LINCOLN, Nebraska (Ticker) -- No. 8 Nebraska turned two
blocked punts into touchdowns and converted a poor kick into
another score as it pulled away for a 17th straight
season-opening victory, 48-10 over Arizona State.
The Cornhuskers (1-0) erupted for 38 points in the second half
of the Black Coaches Association Football Classic and avenged a
19-0 loss at Arizona State in 1996 that ended their 26-game
winning streak.
Jammal Lord replaced Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch at
quarterback for Nebraska and rushed for a career-high 103 yards
on 17 carries. He also completed 5-of-13 passes for 33 yards
and a touchdown.
"It was a win, so that counts," said Lord, a junior making his
first collegiate start. "I played OK, but you can always get
better. I'm just happy with the win. More than anything,
that's really what I wanted tonight."
But the story was coach Frank Solich's special teams.
Six plays after Arizona State's Tim Parker shanked a 19-yard
punt, Lord hit Wilson Thomas for a nine-yard score that extended
the Cornhuskers' lead to 17-3 early in the third quarter.
Less than two minutes later, linebacker Scott Shanle scooped up
a blocked punt and returned it six yards for a score.
Parker had another punt blocked midway through the fourth
quarter and Nebraska extended its lead to 34-10 on a two-yard
run by Dahrran Diedrick.
"I was very pleased with the special teams play. That kind of
turned the tide for us," Solich said. "We do have some guys
that can block some punts now. That was great to see, but when
you look at all of the phases of the special teams, from kickoff
to kickoff returns to punt returns to field goals by Josh
Brown, we played about as well as we felt we could play in terms
of being a very good special teams (unit)."
"You are not going to beat teams like Nebraska getting two punts
blocked," Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter said. "We
deteriorated a bit there in the second half; that's what
Nebraska prides itself on. That's what they do to teams."
Facing the prospect of being on the sidelines for Nebraska's
first three-game losing streak in 41 years, Solich admitted he
"probably slept less before this game than any game in my career
as a high school coach and a college coach, probably because of
so many unknowns out there."
His anxiety appeared justified as the Cornhuskers struggled to a
10-3 halftime lead.
Brown opened the scoring with a 40-yard field goal early in the
first quarter, but Arizona State tied it 8 1/2 minutes later on
a 33-yard kick by Mike Barth.
Nebraska took the ensuing kickoff and moved 72 yards in nine
plays to the go-ahead score, a two-yard run by fullback Judd
Davies.
The Sun Devils helped get the Cornhuskers going when Hakim Hill
decided to take the second-half kickoff out of his own end zone
but was tackled at his own 6-yard line. Parker shanked his punt
four plays later.
"We should never have tried to bring that kickoff out. That was
a very bad decision that put us in the hole early," Koetter
said.
After Nebraska's quick burst in the third quarter, Mike Williams
dashed 34 yards for a touchdown to get Arizona State within
24-10 heading to the final period. Williams led the Sun Devils
on the ground with 77 yards on 12 carries.
But the fourth quarter belonged to the Huskers, who got a
42-yard field goal from Brown ahead of Diedrick's short
touchdown. Redshirt freshman Cory Ross scored on a 34-yard run
and freshman cornerback Fabian Washington returned an
interception 29 yards for a TD.
Koetter used three quarterbacks, all of whom were under constant
pressure and none of whom distinguished himself. Chad
Christensen was 6-of-16 for 77 yards with three sacks, Andrew
Walter was 7-of-16 for 46 yards with a sack and Andy Goodenough
went 4-of-8 for 52 yards.
"With all of the criticism the last couple of years that we
haven't been getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback, the
defensive line needed to step up," Nebraska rush end Chris
Kelsay said. "We really concentrated on getting the job done.
We put pressure on their quarterbacks, and that's what we wanted
to come out and do."
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