For conference rivals Nebraska and Kansas, it was business as usual. Dahrran Diedrick rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns as the second-ranked Huskers cruised to their 33rd straight win over the Jayhawks, 51-7.
Ranked first in the Bowl Championship Series standings, Nebraska (10-0, 6-0 Big 12 North) suffered no letdown after last week’s win over Oklahoma and remained perfect against Kansas since 1968.
The Cornhuskers started slowly but took control with 20 points in the second period. Touchdown runs of 10 yards by Diedrick and 21 yards by Thunder Collins, along with two field goals by Josh Brown, gave Nebraska a 20-0 halftime lead.
Quarterback Eric Crouch scored on a one-yard TD run in the third period to make it 27-0. Crouch completed 14 of 24 passes for 164 yards and ran for 49 yards on 13 carries.
After Brown kicked a 32-yard field goal 52 seconds into the fourth quarter, Ben Cornelson returned a punt 71 yards and Diedrick scored on a 38-yard scamper to give the Cornhuskers a 44-0 lead.
Kansas got its only score on Zach Dyer’s four-yard TD pass to Adrian Jones with just under six minutes to play. Nebraska’s Jammal Lord capped the scoring with a 33-yard TD run just over two minutes later.
“We feel pretty good about the outcome,” Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. “Our defense played outstanding and we got a lot of big plays out of our special teams. Our offense was not as consistent as I would have liked, but at times we were able to get it going.”
The lopsided loss could put coach Terry Allen’s job in further jeopardy. Allen, who is just 20-33 at Kansas, has been under fire following four losing seasons. He has one year remaining on a six-year contract.
The Jayhawks (2-6, 1-5) have dropped their last three games.
“This was a disappointing loss, but you have to give Nebraska credit,” Allen said. “They are just so physical and just came out and dominated. We did not play ugly, we just got whopped by a good team.”
The Cornhuskers posted their 12th straight victory — the second-longest winning streak in Division I-A behind Miami — and remained one game ahead of Colorado in the North.
Nebraska hosts Kansas State next week before visiting Colorado in the regular-season finale on Nov. 23.
“I think for the most part we did the job we are capable of today,” Crouch said. “But sometimes it felt a little inconsistent.” He said the Huskers would “have to improve on that next week.”
Kansas had all kinds of difficulty through the air. Mario Kinsey was replaced by Dyer after completing just 3-of-9 passes for 12 yards. Dyer connected on 5-of-8 for 67 yards. The Jayhawks were held to a season-low 203 yards.
“They are really, really tough,” Dyer said. “It’s frustrating to give everything you have on every play and lose yards, but you stuck have to stick with it and we finally broke one.”
The win assured the Cornhuskers of their third straight 10-win season. Solich improved to 41-7 in his four years at Nebraska.
Nebraska increased its lead in the all-time series to 83-21-3. The teams met for 96th consecutive year, making it the longest continuous series in Division I-A. Nebraska’s 33-game winning streak over Kansas is the second-longest by one school over another in NCAA history. Notre Dame has won 37 in a row over Navy.
Colonel Mustard