McNeese State vs. Nebraska: Score and Twitter Reaction

Nebraska avoided what could have been one of the biggest upsets of the 2014 college football season, surviving a 31-24 battle against McNeese State.

Ameer Abdullah made the big play for the No. 19 team in the country, totaling 150 yards from scrimmage with two touchdowns, including the game-winning 58-yard catch-and-run with 20 seconds remaining.

Tommy Armstrong also had a big game with 242 passing yards and 131 rushing yards, but Nebraska was not able to pull away from the No. 6 team in the FCS rankings.

As ESPN Stats and Info noted, this game was not supposed to even be close:

Darren Rovell of ESPN compared the financial difference for the two programs:

Despite this advantage added to a massive home crowd, McNeese State hung around.

Derrick Milton got the Cowboys on the board first with a nine-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Cornhuskers scored 14 unanswered points and looked ready for more in the red zone, but a huge play by the McNeese State defense tied it up, as described by Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports:

Nebraska pulled ahead 24-14 heading into the fourth quarter, but the visiting team did not give up. McNeese State cut the lead to three when Tyler Bolfing turned a quarterback sneak into a one-yard touchdown with 13:45 remaining. 

CBS Sports then pointed out McNeese State had a chance to take the lead:

However, the Huskers held the underdogs to just a field goal, keeping it 24-24 with time running out. After the two sides traded punts, Nebraska turned to Abdullah with the game on the line. He ended up coming through with a 58-yard touchdown reception that could go down as one of the best plays of the year.

Everyone seemed to be impressed with the individual effort on the play:

This gave the home team the lead with 20 seconds left, and the defense took care of the rest to hold on for the narrow win.

While Nebraska is likely not thrilled with the close score, improving to 2-0 on the season was the most important thing.

On the other hand, there is no shame for McNeese State in this loss. The Cowboys fought hard and will clearly become one of the top teams in the nation at the FCS level this season.

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