CHICAGO, Ill. — In his first career start,
Levi Murphey threw for a school-record 498 yards and four touchdowns, but the Prairie Wolves fell to the Maroons, 49-41, in a shootout Saturday.
Murphey nearly led the Prairie Wolves all the way back, but the comeback fell just short. Trailing 42-6 late in the second quarter, the Prairie Wolves rallied behind Murphey and scored 28 second-half points.
The Maroons scored on their opening possession, when Max Ruff found Oliver Welch for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 9:04 left in the first quarter. Jace Winkler answered with a 33-yard field goal for the Prairie Wolves, but UChicago took a 14-3 lead into the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ruff to Mac Bong. The Maroons scored 28 points in the second quarter and led 42-13 at halftime, with Hezekiah Johnson's 1-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left in the half accounting for the Prairie Wolves' final points before the break.
Nebraska Wesleyan outscored UChicago 28-7 in the second half, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions of the third quarter. Levi Murphey threw touchdown passes of 19 yards to Jalen Pickens, 1 yard to Corbin Horner and 5 yards to Samario Garcia, and UChicago's Jake Lowry added a 17-yard touchdown run in between. Murphey's 21-yard touchdown pass to Horner with 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 49-41. The Prairie Wolves got the ball back at their own 20-yard line with 3:15 left, but were stopped on downs at the UChicago 45-yard line with 46 seconds remaining.
Murphey completed 32 of 62 passes for 498 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, breaking the school single-game record of 461 passing yards set by Jonathan Curti in 2017. Pickens caught 13 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, tying the school single-game record for receptions set by Joey McLaughlin against Dubuque last season.
Nebraska Wesleyan finished with 530 yards of total offense, including 525 passing yards, compared to 377 for UChicago. The Maroons rushed for 184 yards on 45 carries, while the Prairie Wolves netted five rushing yards on 18 carries. Nebraska Wesleyan had 25 first downs to UChicago's 23 and converted three of four fourth-down attempts.
UChicago held possession for 35:00 to Nebraska Wesleyan's 25:00. The Prairie Wolves turned the ball over three times, two fumbles and an interception, and the Maroons scored 14 points off those turnovers. Nebraska Wesleyan was penalized five times for 50 yards, compared to eight penalties for 74 yards for UChicago.
Ian Gebhardt caught eight passes for 166 yards, while Horner finished with five catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Garcia added four receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown, and Johnson rushed 14 times for 10 yards and a score. Defensively, Owen Long led the Prairie Wolves with 11 tackles and a sack, while Carson Looschen and Lance Binder each recorded nine. Nebraska Wesleyan finished with three sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Lowry led UChicago with 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The loss moves Nebraska Wesleyan's record to 0-3 overall.
Nebraska Wesleyan has a bye next week and will return to Lincoln on Saturday, Oct. 3, to host nationally ranked Wartburg.
