Feeling Lucky; No. 20 Nebraska routs Nevada

Sep 2, 2007, 8:20 GMT

Lincoln, NE - Marlon Lucky rushed for a career-high 233 yards and found the end zone four times as the 20th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers rolled past the Nevada Wolf Pack, 52-10, in their season-opener at Memorial Stadium.

Three of Lucky's scores came on the ground while he added three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown for Nebraska (1-0), which won its 22nd straight season opener.

Sam Keller, a transfer from Arizona State who had to sit out last season, completed 14-of-25 passes for 193 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his debut with the Cornhuskers,

'I'll tell you what, I had some butterflies, but that's to be expected,' Keller said. 'It was just really, really nice to be out there playing again. I can't even tell you how good it felt to be out there running and offense and it had been a long time coming. I'm just pleased that it's here and I got the first one under my belt.'

Nick Graziano struggled behind center for Nevada (0-1), completing just 8- of-24 passes for 109 yards with an interception.

'They kept consistent pressure most of the game, but I had my reads and I should have gotten rid of the ball a little quicker,' Graziano said. 'Those are things we have to change before next week, before we go out to Chicago.'

The home team struck first after Keller completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Lucky with 4:16 to play in the opening quarter.

Nevada got on the board early in the second half after Brett Jaekle booted a 36-yard field to make it 7-3.

The Wolf Pack made a huge play defensively to jump in front with 10:53 remaining in the second stanza after Jonathon Amaya picked off Keller and returned the interception 80 yards into the end zone to give the visitors a 10-7 lead.

The Cornhuskers responded after Amaya's interception for a return with a pair of rushing touchdowns to close out the first half and take the lead.

First, Lucky capped a nine-play, 39-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown with 6:40 remaining while Quentin Castille pounded into the end zone from a yard out to give Nebraska a 21-10 lead at the break.

The Cornhuskers extended their lead to 28-10 with 11:30 left in the third quarter after Lucky rushed down the left sideline from 17 yards out for his third touchdown of the game.

Lucky continued his marvelous first game of the season after barreling across the goal line from three yards out to make it a 25-point advantage with just under nine minutes to play in the third quarter.

A 46-yard field goal by Adi Kunalic upped the Cornhuskers' lead to 38-10 with less than five minutes left in the third while a two-yard run by Castille late in the quarter made it a 35-point game.

A 17-yard touchdown run by Major Culbert in the final quarter capped the game's scoring.

Game Notes

This was the first-ever meeting between the programs...Lucky's rushing performance for the Cornhuskers was the most since Jammal Lord ran for 234 against Texas in 2002...Castille finished with 78 yards on 18 carries for Nebraska.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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