• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Charles runs wild as Texas rallies to beat Nebraska

Oct 28, 2007 - 2:26 AM AUSTIN, Texas (Ticker) -- Jamaal Charles waited until nearly the end to run wild.

Charles rushed for a career-high 290 yards and scored three touchdowns as No. 17 Texas rallied to defeat slumping Nebraska, 28-25, on Saturday in a Big 12 Conference thriller.

Colt McCoy completed 12-of-28 attempts for 181 yards and an interception for the Longhorns (7-2, 3-2 Big 12 South), who have won three straight contests following consecutive losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma.

The 6-1, 205-pound Charles, who had 33 carries, ran for 217 yards in the fourth quarter, just five shy of Corey Dillon's all-time NCAA record for most rushing yards in a period.

The junior's rushing total also was the fourth-best in school history. Charles soared over the 1,000-yard mark (1,012) for the first time in his career.

"It was my time to show everyone what I can do," said Charles, who also has 11 TDs this season. "When I saw a hole, I blasted through it."

The victory also gave Longhorns coach Mack Brown his 100th career win at Texas, which has won its last five meetings with Nebraska.

"A hundred is nice," Brown said. "I knew the game was going to come down like it did. It didn't surprise me. The guys made sure that I'll remember it the rest of my life."

The Cornhuskers (3-5, 1-4 North), who have dropped four in a row for the first time since 1961, have been outscored, 150-59, in the four defeats.

"We've never been so sick of losing in our entire lives," Nebraska defensive back Ben Eisenhart said. "We're so tired of losing and going to class and everybody asking you questions. It's just a real downer."

With Texas trailing, 17-9, Charles broke off a 25-yard touchdown scamper with 12:23 left to cut the Longhorns' deficit to 17-15. Texas went for the tying two-point conversion, but McCoy was stopped at the 1-yard line on a quarterback keeper.

Five minutes later, Charles swept to his right for an 86-yard score that put Texas in front, 21-17. But the Longhorns once again missed a two-point conversion.

"It was a huge relief to see Jamaal breaking away down the field," Texas guard Chris Hall said. "In the fourth quarter we popped a few."

After Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller was sacked and fumbled at the Texas 43-yard line, Charles raced up the middle for a 40-yard TD six plays later to make it 28-17 with 3:34 remaining.

"It took a whole half to figure out what was going to work," McCoy said.

Backup quarterback Joe Ganz, who replaced an injured Keller, tossed a 4-yard score to Maurice Purify with 1:55 left to make it 28-25. But Charles rushed for 26 more yards to help run out the clock.

"It was real heartfelt the way our team played," Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. "I thought we gave everything we had."

Keller finished 23-of-35 for 299 yards and two touchdowns while Ganz completed 2-of-3 passes for 17 yards and a score.