Nebraska 31
Troy St. 16

Aug. 31, 2002 • 6 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Troy St.037616
Nebraska7714331
1st Quarter
NEB: J Lord 18 run (J Brown kick) 6:05
2nd Quarter
NEB: D Groce 83 punt ret. (J Brown kick) 9:21
TSU: T Olmsted 25 FG, 12:44
3rd Quarter
TSU: J Richardson 6 run (T Olmsted kick) 1:30
NEB: D Diedrick 1 run(J Brown kick) 8:29
NEB: D Groce 72 punt ret. (J Brown kick) 13:45
4th Quarter
NEB: J Brown 34 FG, 8:14
TSU: M Ray 1 run (PAT failed) 14:50

                            TSU      NEB
FIRST DOWNS................. 16       17
  Rushing................... 11       12
  Passing.................... 5        4
  Penalty.................... 0        1
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)...... 41-155   54-199
PASSING YDS (NET).......... 192      114
  Att-Comp-Int......... 29-11-2   16-8-1
TOTAL OFFENSE .......... 70-347   70-313
Fumble Returns-Yards....... 0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards........ 3-21    2-155
Kickoff Returns-Yards..... 1-14     2-50
Int. Returns-Yards........ 1-32      2-5
Punts (Number-Avg)...... 8-33.8   6-46.2
Fumbles-Lost............... 2-1      5-1
Penalties-Yards........... 4-27     3-25
Possession Time.......... 25:40    34:20
Third-Down Conv. ......... 6/16     6/17
Fourth-Down Conv. ......... 0/0      1/2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.... 3-4      3-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards..... 0-0      1-9

RUSHING
TSU: Hansell Bearden 9-61, Jermaine Richardson 7-43, LeBarron Black 15-38, Andrew Amerson 1-12, Chris Cox 2-7, DeWhitt Betterson 2-2, Team 1-minus 2, Matt Ray 4-minus 6.

NEB: Jammal Lord 23-92, Dahrran Diedrick 15-63, Cory Ross 5-27, Marques Simmons 3-9, Josh Davis 2-8, Judd Davies 3-5, Steve Kriewald 1-1, Mike Stuntz 1-1, Ross Pilkington 1-minus 7.

PASSING
TSU: Hansell Bearden 9-26-153-2, Matt Ray 2-3-39-0.

NEB: Jammal Lord 8-15-114-1. Mike Stuntz 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING
TSU: Heyward Skipper 1-60, Toris Rutledge 2-39, Jason Samples 3-37, Andrew Amerson 3-30, Jermaine Richardson 1-19, Eric Felton 1-7.

NEB: Jon Bowling 1-62, Wilson Thomas 4-31, Dahrran Diedrick 1-11, Josh Davis 1-7, Cory Ross 1-3.

Attendance: 77,831
Judd Davies and Cory Ross

Fullback Judd Davies clears a path for I-back Cory Ross. | Courtesy of Huskers.com

Coverage

Stats & Recap
COMPLETE STATS
Dejuan Groce

Dejuan Groce sets sail on his second punt-return TD. | Courtesy of Huskers.com

Groce’s returns spark Huskers

DeJuan Groce set a school record and tied the NCAA record by returning a pair of punts for touchdowns to lead the No. 9/8 Nebraska football team to a 31-16 win over Troy State.

Groce’s first return gave NU a 14-0 lead in the second quarter with an electrifying 83-yard burst up the middle for the sixth-longest return in school history. He added a near-mirror 72-yard return in the third quarter to give the Huskers a 24-10 advantage.

Along with upping his career total to four punt-return touchdowns, Groce added a pair of first-quarter interceptions. For his efforts, he earned Big 12 Special Teams Player-of-the-Week and national player-of-the-week honors.

Quarterback Jammal Lord led the Huskers with 92 yards and one touchdown on 23 rushing attempts, while adding 114 yards on 8-of-15 passing.

Linebacker Demorrio Williams made his first career start and led the Husker defense with eight tackles.

Source: Nebraska Athletics

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Birmingham News
Troy Athletics
Kansas City Star
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Photos/Audio/Video
Photos
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Pregame & team info
2002 schedule
04/20Red 17, White 7
08/24Arizona St.W 48-10
08/31Troy St.W 31-16
09/07Utah St.W 44-13
09/14@ Penn St.L 7-40
09/28@ Iowa St.L 14-36
10/05McNeese St.W 38-14
10/12MissouriW 24-13
10/19@ Oklahoma St.L 21-24
10/26@ Texas A&MW 38-31
11/02TexasL 24-27
11/09KansasW 45-7
11/16@ Kansas St.L 13-49
11/29ColoradoL 13-28
12/27Ole MissL 23-27

Commentary

Shatel

The first-team offense has produced 17 points in two games. It's more like the ‘Scoring Implosion.’

Tom Shatel
Omaha World-Herald
McKeever

I know the sun has barely risen on this season, but how many more times can Nebraska’s offense get away with hitting the snooze button?

Curt McKeever
Lincoln Journal Star
Hamar

The Huskers’ inexperience has shown on the offensive side of the ball, but more special play by the special teams will give those youngsters a chance to grow into their jobs.

Bob Hamar
Grand Island Independent
Red Clad Loon

In the last week, some questioned whether Groce should be risking injury by running back kicks. Any other bright ideas there?

Red Clad Loon
The Pond
Thomas

Even though TSU couldn’t bring a win back from Nebraska in two tries, it did take two steps in the right direction.

Ben Thomas
Montgomery Advertiser
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