Dean Jacobs photo

Nebraska 49
S. Miss 20

Sept. 1, 2012 • 2:35 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • ABC
1st2nd3rd4th F 
S. Miss7100320
Nebraska141414749
1st quarter
NEB: Rex Burkhead 57 run (Brett Maher kick) 13:42 
NEB: Kenny Bell 26 pass from Taylor Martinez (Maher kick) 7:07
USM: Tracy Lampley 100 kickoff return (Corey Acosta kick) 6:54
2nd quarter
USM: Dominique Sullivan 24 pass from Chris Campbell (Acosta kick) 13:09
NEB: Jake Long 9 pass from Martinez (Maher kick) 9:16 
USM: Acosta 45 field goal, 1:44
NEB: Steven Osborne 29 pass from Martinez (Maher kick) 1:03 
3rd quarter
NEB: Kyler Reed 18 pass from Martinez (Maher kick) 7:36 
NEB: Braylon Heard 10 run (Maher kick) 2:44 
4th quarter
USM: Acosta 37 field goal, 13:03
NEB: Ameer Abdullah 11 pass from Martinez (Maher kick) 7:47

                           USM       NEB
First downs ............... 20        33
  By rushing .............. 15        15
  By passing ............... 4        17
  By penalty ............... 1         1
Rushes-Yards (net) .... 47-185    45-278
Passing yards (net) ....... 75       354
  Comp-Att-Int ........ 7-19-0   26-34-0
Total offense ......... 66-260    79-632
Punt returns-Yards ....... 0-0      3-41
Kickoff returns-Yards .. 2-121      4-98
Punts-Avg ............. 5-41.6    1-21.0
Fumbles-Lost ............. 1-1       0-0
Penalties-Yards ......... 4-35      2-30
Possession time ........ 28:22     31:38
Third-down conversions .. 7-14     12-15
Red-zone scores-chances .. 1-1       4-5
Sacks by-Yards ........... 1-8      3-17

RUSHING
USM: A.Alford 15-84; D.Johnson 8-50; J.Hester 8-28; J.Richard 4-14; R.Lloyd 4-5; J.Sims 1-2; Tyre Bracken 2-2; C.Campbell 5-0

NEB: A.Abdullah 15-81; R.Burkhead 3-68; I.Cross 11-62; B.Heard 3-34; M.Marrow 4-15; T.Martinez 6-10; K.Bell 1-7; C.Zimmerer 1-4; J.Turner 1-minus-3

PASSING
USM: C.Campbell 6-12-0 69; A.Alford 1-5-0 6; R.Lloyd 0-2-0 0

NEB: T. Martinez 26-34-0 354

RECEIVING
USM: T.Lampley 2-27; J.Hester 2-14; D.Johnson 2-10; D.Sullivan 1-24

NEB: Q.Enunwa 6-70; K.Reed 5-57; A.Abdullah 4-39; J.Long 3-41; J.Turner 2-46; S.Osborne 2-36; K.Bell 1-26; T.Evans 1-26; T.Wullenwaber 1-8; B.Cotton 1-5

Attendance: 85,425

Coverage

Stats & Recap
Complete Stats

Martinez’s Career Passing Day Powers Huskers: Taylor Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and five touchdowns to propel the No. 17 Nebraska football team to a 49-20 victory over defending Conference USA champion Southern Miss.

The Huskers rolled to 632 yards of total offense, including 278 rushing yards on 45 carries, despite losing All-Big Ten running back Rex Burkhead to injury in the first quarter.

Omaha World-Herald*
Lincoln Journal Star
• Martinez’s arm steals show in Husker romp
• Notebook: Burkhead injury not long-term; Marlowe out a few weeks
• Sideline chatter: Coach Kaczenski fitting right in
• Husker ‘D’ felt prepared for unknown
• Brian Rosenthal’s report card
• The scene: Miles making headlines at unusual time
• Maher, special teams struggle
• Southern Miss coach liked his QB experiment
• Southern Miss notes: A momentum-killing turnover
More Neb. sources

Grand Island Independent

• Passing grade: Martinez airs it out in Nebraska’s big win
• Fisher pleased with NU receiving depth
• Husker defense adjusts on the fly
• Whole team steps up in Burkhead’s absence
• Gameday Notebook

 
Hail Varsity

• Huskers soar over Eagles
• Tale of the Tape

 
HuskerOnline

• Martinez dazzles in 49-20 romp of Southern Miss
• Final take: Martinez needed this

 
Daily Nebraskan

• Martinez leads Huskers to season-opening win
• Burkhead injured, other Huskers step up
• Game recap

 
Kearney Hub

• Welcome to Taylor Martinez 2.0
More sources

USM Athletics

• Postgame notes
• Postgame quotes

 
Associated Press

• Taylor Martinez throws 5 TDs as Nebraska wins opener
• S. Miss’ new coach blasts defense in 49-20 loss

 
Sports Xchange

• Without Burkhead, Huskers run it up in passing lane

 
CBSSports.com

• Matt Hinton: Quick Hits

 
Pre-Snap Read:

• For Martinez, Night and Day Strides

 

Photos/Audio/Video

Photos

• Getty Images
• Lincoln Journal Star game and fans
• Dean Jacobs

 
Video

• Full game & highlights
• Pelini & Martinez postgame
• Big Red Wrap-Up
• Game on DVD
Pregame links & info
Nebraska
Southern Miss
More
2012 schedule
09/01S. MissW 49-20
09/08@ UCLAL 30-36
09/15Arkansas St.W 42-13
09/22Idaho St.W 73-7
09/29WisconsinW 30-27
10/06@ Ohio St.L 38-63
10/20@ NorthwesternW 29-28
10/27MichiganW 23-9
11/03@ Michigan St.W 28-24
11/10Penn St.W 32-23
11/17MinnesotaW 38-14
11/23@ IowaW 13-7
12/01@ WisconsinL 31-70
01/01GeorgiaL 31-45
Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
Imani Cross on a second-half run

Commentary

Stryker

Maybe this spread option can be Taylor Martinez’s offense after all. It better be, since Burkhead could be unavailable for a while.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax
Sipple

Beck is like a toddler with toys spread all over the living room floor. Which one next?

Steven M. Sipple *
Lincoln Journal Star
Vogel

It’s possible [Martinez is] not just an uncommon talent. He might be an uncommon thinker too.

Brandon Vogel
Hail Varsity
Shatel

There are a lot of weapons in this offense. And, suddenly, a director under center with a ton of confidence.

Tom Shatel *
Omaha World-Herald
Chatelain

The competition will get better. Nebraska must, too. Especially on defense.

Dirk Chatelain *
Omaha World-Herald
Whitney

The defense still looked a little vulnerable, especially in the middle of the field.

Chris Whitney
KLIN
* Article may require subscription