Source: Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers defeated the Akron Zips in Lincoln, 59-14, on Aug. 30 after jumping out to a 38-0 halftime lead. Neither of the two Akron TDs (Bo Hunter, 11-yard run in third, and Lavel Bailey 69-yard pass reception in the fourth) were against the Husker first-team defense.

Notes from the game:

Cornerback Ralph Brown, NU’s Nominee for Big 12 Defensive Player-of-the-Week…
Sophomore cornerback Ralph Brown showed why he earned first-team freshman All-American honors last season. Brown, who had four interceptions as a true freshman cornerback last year, had another pickoff in the Huskers’ season opener. With a 7-0 Nebraska lead late in the first quarter, Ralph Brown intercepted a Greg Gromek pass and returned it 23 yards to the NU 37. The Huskers capitalized on the interception two plays later as Joel Makovicka rambled 20 yards for a touchdown, which gave NU a 14-0 lead with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter. Brown had three unassisted tackles to go with his interception and was the Pacific Pals Nebraska Defensive Player-of-the-Game.

Fullback Joel Makovicka rushes for a career-best 59 yards, Nebraska nominee for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week…
Makovicka had 59 carries on seven carries and two touchdown runs of 20 and 11 yards. Both the yards and the attempts were a career best (old 55 yards vs. Oklahoma State in 1995, 6 attempts vs. Oklahoma State, 1995). Assistant Head Coach and Running backs coach Frank Solich said, “Joel had a great game. That run was certainly tremendous, the last four yards he drug tacklers and was barely off the ground, but he has great balance. There’s nobody that works harder than Joel.” The run Solich referred to was on the 20-yard TD run which gave Nebraska a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. After an initial hit at the line of scrimmage, he broke five more tackles, and drug the last two defenders into the end zone. On the run, Akron Head Coach Lee Owens said, “He exemplfies everything that Nebraska football is about. He just flat wasn’t going to go down. He carried two of our guys in the end zone. We hit him, and hit him, and hit him. The replay was unbelievable. There was a couple of times I was watching the replay.” Coach Osborne added, “Joel is a really a great player. I think he has a chance to play as well at fullback as anyone we have had in a while. He’s very hard to knock off his feet.” Makovicka also made 11 blocks and was only downgraded on one play.

Ahman Green Rushes for 99…
Junior I-back Ahman Green rushed nine times for 99 yards, all in the first half. The yards included two TD runs in the second quarter of seven and 45 yards. The yards give him 2,102 career rushing yards to move him up one spot on the NU career rushing chart to 16 (passing Monte Anthony’s 2,077 from 1974-77).

Quarterback Scott Frost…
Senior quarterback Scott Frost rushed for a career-high 123 yards on 11 carries including two TDs on runs of 26 yards (career long) and five yards. He also completed 7-13 passes for 67 yards and led the Huskers to touchdowns in six of the seven drives he began. Frost put the Huskers in a position to score on all seven series, but Kris Brown missed a 38-yard field goal on the opening drive. NU averaged 8.55 yards per play while Frost was in the ball game. He is the first quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in a game since Tommie Frazier had 199 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. It’s the first 100-yard outing in a regular-season game for a quarterback since Frazier rushed 12 times for 130 vs. West Virginia in the Kickoff Classic in 1994. Frost’s previous-best rushing day was 90 yards vs. Baylor last season. Frost’s 190 total offense yards earned him Pacific Pals Nebraska Offensive Player-of-the-Game honors.

Frankie London has career-best day…
In a backup role to Scott Frost, sophomore Frankie London completed 4-5 passes for 90 yards and rushed five times for 79 yards, all four numbers are a career best. His passing included a 46-yard career-long pass to Matt Davison, and his rushing included a career-best 51 yard scamper.

First Timers…
Husker first-timers had an impact in the game. True freshmen who played include SE Matt Davison (three catches for 64 yards, long of 46 from Frankie London); IB Correll Buckhalter (11 carries for 61 yards. two TDs on runs of eight yards and three yards); CB Erwin Swiney (no tackles, 1-28 punt return); QB Bobby Newcombe (6-31 rushing, 1-1 passing for 15 yards and 1-6 on kickoff returns); RE Kyle Vanden Bosch (no tackles); other first-timers include CB junior college transfer Brandon Harrison (no tackles, 2-29 on punt returns); freshman CB Joe Walker (four tackles) and redshirt freshman SE John Gibson (two catches for 18 yards). Gibson and Davison combined for five of the Huskers’ 12 receptions and 82 of the Huskers’ 172 receiving yards.

Team Totals…
The Huskers racked up 472 yards rushing, 172 passing for 644 total (neither figure ranks in the Husker top 10 list)…Akron was held to 99 rushing, 144 passing and 243 total. The 644 total offense yards by Nebraska was a new record for most yards given up by Akron, old record was 638 by Virginia Tech in 1995.