Font ResizeLINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska showed a lot of what it used to be on Saturday night. A good old fashioned power running team.
The Cornhuskers ran left, ran right, ran some option and then hurt the Aggies with the short passing game in a 38-7 win at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska is now 3-0, NMSU is 0-1.
"Nebraska played like a team in its third game, we played like a team in its first game," NMSU head coach Hal Mumme said. "Nebraska is a good team, give head coach Bo Pelini credit, he's got them playing well. If we can correct some things, we will be fine."
The Cornhuskers finished with 330 rushing yards and 553 total yards, while NMSU had 339 total yards.
Senior running back Marlon Lucky led Nebraska with 103 rushing yards and two scores, while Ganz ran for 69 and threw for 159 more.
"He does a great job with boot legs and with running that offense," said Mumme of Ganz.
Nebraska led 21-0 at halftime and it could have been worse if not for NMSU stopping the Cornhuskers on downs inside the five and Nebraska place kicker Alex Henery missing a 35-yard field goal.
Pelini said he'd use three running backs and he did. Lucky started and ran for 44 yards in the first half, Quentin Castille ran hard and was elusive and had 40 yards and Roy Helu Jr. had 29 yards. Ganz ran the option well and had 64 yards on four carries.
Ganz scored on a 33-yard run, Lucky scored from eight yards out and Lucky hit Ganz on a 20-yard touchdown pass when he took a handoff, went right, then found Ganz who ran a post route, wide open for the score.
The touchdown pass was set up by a 57-yard interception return by Armando Murillo when Holbrook's pass sailed over the head of Marcus Anderson. The return gave Nebraska a first down at the NMSU 20.
Nebraska outgained NMSU 292-163 in the first half, including 172-49 on the ground. The Cornhuskers had just 99 yards rushing in last week's win against San Jose State.
Meanwhile, NMSU didn't get the numbers it wanted on offense. Holbrook had just 142 yards passing and no touchdowns on the night. Senior receiver Chris Williams was playing in his first game in 11 months after recovering from a broken collarbone and had four caches for 42 yards. And the team was just 1 for 4 in the red zone.
"Rusty is a word I would use to describe tonight," Williams said. "We didn't execute as well as we could have. We have some new guys, we can improve."
Added Holbrook: "I played like a freshman. I missed five open receivers and if I make those plays, things could have been different. On the second interception, Nebraska did a good job of tricking me and I fell for it. They showed blitz, I made a wrong read."
The Cornhuskers added three scores in the second half, two of them coming in the third quarter. Lucky scored from a yard out after setting it up with a 58-yard run on a reverse. Later, Ganz found tight end Mike McNeill for a 35-yard touchdown pass on a pass in the flat which McNeill took most of the way.
"They ran the ball well and we had too many assignment errors," NMSU safety Derrick Richardson said. "We did some good things, but we have a long way to go where we want to be."
The Aggies actually started the game with an impressive drive down to the Nebraska 3-yard line. New Mexico State had five first downs on the drive and did it with a combination of passing and rushing.
Receiver Wes Neiman had a 15-yard run on the drive, Anderson caught a 14-yard pass and got it down to the Nebraska seven and Williams had a 14-yard reception.
But on second and goal at the 2-yard line, running back Brandon Perez was stopped for a one-yard loss and a Holbrook pass to A.J. Harris was broken up by Matt O'Hanlon in the end zone.
The Aggies tried a 20-yard field goal by left-footed kicker Kyle Hughes, but 6-foot-7 defensive end Zach Porter blocked the kick with his left hand and Nebraska recovered. It was Porter's third career block.
New Mexico State's offense struggled the rest of the half and the team got inside the Nebraska 50 just once after the opening drive.
"Coaches have jitters too," Mumme said. "As a staff, we could have made a couple of different calls, particularly inside the five. We wanted to come out and get on top, but we weren't able to and then we couldn't overcome mistakes."
The second half wasn't much better for NMSU. Once again, the team got to the Cornhuskers two, but two sacks drove them back to the 22. A pass interference call on Nebraska moved the ball to the 20, but Holbrook was picked off by O'Hanlon.
"Nebraska played really well," junior running back Marquell Colston said. "Their linebackers were good and they didn't allow us many big plays."
Colston led the team in rushing with 45 yards, while freshman Ronald Opetaia had 39.
The Aggies did score early in the fourth quarter with the help of the defense.
Nebraska's quarterback Patrick Witt fumbled the ball and NMSU corner Marvin Betts returned it 48 yards to the Nebraska 3 and one play later, Colston scored from three yards out.
Much of the credit on defense for Nebraska must go to the defensive backfield, which didn't give up many big plays on the night and also tackled well when NMSU did catch a ball.
The Aggies will try and rebound next Saturday at rival Texas-El Paso.
Notes: Chris Williams moved into third-place all-time at NMSU in reception yardage, passing Ryan Shaw...Holbrook saw his streak of pass attempts without an interception end at 67 with his first half interception...Richardson's 17 tackles were a career-high.
Felix Chavez can be reached at fchavez@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5444
