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Football

Big 12 Unbeatens, Traditional Powers Set to Clash

No. 17/16 Nebraska (6-1, 3-0) vs. 
No. 5/5 Texas (6-1, 3-0)
Saturday, Oct. 21 - 11 a.m. Central
Memorial Stadium (81,067) - Lincoln, Neb.
Surface: FieldTurf
Series: UT leads, 6-4-0
Last Meeting:  Texas won, 31-7, 2003 in Austin
Television: ABC (Split-National)
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (51 stations)
Sirius Satellite Radio: Channel 128

Lincoln - After a successful two-game road trip, Nebraska returns to Lincoln this Saturday to face its second top-five opponent of 2006 as defending national champion Texas pays a visit to Memorial Stadium. The Huskers and Longhorns lead their respective divisions of the Big 12 and are the only unbeaten teams in conference play, both at 3-0. The game will be televised to more than 80 percent of the United States by ABC, with kickoff set for shortly after 11 a.m. CDT.

The Huskers improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 action last Saturday with a 21-3 victory over Kansas State in Manhattan. The win marked Nebraska’s second straight road victory over a Big 12 North foe, coming on the heels of a 28-14 victory at Iowa State. The 3-0 mark has given Nebraska an early advantage in the Big 12 North, one game ahead of Missouri and two games in front of Colorado and Kansas State.

The win at Kansas State continued to inch the Huskers up the national polls. NU moved up four spots to 17th in this week’s Associated Press Poll, and improved four positions to No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Texas enters Saturday’s matchup with a 6-1 overall mark and a 3-0 record in Big 12 play after a 63-31 victory over Baylor in Austin. The Longhorns’ only loss of the 2006 season was a Sept. 9 setback against top-ranked Ohio State in Austin. That loss is Texas’ only blemish in its past 27 games. Texas will come to Lincoln with a No. 5 national ranking in both polls, marking Nebraska’s first top-five opponent in Lincoln since defeating No. 2 Oklahoma in 2001.

In addition to matching the Big 12’s remaining unbeaten teams, Saturday’s game will also match two of the nation’s four programs with 800 all-time victories. Texas won its 800th game last season in the Rose Bowl, while Nebraska reached that plateau with last week’s win at Kansas State. Saturday’s game will be just the third in college football history between schools with 800 all-time victories, joining 2005 and 2006 games between Notre Dame and Michigan.

Huskers Take Big 12 North Lead with Second Straight Road Victory
Nebraska controlled Kansas State from start to finish on its way to a 21-3 win over the Wildcats in Manhattan on Saturday night. The win was Nebraska’s first at Kansas State in a decade and marked Nebraska’s second straight Big 12 North road win, after picking up a win at Iowa State a week earlier.

Nebraska improved to 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Big 12, while making the Huskers bowl eligible for the 37th time in the past 38 seasons. Nebraska also became just the fourth program in history to reach the 800-win plateau, joining Michigan, Notre Dame and Texas.

The Huskers set the tone on the game's opening drive by marching 80 yards on nine plays to take a 7-0 lead. It was the fourth consecutive game that Nebraska scored on the opening drive. I-back Brandon Jackson carried the load for the Huskers on the first possession, rushing for 57 yards including a career-long 48-yard burst to put Nebraska inside the KSU 20. But the NU drive stalled after the long run by Jackson, who had 91 yards rushing in the first half alone.

Place-kicker Jordan Congdon came on for a 34-yard field goal, but the Huskers faked the attempt and holder Jake Wesch connected with tight end Hunter Teafatiller for a 17-yard touchdown pass to give NU the lead with 11:06 left in the first quarter.

NU made it 14-0 early in the second quarter with a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by Zac Taylor's three-yard touchdown pass to Josh Mueller. The Huskers found the end zone again on Marlon Lucky's 40-yard touchdown run to give NU a 21-0 lead with 8:55 left in the third.

Senior linebacker Stewart Bradley led Nebraska's defense with 10 tackles, including eight solos and one of NU's 10 tackles for loss on the night. Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh wreaked the most havoc for the Huskers with two tackles for loss including one 14-yard sack. He added his first career interception in the fourth quarter.

The Blackshirts made Kansas State one-dimensional from the start of the game, holding the Wildcats to just 22 rushing yards, including four sacks. The Husker offense again controlled the football, rushing for 190 yards and holding nearly a 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

Noting Game Seven...Nebraska 21, Kansas State 3

  • Nebraska’s 3-0 Big 12 start is its first since 2001.The victory ended a four-game Nebraska losing streak against Kansas State in Manhattan, since an NU win in 1996.
  • Nebraska’s back-to-back road victories at Iowa State and Kansas State marked the first time Nebraska has won Big 12 road games in consecutive weeks since 2000 wins at ISU and Texas Tech.
  • Nebraska's victory marked the Huskers’ ninth win in its past 10 games overall.
  • The win marked the Huskers' fifth straight over North Division opponents, marking NU's longest winning streak against North foes since winning its final divisional game in 2000 and its first four division games in 2001.
  • Nebraska's victory marked the 800th win in the history of the program. The Huskers become the fourth program to win 800 games, joining Michigan (855), Notre Dame (816) and Texas (806).
  • The win made Nebraska eligible for its 44th all-time bowl appearance, and its 37th in the past 38 years.
  • Nebraska scored a touchdown on the game’s opening drive for the fourth straight game and the fifth time in the past six games with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive. It marked the third straight week Nebraska has marched 80 yards for a touchdown on its opening drive. Nebraska is averaging 10.1 yards per snap on 31 plays on game-opening drives in the past four games.
  • Nebraska has scored first in all seven games this season.
  • Junior I-back Brandon Jackson rushed 16 times for 92 yards, including a career-long 48-yard run on Nebraska’s game-opening scoring drive.
  • Sophomore I-back Marlon Lucky rushed 12 times for 71 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give Nebraska a 21-0 lead. Lucky has four touchdown runs of 34 yards or more this season.
  • Quarterback Zac Taylor completed 12-of-21 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown, pushing his career passing total to 4,200 yards. Taylor is 281 yards behind Eric Crouch, who ranks third on the Nebraska career passing list with 4,481 yards.
  • Taylor’s 24-yard bootleg run in the second quarter was a career-long, bettering a 21-yard rush against Oklahoma last season. The 24-yard run came on fourth-and-2 and set up a TD to give Nebraska a 14-0 lead.
  • Wide receiver Terrence Nunn caught one pass for 18 yards, marking his 20th straight game with a reception, tying the second-longest streak in school history.
  • Junior wide receiver Maurice Purify caught four passes for 73 yards, including a 32-yard reception in the third quarter. Purify has four receptions of 32 yards or more and has picked up a first down on 14 of 15 receptions this season.
  • Sophomore tight end Hunter Teafatiller caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from holder Jake Wesch to open the scoring in the first quarter on a fake field goal attempt. Teafatiller has two receptions for 46 yards this season, both resulting in touchdowns. He caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Joe Ganz in the season opener against Louisiana Tech.
  • Junior tight end Josh Mueller caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Taylor in the second quarter to give Nebraska a 14-0 lead. It was Mueller’s second touchdown reception of the season, giving Nebraska four different tight ends with two touchdowns each this season.
  • Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had a tackle for loss in the first quarter, and a sack in the third quarter. Suh now has a team-high eight tackles for loss, including a team-leading 3.5 sacks. Suh has seven tackles for loss in the past five games, including at least one tackle for loss in four of the past five games. Suh also added a fourth-quarter interception.
  • Nebraska had five plays of more than 20 yards, including three by rush and two by pass. Nebraska has 39 plays of more than 20 yards in 2006, after picking up a total of 39 plays of 20 yards or more in 12 games in 2005. NU has 15 rushes of more than 20 yards this year, after totaling six rushes of longer than 20 yards in 2006.
  • Nebraska controlled the ball for 34:51, marking the fifth time this season Nebraska has held the ball for 33:44 or more in a game. The Huskers had control of the football for 18:25 in the first half.
  • Nebraska held Kansas State to 22 rushing yards, including 38 yards on a fake punt in the first quarter. The K-State game marked the fourth time this season Nebraska has held an opponent to less than 100 yards rushing, including Iowa State’s 53 yards a week earlier. The strong rush defense marked the sixth time in the last 11 conference games since the start of the 2005 Big 12 season that NU has held an opponent to less than 60 yards rushing.

