Ah, the good old days: Huskers rush for over 300 yards

By Nathan Walters  |   Monday, September 25, 2006  |  Comments( 9 )

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!

After Nebraska's dismal offensive performance against USC in Los Angeles, the Cornhuskers returned home to make sure they could still score touchdowns against a smaller Trojan defense from Troy.

Let's just say they answered questions about their "conservative play calling." Last week, Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said he believes his team can run the football, and run it well. Players and assistant coaches backed him up, saying the running game is close to exploding. On Saturday night, the bomb went off.

Nebraska running backs scored six touchdowns and racked up 319 of the Huskers' 597 yards on the ground in their 56-0 rout of Troy, and sophomore Marlon Lucky provided most of the highlights on the evening.

Lucky scored three touchdowns and ran for 159 yards. He started by recording a season-high 34-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Then, the next time he touched the football, he made his career-high just a little bit higher, rushing for a 45-yard touchdown that put the Huskers up 21-0 in the second quarter. Lucky wasn't done yet, though.

He touched the ball three more times before again raising his career-high, running for a 52-yard score to bring his touchdown total up to three on the evening.

But Lucky wasn't the only Husker runner bringing back old memories for Husker fans, as Kenny Wilson also rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns himself. It was the first time since the opening game of 2004 that two Nebraska running backs had more than 100 yards in a game. Brandon Jackson also ran the ball 11 times for 59 yards and added one touchdown of his own.

For all the fans wondering the last time Nebraska scored six touchdowns, which would have been two weeks ago in its 56-7 win over Nicholls State. But the last time Nebraska scored six rushing touchdowns? That would be Oct. 6, 2001, when the team tore apart Iowa State, 48-14. By the way, if you're counting, that was five years, one Heisman Trophy and three defensive coordinators ago for Nebraska.

But where the running backs seemed to steal the show, senior quarterback Zac Taylor decided he would make some highlights of his own. Taylor started off the game with seven straight completions, 110 yards and a touchdown. He finished the day by completing 14 of the 17 passes he threw for 269 yards and one touchdown, including a 66-yard completion Terrence Nunn that wasn't a 94-yard touchdown reception only because Nunn tripped over his own feet.

Of course, no team can be productive on offense unless its defense is producing well, and Nebraska did just that. The Cornhusker defenders, better known as the "Blackshirts," held the Troy offense to only 143 total yards, with only 49 of those coming in the second half.

Troy got into Nebraska territory only once, in the second quarter, and safety Andrew Shanle intercepted an Omar Haugabook pass at the Nebraska 4-yard line. And of course, the defense gets a "do you remember." The last time Nebraska shut out an opponent was on October 25, 2003, when the Huskers shut out Big 12 foe Iowa State 28-0.

Next week the Cornhuskers host the Kansas Jayhawks in both teams' Big 12 opener. Last season, the Jayhawks erased 36 years of losses in a 40-15 rout of the Cornhuskers in Lawrence. But this year should be different, former Cornhusker cornerback Pat Fischer said. "This year's Nebraska team has already restored the order. The Big 12 just doesn't know it yet."

Get weekly Nebraska Cornhuskers coverage at RealFootball365.com
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (9)

Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report
CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Dyer		03:33 PM
09/25/2006
It's too bad that the USC game ended the way it did. I think that Coach Callahan wasn't fully prepared. The team, obviously, is...
No.2
sker4life		03:49 PM
09/25/2006
It was nice to see a blowout and a shutout in the same game. I just wish we could have had at least some of saturdays passing...
No.3
Tom Costello		06:56 PM
09/26/2006
When NU plays people there own size I'll be a fan again. In the meantime, give me the Notre Dames of this college world who'll...
Team News  |  View All Nebraska Content
Nebraska will have no proble...
Last week, Tom Shatel of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald quilled a colum...
3 years, 5 months ago   |   Nebraska will have no problem paying big BCS opponents ( 1 )
Perfection is now Pelini’s...
It was after the Red-White spring game that Nebraska head coach Bo Pel...
3 years, 6 months ago   |   Perfection is now Pelini’s top principle ( 0 )
Huskers blazing Texas trail
It was around the middle of June when Nebraska’s recruiting for 2009...
3 years, 6 months ago   |   Huskers blazing Texas trail ( 0 )
Looking ahead: Huskers’ Luck...
The reigning Big XII rushing leader has had a bit of the spotlight tak...
3 years, 6 months ago   |   Looking ahead: Huskers’ Lucky should be first-round pick ( 0 )
“Huddle” application cou...
A recent column in the New York Times states that Agile Sports Technol...
3 years, 6 months ago   |   “Huddle” application could give Huskers recruiting edge ( 0 )