EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Ameer Abdullah had four 1-yard touchdown runs and quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. scored on a 16-yard reception, leading No. 19 Nebraska to a 38-17 victory at Northwestern on Saturday night.

Abdullah finished with 146 yards on 23 carries as the Cornhuskers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) bounced back from a 27-22 loss at Michigan State. Abdullah had only 45 yards in the loss to the Spartans on Oct. 4.

Northwestern (3-4, 2-2) wasted another big game for freshman Justin Jackson in its second consecutive loss. Jackson had 128 yards and two touchdowns in his third straight 100-yard game.

The Wildcats got a scare in the third quarter when receiver Miles Shuler had his head down when he slammed into Nebraska safety Corey Cooper after a short reception. Shuler held up his right arm to acknowledge the cheers as he was taken off the field on a stretcher. The school said he was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Led by Abdullah, the Cornhuskers improved to 3-1 against the Wildcats since joining the Big Ten. The three previous meetings were decided by seven points, including Nebraska’s 27-24 win last season on Jordan Westerkamp’s 49-yard touchdown reception on a tipped Hail Mary as time expired.

This one wasn’t that close.

Abdullah scored three times in the second half and Drew Brown kicked a 33-yard field goal as Nebraska scored 24 unanswered points to erase a 17-14 halftime deficit. Northwestern had just 28 yards in the second half.

The four touchdowns set a career high for Abdullah, who also passed Ahman Green for second on the school’s career rushing list. The senior also became the first player in school history with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

The first half was more in line with the close history in the series. The Wildcats and Cornhuskers were tied at 7 before they combined for 17 points in the final 1:52 of the second quarter.

The scoring spree started with a flashy move by Jackson on a 5-yard touchdown run that gave Northwestern a 14-7 lead. Josh Mitchell was going in for the tackle on Jackson near the line of scrimmage when the freshman spun away from the defensive back and went in for his fifth TD of the season.

De’Mornay Pierson-El, another true freshman, then led Nebraska right down the field. He had a 46-yard catch-and-run down to the Northwestern 27, showing off impressive speed.

After an 11-yard reception for Abdullah, Pierson-El took a pitch on a reverse and threw across the field to a wide-open Armstrong for a tying 16-yard TD.

Northwestern got the ball back with a little more than a minute to go. But Trevor Siemian had a 15-yard pass to Cameron Dickerson and found Treyvon Green for 23 yards to help set up Jack Mitchell’s 29-yard field goal with 3 second left.

Jackson had 15 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns at the break, compared to nine carries for 39 yards and a score for Abdullah.

Jackson helped Northwestern get off to a fast start. Wearing new black uniforms with an architecture theme, the Wildcats put together a 15-play, 89-yard scoring drive on their first possession. Dan Vitale grabbed two big third-down receptions and Jackson had six carries for 39 yards, including a 2-yard TD with 5:58 left in the first.

Abdullah got his 11th rushing touchdown of the season in the second quarter, a 1-yard plunge that capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive. Armstrong set up the score with a 17-yard run to the 1.

— Associated Press —

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Trae Waynes intercepted Tommy Armstrong’s pass with 30 seconds remaining, and No. 10 Michigan State held off a furious Nebraska rally, beating the No. 19 Cornhuskers 27-22 on Saturday night.

The Spartans (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) led 27-3 heading into the fourth quarter before three Nebraska touchdowns set up a tense finish. A 43-yard pass to Alonzo Moore gave the Huskers the ball at the Michigan State 37 with just under a minute to play.

But on a day when several other top teams lost in wild upsets, Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) couldn’t finish this comeback. Armstrong’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete, and Waynes then came up with his second interception of the game.

The Spartans shut down Nebraska’s vaunted running game, and the Cornhuskers didn’t score in the first half despite three Michigan State turnovers in its own territory. Tony Lippett caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Connor Cook in the first quarter, and when he scored on a 32-yard reverse, Michigan State was up 27-3 with 2:02 remaining in the third.

But Nebraska star Ameer Abdullah, who was held to 45 yards rushing, scored on a pair of short runs in the fourth, and De’Mornay Pierson-El returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-22 with 3:22 remaining. It might have been closer, but Nebraska attempted a pair of 2-point conversions in the fourth and missed them both.