Huskers, Texas Among Nation’s Best Over Last 10 Games
Defending national champion Texas enters its game at Nebraska as a winner of 26 of its past 27 games. However, when looking at a shorter picture?10 games?Nebraska is also one of the nation’s hottest teams at 9-1, with the lone loss at No. 3 USC earlier this season.

The Huskers and Longhorns are two of just eight teams in the country with 9-1 records or better over the past 10 games. Only Ohio State and West Virginia have 10-0 records over that time period.

Nation’s Best Records (Last 10 Games)

  • Ohio State 10-0
  • West Virginia 10-0

Nebraska 9-1 Texas 9-1

Boise State 9-1

Clemson 9-1

Tulsa 9-1

USC 9-1

Two of Four Members of 800-Win Club to Square Off
Nebraska joined Michigan (856), Notre Dame (816) and Texas (806) in the 800-win club with Saturday’s 21-3 victory at Kansas State. Texas picked up its 800th win with last season’s Rose Bowl victory over USC.

Saturday’s game will mark just the third-ever meeting in college football between teams with 800 wins at game time. Michigan and Notre Dame’s meetings in 2005 and 2006 both featured programs with more than 800 victories.

Nebraska is in its 117th season of college football in 2006, and is the fourth-winningest program in terms of victories. The Huskers own an 800-322-40 all-time record in 1,162 games (.706) in 117 years of football.

  • Since the first season of Nebraska football in 1890, Husker teams have won 11 or more games 12 times, including seven times since 1993.
  • Nebraska has won 12 or more games seven times, including three seasons with 13 wins (1971, 1994, 1997).
  • Nebraska (702), Michigan (705), Alabama (728) and Notre Dame (736) were the only programs to win 700 games in the 1900s.

Nebraska?College Football’s Winningest Program Since 1970
The bulk of Nebraska’s football success has come since 1962 when Bob Devaney arrived from Wyoming and resurrected the Husker program. Devaney capped his career with consecutive national titles in 1970 and 1971, starting an unbelievable run of 10-plus victory seasons, and conference and national championships.

In the past 37 seasons (including 2006), beginning with 1970, Nebraska has posted a remarkable 366 victories, an average of 10 wins per season. The Huskers’ overall record in that time period is 366-81-5 for an .815 winning percentage in 452 games.

In that time span, Nebraska has easily established itself as the nation’s winningest program, posting 28 more victories than second-place Michigan, followed by Ohio State (398), Oklahoma (326), and Penn State (323).

  • Nebraska has won 10 games or more 24 times since 1962, including 21 times since 1970.
  • The Huskers have finished the regular season undefeated and untied seven times since 1965, and played in 13 national title games (for one of the two teams) and won the national title five times since 1970.
  • Nebraska was the first team in college football history to win 100 or more games in consecutive decades, ranking first in the 1980s (103-20, .837) and second in the 1990s (108-16-1, .868). Nebraska narrowly missed 100 victories in the 1970s with 98 wins, and posted a nation-leading 309 wins from 1970 to 1999.

2006 Husker Offense Showing Balance, Explosiveness and Flexibility
Nebraska has featured excellent balance and firepower on offense in 2006. Through seven games, the Huskers have posted four of the top six total offense efforts in Bill Callahan’s three seasons as head coach, including a season-high 597 yards against Troy, the most by Nebraska in five seasons. Nebraska has also topped 500 yards against Louisiana Tech (584) and Kansas (511), while just missing the mark against Nicholls State (498).

In the latest NCAA rankings, Nebraska stacks up well nationally on offense. The Huskers rank ninth nationally in scoring offense (37.0 ppg), eighth in total offense (448.4 ypg), 11th in rushing offense (207.7 ypg) and 28th in passing offense (240.7 ypg). Nebraska is one of just four teams in the nation to rank in the top 30 in rushing offense, passing offense, total offense and scoring offense, joining Louisville, California and Oregon.

The Huskers’ 2006 offense has shown the explosiveness and efficiency Head Coach Bill Callahan is seeking in Nebraska’s version of the West Coast Offense.

