Game StatsPostgame QuotesPhoto GalleryLINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska gained 561 total yards of offense, led by running back Terrell Newby who rushed for 198 yards and scored three total touchdowns, to defeat University of South Alabama football 48-9 Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd of 89,822 at Memorial Stadium.
NU (1-1) took an early lead after capitalizing on a Jaguar turnover on the game's opening possession. Cornhusker safety Nate Gerry intercepted a Cody Clements pass at the NU 19-yard line on the fourth play of the game. The Huskers then put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive in 3:51, capped by a 13-yard touchdown run by Newby with 10:02 left in the opening period for a 7-0 lead.
After forcing a Jaguar three-and-out on the ensuing possession, NU marched 40 yards in six plays and doubled its lead to 14-0 on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. to Newby with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Newby pushed the NU lead to 21-0 with an eight-yard touchdown run, his third score of the first half, with 7:06 left in the second quarter to cap a nine-play, 91-yard drive that burned 5:10 off the game clock.
"They were a good football team, we knew it," USA head coach Joey Jones said. "We've played teams like this over the last several years, but this wasn't a very good showing for us. But our guys fought, they never let their heads get down and they never quit, but we have some things we need to fix."
USA (1-1) moved the ball down to the NU-4 in 12 plays on the following possession, highlighted by a 55-yard pass completion from Clements to Josh Magee, but came away with no points following a turnover on downs with 1:40 left in the first half.
"It's very frustrating when we don't put the ball in the end zone," Clements said. "As an offense we had a bunch of good drives we just unfortunately didn't finish them."
The Jags forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Cornhusker possession, but a muffed punt return set up NU at the Jaguar 45-yard line with 16 seconds remaining in the half. Nebraska then moved the ball down to the USA-25 and pushed its advantage to 24-0 on a 42-yard field goal by Drew Brown on the final play of the first half.
The teams exchanged punts to open the second half before NU extended its lead to 31-0 with a nine-yard touchdown run by Imani Cross with 8:04 left in the third quarter to complete a six-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 1:55.
The Jags got on the board with 6:04 to play in the third quarter when Aleem Sunanon booted a 36-yard field goal, his third successful attempt in as many tries this season and his 11th straight dating back to last season, to cut the NU lead to 31-3. Sunanon's kick was set up by a seven-play, 37-yard Jaguar drive.
Nebraska answered with a 25-yard field goal by Brown with 14:51 left in the game to push the Husker lead to 34-3. The Cornhuskers added to their advantage when Armstrong Jr. connected with Jordan Westerkamp for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 12:44 left in the fourth quarter for a 41-3 lead.
On the ensuing possession, NU recovered a Jaguar fumble at the USA-2 and scored two plays later on a two-yard touchdown pass from Ryker Fyfe to Alonzo Moore for a 48-3 lead with 8:30 remaining in the contest.
E.J. May set up the lone Jaguar touchdown of the game when he intercepted a Fyfe pass at the NU-43 with just under six minutes to play. Dallas Davis then connected with Magee on a 36-yard touchdown pass for the final points of the game.
"I knew I got one foot inbounds as I actually tweaked my ankle doing that, so I knew I had drug the foot inbounds for the touchdown," Magee said. "It was great to have it overturned (by replay) knowing the previous touchdown that was called back by penalty earlier in the game."
The Cornhusker defense limited the Jaguars to 19 rushing yards, the program's second-lowest single-game total, while the NU offense's 561 total yards are the most ever allowed by a Jaguar defense. Nebraska averaged 7.5 yards per play and gained 31 first downs in the contest.
"Anyone could have a great game if you have an offensive line that performed like Nebraska's tonight," Jaguar safety Roman Buchanan said. "They played really well. We saw (how well they can play) on film as well. That was one of the best offensive lines I have played against in college. We've played Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and I knew from the beginning (of the game) that Nebraska is very fundamentally sound."
Clements completed 23-of-40 passes for 271 yards and one interception, and Magee finished with a game-high six receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown. Davis finished 3-of-5 passing for 42 yards and a touchdown. Armstrong Jr. completed 21-of-30 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns for Nebraska.
"I thought Cody had a great game," Jones said. "He stood in there and threw balls when he was hit right after he threw it, he didn't back down one time. And Josh caught at least five long balls even with the one for a touchdown that was called back. We really did some good things throwing the ball but we didn't run the ball well because they had some big human beings in there on the defensive front."
Newby rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and added two receptions for 38 yards and one score.
"They ran it really well against us all night," Jones said. "We were worried about their size, and with the inexperience of our defensive line we knew it was going to be a match-up problem. I thought that [Terrell] Newby was an excellent running back, but we also missed a lot of tackles."
Buchanan led all defenders with a career-high 11 total tackles, and Jeremy Reaves added a career-best 10 total tackles and one tackle for loss for USA. May finished with a pair of tackles, one tackle for loss and an interception. Michael Rose-Ivey led Nebraska with 10 total tackles.
"We have some guys who hadn't been in this situation, I think we had three or four freshman playing on defense where it was their first time in an atmosphere like this," Jones stated. "Our older guys are used to it having played at Mississippi State and South Carolina, but I did think it affected us early in the game. We tried to do all we could in practice but sometimes you just have to go through it and learn from it."
South Alabama will return to action next weekend when it travels to San Diego for a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup on Saturday with San Diego State.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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