TWO THUMBS DOWN

Yes, the 60-point loss was the worst in Nebraska football history. No surprise there. The worst margin of defeat previously was 54 points, three times: 61-7 against Minnesota in Lincoln in 1945, 54-0 at Indiana in 1944 and 54-0 at Minnesota in 1943. The point total also was the highest ever allowed by the Cornhuskers. The previous high was 62 points by Colorado in 2001.

It was just the 10th time in school history that an opponent scored more than 50 points.

Even so, coach Bill Callahan didn’t accuse the Red Raiders of running up the score. “No, not at all,” he said. “As a coach, you’re accountable for keeping the score down.”

Texas Tech also scored 70 points against TCU in mid-September, winning 70-35.

NUMBERS DO LIE

The Cornhuskers wanted to control the ball and keep Texas Tech’s offense off the field, which they were able to do during the first half. They ran 50 plays to Tech’s 31, with a dramatic time of possession advantage, 20:38 seconds to Tech’s 9:22. Both teams threw 27 passes in the first half, but the Red Raiders gained 293 yards to Nebraska’s 175. And, more to the point, they led 21-3.

They also couldn’t take advantage of a rash of personal foul and unsportsmanlike penalties against Texas Tech, which drew a combined six of the 15-yarders in the first half.

One of the six was offset by an unsportsmanlike penalty charged against Nebraska.

The numbers balanced out in the second half.

PASS-RUN RATIO

Nebraska threw 42 passes and ran the ball 37 times. The last game in which the Cornhuskers had more passes than rushes was against Missouri on Oct. 11, 1969 (42 passes, 38 rushes). The 42 passes tied the school record, which also was tied in the second game of the season against Southern Miss. In addition to the Missouri game in 1969, Nebraska also threw 42 passes against Iowa State in 1972.

None of those games have been victories. The Iowa State game was a tie.

LEFLORE STEPS UP

Junior Mark LeFlore, who went into the game with four pass receptions for 25 yards, led the Cornhusker receivers with five catches for 110 yards and one touchdown — on a career-long 74-yard play. The touchdown pass also was a career-long for quarterback Joe Dailey.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Texas Tech hadn’t defeated Nebraska in seven previous meetings, including four since the beginning of Big 12 play in 1996. It was the only Big 12 team to which the Cornhuskers hadn’t lost, in fact.

INTERCEPTION BATTLE

Dailey and Texas Tech’s Sonny Cumbie went into the game with the dubious distinction of being tied for the nation’s most interceptions with 11. Dailey took the lead late in the first quarter when Red Raider defensive end Adell Duckett tipped pass and then caught it. With less than 6 minutes remaining in the half, however, Daniel Bullocks intercepted a Cumbie pass.

Cumbie’s interception was insignificant, however, all things considered. His five touchdown passes were the most ever against the Cornhuskers in a regular-season game. Florida State’s Peter Tom Willis threw for five touchdowns against Nebraska in the 1990 Fiesta Bowl game.

Cumbie finished with 436 yards passing, completing 44 of 56, to become only the sixth player in school history to pass for more than 400 yards against the Cornhuskers. He was far behind the record for passing yards against Nebraska. Louisiana Tech’s Tim Rattay passed for 590 yards in a 56-27 loss at Memorial Stadium to open the 1998 season.

BACK TO DYCHES

Coach Bill Callahan’s confidence in senior place-kicker Sandro DeAngelis, after an 0-for-2 effort against Kansas, was short-lived. DeAngelis missed on a 43-yard field goal attempt on the game’s first possession, when the ball hit high on the right upright, and sophomore David Dyches replaced him. Dyches accounted for the Cornhuskers’ only first-half points with a 46-yard field goal.

DeAngelis continued to handle extra-point kicks, however, meaning Nebraska had different players do the place-kicking. Punter Sam Koch again handled kickoffs.

LEACH’S LONGEST

Cumbie’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Hicks with 1:14 remaining in the first half was the longest in Mike Leach’s five-season tenure as coach and the eighth longest in school history.

BY THE NUMBERS

Freshman Santino Panico, Nebraska’s punt returner, wore his third jersey number in as many weeks. He wore No. 80 against the Red Raiders, after wearing No. 29 and then No. 30.