SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 25, 2014
No. 16 Nebraska 42, Rutgers 24: Ameer Abdullah posted a school-record 341 all-purpose yards and ran for three touchdowns as the host Cornhuskers cruised past the Scarlet Knights in the first meeting between the schools in 94 years.
Abdullah carried 19 times for 225 yards, added two catches for 26 yards and another touchdown and returned a pair of kickoffs for 90 yards for Nebraska (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten), who improved to 20-3 when its second all-time leading rusher runs for over 100 yards. Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 163 yards and accounted for three scores of his own, including a pair of third-quarter scoring tosses to Sam Cotton and Jordan Westerkamp.
Gary Nova threw for 156 yards and a touchdown before leaving with a right knee injury near the end of the second quarter for Rutgers (5-3, 1-3), which has surrendered 616 yards rushing over the last two contests after giving up 292 to the Cornhuskers. Leonte Carroo hauled in a long scoring pass near the end of the first quarter and led all receivers with 127 yards.
Armstrong led Nebraska to touchdowns on three of the team’s first four possessions, wrapping up the first one with a 16-yard run. The Scarlet Knights answered two drives later when Nova escaped a sack on a third-down play and connected on a short pass with Carroo, who raced past the Cornhusker defense for a 71-yard TD reception.
Nebraska began to pull away in the second quarter as Abdullah gashed Rutgers for scoring runs of 53 and 48 yards to send the Cornhuskers into the break with a 14-point advantage. Cotton (8 yards) and Westerkamp (4) scored on back-to-back drives to begin the second half and Abdullah capped his third three-TD game in the last five games in the fourth quarter when he went into the end zone untouched from 23 yards out.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Nova was forced from the game when Nebraska DT Maliek Collins pulled him down on an incomplete pass. Nova attempted to warm up for the second half, but did not return. … Abdullah (6,604 career all-purpose yards) moved past former Indiana standout Anthony Thompson and into sole possession of third place on the Big Ten’s all-time list. … Bell, who finished with six catches for 63 yards, passed Nate Swift (166, 2005-08) for first place on the school’s all-time receptions list with 167.