Texas dominates Huskers
Dominating.
There was no other word to describer Texas' 31-7 victory over Nebraska.
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Texas' much-maligned defense limited Nebraska to 175 total yards, and tailback Cedric Benson ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns as No. 16 Texas took care of No. 12 Nebraska on Saturday.
"I thought Texas played exceptionally well today, while we didn't respond with our best ballgame," Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. "We didn't tackle or block well. We weren't able to move the ball on the ground and our defense was on the field too much early in the game."
Quarterback Vince Young added 163 yards rushing and a touchdown for Texas, now 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12). Nebraska, which rushed for just 53 yards, fell to 7-2 and 3-2.
Nebraska quarterback Jammal Lord passed for 122 yards and a touchdown but ran for just 22 yards on 21 carries in the option and was sacked five times.
"Texas dominated up front, and Jammal (Lord) had a lot of pressure on him throughout the course of the game," Solich said.
Nebraska's loss jumbled the standings in the Big 12 North, where the Cornhuskers had been the only team with one conference loss.
Texas' defense hadn't been able to stop anybody on the ground all year, giving up huge yardage totals to Arkansas and Oklahoma, yet simply overwhelmed the Huskers, who came in the game averaging 259 yards rushing.
Last year, Lord ran for 234 yards against Texas. This time, he was dropped for a 5-yard loss on Nebraska's third play from scrimmage and it was uphill for from there for the Huskers.
Young had 141 yards by halftime, including a 65-yard TD sprint that made it 14-0. Wide receiver Roy Williams picked off two Nebraska defenders blocking downfield and Young went into the end zone untouched.
Benson, a 1,000-yard rusher the last two seasons, had all but disappeared in big games this year. He re-emerged in a big way, scoring Texas' first TD from a yard out.
Texas looked primed to take an even bigger lead in the first half but coach Mack Brown pulled Young for Chance Mock on Texas' final two series. Mock threw an interception at the Nebraska 1 with 30 seconds left.
Texas added a 24-yard field goal by Dusty Mangum in the third and threatened to finish the game early in the fourth when Young led the 'Horns to the Nebraska 10. But he threw a pass that was picked off by Josh Bullocks.
The interception gave Bullocks the school record for a season. He now has eight in nine games to lead the nation, and passed Larry Wacholz, Dana Stephenson and Bill Kosch, who all had seven. He now has nine in his career, to tie for ninth all time at NU.
The Cornhuskers responded with their first drive across midfield in the second half.
Lord lofted a perfect 48-yard pass to Matt Herrian for a touchdown to cut the score to 17-7. The TD allowed Nebraska to avoid its first shutout since 1996.
Texas answered with a 71-yard drive for Benson's second touchdown, a 5-yard run with 7:29 left. He added a 12-yard TD for the final score.
The Huskers travel to Kansas next Saturday in a 2:30 p.m. game that will be televised by Fox Sports Net.