Nebraska football prevails in a nail-biter against Cincinnati in season opener

Nebraska toppled Cincinnati on Thursday night in Kansas City.

The Cornhuskers outlasted the Bearcats 20-17 in the 2025 season opener. A strong defensive performance in the first half and strong play from the Huskers’ skill players propelled the Big Red to an opening day win.

Inside Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati started the scoring with a field goal toward the end of the first quarter.

Minutes later, sophomore kicker Kyle Cunanan drilled a 52-yard field goal from the right hash mark to tie the game at 3.

The next Big Red drive was long but ended sour. The Huskers drove the ball 80 yards in almost 8 minutes. But on 1st and goal from the 1-yard line, left tackle Elijah Pritchett jumped early for a five-yard false start penalty. Eventually, Cunanan was called on again, hitting a short 22-yard field goal to give the Huskers a 6-3 advantage.

A big turn in the action happened right before halftime. Near his own end zone with just over one minute remaining in the half, Cincinnati receiver Caleb Goodie fumbled on a massive hit by linebacker Vincent Shavers Jr. Williams Nwaneri recovered the ball at the Cincinnati 24-yard line. Three players later, California transfer Nyziah Hunter caught a pass in the corner of the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. The Huskers had a 13-3 lead going into halftime. The Bearcats had just four first downs in the first half.

Immediately out of the locker room, a critical fourth down swung the momentum back in the Bearcats’ favor. On fourth down and two yards to go, sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola dropped back and was pressured by the Bearcat rush. He threw a short pass right into the hands of a Cincinnati defender, but it fell to the turf – still giving the ball back to the Bearcats on its own 43-yard line.

With a short field, Cincinnati converted. On first and goal from the seven, quarterback Brendan Sorsby kept it himself, flying into the endzone for the team’s first touchdown of the game.

Following back-to-back punts, Nebraska would took a two-possession lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. A seven-minute drive was capped by a three-yard touchdown pass on a crucial fourth down, with Raiola finding another transfer receiver for a touchdown. Slicing through the center of the Bearcat defense, Kentucky transfer Dane Key got past his defender and snagged the short pass to give the Huskers a 20-10 lead early in the final period.

That lead was short-lived. A long, 29-yard run by Sorsby set up the Cincinnati offense for a quick response. He later punctuated the good-looking drive for the Bearcats with a powerful one-yard run, plowing through Husker defenders. An extra point made it 20-17 with just over seven minutes remaining in Kansas City.

Nebraska’s offense milked some clock, driving it to Cincinnati's 46-yard line. After the drive stalled, Australian punter Archie Wilson pinned the Bearcats deep in their own side of the field on the 9-yard line.

The experienced Sorsby kept Cincinnati steady on its final march, despite throwing for fewer than 50 yards heading into the final drive. One of several false start penalties in the game stunted the Bearcats momentum. On 4th and 7, though, Sorsby found senior receiver Cyrus Allen along the sideline for a clutch conversion.

Malcolm Hartzog Jr. would end up being the hero for the Big Red. The senior defensive back, who had just been called for a pass interference penalty a play earlier, came up big with a diving interception near the end zone to seal the game for Nebraska.

Nebraska starts the season 1-0 and faces Akron for the home opener Sept. 6.