The trap game turned into a cakewalk. Then it turned into a showcase for Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz.

Ganz threw for two touchdowns, rushed for two, broke the season record for total yards and ran the zone read option like a magician as Nebraska beat reeling Kansas State Saturday afternoon. NU jumped out to a 35-14 halftime lead and coasted – maybe a little too much - to a 56-28 win.

Aside from a rash of penalties and two mistakes that directly led to KSU touchdowns, the Cornhuskers‘ efficient offense (603 total yards) and smothering defense dominated the Wildcats and delighted the patches of NU fans spread throughout the 48,444 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Much of the Cat contingency, meanwhile, headed for the exits before the sun set behind the press box. They missed an exciting second half, in which KSU cut the lead to 14 twice. Ganz engineered two touchdown drives – finished both with touchdown runs – to answer as NU improved to 4-3 in Big 12 Conference, and 7-4 overall.

After an early interception of his was returned for a touchdown, Ganz was terrific, throwing for 270 yards, running for 95 more and doing it all against an aggressive, pressure KSU defense.

The newly-minted Blackshirts certainly lived up to the honor, bottling up Kansas State’s potent offense and thoroughly harassing quarterback Josh Freeman, who spent much of the game trying escape a relentless pass rush. He didn’t have much success, completing just 7-of-18 passes for 101 yards before leaving the game midway through the third quarter. Nebraska sacked him four times for a loss of more than 40 yards.

Using a variety of toss plays and option runs, Nebraska’s running game controlled KSU’s small defense. Roy Helu, Jr., Quentin Castille and Marlon Lucky all had their moments, although Castille’s 37-yard touchdown romp on fourth down and Helu’s Rozieresque 24-yard score were the most memorable. Another was a 14-yard gain in which Castille knocked two Wildcats out of the game – because he ran over them.

Still, the Wildcats stayed within striking range in the second half, thanks to a 95-yard touchdown drive midway through the third quarter and a 97-yard kickoff return by speedy receiver Brandon Banks at the beginning of the fourth. Ganz squelched all thoughts of a comeback, however, with two touchdown drives that largely featured his running skills on the zone read play. He scored one touchdown from 25 yards, and the second from 14 yards. Marcus Mendoza added a late touchdown for the final margin.

Kansas State scored first on Courtney Herndon’s 57-yard interception return for a touchdown, as he caught a wild pass from Ganz, sprinted down the left sideline and carried Lucky into the end zone.

The Huskers answered, quickly. Ganz found tight end Mike McNeill for 29 yards, Helu gained 17 on a toss play and Ganz gained eight yards on a zone read play to set up NU at KSU’s 1-yard line. Helu finished off the drive one play later to tie the game 7-7. After forcing a Wildcat three-and-out, Nebraska put together an 81-yard touchdown drive, culminating in Castille’s 37-yard touchdown run on fourth down and inches. Castille broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage, stiff-armed a third defender and galloped down the sideline toward NU fans. The Huskers led 14-7.

KSU then hit its second big play, a 63-yard touchdown pass from Freeman to Ernie Pierce who beat NU cornerback Anthony West on the play. Kansas State tied the game at 14, and promptly went into a shell for the rest of the first half.

The Huskers’ Prince Amukamara forced a fumble on Deon Murphy’s punt return, Niles Paul recovered it, and Helu scored two plays later on a dynamic 24-yard run, in which he made a cut seconds after getting the handoff, jutting hard to the outside, and accelerating as he hugged the sidelines. Nebraska scored on its next drive, as well, as Ganz hit Peterson for a five-yard touchdown. The Huskers tacked on a fifth touchdown just before halftime when Ganz, executing the two-minute drill, found McNeill for an 18-yard score.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post