Thomas Fidone: Second Half of Purdue Game Proved Nebraska Football Can Be ‘Dominant’

Junior tight end for Nebraska football Thomas Fidone was satisfied with his team’s performance Saturday in West Lafayette, as the Huskers celebrated a 28-10 victory over Purdue after being held scoreless at halftime. Fidone spoke about last week’s game and Saturday’s opponent, Rutgers, on Tuesday’s "Sports Nightly."

Sep 28, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Thomas Fidone II (24) is pushed out of bounds by Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Dillon Thieneman (31) during the second quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Nebraska football continues to work on being the best version of themselves. Junior tight end Thomas Fidone was happy to see that his team found a way to improve after suffering their first loss in 2024 to Illinois. 

“Coming off the week before, not the outcome we wanted. We had to put our heads down. Obviously, we don’t want to talk about the past but we had a lot of things we had to work on,” Fidone said during Tuesday’s episode of "Sports Nightly" from the Huskers Radio Network. “Going on the road, we knew that was going to be a test in itself.”

Nebraska found a way to improve in its 28-10 victory over Purdue Saturday, cleaning up the Boilermakers in the second half after being held scoreless in the first half. Fidone shared that the offense showed some growing pains in playing outside of Lincoln for the first time this season.

“Things not going the way we wanted to in the first half, but coming out and responding in the second half was what we needed as a team. It was good,” Fidone said. 

Nebraska tight end Thomas Fidone II catches a 13-yard pass from quarterback Dylan Raiola in the second quarter against Colorado. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Council Bluffs native has stayed positive this season regarding the offense’s output, saying in the preseason that the only thing that might slow down the offense “is us”. The Huskers have continued to grow throughout the early stretch of the season, led by freshman starting quarterback Dylan Raiola, as Fidone kept the same up-beat mentality. 

“We just know who we are, and who we can be. The second-half (at Purdue) really proved that. Just going out there and being dominant on all phases of the game, playing complimentary football with the defense and offense. Being able to go out there and take control of the game and get the win was good,” Fidone said. 

The junior tight end nabbed only 25 receptions last season in twelve games, but has corralled 11 catches so far this season with Raiola finding the 6-6 target regularly. Fidone has garnered a reception in each contest this season, including three catches for 39 yards against the Boilermakers. 

“I like catching the ball. Anytime he (Raiola) finds me, I think its really good for me and him to build that chemistry and connection and just continuing to get better and better each game,” Fidone said. “It’s becoming more common for us - more trust built between me and him.”

Fidone is not the only pass-catcher to receive a benefit from the five-star quarterback under center. Nebraska’s passing yards per game and total offensive output has increased significantly since 2023, jumping from only 1,631 passing yards in twelve games last year to 1,304 passing yards in five games in 2024. Nebraska is also averaging over 125 more passing yards per contest and has a positive turnover margin for the first time since the Mike Riley era. 

“When you have receivers like Jahmal (Banks) and Isaiah (Neyor), they can run on the outside. On the inside you have Jacori (Barney) and Jayln (Lloyd) who are just fast - able to run by guys who are quick and athletic… They open it up in the middle for me, so its good,” Fidone said. 

Nebraska offensive lineman Turner Corcoran and tight end Thomas Fidone II lead the way for running back Emmett Johnson against Colorado. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Fidone added that he continues to take pride in his blocking to assist the offensive line, saying he is attempting to “make his game go everywhere.” The tight end shared compliments to the receiving room’s run-blocking as well, saying that Alex Bullock’s play to spring Barney’s touchdown run against Purdue was critical. 

“He’s a hard-working kid,” Fidone said. “He’s extremely good, extremely athletic. I’ve always been a huge fan of that kid. He took two on that play. He responded from a play earlier in that game and made the play to get Jacori free.”

Fidone closed out his time on the nightly show saying that he and his team understand that Rutgers will test Nebraska’s improvement in all aspects.

“Being able to build on that as an offense, and get better at certain things this week - finish drives, be better on third down, in the redzone - those are things we are going to focus on this week for sure.”

Nebraska faces Rutgers on Saturday afternoon from Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CDT with television coverage on FS1. Hear Fidone’s full comments from Sports Nightly below.

🎤 Hear from @HuskerFootball tight end @ThomasFidone, Saturday’s #BestintheGame. @ODFL_Inc | #GBR pic.twitter.com/L8WiJCsnfv

— Huskers Radio Network (@HuskersRadio) October 1, 2024

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