Barry, Mick Stoltenberg and more, they were all incredible.

Reed had the biggest day of anyone. He intercepted a Hail Mary pass before halftime. He also had a tackle for loss and forced a fumble that allowed Nebraska to tie the game at 6-6. It was at that point, you had a feeling Nebraska might find a way.

Michigan State opened the game with a field goal. Then scored another early in the fourth quarter. The red-zone stop that kept the score 6-0 was huge for Nebraska. On the next drive, an Adrian Martinez pass to Stanley Morgan for 35 yards got the Huskers set up for their first points.

Soon after, Reed forced Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi to fumble. Nebraska couldn’t get into the end zone and the score was 6-6. Following yet another stand by the Blackshirt defense, completions by Martinez to Morgan and Maurice Washington got Nebraska back into field-goal range.

Then, with wind and snow blustering, Pickering drilled a 47-yard field goal making it 9-6. Even so, the Blackshirts would need two more stops to win the game and two more stops they got.

However, the final few minutes weren’t drama free.

Michigan State got as far as the Nebraska 29-yard line with two minutes remaining. Yet, the Spartans drive stalled and when Neal batted down a pass on fourth down, the game was essentially over.  A first down run by Devine Ozigbo on the next drive clinched it.

The offense wasn’t great. Nebraska managed only 248 yards. The Huskers turned it over twice and only faced first-and-goal once. But in the end, Martinez did enough to win. It wasn’t pretty but being a great quarterback isn’t about big numbers, it’s about being gutsy enough to make plays when it matters most — when it’s snowing and the game is on the line.

Martinez did that. He was only 16-of-37 for 145 yards. Morgan caught four passes for 67 and Ozigbo racked up 74 yards on 18 carries against the best-run defense in the Big Ten.

It was a huge win for Nebraska football; a huge win for the senior class and a memorable day for the Blackshirts, who threw the bones all day during a massive win for this program.