Nebraska holds off Cincinnati with late interception for 20-17 win at Arrowhead Stadium
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dylan Raiola threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, and Malcolm Hartzog Jr. picked off Brendan Sorsby’s pass in the end zone with 34 seconds left, preserving Nebraska’s 20-17 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Emmett Johnson had 108 yards rushing, and Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter had touchdown grabs for the Huskers, who are trying to build off a 7-6 finish a year ago in which five of their losses were decided by a single score.
“This is going to build us some confidence for sure. A lot of people say we can’t win the close game,” said Hartzog, who had been called for pass interference just before his interception. “We got the team to do it — the players, the staff, the people.”
Sorsby had just 69 yards passing for the Bearcats, but he also had 96 rushing and two scores. And he gamely led his team to two second-half touchdowns, and nearly a third that could have won the game had Hartzog not been in the right place.
“I really believe if that falls incomplete,” Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield said, “we were going to go down and score.”
Cincinnati actually led 3-0 early and still was within 6-3 late in the first half when it made a crucial mistake.
Despite his offense struggling to go anywhere, Satterfield tried pushing the ball down field on first-and-10 at the Bearcats 19 with 1:02 left before the break. Sorsby completed a short pass to Caleb Goodie, but the ball was popped loose and recovered by the Huskers, who needed just three plays to punch it into the end zone.
Instead of trailing by a field goal, the Bearcats headed to the locker room trailing 13-3 — a seemingly insurmountable deficit given they had managed 20 yards through the air and 81 yards of total offense over the first 30 minutes.
Cincinnati fought to get back in it in the second half, though. It stopped the Huskers on fourth down early in the third quarter, and Sorsby finished the ensuing drive by diving over the pylon for a touchdown. And when Nebraska answered with a TD of its own, Sorsby needed just 3 1/2 minutes to drive the Bearcats 75 yards and get within 20-17 with 7:15 left.
The Bearcats got the ball back with about 2 minutes to go, but Hartzog came up big in the final minute.
“There’s going to be a lot of good. There’s going to be a lot of things we want to correct,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “We’ll be in there tomorrow and start getting better for next week.”
Homefield disadvantage
It was supposed to be a home game for Cincinnati, and pregame videos and introductions played as such. But about 95% of the crowd was firmly behind the Huskers, whose campus in Lincoln is only about a 3-hour drive from Arrowhead Stadium.
It’s a love story
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were seen in public for the first time since announcing their engagement this week when the Chiefs tight end — and proud Cincinnati alum — joined the Grammy-winning singer in a suite. Others in the star-studded crowd included Kelce’s older brother, Jason Kelce, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Takeaway
Nebraska dominated every facet of the game except the scoreboard, including a 19-minute edge in time of possession.
Cincinnati finished with just 271 yards total offense. Most of them came as it desperately played from behind.
Up Next
Nebraska plays its home opener against Akron on Sept. 6.
Cincinnati plays Bowling Green the same day.
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By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
