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09/04/10 09:40:00
Printable Page
09/04 21:35 CDT Martinez leads Huskers to 49-10 win over W. Ky
Martinez leads Huskers to 49-10 win over W. Ky
By ERIC OLSON
AP Sports Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Looks like Nebraska found itself a quarterback, and he
may be leading the Huskers for quite a while.
Taylor Martinez ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 136 yards
in a sensational debut that led No. 8 Nebraska to a 49-10 win over Western
Kentucky on Saturday night.
The only redshirt or true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for
Nebraska, Martinez became the first Husker signal-caller since 2003 to run for
more than 100 yards in a game.
Martinez led Nebraska to touchdowns on his first two series and on four of his
eight. Cody Green led scoring drives on his two series. Zac Lee, the 2009
starter, didn't enter the game until the middle of the fourth quarter.
Western Kentucky's Bobby Rainey rushed 30 times for a career-high 155 yards and
a TD against a defense that was ninth nationally against the run last season.
Martinez ran 46 yards for a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage and
scored from 19 and 15 yards in the third quarter.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini kept the identity of his starting quarterback under
wraps until about a half-hour before the game. That's when the Huskers'
starters introduced themselves in a video on the big-screen scoreboard. The
crowd roared when Martinez's face appeared.
Since last spring Pelini and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson have raved
about the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder's athleticism. Husker fans found out why on his
first touchdown.
Martinez kept the ball on a zone read, squirted through the line, juked a
linebacker and darted left, shifting into a higher gear while outrunning
cornerback Kareem Peterson to the end zone for his 46-yard TD.
Martinez hit Rex Burkhead in stride across the middle for a 28-yard gain to
start the next series, which Burkhead finished with a 20-yard TD run.
The Huskers went three-and-out on Martinez's last two series of the half, but
he started the third quarter with a 43-yard run that featured a spin move after
he broke through the line. That drive ended when he faked an inside handoff and
scored from 19 yards.
Martinez showed some strength on his 15-yard TD, shaking his foot loose from
Peterson's grasp just before going into the end zone.
Martinez completed his first five passes and finished 9 of 15.
Green, the backup to Lee last year, entered in the middle of the second
quarter. He completed a couple short passes and ran for a first down before Roy
Helu Jr. scored on a 3-yard run. He re-entered early in the fourth quarter and
threw a 33-yard TD pass to Niles Paul. Green was 5 of 6 for 66 yards.
The Hilltoppers, who crossed midfield once in the first half - and then only
because of a Nebraska penalty - dented the Huskers' defense in the second half,
when they generated 201 of their 299 yards.
Casey Tinius kicked a 25-yard field goal and Rainey had a 5-yard touchdown run
for WKU.
Rainey almost had another touchdown, but DeJones Gomes stripped the ball just
as he was about to cross the goal line to finish a 47-yard run. Eric Hagg
recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
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