First Quarter
NU: Johnny Rodgers 30 run (Paul Rogers kick) 12:48
NU: Joe Orduna 3 run (Rogers kick) 0:22
Second Quarter
KS: Mike Montgomery 9 pass from Lynn Dickey (Max Arreguin kick) 11:17
NU: Orduna 16 run (Rogers kick) 6:42
Third Quarter
NU: Rogers 23 field goal, 8:17
NU: Orduna 1 run (kick failed) 1:57
NU: Dan Schneiss 12 pass from Jerry Tagge (Rogers kick) 0:58
Fourth Quarter
NU: Orduna 2 run (Rogers kick) 13:15
NU: Dave Morock 43 pass interception (Rogers kick) 12:59
KS: Chris Chapin 1 run (pass failed) 5:07
KSUNU
First Downs ........... 16 20
Rushing, Net ....... 22-70 60-179
Passing, Net ......... 255 182
Att-Comp-Int ... 22-46-7 16-23-1
Total Offense ..... 68-325 83-361
Return yardage ........ 37 189
Punts-average ....... 5-34 5-41
Fumbles lost .......... 1 0
Yards penalized ....... 89 131
RUSHING
KSU: Butler 13-53; Hawthorne 4-15; Dickey 1-3; Chapin 1-1; Montgomery 3-(-2)
NEB: Orduna 27-105; Rodgers 4-41; Vactor 8-27; Schneiss 4-16; Kinney 2-10; Carstens 1-5; Hughes 1-1; Olds 1-0; Tagge 10-(-12), Brownson 2-(-14)
PASSING
KSU: Dickey 47-22-7 255
NEB: Tagge 19-13-1 162; Brownson 4-3-0 20
RECEIVING
KSU: Hawthorne 6-48; Goerger 5-93; Creed 3-43; Draper 3-26; Williams 1-16; Duckers 1-11; Montgomery 1-9; McLane 1-6; Butler 1-3.
NEB: Schneiss 4-33; Ingles 3-26; Orduna 3-12; List 2-31; Rodgers 1-60; Vactor 1-9; Cox 1-7; Carstens 1-4.
MORE INDIVIDUAL STATSNU BACK OF GAME: Joe Blahak.
Intercepted three Lynn Dickey passes to tie NU record and made six unassisted tackles. Return yardage of 116 yards included a 53-yard run.
NU LINEMAN OF GAME: Jerry Murtaugh.
Supplied aggressive leadership for NU defense which clobbered league-leading K-State's attack. Made nine tackles and intercepted a pass in the first quarter to set up NU's first TD and launch the rout.
Attendance: 67,894
It was the Big 8 showdown of the year: unbeaten defending champion Nebraska vs. throne pretender Kansas State, and the Huskers were without starting quarterback Van Brownson for the second straight week.
Nebraska had the loop’s top offense and K-State came to town with the best defense, but the Huskers quickly de-clawed the Wildcats and coasted to a 51-13 victory and clinch at least a tie for the Big 8 title.
The Huskers’ performance was awesome and the obliteration of star quarterback Lynn Dickey and the ‘Cats was stunning. Nebraska drilled K-State for 361 yards, while holding the Wildcats to 70 yards on the ground. NU quarterback Jerry Tagge hit 13 of 19 passes for 162 yards, including a 60-yarder to Johnny Rodgers.
Dickey hit 22 of 46 passes for 255 yards, but a sensational NU secondary intercepted a record seven passes to completely derail the visitors.
Nebraska jumped to a 7-0 lead as Johnny Rodgers ran 30 yards for a TD on the first play after Jerry Murtaugh intercepted Dickey just after the game opened. It was 14-0 at the quarter and 21-7 at halftime. But the Huskers really exploded in the third quarter to open a 37-7 lead. During a 3:58 span, Nebraska ran up 27 points to jump from 24-7 to 51-7.
Joe Orduna scored four TDs for the Huskers, who ran their season record to 9-0-1 and set the stage for the championship game with Oklahoma.
Orduna rushed for 105 yards
H’MAX NOTES
Joe Blahak had three of the Huskers’ seven pass pickoffs. His 53-yard interception return late in the third quarter sparked Nebraska’s 27-point explosion. … KSU fullback Mike Montgomery was ejected for punching backfield judge Wayne Cooley in the back late in the second quarter. Montgomery felt he had been interfered with on a fourth-down pass play. … Sports Illustrated said of the Huskers: “Now it is becoming apparent even outside Nebraska that they just might be the No. 1 team in the land.”
The Orange Bowl extended an invitation to the Huskers after the game, and the Huskers accepted it the next day. … A student assistant in the Nebraska athletic department was fired after selling two dozen press-box passes to fans outside the stadium for about $15 apiece. “I began to wonder what was going on when we started running out of food for the press luncheon so early,” said sports information director Don Bryant. …
K-State tied for second in the league at 5-2 and finished 6-5 overall – one of only two winning years in a 36-season stretch from 1955 through 1990.