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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Eric Crouch needed a little help this time.
Crouch threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, but No. 1
Nebraska needed scoring returns by Bobby Newcombe and Jamie Burrow
to hold off Missouri 42-24 on Saturday night.
|  | | Chris Kelsay and the rest of the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers had trouble stopping Missouri on Saturday. |
"Make no mistake. We feel very, very good about winning this
football game," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "Bobby's punt
return was huge."
Newcombe's return put Nebraska up 21-7 and broke Johnny Rodgers'
school record of 92 yards set against Oklahoma State in 1971.
Newcombe caught the ball at the Nebraska 5, ran through one tackle
right after the catch and went up the middle untouched. Andre
Roberson nearly caught Newcombe at the 5, but he was just out of
reach and Newcombe had his fourth career punt return for a TD.
"I just wanted to stand under it and catch the ball and run
with it. Our guys did a great job blocking and we got a touchdown
out of it," Newcombe said. "Any time you get a record it's pretty
exciting. But this was Johnny Rodgers' record so that makes it even
more special."
Rodgers, the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner who will be inducted
into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, was honored in
a pregame ceremony.
Nebraska (4-0) never trailed after the first quarter, but the
game was a lot closer than Solich would have liked. The Huskers won
despite their worst defensive performance of the season.
The Huskers allowed a season-high 492 yards to the Tigers (1-3),
who scored their most points in Lincoln since winning 35-31 in 1978
-- Missouri's last victory in the series.
Crouch has passed for eight touchdowns and run for seven this
season. He rushed for 110 yards on 24 carries and was 11-for-23 for
173 yards with touchdown passes to Correll Buckhalter and Jon
Bowling. Crouch added an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter
that was the Huskers' only offensive score of the second half.
Crouch hoped his performance proved he wasn't seriously injured
last week against Iowa when he passed for five TDs. Crouch missed
practice Monday and Tuesday.
"Yeah, I missed a couple of days of practice. But it was a
physical game last week," Crouch said. "The rumors that I had
broken my leg and things like that, I can't control that."
Dan Alexander had a 2-yard touchdown run in the first half for
the Huskers, who needed Newcombe's return late in the second
quarter and a fumble recovery that linebacker Jamie Burrow ran 28
yards for a touchdown in the third.
"The big difference came down to two plays. The punt return and
the fumble return. Those were the difference and we were never able
to make that up," Missouri coach Larry Smith said.
The Tigers were able to move the ball behind Kirk Farmer, but
the sophomore quarterback broke his collarbone on a 33-yard run
late in the third and Missouri never recovered.
Farmer was 13-for-25 for 214 yards and a touchdown. He also
rushed for 83 yards before leaving the game with about six minutes
left in the third.
"We are just coming together as a team. It's not like we saw
something special on their defense," Farmer said. "We are getting
much better at working our system."
Farmer was injured on a run that set up the Tigers on the
Nebraska 13, but they had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by
Brad Hammerich that cut Nebraska's lead to 35-24 with five minutes
left in the third. It was Missouri's last score.
Nebraska, which allowed 346 yards to San Jose State in the
opener, clinched it with a 10-play, 93-yard drive in the fourth
quarter that ended on Crouch's short run with about six minutes
left for his seventh rushing touchdown of the season. Nebraska got
35 yards during the drive on Missouri penalties, including an
unsportsmanlike conduct call on Smith that moved the ball to the
Missouri 19.
It was the third time in four games the Huskers have had a slow
defensive start as the Tigers had 258 yards of offense in the first
half. Farmer was 8-for-13 in the half for 170 yards, including a
48-yard strike to Gage with two minutes left in the second quarter
that cut Nebraska's lead to 21-14.
Missouri cut it to 28-21 early in the third on a 13-yard run by
Zack Abron. Farmer set up the play by catching a 35-yard pitch pass
from Justin Gage and getting leveled out of bounds by Keyuo Craver,
who was called for a personal foul. That gave the Tigers the ball
at the 13 and Abron scored easily on the next play.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Missouri Clubhouse
Nebraska Clubhouse
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