– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Figuratively, for every two steps Dylan Raiola took forward on Saturday, he took as many steps backward. During the last drive of the game, Raiola’s feet literally gave out on him right before releasing what turned out to be the most important pass of the game, but the ball went forward, and into the hands of a teammate, for a long gainer on the way to the Cornhuskers’ last-second great escape.
Raiola threw four touchdown passes, the last of those a three-yard strike to Dane Key with 1:08 remaining, as Nebraska came from behind to defeat Maryland 34-31 inside SECU Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Nebraska blew a 24-14 lead and were down by seven entering the fourth before scoring the game’s final 10 points. Raiola threw for 260 yards and overcame three interceptions as the Cornhuskers pulled off its second consecutive second-half comeback after they were down seven late in the third quarter in their win last week against Michigan State.
“It’s two straight close wins,” said Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. “There was a time we were talking about bowl droughts and didn’t win any close games. Well, we’re figuring a lot of that stuff out.”
Raiola put the mistakes earlier in the game behind him and went 4-for-5 for 72 yards on the game-wining drive, which started with his throw across his body to tight end Luke Lindenmeyer for 23 yards. Two plays later, Raiola stumbled and fell as he let go of his pass in the pocket, yet in dropped perfectly in the hands on Nyziah Hunter down the left sideline for 33 yards on the last play before the two-minute timeout.
Maryland had completed its comeback when Dontay Joyner scored on a 67-yard interception return midway through the third quarter to give the Terrapins a 31-24 lead. Freshman quarterback Malik Washington went 27-for-37 for 249 yards and a touchdown, while running backs Nolan Ray and DeJuan Williams each ran for a score.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Rodney Pierce. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 38 pictures in total.
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