  • The 597 yards of total offense against Troy were the most by Nebraska in Callahan’s three seasons as head coach, and the most since a 688-yard effort at Baylor in 2001. Nebraska has had four of its top five offensive outputs under Callahan in 2006.
  • Against Louisiana Tech, Nebraska topped 250 yards in both rushing and passing for the first time in a decade (Kansas, 1996). It took Nebraska exactly three weeks to accomplish the feat again, as the Huskers rushed for 316 yards and passed for 281 yards against Troy.
  • The Huskers have produced four of their top seven rushing efforts under Callahan this season, with 316 yards against Troy, 261 yards against Nicholls State, 252 vs. Louisiana Tech and 251 yards at Iowa State. Before the 316-yard outburst against Troy, Nebraska last topped 300 yards on the ground against Western Illinois in 2004.
  • Nebraska’s back-to-back 250-yard rushing efforts to open the season marked the first time NU had topped 250 yards on the ground in consecutive games since 2004 (Western Illinois and Southern Miss).
  • The Huskers showed the ability to rely on the pass when needed. Nebraska threw for 395 yards, the second-most in school history, in a 39-32 overtime win over Kansas.
  • With an impressive running attack, Nebraska has shown the ability to control the clock. NU has held the ball more than 33:44 in five games this season, including 34:51 or better each of the past two weeks. The Huskers are averaging 33:08 of possession time, a figure that ranks sixth nationally. Last season Nebraska averaged 29:56 of possession time per game.
  • The Huskers are converting an impressive 47.9 percent (45-of-94) of their third-down conversions, including 11-of-16 against Louisiana Tech and 7-for-11 vs. Troy. The figure ranks 14th nationally.
  • Nebraska racked up 30 first downs in each of its first two games, the first time the Huskers had back-to-back games with 30 first downs since the 2001 season (Texas Tech, Baylor). On the year, Nebraska has 71 first downs by rush, 69 by pass and four by penalty.
  • Nebraska has spread the wealth on offense. Fourteen different players have scored touchdowns, with seven different players scoring TDs in each of the first two games.
  • In wins over Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State, Nebraska topped 49 points in consecutive games for the first time since 2000, when Nebraska topped 49 points in three straight games at mid-season (Iowa State, Texas Tech, Baylor).

The Husker offense left an impression on Troy Head Coach Larry Blakeney following the 56-0 NU win...

"That is the best football team we have faced in a long time. I don’t know what they call that offense, if it is West Coast or East Coast or South Coast or Canadian or whatever, but it was very well-designed and gave us more than we could handle. Their style of play and their physical approach and their ability with Zac Taylor to throw the football down the field really gave us more than we could handle."

Fast Starts Triggering Husker Offense
Nebraska has won four straight games since a 28-10 loss at USC on Sept. 16. The Huskers have picked up the wins after getting each game off to a fast start.

  • In the past four games, Nebraska has lost the coin toss each week and the opposition has deferred, giving the football to the Huskers. Nebraska has responded by driving for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead against Troy, Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State.
  • Nebraska had ball-control drives to open the game against Troy (10 plays, 73 yards, 5:47), Iowa State (10 plays, 80 yards, 5:27) and Kansas State (9 plays, 80 yards, 3:54), while striking quickly against Kansas (2 plays, 80 yards, :50).
  • The Huskers have established the run quickly in the past four games with 22 rushes and nine passes on the four game-opening scoring drives. Nebraska is averaging 10.2 yards per play on those three drives.
  • Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor is 7-for-8 on the four game-opening drives, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Nunn against Kansas.
  • The Huskers are 4-of-6 on third-down conversions on the scoring drives, and 2-for-2 on fourth downs, including a 17-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal at Kansas State.

Nebraska also scored a touchdown on its first drive against Nicholls State and has scored first in all seven games this season.

Memorial Stadium Firepower
Nebraska ranks ninth nationally in scoring offense at 37.0 points per game, thanks primarily to an impressive offensive output in four home victories. Nebraska has been remarkably consistent and explosive on offense in its four games in Lincoln, averaging 50.0 points per game.

  • Nebraska scored 14 points in each quarter against Nicholls State and Troy, and had a streak of 10 straight quarters at home with 14 or more points, including the final quarter against Louisiana Tech and the first quarter against Kansas. NU has scored at least one touchdown in 15 of 16 quarters at home this season.
  • Nebraska scored at least 49 points in three straight home games to open the season. The last time Nebraska scored 49 or more points in three straight home games was in 1996, when NU defeated Baylor (49-0), Kansas (63-7) and Missouri (51-7). This marks only the third time in school history Nebraska has scored 49 or more points in each of its first three home games (1996, 1974).

Dating back to last season, Nebraska has scored at least 24 points in eight straight home games.

Quarterback Taylor is Poised Leader of Nebraska Offense
Senior quarterback Zac Taylor is the man at the helm of Nebraska’s offense. The 6-2, 210-pound Taylor had a record-setting 2005 campaign, and has established himself in the first half of the season as one of the leading contenders for the All-Big 12 quarterback spot. Through seven games, Taylor has shown why he is on track to re-write nearly all of Nebraska’s passing records. Among his notable accomplishments are....

  • Taylor has completed 65.2 percent of his passes (107-of-164), up from 55.1 percent in 2005. Taylor has 14 touchdowns and two interceptions, and his pass efficiency rating of 170.21 ranks ninth in the country. His pass efficiency rating against Nicholls State (213.77) was the eighth-best in school history.
  • Taylor has twice thrown for a career-high four touchdown passes (Nicholls State, Kansas), bettering the three touchdown passes in his previous two games (Louisiana Tech, Michigan). In Nebraska’s last 10 games (9-1) dating back to last season, Taylor has thrown for 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions.
  • Against Louisiana Tech, Taylor had a streak of 11 straight completions, including eight straight completions for 98 yards in engineering a two-minute drive before halftime. Against Nicholls State, Taylor’s first pass attempt fell incomplete, but he completed his next 12 pass attempts before an incompletion. The 12 straight completions were three off the Nebraska school record. He opened the Troy game by completing 12 of his first 13 attempts.
  • Taylor had a streak of 83 straight passes without an interception end in the second quarter against Troy. Taylor has responded with a streak of 76 straight passes without a pick heading into the Texas game.
  • Taylor’s 395-yard passing effort against Kansas was the second-highest total in Nebraska history, trailing only his 431 yards last season against Iowa State. Taylor owns the top three single-game passing efforts in NU history. He has 10 career games with 200 or more passing yards (four in 2006), including eight of the past 13 games.
  • Against Kansas, Taylor had the three longest passes of his NU career, a 78-yard strike to Frantz Hardy and a pair of 75-yard touchdown passes, one each to Hardy and Terrence Nunn. In the past four weeks, Taylor has four of the five longest passes of his Nebraska career and has completed 13 passes of 20 yards or more.
  • Taylor has completed passes to 11 different receivers, and thrown TD passes to eight different Huskers.
  • Taylor has continued his ascension up the Nebraska career passing chart. He now has 4,200 career passing yards to rank fourth on the NU career list. He is 835 yards from the school career passing record of 5,035 yards set by Dave Humm from 1972 to 1974.
  • Taylor owns the Nebraska single-season passing yardage record with 2,653 yards last season, and his 1,547 yards in 2006 already rank seventh on the list.
  • Taylor has 344 career pass completions, just nine shy of Humm’s NU record of 353.
  • A year after throwing 19 touchdown passes (one off the school record), Taylor appears poised to challenge for the season record in 2006 with 14 TD passes through seven games. Taylor has 33 career touchdown passes, 10 away from the school record of 43 touchdown passes by Tommie Frazier from 1992 to 1995. Taylor’s streak of at least one touchdown pass in 11 straight games ended in a 28-10 loss at USC.

