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Nebraska Wins Pinstripe Bowl Over Boston College, 20-15

The Huskers win their first bowl game since 2015.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson carries the ball as Boston College linebacker Joe Marinaro (45) pursues during the first half.
Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson carries the ball as Boston College linebacker Joe Marinaro (45) pursues during the first half. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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For the first time since 2015, Nebraska football has won a bowl game.

The Huskers beat Boston College 20-15 in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium Saturday afternoon. NU is now 1-0 all time against BC.

The 20-15 final is also a Huskerigami, or Nebraska-specific scorigami, which is a unique score that has never happened before in a Big Red game. It is the 580th unique final score combination in Nebraska football history.

The last bowl win for Nebraska came in the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl. The Huskers won that game 37-29 over UCLA.

Boston College Eagles quarterback Grayson James (14) is sacked by Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker Vincent Shavers Jr. (1)
Dec 28, 2024; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston College Eagles quarterback Grayson James (14) is sacked by Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker Vincent Shavers Jr. (1) during the first half at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

All three of Nebraska's running backs scored in the game. Harlem native Rahmir Johnson kicked things off with a four-yard touchdown in the second quarter, followed by Kwinten Ives finding the end zone before halftime on another short run. Emmett Johnson caught a 13-yard score on a fourth down conversion in the third quarter.

The first Boston College points came on a failed extra point. A bad snap followed by a rushed hold turned into a low kick that the Eagles blocked and returned for a pair of points. BC also scored on a short touchdown run from Turbo Richard midway through the final quarter. The ensuing two-point conversion failed.

The second Boston College touchdown came on a two-yard run. The Eagles were set up at the goal line after Brian Buschini's punt was blocked and returned to the two.

BC got inside Nebraska's 40-yard line seven times, scoring just twice.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot celebrates with a fan after a play during the first half against the Boston College Eagles.
Dec 28, 2024; Bronx, NY, USA; The Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot celebrates with a fan after a play during the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Nebraska tallied 363 total yards on the day. Dylan Raiola finished 23-for-31 for 228 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Emmett Johnson had a game-high 68 rushing yards while Rahmir Johnson ran for 60 yards and a score. Thomas Fidone led the pass catchers with five receptions for 50 yards.

Boston College finished with 343 yards, including 296 yards through the air from quarterback Grayson James. The leading rusher for the Eagles was James with 22 yards.

Defensively, the Blackshirts notched seven tackles for loss, including a trio of sacks. Those sacks came from Vincent Shavers Jr., John Bullock and Ty Robinson.

Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula (77) and offensive lineman Henry Lutovsky (59) celebrate.
Dec 28, 2024; Bronx, NY, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula (77) and offensive lineman Henry Lutovsky (59) celebrate after a Cornhuskers touchdown against the Boston College Eagles during the first half at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Both teams finish the 2024 campaign at 7-6. For the Huskers, this is the best finish since going 9-4 in 2016.

Box score

Nebraska Athletics Notes

  • The appearance in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl marked Nebraska’s 54th all-time bowl appearance and the Huskers’ first since 2016. Following today’s victory Nebraska has a 27-27 all-time record in bowl games.
  • Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule improved to 2-2 in bowl games. Nebraska is the third school he has guided to a bowl game, including Temple and Baylor.
  • Senior offensive tackle Bryce Benhart and senior defensive lineman Ty Robinson each played in their 60th career game at Nebraska, a school record. Benhart set a new Nebraska record with his 54th career start, surpassing place-kicker/punter Alex Henery who started 53 games.
  • Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 23-of-31 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown in today’s game, pushing his season passing total to 2,826 yards, setting a Nebraska freshman passing record. The previous record was 2,617 yards by Adrian Martinez in 2018.
  • Raiola’s 2,826 passing yards rank seventh overall on the Nebraska single-season passing list.
  • Senior running back Rahmir Johnson, a Harlem native, scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and the seventh of his career to open the scoring. Johnson finished the game with 10 carries for 60 yards and finished his Nebraska career with 1,000 rushing yards. Johnson earned Pinstripe Bowl MVP honors with his performance in the game.
  • Sophomore running back Emmett Johnson rushed for 68 yards in the game, pushing his career total to 1,002 yards. Johnson also caught five passes, including a 13-yard TD catch. He finished the season with 40 receptions, the most by a Husker running back since Marlon Lucky had a school-record 75 catches in 2007.
  • Rahmir Johnson and Emmett Johnson became the 69th and 70th 1,000-yard career rushers in Nebraska history.
  • Freshman receiver Jacory Barney Jr. caught three passes in the game, pushing his season receptions total to 55, tying a Nebraska freshman record.  His pass reception total ties JD Spielman who had 55 receptions as a redshirt freshman in 2017. The receptions total is also tied for 10th overall on the NU single season receptions list.
  • Redshirt freshman running back Kwinten Ives, a native of Beverly, N.J., scored his first career touchdown run on a two-yard run in the second quarter.
  • Freshman linebacker Vincent Shavers finished the game with six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble, all career highs.
  • All-Big Ten defensive lineman Ty Robinson closed his career with four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a PBU. Robinson finished the season with team-leading totals of 7.0 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
  • Nebraska’s first scoring drive of the day covered 75 yards in 15 plays and consumed 6:32. It was the Huskers’ third scoring drive of the season of at least 15 plays.
  • Nebraska held Boston College to 47 rushing yards, marking the seventh opponent this season Nebraska has held to less than 80 rushing yards.
  • Tight end Thomas Fidone had five receptions for 50 yards, marking his second game of the season with five or more catches and his third game with at least 50 receiving yards.
  • Senior receiver Jahmal Banks had four catches for 79 yards and finished the season with a team-leading total of 587 receiving yards.
  • Nebraska had nine game captains for today’s game, seniors Nash Hutmacher, Isaac Gifford, John Bullock, DeShon Singleton, Ty Robinson, Rahmir Johnson, MJ Sherman, Bryce Benhart and Ben Scott.

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MORE: Nebraska Wide Receiver Isaiah Neyor Enters Transfer Portal

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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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Kaleb Henry
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. 

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