Nebraska Football Leads UTEP 30-7 at Halftime

A lead at the half for Nebraska football in the season opener against UTEP.

Kaleb Henry | Aug 31, 2024

Aug 31, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr (17) celebrates after a pass against the UTEP Miners during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

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Nebraska football is halfway home to a season-opening win.

The Huskers lead UTEP 30-7 at the half.

NU struck first with an opening-drive touchdown. Dylan Raiola led a 12-play, 72-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off of the clock.

After that, the Husker offense struggled for a few drives, including a turnover on downs, a three-and-out, and a fumble inside in the UTEP five-yard line.

The Miners turned that three-and-out into a quick-strike, three play drive to get on the board. But that fumble deep in their own territory turned into a disaster for the visitors as the Big Red forced a safety.

Leading 9-7, Dylan Raiola threw an incomplete pass and then a 59-yard bomb to Isaiah Neyor for the touchdown. The Huskers added another touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Raiola to Jahmal Banks in the closing seconds.

Raiola finished the half 15-of-22 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Nebraska totaled 339 yards in the first half. UTEP managed 114 yards, with 79 coming through the air.

UTEP will get the ball first to begin the third quarter.

Halftime notes, courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

True freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola became just the second Husker true freshman quarterback to start a season opener since WWII, joining Adrian Martinez who started in 2018 against Colorado.
Raiola threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Last year, Nebraska’s season-high in passing yards was 199 yards vs. Michigan.
Receiver Isaiah Neyor caught five passes for 107 yards and a 59-yard second-quarter touchdown in the first half.
Neyor’s yardage total marks fourth career 100-yard receiving game. The previous three came while he played at Wyoming including 2020 at Nevada (3-102), 2021 at Boise State (6-126) and 2021 at Utah State (4-125).
Neyor’s 100-yard receiving game is the first by a Husker since Trey Palmer had 165 receiving yards at Iowa in 2022.
Sophomore running back Dante Dowdell opened the scoring for Nebraska with a five-yard TD run on the Huskers’ opening series. It marked Dowdell’s second career touchdown, after having one TD run at Oregon last season. (vs. Portland State)
Dowdell finished the half with eight carries for 55 yards, tying career bests in both categories. He also had 8 carries for 55 yards for Oregon in a game against Portland State last season.
Sophomore running back Emmett Johnson had a 42-yard run to set up a second-quarter touchdown. The run was the longest of Johnson’s career, bettering a 29-yard run against Maryland last season.
Defensive lineman Ty Robinson had a three-yard TFL in the second quarter resulting in a safety. The safety was Nebraska’s first defensive safety since recording a safety in the 2009 Holiday Bowl against Arizona.
Safety Malcolm Hartzog had the Huskers’ first takeaway of the season with a second-quarter interception. It marked the fourth interception of Hartzog’s career.
Today’s game captains for Nebraska were safety DeShon Singleton, offensive tackle Turner Corcoran, long snapper Camden Witucki and safety Derek Branch.

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Published Aug 31, 2024|Modified Aug 31, 2024

KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.