Last season, Taylor shattered several game and season passing records in his first year after transferring from Butler County Community College in Kansas. Among the top accomplishments for Taylor in 2005 were:

  • Taylor's 2,653 passing yards established a NU single-season record, shattering the previous single-season NU record of 2,074 yards by Humm in 1972. Taylor's passing total marked just the fifth time in school history a quarterback had passed for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
  • Taylor posted what were at the time the two highest passing outputs in NU history with 431 yards vs. Iowa State and 392 yards at Colorado. All five individual 300-yard passing days in NU history have come with Bill Callahan as head coach, including three by Taylor.
  • Taylor threw for two or more touchdown passes in eight of the season’s final nine games, including a season-high three TD passes against Michigan in the Alamo Bowl.
  • Taylor set numerous other school records, including most pass attempts (55) and completions (36) in a game vs. Iowa State, and most pass attempts (430) and completions (237) in a season.

Taylor One of Nation’s Best at Protecting the Football
Taylorranks ninth nationally in passing efficiency. His lofty rating is due in large part to Taylor’s ability to protect the football, having thrown just two interceptions in 164 pass attempts this season. Taylor has streaks of 83 and 76 passes without an interception this season, the latter of those two streaks still active.

Taylor is one of just seven quarterbacks nationally with at least 160 pass attempts and fewer than three interceptions. Texas’ Colt McCoy just misses the list with 147 pass attempts and three interceptions.

QBs with 150+Pass Attempts, 3 or Fewer INT
Quarterback, School - Attempts - INT
Kevin Kolb, Houston - 232 - 1
Stephen McGee, Texas A&M - 178 - 1
John Beck, BYU - 175 - 2
Perry Patterson, Syracuse - 170 - 2
Troy Smith, Ohio State - 170 - 2
Zac Taylor, Nebraska - 164 - 2
John Stocco, Wisconsin - 162 - 2

Husker I-Back "Committee" Spreading the Wealth
Entering the 2006 season both Head Coach Bill Callahan and running backs coach Randy Jordan regularly indicated Nebraska would utilize the talents of all four of its I-backs and operate with use of a "committee." The early season results have been outstanding as four Husker I-backs have combined for 267 carries for 1,487 yards and 18 touchdowns.

All four backs have gotten into the act, with each of them having between 60 and 76 carries, and each of the backs has topped 100 yards in the past four games. Each of the four scored a touchdown in the first two games. Together the group has keyed a resurgent Nebraska rushing attack.

Nebraska opened the year with 252 yards on the ground against Louisiana Tech, then churned out 261 rushing yards in a 56-7 rout of Nicholls State. The Huskers erupted for their top rushing output of the year with 316 yards and six rushing touchdowns in a 56-0 win over Troy, then controlled the football with a 251-yard rushing effort at Iowa State, NU’s highest road rushing total in three seasons. Nebraska is averaging 207.7 yards per game on the ground to rank 11th in the nation.

The four 250-yard-plus rushing efforts are all among the top seven in Bill Callahan’s three seasons. In 2005, Nebraska averaged less than 100 yards on the ground, and its top rushing effort was 182 yards at Baylor. Additionally, Nebraska has produced 19 rushing touchdowns in 2006. A year ago, Nebraska rushed for 10 touchdowns in 12 games.

  • Sophomore Marlon Lucky, a native of North Hollywood, Calif., started the first five games and has a team-high 476 yards. Lucky produced his first career 100-yard rushing game against Nicholls State with 18 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown, then had a career-best 156 yards on just 10 carries against Troy. Lucky had three touchdown runs of at least 34 yards against the Trojans, and earned Big 12 Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors. The 15.6 yards per-carry average was the best for a Husker with at least 10 carries in a game since Damon Benning registered 173 yards on 10 carries against Pacific in 1995. Lucky added his fourth TD run of longer than 34 yards with a 40-yard scamper at Kansas State, and is tied for the team lead with six rushing touchdowns. Lucky also has 12 catches for 117 yards out of the backfield, and has at least one catch in every game.
  • Sophomore Cody Glenn is Nebraska’s power back, but showed his complete ability against Iowa State. The 6-0, 230-pound Glenn set career highs with 19 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns against the Cyclones, including the three longest runs of his career. Glenn’s previous career rushing high was a team-high 88 yards in the opener against Louisiana Tech. Glenn missed the Troy game with an injury, but returned to action against Kansas and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Glenn is tied with Lucky for the team lead with six rushing touchdowns, and has 60 carries for 338 yards.
  • Junior Brandon Jackson had a standout freshman year in 2004 when he rushed for 390 yards, but was slowed by injury last season. He has been Nebraska’s starter the past two weeks, and has responded with outstanding efforts in wins at Iowa State and Kansas State. Jackson set career highs with 22 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown at Iowa State. Jackson’s 22 carries at ISU are the most in a game by a Husker this season. He added a team-high 92 yards on 16 carries at Kansas State, including a career-long 48-yard run on the opening drive of the game. Jackson has 65 carries for 362 yards and three touchdowns, and is also a receiving threat out of the backfield with 10 catches for 75 yards.
  • Junior Kenny Wilson joined the Huskers as a highly touted junior college prospect. Through seven games, Wilson has 66 carries for 311 yards. He scored his first career touchdown on a 14-yard run against Nicholls State, and had his first career 100-yard game with 106 yards on 19 carries against Troy.

In Nebraska’s win at Iowa State, Glenn and Jackson produced Nebraska’s second double 100-yard effort in three weeks. The 100-yard rushing efforts marked the first time a Nebraska running back had topped the century mark in a Big 12 game since Cory Ross at Oklahoma in 2004. It was the first time since the 2003 contest at Missouri that Nebraska had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same conference game.

