Huskers crank up running game, dismantle Aggies

It was bound to happen sooner or later. It took two games for the Nebraska football team to get it working, but it couldn't have worked much better during Saturday night's 38-7 win against New Mexico State.

'It,' refers to Nebraska's running game.

In the first two games of the season, Nebraska combined for 237 yards. On Saturday alone, Nebraska collected 330 yards on 44 carries against New Mexico State, who was only able to respond with 114 yards.

NU Coach Bo Pelini urged critics of the Huskers' running game that everything was just fine.

After Saturday night's walloping of the Aggies, Pelini could have said 'I told ya so.'

"(New Mexico State) had a lot of guys on the line of scrimmage," Pelini said. "We stayed committed to it and it was a good effort."

The run game may have been most bolstered by the return of fifth-year senior offensive tackle Lydon Murtha. Murtha missed the first two games with illness (?), but his presence on the field was just one of many things that helped open up the NU rushing attack even more.

Senior Marlon Lucky joined senior quarterback Joe Ganz and sophomore Quentin Castille as the night's top three rushers as the trio combined for 256 of the team's 330 rushing yards. The Huskers mixed a bevy of run, play-action and pass plays to keep the NMSU defense on its heels for most of the game.

The game, however, had an intriguing start. The Aggies started with the ball and drove all the way down inside Nebraska's 10-yard-line where they had first-and-goal at the NU 7-yard-line. Three plays later, the Aggies still weren't in the end zone and elected for a field goal that eventually got blocked by senior defensive end Zach Potter.

The Huskers who drove a similar distance down the field, but stalled at the end and elected for their own field goal-one that turned out to be the first missed field goal of NU sophomore kicker Alex Henery's career (?).

After that, however, it was all NU. After a quick three-and-out for the Aggies, NU took the field with a vengeance. With 2:37 still left in the first quarter and the game still scoreless, Ganz marched NU down the field in just 2:24 in a drive that was capped off with a Lucky 8-yard touchdown run.

NU didn't look back after that. They scored on their next two possessions to open a 21-0 lead that was never challenged by the Aggies as NU rolled to the final score of 38-7.

Going into the game, there was concern as to how NU would handle the confusing 3-3-5 defense that New Mexico State would showcase. Ganz said the solution was pretty basic - literally.

"We had to (keep it basic)," Ganz said. "You don't know what (NMSU defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn) is going to bring. He's so unpredictable, and it was tough. The plan was great and the guys executed it great."

Ganz said the offensive playbook was actually slimmed down a bit before the contest because they had some select plays that the team felt comfortable running. These select plays and more obviously worked against Dunn's 3-3-5 as NU shredded the Aggie defense both on the ground and through the air as the offense finished with a 553 yard night.

NU needed it, too. The Huskers proved the week before that the offense doesn't always click. Against San Jose State, NU was held under 100 yards rushing and was actually outgained by the Spartans. However, on Saturday night against the Aggies, it couldn't have been more balanced.

And personally, that's OK with Lucky.

"It felt great," Lucky said. "We had a nice week of practice, and it paid off in the game. We kept it original because we hadn't seen the defense before."

Lucky has room to be happy. With questions looming about what could possibly be wrong with the Husker running game, Lucky had a breakout party where he even recorded a 58-yard run that was nearly a touchdown.

The senior tailback said Saturday night was a little better, and a lot closer to his expectations of the backfield this season.

"The first few games they stacked the box, so we could just throw it," Lucky said. "I was happy (about the long run). Coaches always told me to get the little yards and the big one will come. I trusted them on that, and that's what happened."

Now, the Huskers get to dwell on what they were able to accomplish Saturday night. The team is 3-0 and gets a two-week hiatus before they get a visit from Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech was upset in week one by Eastern Carolina, but since then have looked sharp in wins over Furman and Top-30 ranked Georgia Tech.

The Hokies go toChapel Hill, N.C. before taking on the Big Red, but both Husker players and coaches know how important it was to get a solid win before the early bye week.

"It's important that we won, and that we played well," Ganz said. "We played a whole-team game, which is really good. That's how we want to play. We all played well."

spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com