Recap and notes: 2003 Nebraska-Troy State football
Nebraska Blanks Troy State to Improve to 5-0
The nation’s top-ranked defense controlled the game from start to finish as Nebraska posted its first shutout in three seasons with a 30-0 victory over Troy State before a sellout crowd on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln. The Blackshirts limited Troy State to just 150 yards of total offense, forced four turnovers and allowed the Trojans to snap the ball in Nebraska territory just three times all day.
Nebraska opened the scoring late in the first quarter on David Dyches’ 10th field goal of the season from 40 yards out. In the second quarter, the Husker defense continued to set the tone for the game, forcing Trojan turnovers on three consecutive possessions. The first turnover was sophomore free safety Josh Bullocks’ fifth interception in five games this season, while the following two TSU turnovers were the result of fumbles on quarterback sacks.
The Huskers failed to convert the first two Trojan miscues into scores, but after Fabian Washington recovered a fumble at the TSU 21, the Huskers took just four plays to convert the turnover into a touchdown on a 1-yard Jammal Lord run, giving the Huskers a 10-0 lead they carried into halftime.
Nebraska committed a pair of turnovers on its first three drives of the second half, but then got its offense untracked. Lord hit tight end Matt Herian with a 77-yard pass to the Troy State 3 and I-back Cory Ross scored one play later to give the Huskers a 17-0 lead with 5:18 left in the third quarter. The Huskers extended their lead on their next possession, marching 49 yards in six plays with Lord finishing the drive with his second TD run of the day from six yards out. The extra point failed, leaving the NU lead at 23-0.
Nebraska capped the day’s scoring behind a drive led by No. 2 quarterback Joe Dailey, who hit Herian on a 21-yard scoring strike to account for the final margin. The catch gave Herian Nebraska’s first 100-yard receiving day since 2001 with three receptions for 110 yards.
The Blackshirts held Troy State in check on its final three drives, preserving NU’s first shutout since a 59-0 blanking of Baylor on Oct. 21, 2000.
Source: Nebraska Athletic Department