Previously, both Lucky (156) and Wilson (106) topped the century mark against Troy, marking the first time Nebraska has had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since 2004 against Western Illinois, the first game of Bill Callahan’s tenure at Nebraska.

Four Husker Backs on Track for 500-Yard Club
The balanced Husker rushing attack has four I-backs on track to gain 500 yards on the ground this season. All four of the Nebraska backs are within 189 yards of cracking the 500-yard barrier, led by Marlon Lucky with 476 yards in seven games.

Nebraska has long been one of college football’s dominant rushing teams, winning 15 NCAA team rushing titles. Despite that rushing prowess, the Huskers have had just one season in their history with four backs topping the 500-yard barrier.

In 1979 four Huskers had between 544 and 1,110 yards, including...

  • Junior I-back Jarvis Redwine (1,100 yards), senior I-back I.M. Hipp (585 yards), junior fullback Andra Franklin (583 yards) and junior I-back Craig Johnson (544 yards). Behind their combined rushing efforts, Nebraska ranked third nationally averaging 345.1 yards per game.

In 1982, Nebraska nearly duplicated the feat with four players rushing for 497 yards or more, including I-backs Mike Rozier, Roger Craig and Jeff Smith and quarterback Turner Gill.

Receiver Tandem Looking for Another Big Season
Quarterback Zac Taylor’s two favorite targets from the 2005 season?receivers Terrence Nunn and Nate Swift?are back in 2006 and are again key elements in the Husker offense.

A year ago, the duo combined for 88 receptions, 1,136 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. In the process, both Nunn and Swift finished in the top five on Nebraska's single-season receptions list. This season Nunn leads Nebraska with 20 receptions for a team-high 336 yards, while Swift has 11 catches for 183 yards.

Both players are quickly moving up the career pass receptions list. Nunn ranks fourth in school history with 79 career receptions, five behind No. 3 Jeff Kinney. Swift has 56 career receptions to rank in a tie for 18th on the career receptions list.

Nunn has produced his two biggest yardage outputs in recent weeks with 102 yards on four catches against Troy and 98 yards on three catches, including a career-long 75-yard touchdown, against Kansas. Behind those receiving outputs Nunn now has 1,049 career receiving yards, making him the 13th Husker to eclipse 1,000 career receiving yards.

In 2005, Swift and Nunn were the most productive single-season pass catching duo in Nebraska history.

  • Swift did not catch a pass in the first three games of 2005, but exploded at the start of conference play. He had five receptions against Iowa State, then had consecutive nine-reception efforts against Missouri and Oklahoma. He finished the year with 45 receptions for 641 yards and seven touchdowns, all Husker freshman records. His 45 catches were the most by a player in 33 seasons and the third-most ever by a Husker. Swift had caught at least two passes in 10 straight games before being held without catches by Nicholls State and USC.
  • Nunn caught at least one pass in all 12 games of his sophomore season in 2005, including nine games with three or more receptions. Entering the Texas game he has caught at least one pass in 20 straight games, tying the second-longest streak in Nebraska history.
  • Like Swift, Nunn also caught seven touchdown passes from Taylor in 2005, including a pair of TD receptions in the Alamo Bowl. Overall, Nunn had 43 catches to tie for fourth on the NU single-season receptions list with former teammate Cory Ross.
  • The 2005 season marked the first time in school history Nebraska had three players with 40 or more catches in a single season.

Nunn and Swift are not the only Husker wideouts with impressive outings this season. Against Kansas, junior Frantz Hardy had a career night with three receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Hardy had touchdown receptions of 78 and 75 yards and became the first player in school history with two career games with more than 150 receiving yards.

Junior Maurice Purify is quickly becoming a go-to-receiver for Zac Taylor. Purify ranks second on the team with 15 receptions for 333 yards, an average of 22.2 yards per catch. Purify had four receptions for 91 yards against Kansas, and also had four catches at Kansas State, totaling a team-high 73 yards. At Iowa State, Purify supplied the biggest play of the night a 27-yard touchdown reception with three seconds left in the first half, giving Nebraska a 21-7 edge at intermission.

Purify has seven receptions of 25 yards or longer, including a pair of touchdown grabs?42 yards vs. Nicholls State and 27 yards at Iowa State. Purify has picked up a first down on 14 of his 15 receptions in 2006.

Herian Leads Deep Tight End Corps; Gives Passing Game Another Dimension
Senior tight end Matt Herian has made a healthy return to the field in 2006. The 6-5, 245-pound Herian missed all of the 2005 season while recovering from a broken leg he suffered against Missouri in the eighth game of 2004. Herian’s return has helped give quarterback Zac Taylor another impressive target in the Husker passing game.

Herian has hauled in 10 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. In the process, Herian has resumed his assault on the Nebraska tight end record book. Against Louisiana Tech, Herian moved past Tracey Wistrom into first on the tight end career receiving yardage list. Herian enters the Texas game with 1,234 career receiving yards, good for third on NU’s all-time yardage chart.

He had four receptions against Nicholls State, and his two catches at Iowa State moved his career total to 63 catches, the most by a Nebraska tight end, surpassing Jerry List’s 61 catches from 1968 to 1970. Herian’s receptions total is tied for 12th-best among all Huskers, and just three catches from the top 10. Herian has also continued to show his big-play ability. The senior has two receptions of 25 yards or more this season and 15 catches of that length in his career.

Herian is the leader of a group of four tight ends who have made their presence felt in 2006. Following Herian’s first-quarter touchdown catch in the opener against Louisiana Tech, three of his tight end teammates got into the act in the second half as juniors J.B. Phillips and Josh Mueller, and sophomore Hunter Teafatiller all reached the end zone.

The tight end outburst was quite notable...

  • The four touchdowns against Louisiana Tech tied a Nebraska single-game record for touchdowns by a tight end (also 4 at Missouri in 1987).
  • The game marked the first time in school history four different tight ends caught touchdown passes.
  • Nebraska tight ends did not have a TD catch in 2005. The previous touchdown catch by a Husker tight end was by Herian in the second game of the 2004 season against Southern Miss.
  • The four tight ends combined for eight receptions for 108 yards and four touchdowns in the opener and have 26 catches for 271 yards and eight touchdowns in 2006. At Kansas State, Teafatiller (17 yards) and Mueller (3 yards) each had a touchdown grab, giving each of NU’s four tight ends two touchdown catches this season.

