Nebraska 49
Florida Atlantic 3

Sept. 5, 2009 • 6:10 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • FSN PPV
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Florida Atlantic03003
Nebraska71421749
1st quarter
NEB: Menelik Holt 28 pass from Zac Lee (Alex Henery kick) 7:41
2nd quarter
NEB: Curenski Gilleylan 51 pass from Lee (Henery kick) 13:43
FAU: Ross Gornall 21 field goal, 8:13 
NEB: Roy Helu Jr. 1 run (Henery kick) 0:51 
3rd quarter
NEB: Helu 7 run (Henery kick) 12:36 
NEB: Helu 44 run (Henery kick) 7:26
NEB: Rex Burkhead 5 run (Henery kick) 0:00
4th quarter
NEB: Cody Green 1 run (Henery kick) 6:03

                            FAU       NEB
First downs................. 22        22
  Rushing.................... 8        13
  Passing................... 11         8
  Penalty.................... 3         1
Rushes-yards............ 35-122    32-259
Net yards passing.......... 236       231
  Comp-Att-Int......... 20-41-2   17-25-1
Total offense .......... 76-358    57-490
Fumbles-Lost............... 5-1       1-0
Penalties-Yards.......... 11-67      9-86
Punts-average........... 4-35.8    3-32.3
Punt returns-Avg ........ 3-3.3     0-0.0
Kickoff returns-Avg .... 6-17.8    2-24.5
Interceptions-Yards........ 1-0      2-18
Fumble Returns-Yards....... 0-0       1-4
Possession Time.......... 32:18     27:42
Third-Down Conv. ......... 6/15      4/10
Fourth-Down Conv. ......... 0/2       2/2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.... 1-2       4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards..... 0-0       0-0
Field Goals................ 1-2       0-0

RUSHING
FAU: Al.Morris 18-85, Rose 6-19, Rolle 6-8, Holley 1-7, Van Camp 2-6, Stinson 1-4, Team 1-(minus 7).

NEB: Helu 16-152, C.Green 2-50, Burkhead 9-39, Lee 2-14, L.Washington 1-7, Mendoza 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 2).
 
PASSING
FAU: Smith 15-31-2-164, Van Camp 5-10-0-72.
NEB: Lee 15-22-1-213, C.Green 2-3-0-18.
 
RECEIVING
FAU: Gent 5-58, Grant 5-43, Rose 3-59, Bonner 2-27, L.Jean 2-12, Williamson 1-18, Holley 1-11, Harmon 1-8.

NEB: Gilleylen 4-92, McNeill 4-51, Me.Holt 3-45, Paul 2-13, Brooks 1-15, Burkhead 1-9, Cotton 1-3, Helu 1-3.
 
Attendance: 85,719

Coverage

Stats & Recap
Complete Stats

Huskers rout Owls

Roy Helu Jr. rushed for 152 yards in just over one half of football, and Nebraska’s Blackshirts grounded Florida Atlantic’s high-powered passing game as the Cornhuskers rolled to a 49-3 victory.

While Helu led NU’s ground assault, Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee was solid through the air in his starting debut, completing 15 of 22 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. He helped the Huskers cruise to a 21-3 halftime lead before leading to three impressive third-quarter scoring drives.

Sophomore wide receiver Curenski Gilleylen and sophomore tight end Mike McNeill were Lee’s favorite targets, as each hauled in four catches.

The success of Helu and Lee allowed for the true freshman backfield of Cody Green and Rex Burkhead to get extensive playing time in their career debuts. Burkhead rushed nine times for 39 yards and a score and added one catch for nine more yards. Green completed 2 of 3 passes for 18 yards and erupted for 49 yards on his first career carry on NU’s final scoring drive of the game.

Omaha World-Herald
Lincoln Journal Star
More Neb. Sources
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Photos/Audio/Video
Pregame & team info
2009 schedule
04/18Reds 31, Whites 17
09/05Florida AtlanticW 49-3
09/12Arkansas St.W 38-9
09/19@ Virginia TechL 15-16
09/26LouisianaW 55-0
10/08@ MissouriW 27-12
10/17Texas TechL 10-31
10/24Iowa St.L 7-9
10/31@ BaylorW 20-10
11/07OklahomaW 10-3
11/14@ KansasW 31-17
11/21Kansas St.W 17-3
11/27@ ColoradoW 28-20
12/05TexasL 12-13
12/30ArizonaW 33-0
Roy Helu takes a handoff.

Commentary

Shatel

The long-term future is bright. The short-term isn’t so bad, either.

Omaha World-Herald
Stryker

Nebraska is trying to get back to the place where it can jam it down your throat — at least once in a while.

HuskerMax
Sipple

Much tougher tests are ahead. But Lee handled this one well.

Lincoln Journal Star
Douglass

It was all smiles for the Huskers Saturday night, but starting Monday … the search for unattainable perfection begins again.

Grand Island Independent
Johnston

Husker football season started in earnest at the beginning of the second half.

Corn Nation
Neeley

Pelini made it clear against the Owls that there is no tomorrow in today’s college football world, no apologies for inexperience.

Hastings Tribune
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