LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Dylan Raiola passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 23 Nebraska continued its best start since 2016 with a 34-3 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday night.
The Cornhuskers (3-0) came away with points on five of their first six possessions against the Panthers (2-1) of the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision.
“I refer to this as the preseason. We’re learning how to win,” said Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, whose team lost four games by three points and another in overtime last season. “The narrative of losing close games comes from when you get a lead and not trying to put the game away. We want to score, get a lead if we can, play defense and run the football. Then people say we’re boring in the fourth quarter.”
Raiola threw for 209 yards in the first half and completed 13 of his first 14 passes, including 11 in a row. He finished 17 of 23 and gave way to Heinrich Haarberg midway through the fourth quarter.
The Huskers led 21-3 at halftime after Raiola rolled right, sidestepped a pass rusher and found a wide-open Jalen Lloyd on the left side of the field for 59 yards and Jacory Barney III ran 10 yards on a reverse for a touchdown on the next play.
“Kind of a highlight-reel,” Rhule said of the Raiola-to-Lloyd play. “You have to have an elite athlete like Jalen. They blitzed off the left end, and (Raiola) does a good job of avoiding the first rusher, and Jalen was right where he was supposed to be.”
Freshman Carter Nelson, the four-star recruit who played eight-man high school football in Ainsworth, Nebraska, scored his first career touchdown on the game's opening possession when he caught Raiola's short pass over the middle and took it 24 yards to the end zone. Raiola's second TD pass went 18 yards to Isaiah Neyor.
The Panthers, ranked No. 21 in the FCS, broke a few chunk plays and held a 16-minute advantage in time of possession, but they couldn't move the ball consistently and mustered only Caden Palmer’s 31-yard field goal. Their final drive ended at the Nebraska 2.
“Got to be happy with that, and a fourth-quarter shutout,” rover Isaac Gifford said. “Guys behind us came in and did what they were supposed to do. Three points on the board. You can't be mad at yourself.”
Tye Edwards, the Panthers' 6-foot-4, 230-pound running back who was averaging an FCS-best 157.5 yards per game, carried 10 times for 37 yards.
“I'm walking away going, ‘We ran the ball well, and we had more rushing yards than they did until that last drive.’ That’s statistics, but at the same time, it’s a really good defense, and I thought that was their strength coming in to this game,” Panthers coach Mark Farley said.
Raiola threw his first career interception in the fourth quarter when Fletcher Marshall Jr. ripped the ball from Lloyd as both went to the ground. The ruling on the field was confirmed on video review after Rhule challenged the call.
Northern Iowa: The Panthers didn't appear fazed on the big stage after coming into the game off two wins over non-scholarship FCS opponents. They just didn't have enough firepower to keep up with a Big Ten team.
Nebraska: Raiola was sharp in the first half but couldn't get the Huskers across the goal line in the three series he played in the second. The Huskers have allowed a total of 20 points through three games. They've held their first three opponents to 10 points or fewer for the first time since 2005.
The Huskers could move up a notch or two with No. 20 Arizona losing by 24 points at No. 14 Kansas State and No. 21 Iowa State and No. 22 Clemson having open dates.
Northern Iowa: visits Hawaii on Saturday night.
Nebraska: hosts Illinois on Friday night.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football