Senior Bookends Carriker, Moore Hope to Lead Blackshirt "Sack Attack" to Encore
Nebraska led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss in 2005, registering 50 sacks and 140 tackles for loss. That effort helped the Huskers finish in the top 30 nationally in total defense, rushing defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense.

The Huskers entered the 2006 season with hopes of again making a strong push up front. The Huskers returned players who accounted for 34.5 of the 50 sacks in 2005, led by dominant senior defensive ends Adam Carriker and Jay Moore, who set the tone for 2006 by each recording first-quarter sacks against Louisiana Tech.

The 6-6, 295-pound Carriker, a pre-season All-American and Lombardi candidate, snuffed out the Bulldogs’ first drive of the game with a seven-yard sack on third down. The sack gave Carriker 14.5 career sacks, just outside of the Nebraska top 10 list. Carriker earned All-Big 12 honors in 2005 when he led the team with 9.5 sacks from his base end position.

Through seven games, Carriker is among the leaders of a balanced Nebraska defense with 22 total tackles, including seven tackles for loss and a team-high 10 quarterback hurries. Carriker now has 32 career tackles for loss, just two outside of the top 10 on the school career list.

A native of Elkhorn, Neb., Moore lines up opposite Carriker at the open end spot. The 6-4, 280-pound Moore made a two-yard tackle for loss on Louisiana Tech’s first play of the opener, then added a 10-yard sack later in the first quarter to thwart another Bulldog drive.

He added his second sack of the season against Troy, then threw KSU quarterback Josh Freeman for a 13-yard sack last weekend. Moore has 20 total tackles, is second on the team with three sacks for 29 yards in losses, and is tied for third on the team with six TFL for 38 yards in losses. He also made a key sack on a Kansas two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter of NU’s 39-32 overtime win.

In addition to Carriker and Moore, Nebraska’s top sack threats also include junior middle linebacker Corey McKeon who had seven sacks in 2005, and fellow end Barry Turner who had a Nebraska freshman record six sacks on his way to frosh All-America honors in 2005. Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has become a presence in opposing backfields this season, leading Nebraska in sacks (3.5-37 yards) and tackles for loss (8-45). He has at least one tackle for loss in four of Nebraska’s past five games. Senior nose tackle Ola Dagunduro ranks third on the team with two sacks for 16 yards.

The 2006 Blackshirts are hoping to make a push for the best two-year sack total in school history. The most sacks NU has recorded over the course of back-to-back seasons is 93 sacks in the 1984 (44) and 1985 (49) campaigns.

Veteran Linebacking Corps Tackling Opponents
In addition to a strong front four anchored by Moore and Carriker, Nebraska has a talented and veteran group of linebackers, giving the Blackshirts one of the nation’s best front seven units.

The Huskers featured returning starters at all three linebacker spots for 2006?senior Sam linebacker Stewart Bradley, junior Mike linebacker Corey McKeon and junior Will linebacker Bo Ruud. The trio had 99, 98 and 97 career tackles, respectively, entering 2006, and have started a combined 58 games in their career.

The three players are continuing to rack up impressive tackle numbers in 2006, ranking as Nebraska’s top three tacklers midway through the season.

  • Bradley posted his third career double-figure tackle game with a team-high 10 stops at Kansas State, matching his total at USC four weeks earlier. Bradley also forced a fumble at USC after recovering two fumbles the previous week against Nicholls State. The 6-4, 250-pound Bradley leads the team with 44 tackles, including four tackles for loss.
  • McKeon burst onto the scene last year with a team-leading 98 tackles, including 22 tackles for loss, the second-most in Nebraska history. After opening with a pair of four-tackle efforts, McKeon had nine tackles each against USC and Kansas and is second on the team with 37 tackles, while also forcing a fumble.
  • Ruud had a season-high nine tackles at USC and at Iowa State and is tied for third on the team with 36 tackles. Ruud finished 2005 as Nebraska’s second-leading tackler behind McKeon. Ruud picked off a pass in the season opener for the second straight year, returning his pick against Louisiana Tech 14 yards.

All three Nebraska linebackers are within 20 tackles of the top 50 on the Nebraska career tackles list.

Juniors Steve Octavien and Lance Brandenburgh each have one career start and give Nebraska five linebackers with significant game experience.

Callahan's Huskers Continue to Perform in Classroom
Nebraska has continued its tradition of excellence in the classroom under Head Coach Bill Callahan. In 2005, Kurt Mann and Dane Todd were the latest Huskers to earn CoSIDA first-team academic All-America honors.

Mann, a two-year starter at center, carried a 3.97 grade-point average in mechanized systems management before graduating in May. A native of Lincoln, Todd graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in biological sciences.

Mann and Todd were two of just nine juniors on the first-team academic All-America list, and Nebraska was one of only three schools with a pair of first-team selections. Both players are strong candidates to repeat as first-team academic All-America selections this fall. Nebraska has previously had two pairs of players earn back-to-back first-team academic All-America honors. In 1983 and 1984 defensive end Scott Strasburger and defensive lineman Rob Stuckey picked up consecutive All-America honors, while nose tackle Terry Connealy and offensive tackle Rob Zatechka earned the same recognition in 1993 and 1994.

Overall, Nebraska has had 12 players earn two first-team academic All-America selections, most recently defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch in 1999 and 2000. The selection of Mann and Todd gave the Husker football program 85 all-time academic All-Americans, a nation-leading total. The Husker athletic program as a whole also leads the nation with 233 academic All-America selections across all teams and all sports.

Four Husker Seniors Playing 2006 Season as Graduate Students
Kurt Mann and Dane Todd are among a group of four Husker seniors who are playing the 2006 season as graduate students. Senior safety Andrew Shanle and senior cornerback Isaiah Fluellen also picked up their degrees during UNL’s spring commencement ceremonies, completing their undergraduate work in four years.

The four players will have a lot of company by the time bowl season rolls around. Among Nebraska’s 20-member senior class, 12 players are scheduled to earn their degrees by the conclusion of the fall semester.

Nebraska Leads Big 12 Conference in 2006 Graduation Success Rate Report
Nebraska topped the Big 12 and ranked among the national leaders in the Graduation Success Rate for football as released by the NCAA in late September. Nebraska’s 88 percent GSR was tops in the Big 12 Conference and well ahead of the national average of 65 percent. Among teams ranked in the Associated Press Poll the week of Sept. 24, Nebraska’s GSR score was second only to Notre Dame, and the Huskers were one of just three programs with a GSR better than 80 percent.