Michigan State recovered an onside kick but couldn’t run out the clock. With Nebraska out of timeouts, Jeremy Langford was forced out of bounds, stopping the clock with 1:12 remaining and bringing up fourth down. Then Michael Geiger’s 36-yard field goal attempt missed, bouncing off the left upright and crossbar.

That gave Nebraska the ball at its own 20, but the Spartans held on.

Nebraska entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in rushing, and Michigan State was No. 4 in rushing defense. That matchup wasn’t much of a contest. The Huskers managed only 47 yards on the ground — they had been averaging 355.

Cook’s pass was intercepted on his first attempt, but Nebraska went three and out and punted, a wasted opportunity that set the tone for the half. Lippett slipped free deep down the left sideline and caught Cook’s pass for a 7-0 lead later in the first quarter.

Langford’s 31-yard scoring run made it 14-0 in the second quarter, but his fumble later in the quarter gave Nebraska the ball at the Michigan State 41.

Again the Cornhuskers couldn’t take advantage, but their punt was fumbled by Macgarrett Kings, giving Nebraska the ball at the 24. The Huskers were inside the 10 when Abdullah’s fumble ended that drive.

It was 17-0 at halftime.

Abdullah had rushed for over 200 yards in each of his previous two games, but he was barely a factor in this one until the fourth quarter.

Huskers wide receiver Kenny Bell was hurt in the first half and did not return. The school did not immediately identify his injury.

Michigan State center Jack Allen was ejected in the fourth quarter for a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska I-back Ameer Abdullah earned Big Ten weekly honors for the second time this season on Monday.

Abdullah shared Big Ten Offensive honors with Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon following Nebraska’s 41-31 win over Miami Saturday night. Abdullah totaled 313 all-purpose yards – an NCAA single-game high in 2014 – as he rushed for 229 yards on 35 carries and two scores and added a three-yard touchdown reception. He also had four kickoff returns for 81 yards in the win, as his all-purpose yard total was second in Nebraska school history. He moved from fifth to third on Nebraska’s career rushing list while also becoming the Huskers’ career all-purpose yards leader, passing College Football Hall of Famer Johnny Rodgers.

Abdullah also earned the weekly honor against Florida Atlantic in the season opener when he rushed for 232 yards. Abdullah is one of only two players in the country with multiple 200-yard rushing games in 2014. Nebraska has won at least one Big Ten weekly award in each of the first four weeks of the season.

The Big Ten honor was one of several for Abdullah, as he was also named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll for the second this season on Monday and was chosen as the Athlon Sports Big Ten Player of the Week.

— NU Sports Information —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ameer Abdullah ran for 229 yards to lead a punishing ground game, and No. 24 Nebraska celebrated the 20th anniversary of its 1994 national championship team with an emotional 41-31 victory over Miami on Saturday night.

The Cornhuskers (4-0) will start Big Ten play next week off a performance that drew a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 91,585 that came to see a meeting of programs that combined for eight national titles from 1983 to 2001.

Miami (2-2) got within three points in the third quarter, but its five personal fouls in the second half helped the Huskers pull away. Only the coaches and team captains shook hands after the game. Fans booed as Miami left the field.

Miami’s Brad Kaaya threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted twice, and Duke Johnson ran 18 times for 93 yards.

— Associated Press —

For the second straight week, a Husker earned the Big Ten’s top special teams’ accolade, as freshman De’Mornay Pierson-El was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week Monday morning.

Pierson-El earned the honor after returning five punts for 150 yards in Nebraska’s 55-19 win at Fresno State. His performance including an 86-yard touchdown return, the longest ever for a Nebraska freshman and the longest punt return for a TD by a Husker since 2010, as well as a 51-yard return to set up another Husker score. His 86-yard punt return for a score is the longest in the FBS ranks this season.  His 150 punt return yards more than doubled Nebraska’s entire 2013 team total in that category.

Pierson-El’s performance against the Bulldogs ranks ninth on the Big Ten’s single-game punt return list and marked only the second time in 30 years that a Big Ten player had at least 150 punt return yards in a single-game. He currently ranks 12th nationally at 18.0 yards per return and is the only freshman ranked in the top-20 nationally in the category. Pierson-El was also named the College Football Performance Award’s National Punt Returner of the Week.

Sam Foltz was Nebraska’s most recent Big Ten Special Teams winner, as he earned the award for his performance against McNeese State last week.

The Huskers, who are 24th in this week’s AP poll, return to host Miami this Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and also available on the Husker Sports Radio Network.

— NU Sports Information —