No. 1 Nebraska turns out the lights on Kansas

CBS SportsLine wire reports
Oct. 25, 1997

  • Game summary

    LAWRENCE, Kan. -- There'll be no one-point wins for Nebraska as the No. 1 team. At least not against Kansas.

    Scott
    Scott Frost
    Quarterback Scott Frost and Nebraska gave Kansas the cold shoulder. (AP)
    Frost rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and the top-ranked Huskers, overcoming a brief power failure and a cold, driving rain, chalked up a 35-0 victory over Kansas Saturday night, their 29th consecutive conquest of the Jayhawks.

    It was the first game for Nebraska (7-0 overall, 4-0 Big 12) since supplanting Penn State after the Nittany Lions edged unranked Minnesota by just one point.

    "Overall, it was a good, solid win," said Nebraska coach Tom Osborne. "Weather can be a great equalizer and I was really apprehensive about what we'd face in these conditions."

    KANSAS MANAGED JUST FOUR FIRST downs and 48 yards, an all-time low, as the Huskers recorded their second straight shutout.

    Rain began drenching the artificial turf in the third quarter, when each team totaled just 32 yards without scoring. In the second quarter, the Huskers led 21-0 when play was halted after a bank of lights went out in a corner of the stadium.

    Play resumed seven minutes later, and full power was restored about 10 minutes after that.

    "They really showed their superiority on the defensive end of the ball," said Kansas coach Terry Allen. "The kids played hard. They made them work for everything they got."

    Nebraska, which hasn't lost to Kansas since 1968, took a 21-0 halftime lead in its first game since supplanting Penn State atop The Associated Press poll. Despite the miserable conditions, the Huskers rushed for 382 yards, just 19 under their nation-leading average.

    Kansas (4-4, 2-3) did not get a first down until the first play of the third period. Nebraska, which shut out Texas Tech 29-0 last week, had 415 yards, a season low.

    "Obviously, we're very proud," said Nebraska defensive end Grant Wistrom. "Shutouts are tough no matter what kind of offense you're playing. Kansas doesn't have the most highly touted offense in the world. But shutouts are still hard to come by."

    Ahman Green had 123 yards and one score and fullback Joel Makovica scored two touchdowns for Nebraska, which has started 7-0 for the 10th time in Tom Osborne's 25 years as coach.

    The Jayhawks, setting the tone for their own futility, had an offside penalty, a false start and a disabling ankle injury to running back David Winbush on their first possession.

    "They seemed really out of sync right from the start," Wistrom said. ``I don't think they got much started at all. They came out in the second half and established the run a little better. But all in all, they didn't try to establish anything consistent."

    THE HUSKERS, WHO WERE FAVORED BY 36 points, tacked on two more touchdowns in the stormy fourth period, on Frost's 14-yard run and a 2-yard run by Green after Erwin Seeney recovered Mitch Bowles' fumble on the Kansas 41.

    Green, who had 102 yards in the first half, carried seven times for 50 yards on Nebraska's first possesson. Makovicka climaxed the 12-play, 71-yard march with a 5-yard run.

    Even when Jason Harris blocked a Nebraska punt later in the first quarter, it turned into positive yardage for the Huskers. Makovicka picked up the loose ball on the Nebraska 32 and advanced it 38 yards as the Huskers kept possession.

    "That was a sign of things to come," said Allen.

    The Cornhuskers needed just six plays each on 56- and 64-yard scoring drives in the second period. Frost, springing the same quarterback draw that netted 31- and 27-yard touchdown runs against Washington on Sept. 20, went 27 yards for the second TD.

    Green, getting key blocks downfield from Makovicka and split end Jeff Lake, went 31 yards to the Kansas 18 on the Huskers' next possession. Makovicka then burst through a big hole on an 18-yard scoring run that made it 21-0 with 10:53 left in the first half.

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