Bowl season is here!
The Nebraska Cornhuskers football is in bowl season for the first time in nearly eight years after finishing with an even 6-6 record in the second season of the Matt Rhule era in Lincoln. The Huskers will be heading to Yankee Stadium in New York City, the site where the program won its first-ever bowl game in the 1962 Gotham Bowl, with a date with the Boston College Eagles (7-5) on Saturday, Dec. 28. With the matchup just a week away, here’s a look back both teams during the 2024 regular season and a preview of Saturday.
2024 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Preview: Can Nebraska End Season on High Note?
Year one of the Bill O’Brien era
The first season of the Bill O’Brien era was successful as the team ended with an over .500 record, with a chance to win eight games for the first time since 2009. The Eagles kicked off the 2024 season with (at the time) a massive upset on the road against the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles and a dominant win over FCS Duquesne Dukes.
Going into a key matchup against the No. 6 Missouri Tigers, Boston College received its highest ranking of the season, being ranked No. 24 in the week three AP College Football Poll. The Tigers controlled most of the game and a late comeback bid by the Eagles was shut down after they cut the lead to six with three minutes to go.
Boston College followed up the loss with a win back at home against the Michigan State Spartans and got the momentum back in its favor in its final non-conference game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Against the Hilltoppers, Eagles junior starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos went down with an injury and backup senior quarterback Grayson James came and helped lead Boston College in a second-half comeback against Western Kentucky. The Eagles’ comeback bid was successful and they took down the Hilltoppers 21-20. Now 4-1, Boston College had positive momentum going into ACC conference play, however, things did not start well.
The Eagles lost three straight against Virginia, Virginia Tech and Louisville, pushing them down to a 4-4 record. Any positive momentum the team had seemingly was gone in those three games. Boston College’s passing offense was struggling under Castellanos and after a rough first half against the Syracuse Orange, James was put in the game behind him and the Eagles’ rushing offense behind junior running back Kye Robichaux, the Eagles came back and took down the Orange 37-31.
After a successful comeback against Syracuse, Boston College announced that James would be the new starting quarterback against the No. 14 SMU Mustangs. James had a decent outing against the Mustangs and the Eagles were in the game up until the end and the Mustangs took care of business, winning 38 to 28. However, the strong performance against College Football Playoff-bound SMU gave some momentum to the Eagles, leading to two straight wins to end the regular season. Boston College clinched bowl eligibility with a 41 to 21 victory over North Carolina and got its seventh win against Pittsburgh, winning 34 to 23.
Stat Leaders
Passing Leader: Junior quarterback Thomas Castellanos (Transferring to Florida State)
99/161, 1,366 yards, 18 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
Rushing Leader: Junior running back Kye Robichaux
165 attempts, 725 yards, 4.4 yards per attempt, 10 touchdowns
Receiving Leader: Senior wide receiver Lewis Bond
60 receptions, 590 yards, 9.8 yards per catch, 3 touchdowns
Tackles Leader: Senior defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku (ACC Defensive Player of the Year)
80 total tackles, 37 solo, 43 assisted, 21.5 tackles for loss
Sacks Leader: Senior defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku
16.5 sacks (No. 2 overall in the country)
Interceptions Leader: Sophomore defensive back Carter Davis
3 interceptions, 3 pass deflections
2024 was wild for Nebraska
Year two of the Matt Rhule era couldn’t have started any better, boasting a 5-1 record going into a massive game against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Huskers were led by former five-star quarterback, freshman Dylan Raiola and Raiola had a good start to his career with three nice wins against the UTEP Miners, Colorado Buffaloes and FCS Northern Iowa Panthers. The game against Northern Iowa wasn’t his best but still got the job done.
Now ranked No. 22 in the country, Nebraska’s conference schedule started with a test against the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini. The Illini and Huskers traded blows but Illinois bested Nebraska 31 to 24 in overtime, spoiling the Huskers’ 400th consecutive sellout. Nebraska next had to go on the road to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on the Purdue Boilermakers and it did not start well. Both the Boilermakers and Huskers went into halftime tied at 0, with Nebraska struggling on special teams, missing three field goals in the first half. The script was flipped in the second half where Nebraska scored 28 unanswered points, eventually winning 28 to 10.
The Huskers then got its fifth win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a low-scoring matchup, winning 14 to 7 over the Scarlet Knights. Now 5-1, Nebraska was only one win away from bowl eligibility with six games left on the schedule.
The second half of the schedule could not have started any worse with a 56 to 7 route by the No. 17 Hoosiers in Bloomington. Nebraska could not get anything going and had themselves an even tougher game at Ohio Stadium against the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes the next week. The Huskers looked like a whole different team and took the Buckeyes down to the wire, even taking the lead in the fourth quarter. However, missed opportunities earlier in the game came back to bite Nebraska and the Buckeyes rallied late and survived the Huskers’ upset bid, winning 21 to 17.
