Final
No. 17 Nebraska rolls past Southern Miss
Sep 2, 2012 - 12:23 AM Lincoln, NE (Sports Network) - Nebraska lost its workhorse running back Rex Burkhead in the second quarter, but junior quarterback Taylor Martinez picked up the slack.Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and five touchdowns on 26-of-34 efficiency as No. 17 Nebraska pulled away from Southern Miss, 49-20, and extended its nation's longest active winning streak in season openers to 27.
"I thought he played very well, very efficient," Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said of Martinez's performance. "(He) made good decisions, and he distributed the ball well. I thought there were a lot of positives there."
Burkhead, who ran for 1,357 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, carried the ball three times for 68 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run in the opening frame, before exiting with a left knee injury.
"He'll be fine. He's day-to-day, week-to-week. I don't think it's anything long term," Pelini said of the injury.
Burkhead's backup, Ameer Abdullah, racked up 81 yards rushing on 15 carries, while Braylon Heard added 34 yards on the ground with a score for the Cornhuskers (1-0), who went 9-4 a year ago and finished third in the Legends division of the Big Ten.
Kyler Reed, Jake Long, Steven Osborne, Kenny Bell and Abdullah each caught a TD pass.
Chris Campbell was 6-of-12 for 69 yards and a score in Ellis Johnson's head coaching debut for the Golden Eagles (0-1), who won a school-record 12 games a year ago.
Johnson, who spent the last four seasons as the defensive coordinator at South Carolina, took over for Larry Fedora, now the head coach at North Carolina.
"We've just got to get better. We are not that tough on defense," Johnson said.
Burkhead got up slowly and gingerly before limping to the sidelines following a nine-yard run with a little more than six minutes left in the second.
Nebraska led, 14-7, at that point, but the Golden Eagles concluded an 11-play, 73-yard march on their ensuing possession when Campbell found Dominique Sullivan for a 24-yard TD strike, which knotted the contest late in the second.
But the Cornhuskers, guided by an accurate and efficient Martinez, outscored Southern Miss 35-6 the rest of the way.
Martinez hit Long for a nine-yard score on Nebraska's next series before Corey Acosta nailed a 45-yard field goal a bit later in the quarter to make it a 21-17 game.
Martinez then went 4-of-5 for 77 yards on Nebraska's final drive of the half, a brisk five-play, 77-yard trek, which took just 34 seconds to complete.
Jamal Turner had a 36-yard catch before Osborne hauled in a 29-yard score and gave the Huskers a 28-17 halftime advantage.
Reed corralled an 18-yard score and Heard scampered in from 10 yards out in the third stanza, which extended the margin to 42-17.
Acosta split the uprights from 37 yards out in the fourth before Abdullah caught an 11-yard touchdown pass to conclude the scoring.
Earlier, Nebraska scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and took a 14-0 lead. Burkhead had a 57-yard TD scamper on Nebraska's opening series and Bell snagged a 26-yard reception for a score on its next trek.
Tracy Lampley returned Nebraska's ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a score to get Southern Miss on the board with 6:54 left in the first.
Game Notes
Nebraska, which has won every season opener since 1986, has won every game during the stretch by double digits ... Nebraska leads the all-time series between the teams, 3-1 ... The Huskers racked up 632 yards of total offense.
- SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 20
NEBRASKA: 49
Final
Sep 1 6:50 PM - SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 20
NEBRASKA: 49
End of Regulation
Sep 1 6:50 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Taylor Martinez pass to Ameer Abdullah for 11 yards.
Southern Mississippi 20, Nebraska(17) 48 4th - 7:47Sep 1 6:33 PM - Southern Miss Field Goal - 37-yarder by Corey Acosta.
Southern Mississippi 20, Nebraska(17) 42 4th - 13:03Sep 1 6:20 PM - SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 17
NEBRASKA: 42
End of 3rd
Sep 1 6:14 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Braylon Heard rushed for 10 yards.
Southern Mississippi 17, Nebraska(17) 41 3rd - 2:44Sep 1 6:07 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Taylor Martinez pass to Kyler Reed for 18 yards.
Southern Mississippi 17, Nebraska(17) 34 3rd - 7:36Sep 1 5:53 PM - SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 17
NEBRASKA: 28
Halftime
Sep 1 5:10 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Taylor Martinez pass to Steven Osborne for 29 yards.
Southern Mississippi 17, Nebraska(17) 27 2nd - 1:03Sep 1 5:06 PM - SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 17
NEBRASKA: 21
2nd Quarter - 1:37
Southern Mississippi 17, Nebraska(17) 21 2nd - 1:37Sep 1 5:01 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Taylor Martinez pass to Jake Long for 9 yards.
Southern Mississippi 14, Nebraska(17) 20 2nd - 9:16Sep 1 4:34 PM - Southern Miss Touchdown - Chris Campbell pass to Dominique Sullivan for 24 yards.
Southern Mississippi 13, Nebraska(17) 14 2nd - 13:09Sep 1 4:22 PM - SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 7
NEBRASKA: 14
End of 1st
Sep 1 4:18 PM - Southern Miss Touchdown - Brett Maher kicked off 70 yards from the Nebraska 30 into the end zone. Tracy Lampley returned for 100 yards.
Southern Mississippi 6, Nebraska(17) 14 1st - 6:54Sep 1 4:02 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Taylor Martinez pass to Kenny Bell for 26 yards.
Southern Mississippi 0, Nebraska(17) 13 1st - 7:07Sep 1 3:58 PM - Nebraska Touchdown - Rex Burkhead rushed left for 57 yards.
Southern Mississippi 0, Nebraska(17) 6 1st - 13:42Sep 1 3:41 PM - SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: 0
NEBRASKA: 0
1st Quarter - 15:00
Sep 1 3:38 PM
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