The Graduation Success Rate is an NCAA measurement that improves the federally mandated graduation rates by including transfer data in the calculation. This year’s GSR scores were figured based on four classes of scholarship student-athletes who entered college from the fall of 1996 to the fall of 1999, and allowed for a six-year window in which to earn their degree. The GSR scores include student-athletes who transferred to Nebraska, but do not count student-athletes who transferred to another school and were academically eligible at the time of their transfer.

Huskers Pace Big 12 Conference in Academic Awards
Nebraska had a Big-12 leading 22 players named to the first-team academic All-Big 12 team last fall. Fifteen Huskers were named to the first team, while another seven players earned second-team honors.

During the fall 2005 semester, Nebraska placed 31 players on the Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll, including six student-athletes who had perfect 4.0 grade-point averages for the semester. During the spring, 38 Huskers were named to the honor roll, with six players recording 4.0 GPAs for the spring semester. The honor roll recognizes all student-athletes who earned a 3.0 grade-point average or better in the previous semester.

Nebraska Honored by AFCA for Football Graduation Rate
The Husker football program was one of 29 schools from across the nation honored this spring by the American Football Coaches Association with the 2006 Academic Achievement Award.

The 29 schools that were honored achieved a graduation rate of 70 percent or better for the 2000-01 incoming freshman class. This year marked the sixth straight year Nebraska has received the honor and the 10th time since 1994 Nebraska has been recognized. Nebraska’s athletic program also leads the Big 12 in exhausted eligibility graduation rate for all sports at 93 percent.

Huskers Set for Second Top-Five Opponent of 2006 Schedule
Nebraska is facing a challenging schedule in 2006. In the non-conference the Huskers faced their first ranked opponent of the season, squaring off against No. 4 USC on the road. This weekend, Nebraska will square off with fifth-ranked Texas at Memorial Stadium, the first top-five foe to visit Memorial Stadium since No. 2 Oklahoma in 2001. This season marks the first time Nebraska has faced a pair of top-five teams in the same season since 2001, when NU played the second-ranked Sooners and No. 1 Miami in the Rose Bowl.

Nebraska is the the only team in the nation facing both of last year’s national championship game participants. The Trojans and Longhorns are two of seven Husker opponents that won seven or more games last season and one of six 2005 bowl teams on Nebraska’s schedule.

In addition to both of last year’s Rose Bowl teams, Nebraska also faces Kansas (Fort Worth), Iowa State (Houston), Missouri (Independence) and Colorado (Champs Sports). Additionally, both Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State posted winning seasons in 2005.

Huskers Enjoying New Home in 2006
The Nebraska football program moved into its new home in the summer of 2006. After being housed in the South Stadium for more than three decades, the Huskers moved into the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex before the start of training camp in early August. Among the features in the new facility are...

The Charles and Romona Myers Performance Center...Located on the first floor of the Osborne Complex, the Myers Performance Center includes a state-of-the art athletic medicine facility, a spacious and sparkling new strength complex and a new locker room and equipment room for the Huskers.

New football offices...The Nebraska football offices are housed on the second floor of the Osborne Complex and provide the Husker staff and players with the needed tools to prepare at a championship level.

The change in location led to a significant change in Nebraska’s pre-game routine. The Huskers’ famous "Tunnel Walk" now concludes with the team entering the field from the Northwest Corner of Tom Osborne Field. After a path of red FieldTurf leads the Huskers to the field, Nebraska enters after large bronze gates are opened. The gates feature images of six of the greatest Huskers from the 1890s to the 1960s, and are guarded each week by two military members.

The football program benefitted in numerous ways from the project, and Nebraska fans also have several new features available.

New HuskerVision screens... Memorial Stadium features three new HuskerVision screens for the 2006 season. High above the North end of Memorial Stadium is a massive 33 x 117-foot screen. In addition to video, the large HuskerVision screen will feature a scoreboard, statistics and ticker. Two new HuskerVision screens were also placed on the Southeast and Southwest towers allowing fans in the north end of the stadium great viewing angles of the HuskerVision screens.

More Husker fans...6,500 seats were added in the North Stadium, in addtion to 13 new sky suites on the seventh floor of the Osborne Athletic Complex and new and improved handicapped seating. Nebraska received more than 15,000 requests for the 6,500 seats in less than three weeks. Nebraska set a Memorial Stadium record with 85,181 fans for the Louisiana Tech game, and could eclipse that mark this week against Texas.

Improved fan amenities...All ticket holders at Memorial Stadium will benefit from a new large concourse in the North Stadium. The concourse now connects the East, West and North stadiums. New gates were also added on the North end, aiding in entering and exiting Memorial Stadium.

Bigger Memorial Stadium Continues to Be Packed
This Saturday’s matchup wtih Texas will feature the 280th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, an ongoing NCAA record. The sellout streak dates back to Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney’s first year at Nebraska in 1962 (vs. Missouri on Nov. 3).

Nebraska’s 280 consecutive sellouts easily outdistance Notre Dame, which ranks second nationally with 187 consecutive sellouts. Nebraska has had remarkable success during the sellout streak, posting a 246-33 record during the 279 sellouts. The mark includes a 39-21 record against ranked teams. Nebraska is 5-0 in the five milestone sellouts during that period (50th, 100th, 150th, 200th and 250th sellouts), including a 24-7 win over No. 2 Colorado on Oct. 29, 1994 (No. 200) and a 44-13 victory over Utah State on Sept. 7, 2002 (No. 250).

Although sellouts have become commonplace in Lincoln, there are a few more folks dressed in red packing Memorial Stadium this season. Capacity at Memorial Stadium is 81,067, with the addition of 6,500 new seats in the North Stadium. The Louisiana Tech game featured a stadium record crowd of 85,181, the sixth-largest crowd to see Nebraska play. (see left margin)

Nebraska had played before 10 crowds of more than 82,000 fans in school history entering the 2006 season, but are likely to have nine games this season with crowds in excess of 82,000. The crowd of 92,000 at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sept. 16 was the second-largest crowd Nebraska has played in front of in the regular season.

Nebraska Owns Dominant Edge at Memorial Stadium
Nebraska has rewarded the loyality of its fans with incredible success at Memorial Stadium through the years. Nebraska finished 5-2 at home in 2005, and has won at least six home games in 17 of the past 19 seasons. Nebraska is 114-10 at home in the last 18 seasons (since 1989), including a pair of losses against teams that went on to win the national championship?Colorado in 1990 and Washington in 1991. The Huskers are 4-0 at home in 2006.

