Nebraska Edges Cincinnati 20-17 in Week 1 Matchup
Nebraska defeated Cincinnati 20-17 in a Week 1 contest that stayed tight throughout. The Cornhuskers scored 13 points in the second quarter to build an early lead, then added a touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Cincinnati responded with a field goal in the first quarter and touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, but fell just short.
Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby led the offense with 69 passing yards and 96 rushing yards. Nebraska's receiving corps was led by Quinn Clark with seven receptions. The pivotal moment came in the fourth quarter when Sorsby was intercepted for a touchback, a play that had significant impact on the game's momentum. Nebraska's Dylan Raiola connected with Dane Key multiple times throughout the game, including for a touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter.
Cincinnati covered the spread at 6.0 points, while the game finished under the 50.5-point over-under at 37 total points.
AI-generated recap · Aug 25, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nebraska | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
 Cincinnati | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Nebraska | Cincinnati |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 33-42 | 13-25 |
| Pass Yards | 243 | 69 |
| Rush Yards | 113 | 202 |
| Total Yards | 356 | 271 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| 3rd Down | 10-18 | 3-10 |
| Penalties | 3-27 | 4-20 |
| Possession | 39:30 | 20:30 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
John Hohl kickoff for 57 yds , Logan Wilson return for 20 yds to the CIN 28
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Caleb Goodie
Evan Pryor run for 13 yds to the CIN 41 for a 1ST down
Cyrus Allen run for 3 yds to the CIN 44
Evan Pryor run for 3 yds to the CIN 47
(12:55) PENALTY CIN False Start (Tengesdahl,Evan) 5 yards from CIN47 to CIN42. NO PLAY.
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Cyrus Allen for 3 yds to the CIN 39
Max Fletcher punt for 52 yds , Jacory Barney Jr. returns for 3 yds to the NEB 12
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Emmett Johnson
Emmett Johnson run for 6 yds to the NEB 18
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Jacory Barney Jr. for 6 yds to the NEB 24 for a 1ST down
Nebraska Penalty, Personal Foul (-13 Yards) to the NEB 13
Emmett Johnson run for 4 yds to the NEB 17
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Luke Lindenmeyer for 7 yds to the NEB 24
Archie Wilson punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Manny Covey at the CIN 35
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Joe Royer for 1 yd to the CIN 36
Tawee Walker run for 10 yds to the CIN 46 for a 1ST down
Tawee Walker run for 9 yds to the NEB 45
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Cyrus Allen for 10 yds to the NEB 35 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Patrick Gurd for 6 yds to the NEB 29
Tawee Walker run for no gain to the NEB 29
(05:34) PENALTY CIN False Start (Buford,Deondre) 5 yards from NEB29 to NEB34. NO PLAY.
Brendan Sorsby run for 7 yds to the NEB 27
Stephen Rusnak 45 yd FG GOOD
Emmett Johnson run for 11 yds to the NEB 36 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Nyziah Hunter for 7 yds to the NEB 43
Isaiah Mozee run for a loss of 2 yards to the NEB 41
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 11 yds to the CIN 48 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for 6 yds to the CIN 42
Dylan Raiola sacked by Brian Simms III for a loss of 1 yard to the CIN 43
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 9 yds to the CIN 34 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for 1 yd to the CIN 33
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Nyziah Hunter
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Nyziah Hunter
Kyle Cunanan 52 yd FG GOOD
Evan Pryor run for 1 yd to the CIN 36
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Jeff Caldwell
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Evan Pryor for 5 yds to the CIN 41
Max Fletcher punt for 43 yds , Jacory Barney Jr. returns for no gain to the NEB 16
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Luke Lindenmeyer for 5 yds to the NEB 21
Emmett Johnson run for 4 yds to the NEB 25
Heinrich Haarberg run for 2 yds to the NEB 27 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Isaiah Mozee for 2 yds to the NEB 29
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Cortez Mills Jr. for 13 yds to the NEB 42 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Nyziah Hunter for 24 yds to the CIN 34 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for 6 yds to the CIN 28
Emmett Johnson run for 3 yds to the CIN 25
Emmett Johnson run for 12 yds to the CIN 13 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for 1 yd to the CIN 12
Janiran Bonner run for 3 yds to the CIN 9
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Luke Lindenmeyer for 8 yds to the CIN 1 for a 1ST down
(06:39) PENALTY NEB False Start (Pritchett,Elijah) 4 yards from CIN01 to CIN05. NO PLAY.
Emmett Johnson run for 1 yd to the CIN 4
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Nyziah Hunter
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Heinrich Haarberg
Kyle Cunanan 22 yd FG GOOD
Manny Covey run for 1 yd to the CIN 26
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Manny Covey
(05:03) PENALTY CIN False Start (Gerhardt,Gavin) 5 yards from CIN26 to CIN21. NO PLAY.
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Jeff Caldwell
Max Fletcher punt for 38 yds, fair catch by Jacory Barney Jr. at the NEB 41
Emmett Johnson run for 11 yds to the CIN 48 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for 9 yds to the CIN 39
Emmett Johnson run for 4 yds to the CIN 35 for a 1ST down
Mekhi Nelson run for no gain to the CIN 35
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Jacory Barney Jr.
