First quarter
UM: Chris Dennis 49 field goal, 7:44
UM: Dennis 24 field goal, 3:38
Second quarter
NU: John O'Leary 3 run (Mike Coyle kick) 10:20
UM: Dennis 18 field goal, 6:08
Third quarter
NU: O'Leary 8 run (Coyle kick) 10:48
NU: Coyle 24 field goal, 2:44
Fourth quarter
NU: O'Leary 6 run (Coyle kick) 8:55
NU: Bobby Thomas 40 pass from Vince Ferragamo (Coyle kick) 5:46
UM: Don Martin 1 run (Chris Dennis kick) 2:16
UMNU
First Downs .......... 12 22
By rushing .......... 5 15
By passing .......... 6 7
By penalty .......... 1 0
Rushing Net........ 37-90 65-211
Passing Net ......... 111 188
Comp-Att-Int ... 10-25-0 14-19-0
Total Offense .... 62-201 84-399
Return Yards .......... 7 12
Punts ............ 6-44.3 7-43.7
Fumbles-Lost ........ 4-1 2-1
Penalties .......... 5-36 6-66
RUSHING
UM: Morgan 10-42; Anderson 4-17; Cain 2-12; Martin 4-12; Pinkston 4-8; Baker 12-0; Mason 1-minus-1.
NU: O'Leary 21-106; Davis 13-50; Anthony 15-44; Craig 1-6; Heiser 3-6; Garcia 1-3; Gillespie 2-2; Ferragamo 3-2; Higgs 1-0; Luck 5-minus-8.
PASSING
UM: Mason 5-14-0 56; Baker 5-11-0 55.
NU: Ferragamo 8-9-0 127; Luck 6-10-0 61.
RECEIVING
UM: Claud 3-40; August 3-35; Jackson 2-20; Pingston 1-10; Morgan 1-6.
NU: Craig 4-32; Davis 3-43; Mushinskie 3-34; Thomas 2-59; Malito 2-20.
ADDITIONAL STATS
ATTENDANCE: 76,231
NU PLAYERS OF GAME
Offense: Vince Ferragamo
Defense: Bob Martin
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Recap
Ferragamo leads Husker rally past ’Canes
Nebraska trailed stubborn Miami 9-7 at the half but rallied behind 24 second-half points and quarterback Vince Ferragamo to defeat the Hurricanes 31-16.
Miami, a team coached by former Husker assistant Carl Selmer that had taken Oklahoma to the hilt before losing 20-17 the previous week, struck for six first-quarter points on two field goals by Chris Dennis. Nebraska’s only first-half score was set up when linebacker Jim Wightman recovered a Hurricane fumble on the Miami 25. Five plays later, I-back John O’Leary scored from three yards out with 10:20 left in the half. However, the Hurricanes led 9-7 at the break after Dennis kicked an 18-yard field goal four minutes later.
Nebraska came out in the third quarter behind Ferragamo’s throwing and O’Leary’s running to score 10 points and take a 17-9 lead. In the final frame, the Huskers finally put the game out of reach, scoring on an eight-yard run by O’Leary and a 40-yard pass from Ferragamo to Bobby Thomas to make it NU 31, UM 9. Miami scored once before the final gun, making the final score 31-16.
So Nebraska had gone through its nonconference schedule with a perfect 4-0 mark and was ready for its Big 8 opener against the inspired Kansas Jayhawks.