Nebraska 44
Kansas St. 17

Nov. 13, 1971 • 1:30 p.m. Central
KSU Stadium •Manhattan, KS
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Nebraska14167744
Kansas St.090817
First Quarter
NEB: Johnny Rodgers 6 pass from Jerry Tagge (Rich Sanger kick) 9:21
NEB: Gary Dixon 2 run (Sanger kick) 1:21
Second Quarter
KSU: Childs 8 pass from Dennis Morrison (kick blocked) 11:33
KSU: Georger 34 field goal, 8:43
NEB: Jeff Kinney 1 run* (Sanger kick) 5:37
NEB: Safety (Morrison fumbled out of end zone) 4:43
NEB: Dixon 2 run (Sanger kick) 2:27
Third Quarter
NEB: Woody Cox 56 pass from Tagge (Sanger kick) 5:48
Fourth Quarter
KSU: Calhoun 1 run (Morrison pass to Childs) 12:42
NEB: Rodgers 17 pass from Tagge (Sanger kick) 6:00
 *set Nebraska career record with 29th TD

                       NEB       KSU 
First Downs             27        17
Rushing, Net        53-203     34-57
Passing, Net           285       179
  Att.-Comp.-Int   30-20-2   46-23-1
Total Offense       83-488    80-236
Return yardage          14         4
Punts                 3-38      5-43
Fumbles lost             1         2
Yards penalized         56        74

RUSHING
NEB: Kinney 19-98; Dixon 14-31; Damkroger 3-24; Tagge 6-24; Rodgers 4-19; Goeller 1-5; Olds 2-5; Brownson 2-5; List 1-3; Cox 1-minus-10.

KSU: Calhoun 10-28; Holman 7-20; Butler 5-17; McLane 2-4; Morrison 10-minus-12.

PASSING
NEB: Tagge 28-20-2 285; Brownson 1-0-0 0; Kinney 1-0-0 0.

KSU: Morrison 46-23-1 129.

RECEIVING
NEB: Rodgers 10-125; Cox 4-108; List 3-25; Kinney 1-18; Olds 1-5; Damkroger 1-4.

KSU: Childs 6-67; McLane 5-20; Merrill 3-30; Butler 3-minus-12; Creed 2-41; Holman 2-6; Yarnell 1-22; Goerger 1-9. 

ADDITIONAL STATS

ATTENDANCE: 42,300

1971 Nebraska-Kansas State, Dixon photoNebraska’s Gary Dixon is spilled by Ron Coppenbarger’s shoestring tackle. · Manhattan Mercury · Newspapers.com

Coverage

Game recap

1971 Nebraska-Kansas State, Glover photoHigh-flying Rich Glover disrupts a KSU pass. · Lincoln Star · Newspapers.com

Records tumble as Huskers rout the Wildcats

Record-breaking performances by quarterback Jerry Tagge and receiver Johnny Rodgers ensured a 44-17 victory over Kansas State before a crowd of 42,300.

It was Nebraska’s 20th straight win and 29th game without a defeat, dating back to 1969, setting the stage for the monumental showdown with No. 2 ranked Oklahoma at Norman on Thanksgiving Day.

The No. 1 ranked Cornhuskers went right to work against the Wildcats, who trailed by just 14-9 at one point, by driving for touchdowns the first four times they got possession of the ball. Tagge directed drives of 80, 94, 79 and 34 yards as the Huskers jumped to a 30-9 halftime lead.

Jerry had a sensational passing day, hitting 20 of 28 for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 24 yards, giving him a total offense figure of 309 for a new Nebraska record. It also boosted him into the No. 2 spot in Big 8 history behind Lynn Dickey and enabled him to become the first Cornhusker to ever pass the 5,000-yard mark.

Rodgers was on the receiving end of 10 Tagge passes, including two TDs, and netted 125 yards. That enabled him to set a new season TD record (10), a new season reception record (45) and a new career reception record (84), in addition to establishing new marks in season and career punt return yardage.

While it was dented for a season high of 17 points, Nebraska’s defense held K-State to only 57 yards rushing and 179 yards passing to maintain its ranking as the top defensive team in the nation.

So armed with a 10-0-0 record, the Cornhuskers started priming for the trip to Norman and the historic meeting with the Oklahoma Sooners (9-0-0) to determine the 1971 Big 8 and national champion.

Recap source: 1971 media guide

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Pregame & team info
1971 schedule
05/08Reds 64, Whites 21
09/11OregonW 34-7
09/18MinnesotaW 35-7
09/25Texas A&MW 34-7
10/02Utah St.W 42-6
10/09@ MissouriW 36-0
10/16KansasW 55-0
10/23@ Oklahoma St.W 41-13
10/30ColoradoW 31-7
11/06Iowa St.W 37-0
11/13@ Kansas St.W 44-17
11/25@ OklahomaW 35-31
12/04@ HawaiiW 45-3
01/01AlabamaW 38-6
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