Cornhuskers beat the heat and then Rutgers 14-7 to move within a win of bowl eligibility

Sport

Cornhuskers beat the heat and then Rutgers 14-7 to move within a win of bowl eligibility

2024-10-06 08:53 Last Updated At：09:00

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Dante Dowdell and Janiran Bonner scored on 1-yard runs, and Nebraska leaned on its defense on a day Dylan Raiola struggled to beat Rutgers 14-7 on Saturday.

The Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) prevailed in the hottest conditions ever for an October game at Memorial Stadium and moved within one win of becoming eligible for their first bowl since 2016.

The Scarlet Knights (4-1, 1-1), whose offense scuffled for 3 1/2 quarters, made it a one-score game with 4:08 left when Athan Kaliakmanis hit Ben Black with an 11-yard touchdown pass.

“In many ways it was a tough day,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “Credit to Rutgers, credit to Greg Schiano. They did a ton of things against us. But we didn't turn the ball over but once. We won the turnover battle. And it was as great a defensive performance as I've been around.”

Temperature at kickoff was 97 degrees with a swirling and gusty wind and both teams struggled in the passing game.

“I’ve been doing this 37 years. I’ve not been in conditions like we were today,” Schiano said. “Usually, if you have a wind like that, it’s a storm, some kind of hurricane, tropical storm.”

Raiola, Nebraska's freshman quarterback, never was able to find a rhythm. He completed just 13 of 27 passes for 134 yards, all season lows.

"Those games happen, hate to say it," Raiola said. “We won the game, which is all that matters.”

The work of the defense surely was something former Nebraska great Ndamukong Suh could appreciate. Suh, a 2009 Heisman Trophy finalist and consensus All-American before he went on to a long NFL career, was on hand for his Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame induction.

Suh led the Huskers out of the tunnel before the game and then watched the Blackshirts sack Kaliakmanis four times, limit the nation's third-leading rusher, Kyle Monangai, to 78 yards on 19 carries and hold Rutgers to 264 total yards. Kaliakmanis was 15 of 37 for 136 yards, and he was intercepted twice. The Huskers also kept Rutgers out of the end zone 6 times on plays from inside the 2.

“Nothing short of elite,” cornerback Marques Buford Jr. said.

Rutgers had great chances to score but couldn't until late. The Scarlet Knights' second blocked punt of the game set them up at the Nebraska 2, but the Huskers held them out of the end zone on three straight plays after Monangai appeared to score but was marked short of the goal line with no challenge from Schiano. He said he didn't want to use a timeout to challenge the mark because it was reviewed at the replay center in Chicago and he was told it would stand.

Later, Buford slipped in coverage, leaving Black wide open to run under Kaliakmanis' deep ball along the sideline. But the ball bounced off the side of Black's helmet and to the turf.

“They’re a hard, physical team up front,” defensive lineman Ty Robinson said. “I just think our roster decided to play a little harder.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights' identity has been the run game, and they might have given up on it too soon. They rushed for 70 yards on their first two possessions going into the wind, and Monangai broke off three runs of at least 14 yards. When Rutgers tried to go back to the run, there wasn't much there, and it finished with 78 yards rushing for the game.

Nebraska: As great as the defense played, the Huskers go into their open date with concerns on offense. Raiola was just 2 of 9 for 14 yards in the second half, and the run game averaged 2.3 yards per carry largely because of Raiola getting sacked four times.

BUSCHINI BOUNCES BACK

It was a rough day for Nebraska's punter for three quarters. He had two punts blocked and moved gingerly the rest of the game after being shaken up on the first one.

But in the fourth quarter, Buschini made one of the plays of the game when he received the snap, took a step and pulled up and threw a pass Isaiah Neyor turned into a 30-yard gain. The Huskers ended up punting, and Buschini got off a 41-yarder that pinned Rutgers at its 5. His last one went 69 yards and forced Rutgers to start its final possession at its 11 with 2:28 left.

UP NEXT

Rutgers: Hosts Wisconsin.

