In classic fashion, Huskers maul Wildcats

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Matt Slauson called it "classic Nebraska."

Nebraska's senior offensive guard was talking about the option rushing attack the Cornhuskers employed during NU's 56-28 victory at Kansas State on Saturday, but he might as well have been talking about the game in general. The Huskers gained 340 rushing yards - most of them off of option runs - and the Blackshirt defense held the Wildcats to under 250 yards of total offense.

Nebraska finished the game strong - scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter for the second straight week - and dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

NU Coach Bo Pelini, however, wasn't elated.

"To me, allowing 28 points means we were sloppy," he said. "I don't think (the final score) is an indication of how we played on the defensive side of the ball, but you are going to give up extra points when you make mistakes."

It was reminiscent of the outcomes this program used to produce on a consistent basis during past trips to Manhattan, Kan., but the game did not start out that way.

The mistakes Pelini referred to include a 57-yard interception return by Kansas State's Courtney Herndon in the first quarter that gave the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead. Nebraska also allowed a 63-yard touchdown pass from KSU quarterback Josh Freeman in the second quarter and a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth.

"(KSU's) offensive production really came down to those big plays and we have to eliminate that from our game," Pelini said. "Overall, I thought we did a lot of good things."

Only one Wildcat score came off of a traditional offensive drive. It happened when backup quarterback Carson Coffman replaced Freeman in the third quarter and led KSU 92 yards to the end zone. Freeman never re-entered the game after that and KSU head coach Ron Prince said he pulled the junior because "he wasn't his normal self for whatever reason."

Freeman finished with seven completions and more than half of his passing yards came off of one play.

The other half of Nebraska's vintage victory came from Nebraska's 610 yards of total offense. Nebraska posted its most prolific rushing performance against a Big 12 Conference opponent since 2002 - the year after Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch led NU and its power-option attack to the national championship game.

The Huskers used traditional option plays and modern zone-read option runs to allow quarterback Joe Ganz to lead the team with 11 rushes for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Ganz consistently made the right decisions on options plays - cutting up field when appropriate and pitching to a running back when necessary.

"That's what Nebraska's had is great quarterbacks being able to move and it's great to have the dual-threat there again," Slauson said.

Running back Roy Helu Jr. added two scores of his own and five NU rushers averaged over five yards per carry. Nebraska controlled the ball for just under 19 minutes in the first half en route to a 35-14 Husker lead before the break.

Penalties stalled Nebraska drives after halftime; however, and the Huskers lost the third quarter 7-0.

"I thought we were inconsistent today," Pelini said. "I thought we got sloppy there in the second half."

Nebraska led by just two scores heading into the fourth quarter, but pulled away late. The Huskers ran 16 rushing plays compared to just four passes and chewed up 128 yards on the ground in the final quarter. Nebraska's three fourth quarter touchdowns all started as zone-read option plays.

"I thought Joe managed the (running game) well and the backs ran hard and tough," Pelini said. "I thought we had a really good plan on knowing how they were playing us. Joe was able to hurt them with his feet and that helped open up our running backs too."

As if to stick with the old-school theme, Nebraska played three quarterbacks (Ganz, Patrick Witt and Zac Lee) and had five rushers (Ganz, Helu, Castille, Marcus Mendoza and Marlon Lucky) gain over 45 yards in the game.

However, Pelini said there is still plenty of things to improve upon as the Huskers head toward a bye week before hosting Colorado on Nov. 28.

"We are not playing close to what I envision being our potential and that's something we have to keep working towards," Pelini said.

krisknowlton@dailynebraskan.com