Manhattan, KS (Sports Network) - Taylor Martinez rushed for a Nebraska quarterback-record 241 yards, along with four touchdowns, as the seventh- ranked Cornhuskers opened their final season of Big 12 Conference competition with a 48-13 rout of Kansas State.
Taylor Martinez Runs All Over Kansas State, Nebraska Rolls 48-13
Martinez, who had 15 carries, also completed 5-of-7 passes for 128 yards and a score. His rushing yards Thursday surpassed the 234 from Jammal Lord on November 2, 2002 against Texas. In five games this season, Martinez has 737 rushing yards.
Roy Helu Jr. rumbled for 110 yards and a TD for the Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0 Big 12), who are slated to move to the Big Ten, starting with the 2011 season. Nebraska is off to its first 5-0 start since the 2003 campaign.
Carson Coffman connected on 14-of-22 passes for 91 yards with a TD and an interception for the Wildcats (4-1, 1-1), who have lost to Nebraska in the past six meetings.
The Wildcats got the ball first and moved from their own 20 to the Nebraska 25, but on 4th-and-2 Coffman was stopped short of the chains on a rush.
On Nebraska's initial drive, Martinez threw a 24-yard pass to Mike McNeill, and on the next play the redshirt freshman QB scored on a 14-yard run.
Josh Cherry kicked a 46-yard field goal with under nine minutes left in the half for the Wildcats, but Martinez continued his incredible half by scampering into the end zone from 35 yards away after faking a handoff.
After a KSU punt, Alex Henery booted a 39-yard field goal for the Cornhuskers in the final minute for a 17-3 halftime lead.
On the third play of the second half, Martinez, off a quarterback draw, sprinted untouched up the middle 80 yards to the end zone.
On the first play following another Kansas State punt, Helu broke free off the right side for a 68-yard touchdown with nearly 11 1/2 minutes left in the third.
Cherry split the uprights from 48 yards away later in the quarter, but moments later Martinez connected with Kyler Reed on a 79-yard score and a 38-6 difference.
Martinez put the exclamation point on his incredible night by surging 41 yards down the right sideline for a TD less than three minutes into the fourth.
K-State finally hit the end zone with 9:57 remaining on Coffman’s fourth down, two-yard pass to Chris Harper.
Henery’s 40-yard field goal capped the scoring.
Daniel Thomas had 22 rushes for 63 yards for the Wildcats...Nebraska owns a commanding 78-15-2 all-time record in the series between the schools, including a 35-7-2 edge in Manhattan...The all-time rushing mark in a Nebraska game is 294, set by Calvin Jones, against Kansas on November 9, 1991...K-State wide receiver Brodrick Smith was helped off the field and then carted to the locker room with an apparent left foot leg with 10:10 left in the game...The Cornhuskers host Texas next Saturday, while the Wildcats play at Kansas next Thursday.
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