Nebraska found itself in a very similar situation in 2023. It was 5-3 going into the final month of the regular season, still seeking that sixth win that kept slipping away from the Huskers. They had another shot at that sixth win against the 2-5 UCLA Bruins and it went the opposite way that some may have hoped. The Bruins had a 27 to 7 lead late in the third quarter and managed to hold off Nebraska’s late comeback bid, winning 27 to 20, handing the Huskers another one-score loss.
What Nebraska did next was unprecedented. The Huskers changed play-calling duties 10 games in, giving the reigns to former Houston and West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen.
The next week, Nebraska headed west to Los Angeles to take on the USC Trojans. The offense looked a smidge better than what had been seen all season under Marcus Satterfield but had too many missed opportunities against the Trojans. USC took advantage of that and survived 28 to 20 against Nebraska. Four straight losses.
The 5-5 Huskers returned home for a senior day game against the 5-5 Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers were coming off a near upset win over the No. 1 Oregon Ducks and Nebraska had an 11-game losing streak against Wisconsin going in. What happened next was unexpected. The Huskers’ offense dismantled the Badgers’ defense, leading Nebraska to a 44 to 25 win over Wisconsin, clinching bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016 and ending the 11-game losing streak to the Badgers.
Despite the massive win, the Iowa Hawkeyes handed the Huskers their sixth loss, despite being outgained by nearly 200 yards. The Hawkeyes walked it off again on a game-winning field goal by Drew Stevens to give Iowa the 13 to 10 win. The loss hurt but the season wasn’t over.
Stat Leaders
Passing Leader: Freshman Quarterback Dylan Raiola
253/380, 2,595 yards, 12 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
Rushing Leader: Sophomore running back Dante Dowdell (Transferred to Kentucky)
143 attempts, 614 yards, 4.3 yards per attempt, 12 touchdowns
Receiving Leader: Senior wide receiver Jahmal Banks
40 receptions, 508 yards, 12.7 yards per reception, 3 touchdowns
Tackles Leader: Senior defensive back Isaac Gifford
69 total tackles, 31 solo, 38 assisted, 4 tackles for loss
Sacks Leader: Senior defensive tackle Ty Robinson
6 sacks, 11 tackles for loss
Interceptions Leader: Junior defensive back Malcolm Hartzog Jr.
4 interceptions, 4 pass deflections
Bowl Preview
Boston College and Nebraska will meet for the first time in both programs’ history and will be an interesting matchup for both teams. How will both teams handle key players entering the transfer portal, especially Nebraska on the defensive side of the ball? What will new full-time coaches on the defensive side of the ball for the Huskers perform?
To start, the Huskers’ offensive line will have to be ready to protect Raiola, especially if AP All-American defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku does play. The Nebraska run defense will also be tested against Robichaux. It will be interesting to watch the Nebraska defense, especially with all the changes on that side of the ball. The Huskers will have a new defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, outside linebackers coach and secondary coach, along with a multitude of losses to the transfer portal.
Big Red in the Big Apple 🍎🗽
🏟️ @PinstripeBowl
📅 12.28
📍 Yankee Stadium
🕚 11 AM CST
📺 @ABC#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/cMkjeSAZzG— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) December 8, 2024
Keys to the Game:
Boston College:
- Establish the run
Establishing the run has been the key to the Eagles’ success in 2024. The backfield duo of Robichaux and senior running back Treshaun Ward have combined for over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns. Establishing the run will also open up Boston College’s passing offense led by Grayson James. It will be key, especially against a Nebraska defense that has been torn apart by the transfer portal.
- Clog up passing lanes and force pressure
Clogging up the passing lanes, especially holding freshman standout wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. to a minimum and getting pressure on freshman quarterback Raiola will be key for the Eagles defense. Raiola has struggled at times while under pressure, only completing 49.5% of passes. From his 10 interceptions this season, six came while Raiola was blitzed. Certainly something to watch during the bowl game.
Nebraska:
- Get offense going early
The Huskers are 4-0 when they score a touchdown on their first drive. Nebraska’s offense has been hit or miss throughout the season, but it has found the most success when it scores a touchdown early in the game. Against UTEP, Colorado, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin, the Huskers scored first and went on to win those games. It will also help Raiola get comfortable early against a good pass-rushing defense.
- Slow down Boston College’s rushing attack
Nebraska needs to do what it has done well at all season. Slowing down the Eagles’ rushing attack, forcing them to beat you and passing the ball probably be what the Huskers will try to do. This will allow senior defensive tackles Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher to wreak havoc in the backfield. Nebraska has the No. 10 rushing defense in the country, allowing 105.8 rushing yards a game. Shutting down the Boston College rushing attack will go a long way in taking down the Eagles to clinch their first winning season since 2016.
Huskers and Eagles face off in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at 11 a.m. CST on Saturday, Dec. 28, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, with the game being broadcasted on ABC.
