Dylan Raiola passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns in three quarters of play and Emmett Johnson ran for 140 yards and two scores and caught a TD pass as Nebraska romped past hapless Akron 68-0 on Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.
Raiola hit on 24 of his 31 passes and was not intercepted as Nebraska (2-0) scored early and often and racked up a 728-175 edge in total offense.
It was the fifth time in program history that the Cornhuskers amassed over 700 yards in the game. Nebraska’s 68 points are its most since scoring 73 against Idaho State on Sept. 22, 2012 — and the score could have been even worse as the Zips fell to 0-2.
The Cornhuskers struck on the game’s opening drive, with Johnson ripping off a 47-yard TD run 2:29 into the game. Johnson was heading for the end zone for another score later in the first quarter when he was stripped of the ball at the 2 yard line by Akron’s Justin Anderson, denying Nebraska the touchdown.
Nebraska’s defense gang tackled Akron’s Jordan Gant in the end zone for a safety with 4:44 to play in the quarter. After a free kick the Cornhuskers drove to the Akron 1 before Heinrich Haarberg was stopped short of the goal line in a spirited stand by the Zips defense.
Kyle Cunanan added to the Cornhuskers’ lead with a 35-yard field goal a minute into the second quarter. Raiola then hit Johnson for a 4-yard scoring pass expanding the lead to 19-0 with 8:17 to play before halftime.
Raiola added two more TD passes before the bands hit the field. First, he threw 37 yards to Quinn Clark for a score and then hooked up with Luke Lindenmeyer for a 10-yard TD with 46 seconds remaining to allow Nebraska to carry a 33-0 lead to the break.
Johnson scored his second rushing TD, this one from six yards away, four minutes into the third quarter. Raiola hit Dane Kay with a 12-yard touchdown pass about five minutes later and Kwinten Ives added to the total with a 28-yard run.
The Cornhuskers piled it on in the fourth with a 1-yard TD rush by Mekhi Nelson and an 8-yard run for a score from backup quarterback TJ Lateef.