Dylan Raiola sacked by Jonathan Thompson for a loss of 2 yards to the CIN 37 Dylan Raiola fumbled, recovered by NEB Dylan Raiola , return for 0 yards
Nebraska Penalty, Delay Of Game (Javin Wright) declined
Archie Wilson punt for 28 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the CIN 9
Brendan Sorsby run for 9 yds to the CIN 18
Brendan Sorsby run for 5 yds to the CIN 19 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Tawee Walker for 4 yds to the CIN 14
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Caleb Goodie for 5 yds to the CIN 24
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Nyziah Hunter for 15 yds to the CIN 9 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for 4 yds to the CIN 5
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Nyziah Hunter for 5 yds for a TD (Kyle Cunanan KICK)
B. Sorsby takes a knee
End of 2nd Quarter
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 4 yds to the NEB 29
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Jacory Barney Jr. for 5 yds to the NEB 34
Heinrich Haarberg run for 2 yds to the NEB 36 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for a loss of 2 yards to the NEB 34
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 15 yds to the NEB 49 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for no gain to the NEB 49
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Quinn Clark for 7 yds to the CIN 44
Emmett Johnson run for 1 yd to the CIN 43
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Emmett Johnson
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Joe Royer for 4 yds to the CIN 47
Brendan Sorsby run for 8 yds to the NEB 45 for a 1ST down
Evan Pryor run for 8 yds to the NEB 37
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Jeff Caldwell
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Evan Pryor
Brendan Sorsby run for 4 yds to the NEB 33 for a 1ST down
Evan Pryor run for 4 yds to the NEB 29
Tawee Walker run for 7 yds to the NEB 22 for a 1ST down
Cyrus Allen run for 15 yds to the NEB 7 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby run for 7 yds for a TD (Stephen Rusnak KICK)
Stephen Rusnak kickoff for 65 yds , Kenneth Williams return for 21 yds to the NEB 21
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Emmett Johnson
Emmett Johnson run for 16 yds to the NEB 37 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for 4 yds to the NEB 41
Emmett Johnson run for no gain to the NEB 41
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Janiran Bonner for 4 yds to the NEB 45
Archie Wilson punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Manny Covey at the CIN 14
Chance Williams run for 5 yds to the CIN 19
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Joe Royer
Brendan Sorsby run for no gain to the CIN 19
Max Fletcher punt for 48 yds
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Jacory Barney Jr. for 13 yds to the NEB 46 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for 2 yds to the NEB 48
Emmett Johnson run for 2 yds to the 50 yard line
Dylan Raiola run for 9 yds to the CIN 41 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Nyziah Hunter for 6 yds to the CIN 35
Dylan Raiola pass incomplete to Nyziah Hunter
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Jacory Barney Jr. for 5 yds to the CIN 30 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for no gain to the CIN 30
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Luke Lindenmeyer for 19 yds to the CIN 11 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for 5 yds to the CIN 6
Janiran Bonner run for 1 yd to the CIN 5 Janiran Bonner fumbled, recovered by NEB
Emmett Johnson run for 2 yds to the CIN 3
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 3 yds for a TD (Kyle Cunanan KICK)
Tawee Walker run for 6 yds to the CIN 31
Tawee Walker run for 10 yds to the CIN 41 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby run for 29 yds to the NEB 30 for a 1ST down
Tawee Walker run for 11 yds to the NEB 19 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Jeff Caldwell for 5 yds to the NEB 14
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Cyrus Allen
Brendan Sorsby run for 7 yds to the NEB 7 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Joe Royer for 6 yds to the NEB 1
Brendan Sorsby run for 1 yd for a TD (Stephen Rusnak KICK)
Stephen Rusnak kickoff for 59 yds , Kenneth Williams return for 12 yds to the NEB 18
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Luke Lindenmeyer for 8 yds to the NEB 26
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Dane Key for 9 yds to the NEB 35 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Nyziah Hunter for 8 yds to the NEB 43
Emmett Johnson run for 4 yds to the NEB 47 for a 1ST down
Emmett Johnson run for 6 yds to the CIN 47
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for 2 yds to the CIN 45
Emmett Johnson run for 3 yds to the CIN 42 for a 1ST down
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Jacory Barney Jr. for 2 yds to the CIN 44
Dylan Raiola sacked by Jake Golday for a loss of 7 yards to the NEB 49
Dylan Raiola pass complete to Emmett Johnson for 5 yds to the CIN 46
Archie Wilson punt for 37 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the CIN 9
Brendan Sorsby run for 8 yds to the CIN 17
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Cyrus Allen for 14 yds to the CIN 31 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Joe Royer
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Cyrus Allen for 8 yds to the CIN 39
(01:25) PENALTY CIN False Start (Tengesdahl,Evan) 5 yards from CIN39 to CIN34. NO PLAY.
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Cyrus Allen
Brendan Sorsby pass complete to Cyrus Allen for 12 yds to the CIN 46 for a 1ST down
Brendan Sorsby run for 8 yds to the NEB 46
Brendan Sorsby pass incomplete to Caleb Goodie
Brendan Sorsby run for 3 yds to the NEB 43 for a 1ST down
(00:41) No Huddle-Shotgun Sorsby,Brendan pass incomplete short left to Allen,Cyrus thrown to NEB30 PENALTY NEB Holding (Hartzog Jr.,Malcolm) 10 yards from NEB43 to NEB33, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Brendan Sorsby pass intercepted, touchback.
D. Raiola takes a knee