Fordham LB Ryan Greenhagen's 31 tackles against Nebraska set an NCAA Division I record

Fordham linebacker Ryan Greenhagen set an NCAA record in his team's blowout loss to Nebraska on Saturday.

Greenhagen was initially credited with 30 tackles in Fordham's 52-7 defeat. A review of the game tape on Monday credited him with a 31st tackle. And it so happens that 31 tackles breaks an NCAA Division I record.

Fordham sports information director Joe DiBari said Monday that Greenhagen's 31st tackle was realized after another player admitted that he didn't actually get a sack that had been credited to him.

"I just had something happen that I have never experienced before in my 30-plus years in this profession," DiBari said in an email announcing the record. "James Conway, who was credited with a sack at Nebraska, told me that it wasn't him on the sack, it was Ryan Greenhagen [I've never had a player ask that I take away a tackle for him]. That gives Ryan a record 31 tackles in the game!"

"Nebraska has made the change, so it's official."

No player had officially been credited with more than 30 tackles in either an FBS or FCS game since tackles became an official statistic 22 seasons ago. Greenhagen had become the fourth player to get 30 tackles in a game in the immediate aftermath of the loss. Now he's the only player with 31 tackles — and he's also the only player to tally 30 or more tackles against an FBS opponent. The other three 30-tackle games had all happened against FCS opponents.

The senior was officially given 14 solo tackles and 17 assisted tackles against Nebraska. He was all over the field for the Rams, and it's fair to wonder if the game could have been an even bigger blowout if he wasn't in on so many tackles.

Nebraska players and coaches were agog about Greenhagen's performance.

Fordham kept the game close with Nebraska for the first minutes. The Rams were down just 7-0 after the first quarter and tied it at 7-7 in the second. That fleeting moment of hope disappeared quickly. Nebraska was up 24-7 at halftime and then rolled in the second half to make it an easy win.

Greenhagen's 31 tackles against Nebraska are also nine more than he had in Fordham's two spring football games combined. With the Patriot League 2020 fall football season canceled due to COVID-19, Fordham played two games in an abbreviated spring season. Greenhagen had 22 tackles across those two football games in March and April. In 2019, he led the team with 123 tackles across 12 games.