HUSKER FOOTBALL: Late Field Goal Lifts Minnesota Past Nebraska In Thrilling Opener
MINNEAPOLIS–(KFOR/AP Aug. 31)–Dragan Kesich booted a 47-yard field goal with three seconds left, as Minnesota capped off a fourth quarter rally to defeat the Nebraska football team 13-10 Thursday night.
Nebraska had gained a 10-3 lead in the fourth quarter, after freshman kicker and former Omaha Westside standout Tristan Alvano nailed a 27-yard field goal with 12:42 to play.
The Gophers later set up the tying touchdown with a turnover, when Justin Walley whacked the ball out of Gabe Ervin’s arm to give them the ball at their 47. Bryce Williams converted a fourth-and-1 run, and a facemask penalty on Nebraska’s Cameron Lenhardt pushed the ball to the Huskers 28.
After three straight incompletions from the 13, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and the Gophers had one more shot. The sophomore slid to his left and threw off balance toward the streaking wide-receiver Daniel Jackson, who managed to complete one of the most difficult and dramatic catches in program history.
Jackson grabbed the pass in stride at the edge of the end zone, somehow managing to tap his right toes on the turf and flip his left heel up high enough to keep his lead foot from hitting out of bounds first.
Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims, who transferred from Georgia Tech, rushed 19 times for 91 yards. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 114 yards and a broken-play touchdown that gave the Huskers the lead early in the third quarter.
Following a 65-yard kickoff return from Rahmir Johnson, running back Gabe Ervin took a second-down pitch toward the right sideline, stopped and tossed the ball back to the quarterback. The throw was high and wide and slipped through Sims’ fingers, but he plucked it off the turf to avoid losing a fumble and quickly reset realizing he could still try a forward pass. Alex Bullock was wide open in the end zone for the 34-yard score.