Since 1986, only seven different schools have left Memorial Stadium with a victory. During Nebraska’s run of success at home in the past 25 years, Nebraska has had three home winning streaks of 20 or more games. Nebraska had a school-record 47-game home winning streak from 1991 to 1998, a 26-game home streak from 1998 to 2002 and a 21-game win streak in the early 1980s.

Nebraska has not been shut out at home since a 12-0 loss to Kansas State in 1968 (245 games), and has posted 40 unbeaten and untied home seasons. The Huskers are 481-129-20 (.779, 630 games, 117 years) in Lincoln, 356-106-13 (.763, 475 games, 84 years) in Memorial Stadium (since 1923).

Huskers Make Successful Return to Bowl Season in 2005
Nebraska returned to the postseason in 2005, and made the most of its 43rd all-time bowl appearance with a 32-28 victory over Michigan in the Alamo Bowl. The Alamo Bowl was Nebraska’s 36th bowl appearance in the past 37 seasons, and came after the Huskers’ streak of 35 straight bowl appearances ended in 2004.

Nebraska’s 43 all-time bowl appearances rank fifth nationally, trailing Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and USC. The Huskers pushed their all-time bowl record over the .500 mark at 22-21 following the win over Michigan. Nebraska has won eight of its past 11 bowl games dating back to the 1994 season.

Last week’s victory at Kansas State gave Nebraska six wins and made the Huskers eligible for a 44th all-time bowl appearance.

Conference Crowns
Nebraska entered the 2006 campaign with the goal of reaching the Big 12 Conference Championship Game on Dec. 2 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The game has been held in Kansas City on three previous occasions, but Nebraska has not been involved in those three games. The Huskers are currently on track, leading the North Division with a 3-0 record, a game in front of Missouri.

This fall Nebraska will be looking for its first appearance in the league title game since 1999. The Huskers played in three of the first four Big 12 title games, winning the title in 1997 and 1999, with both of those games played in San Antonio.

Nebraska is one of three teams to capture two or more Big 12 titles in the first decade of the conference, joining Oklahoma with three and Texas with two. Kansas State, Texas A&M and Colorado each captured one Big 12 crown in the first 10 years of Big 12 action. Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado have each made four Big 12 title game appearances, while Nebraska and Kansas State have played in the the contest three times each.

Nebraska has won 43 football conference championships overall, including eight under Coach Bob Devaney and 13 under Coach Tom Osborne. Oklahoma has won 35 conference championships to rank second behind NU among conference schools.

Huskers Well-Represented in National Football League
Nebraska has a long-standing tradition of placing large numbers of players in the NFL. As of the start of NFL training camps, the Huskers had 41 players listed on rosters. When final rosters were determined, Nebraska had 31 players on active rosters and one player on a practice squad. Nebraska’s 31 players on active rosters led the Big 12 Conference, one more than Texas and two more than Oklahoma.

Included in the group of players on NFL rosters are four players who were selected in the 2006 NFL Draft?safety Daniel Bullocks (2nd round, Detroit), punter Sam Koch (6th, Baltimore), defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith (6th, New England) and defensive lineman Titus Adams (7th, N.Y. Jets), who is on the practice squad. In addition, running back Cory Ross, a non-drafted free agent is on the Ravens’ opening day roster.

Koch’s roster spot gives Nebraska two punters and two place-kickers in the NFL, with the combined four kickers the most of any school in the country. Nebraska’s most experienced NFL veteran is Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro offensive guard Will Shields, who is in his 14th NFL campaign in 2006. A full listing of Nebraska’s players in the NFL is included in the left margin.

Misc. 2006 Notes...
Louisiana Tech

  • Nebraska extended the nation’s longest winning streak in season openers with its 49-10 victory. The Huskers have now been on the winning end in each of their last 21 season openers, dating back to a 17-13 loss to Florida State in 1985. Louisiana Tech was the second team (also Utah State) to twice be a victim in Nebraska’s season-opening win streak. Nebraska also defeated the Bulldogs in the 1998 opener. The Huskers’ 21-game win streak in season openers is four better than the 17 straight season-opening wins by both Kansas State and Florida.

Nicholls State

  • Nicholls State did not complete a pass in the Sept. 9 game against Nebraska, marking the 10th time in school history Nebraska has held an opponent without a pass completion, and the first time since 1992 against Oklahoma State.

USC

  • The loss at USC marked the first time under Bill Callahan that Nebraska has lost when scoring first in a game. NU is 11-1 in such games under Callahan.
  • The 28 points scored by USC were the fewest by the Trojans since also scoring 28 points against Oregon State in November of 2004 (19 games). It also ended a streak of 15 straight games with 30 or more points and a streak of 10 straight home games with 38 or more points.

Troy

  • Nebraska’a shutout was its first since a 28-0 shutout of Iowa State in 2003. NU had two shutouts that season, also blanking Troy 30-0. The 56-0 victory was NU’s most lopsided win since a 59-0 win over Baylor in 2000.
  • Nebraska’s 406 yards of total offense in the first half against Troy was the most in a half under Coach Bill Callahan, and NU’s most in the first half of a game since rolling up 416 yards in the first half of a 59-0 2000 win over Baylor.
  • Nebraska limited Troy to 140 yards of offense, the fewest by a Nebraska opponent since allowing just 84 yards against Baylor in 2000.

Kansas

  • Nebraska recorded its 31st win in its last 32 conference openers, and its 29th straight win in a conference home opener.
  • Senior safety Andrew Shanle intercepted two passes in the first quarter. Shanle’s two interceptions marked the first time a Husker has had two interceptions in a game since Josh Bullocks had two interceptions against Oklahoma State in 2003. Shanle had picked off his first career pass last week against Troy.
  • Kansas’ 94 plays were the most ever by a Husker opponent, topping the 92 plays that Oklahoma ran against Nebraska in 1948. KU’s 405 passing yards also rank sixth all-time against a Husker opponent.

Iowa State

  • Cody Glenn (148) and Brandon Jackson (116) each topped 100 yards rushing in the game. The 100-yard rushing games marked the first time a Husker has rushed for 100 yards in a Big 12 game since Cory Ross rushed 30 times for 130 yards at Oklahoma in 2004. It was the first time since the 2003 contest at Missouri that the Huskers have had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same conference game.