Nebraska 59
Akron 14

Aug. 30, 1997
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Akron007714
Nebraska142414759
First quarter
NU: Frost 26 run (Brown kick) 6:18
NU: Makovicka 20 run (Brown kick) 2:43 
Second quarter
NU: Green 7 run (Brown kick) 13:46
NU: FG Brown 34, 6:37
NU: Green 45 run (Brown kick) 4:04
NU: Frost 5 run (Brown kick) 0:53
Third quarter
NU: Makovicka 11 run (Brown kick) 10:16
UA: Hunter 11 run (Stidham kick) 5:17
NU: Buckhalter 8 run (Retzlaff kick) 3:48
Fourth quarter
NU: Buckhalter 3 run (Retzlaff kick) 13:50
UA: Bailey 69 pass from Washington (Stidham kick) 12:50
 
                       UA       NU
First downs            11       30
Rushes-yards        41-99   56-472
Passing yards         144      172
  Comp-Att-Int     8-14-1  12-19-0
Return Yards           36      186
Punts-Avg.         8-50.1      0-0
Fumbles-Lost          1-0      4-1
Penalties-Yards      5-35     5-60
Time of Possession  31:03    28:57

RUSHING
UA: Hunter 16-59, Reader 10-35, Rooney 3-8, Lomax 8-12, Lagasse 2-6, Gromek 2-0.

NU: Frost 11-123, Green 9-102, London 5-79, Buckhalter 11-62, Makovicka 7-59, Newcombe 7-34, Legate 3-14, Runty 1-3, Cobb 1-2, Soucie 1-0.

PASSING
UA: Gromek 4-8-1-51, Washington 4-6-0-93.
NU: Frost 7-13-0-67, London 4-5-0-90, Newcombe 1-1-0-15.

RECEIVING
UA: Spencer 4-43, Whitt 2-31, Bailey 1-69, Reader 1-1.

NU: Davison 3-64, Wiggins 2-25, Gibson 2-18, Jackson 1-17, Haafke 1-15, Legate 1-15, Applegate 1-9, Lake 1-9.

Attendance: 75,124

Coverage

Stats & Recap
Complete Stats

Huskers run over Zips in season opener

Nebraska opened its 108th season of football with a dominating performance against overmatched Akron in Lincoln.

Nebraska built a 38-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 59-14 victory in front of the 215th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium. The game also marked Nebraska’s 300th all-time win in the stadium since it opened in 1923.

Nebraska amassed 472 rushing yards and scored all eight of its touchdowns on the ground. Four Huskers scored two touchdowns each, led by quarterback Scott Frost, who rushed for 123 yards on 11 carries. Junior I-back Ahman Green tallied 99 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries before leaving the game at halftime.

True freshman I-back Correll Buckhalter and junior fullback Joel Makovicka also had two rushing touchdowns each. Included in Makovicka’s day was a highlight-reel 20-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter in which he broke at least half a dozen Akron tackles.

The NU defense held the Zips scoreless until reserves entered the game in the third quarter.

Grand Island Indep.
More Sources
Omaha World-Herald
Lincoln Journal Star
Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska Athletics
Hail Varsity (2018)
Paul Fell
Akron Beacon Journal
Associated Press
Photos/Audio/Video
Photos
Video
Pregame & team info
Pregame press
NU logo Akron logo
1997 schedule
04/26Reds 34, Whites 28
08/30AkronW 59-14
09/13Central FloridaW 38-24
09/20@ WashingtonW 27-14
10/04Kansas St.W 56-26
10/11@ BaylorW 49-21
10/18Texas TechW 29-0
10/25@ KansasW 35-0
11/01OklahomaW 69-7
11/08@ MissouriW 45-38
11/15Iowa St.W 77-14
11/28@ ColoradoW 27-24
12/06Texas A&MW 54-15
01/02TennesseeW 42-17

Commentary

Colonel Mustard

A lot of our newer guys got their feet wet against Akron and didn't look too shabby doing it: Polk at linebacker, and of course Buckhalter and London in the backfield, and the Davison kid from Tecumseh snagging passes.


Colonel Mustard
HuskerMax
Korbelik

Nobody's sure if this was a good game or not. Fans expected a blowout, and blowout is what they got.

Jeff Korbelik
Lincoln Journal Star
Shatel

Let the record show that this game wasn't so bad for college football, after all.

Tom Shatel
Omaha World-Herald
Pluto

Imagine being George Custer the night before Little Big Horn -- only you know it's coming. That was how it felt to be Akron football coach Lee Owens this weekend.

Terry Pluto
Akron Beacon Journal
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