This was not art. This was not polished. But damn it, Nebraska fans will take it.

In a game that swung between chaotic, cathartic, and borderline cursed, Nebraska opened the 2025 season by doing something it hasn’t done in over two decades — beat a Power Five team in Week 1. The Huskers ground out a gritty 20-17 win over Cincinnati in a pseudo-home opener at Arrowhead Stadium, with 60,000-plus red-clad fans turning Kansas City into Lincoln South for one night.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean. But for Matt Rhule’s Year 3 squad, it was a step. And for a program starving for signs of forward momentum, that’s worth celebrating — even if your offensive line draws more flags than a NATO summit and your backup running backs are putting up Madden glitch numbers in the wrong direction.

Oh, and the game ended with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce watching from a suite as safety Malcolm Hartzog picked off Cincinnati in the end zone to seal it.

Tell us college football isn’t cinema.

Big Red Rolls Deep

If you didn’t know how Nebraska fans roll, you learned Thursday night. They turned an NFL venue into Memorial Stadium on tour. Arrowhead bled Husker red from tailgate to upper deck, louder than any Swiftie scream when Mahomes strolled the sideline pregame.

And let’s be clear: this fanbase hasn’t had much to scream about in recent years. But Rhule promised Year 3 would be different — just like it was at Temple and Baylor. And judging by the turnout (and the travel budgets), Husker Nation is ready to believe again.

They showed up. And their team did just enough to justify the hype.

Game Flow: Beautiful Chaos

This was one of those games where both teams seemed desperate to lose before someone accidentally won.

Nebraska struck first with a drive capped by Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter on a 5-yard fade, set up by a forced fumble from Vincent Shavers and recovered by newcomer Williams Nwaneri. That sequence? Peak complementary football. The rest? Not so much.

The Huskers opened up a 13-3 lead by halftime but constantly tripped over themselves. Penalties, blown routes, and drive-killing mental errors had Rhule pulling his hoodie strings tighter by the quarter.

Cincinnati, for its part, looked allergic to forward passing (69 yards total through the air), but ran the ball with relentless tempo and surprising success — particularly through QB Brendan Sorsby, who led the Bearcats with 96 rushing yards and both of their touchdowns.

A fourth-quarter Nebraska touchdown — a gutsy 3-yard strike from Dylan Raiola to Dane Key on 4th-and-2 — put the Huskers up 20-10 and should have closed the book. But of course, it didn’t. Because Nebraska.

The Bearcats responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a Sorsby scramble that looked more Tecmo Bowl than Big 12. Suddenly, it was a three-point game again.

With just over two minutes left, Nebraska’s offense stalled one final time, punting the ball back to Cincinnati and giving the Bearcats a chance to tie or win. Cue the cinematic ending: Hartzog leaping in the end zone with 34 seconds left to pick off Sorsby and put the Huskers on ice.

Game. Set. Big Red.

Stars of the Night

Dylan Raiola looked like a grown-up quarterback. The sophomore was sharp with his reads, completing 33 of 42 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. No turnovers. Just enough playmaking to cover up the penalties, misfires, and general disarray around him. He even ran a bit — something he didn’t do much of last year — extending plays and keeping drives alive with improved mobility.

Nyziah Hunter, the Cal transfer, made his presence felt with a TD grab and several chain-moving receptions. Dane Key, the Kentucky import, was clutch late, hauling in the game-sealing 4th-down touchdown.

On the ground, Emmett Johnson was the lone bright spot behind a sometimes-messy offensive line. He carried the ball 25 times for 108 yards and added seven catches. With the backups rushing for a combined -2 yards, Johnson should probably start stretching now for next week.

And then, of course, Malcolm Hartzog — the guy with the ice-in-his-veins pick to close it out. Rhule said it best: “That’s what Malcolm Hartzog does. He just makes plays.”

Defining Moment: Hartzog’s Heroics

The interception was poetic. Cincinnati, having somehow dragged itself back into the game despite sub-70 passing yards and a minus-two turnover differential, had one final shot.