Nebraska: Open date before visiting No. 23 Indiana on Oct. 19.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Thousands join pro-Palestinian rallies around the globe as Oct. 7 anniversary nears

2024-10-06 08:38 Last Updated At：08:40

ROME (AP) — Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent demonstrators in Rome as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets in major European cities and around the globe Saturday to call for a cease-fire as the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel approached.

Huge rallies were held in several European cities, with gatherings expected to continue over the weekend and peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.

In Rome, several thousands demonstrated peacefully Saturday afternoon until a smaller group tried to push the rally toward the center of the city, in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests, citing security concerns.

Some protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered threw stones, bottles and paper bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons, eventually dispersing the crowd. At least 30 law enforcement officers and three demonstrators were injured in the clashes, local media reported.

The rally in Rome had been calm earlier, with people chanting “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon,” waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.

In London, thousands marched through the capital to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence. The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestinian protesters and counterdemonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed one another. Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon. At least 17 people were arrested on suspicion of public order offenses, supporting a proscribed organization and assault, London's Metropolitan Police said.

In the northern German city of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags or chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the DPA news agency reported, citing a count by police. Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.

Several thousands protesters gathered peacefully at Paris’ Republique Plaza in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Many were waving Palestinian flags while holding posters reading ”stop the genocide,” “free Palestine,” and “hands off Lebanon.”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also gathered at New York’s Times Square to call for a cease-fire, chanting “Gaza!" to a drumbeat. Some wore keffiyeh scarfs, waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and held a large cardboard image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with red paint symbolizing blood across his face.

Rallies were also planned in several other cities in the United States as well as in other parts of the world, including Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa and India. In the Philippines, dozens of left-wing activists protested near the U.S. Embassy in Manila, where police prevented them from getting closer to the seaside compound.

Pro-Israeli demonstrations are expected to be held Sunday because Jews across the world are still observing Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish new year.

This year, emotions will be high for many given that the midpoint of the 10 days spanning Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is Oct. 7 — the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent.

Pro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate cease-fire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent, with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.

Italian authorities believed that the timing of Saturday's rally in Rome risked the Oct. 7 attack being “glorified,” local media reported.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also stressed that, ahead of the key anniversary, Europe is on high alert for potential terror attacks.

“This is not a normal situation. … We are already in a condition of maximum prevention,” he said.

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Britain, said he and others will keep organizing marches until action against Israel is taken.

“We need to be out on the streets in even bigger numbers to stop this carnage and stop Britain being drawn into it,” Jamal said.

In Berlin, a march is scheduled from the Brandenburg Gate to Bebelplatz on Sunday. Local media reported that security forces have warned of potential overload because of the scale of protests. German authorities pointed to increasing antisemitic and violent incidents in recent days.

Earlier this week in France, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned the country’s regional prefects, expressing concern about possible tensions and saying that the terrorist threat was high.

About 3,000 people demonstrated within sight of the White House, protesting the year-old Israeli siege of Gaza and the widening attacks on Lebanon.

Amid a heavy police presence, the protesters gathered at Lafayette Park, the same site as the summer 2020 protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd in police custody.

The crowds chanted, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

One speaker on stage commemorated Oct. 7, 2023, as “the day that Gazans finally broke out of their prison.”

The crowds then marched through downtown D.C., with police closing the streets ahead of them.

Dozens of protesters carried signs criticizing the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the issue. One sign read: “Abandon Harris ’24.”

Law student Annette Tunstall said she had a brief moment when she considered voting Democrat after Biden stepped down and Harris assumed the candidacy. But she lost faith when she said pro-Palestinian voices were muzzled at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“I really wanted to feel like I could vote for her in good conscience,” Tunstall said. “I don’t think it would have taken a lot for thousands of pro-Palestinian people to hold their nose and vote for Harris.”

On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive. Israelis have experienced attacks — missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, explosive drones from Yemen, fatal shootings and stabbings — as the region braces for further escalation.

In late September, Israel shifted some of its focus to Hezbollah, which it seeks to push back from its border in parts of south Lebanon where the group is entrenched.

Hui reported from London. AP journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, John Minchillo in New York and Ashraf Khalil in Washington contributed to this story.