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International Man of Mystery
From the Old Weird Harold:
From the LJS:
‘Hybrid' Gomes ready to line up anywhere
DeJon Gomes isn't into the labeling game.
He is Nebraska's defensive back/linebacker/whatever else he's asked to do. Gomes came up huge Thursday night in a run-stuff role.
The 6-foot, 200-pound senior finished with 12 tackles as the Huskers held one of the nation's top running backs to 63 yards on 22 carries.
For his part, Gomes said, he enjoys playing closer to the line of scrimmage.
“It's fun,” Gomes said. “I'm pretty sure in the minds of the offensive linemen, they just (say) ‘Oh, that's a little guy in the box.' But I'm just going to go in and scrap with them all game.”
Gomes' role may change from week to week. He could go from focusing on Daniel Thomas and Kansas State's rushing attack to covering a wideout all game against Texas. Such is the life of a self-described “hybrid.”
“Wherever they want me, I'm going to play,” Gomes said, “and I'm going to do the best of my abilities to perform the task at hand.”
No trophy for you
Don't get Prince Amukamara wrong, he's not shedding any tears for Washington quarterback Jake Locker or Kansas State running back Thomas.
But NU's star cornerback did offer a bit of consolation for the two players on Thursday night.
Locker and Thomas had been mentioned as outside candidates for the Heisman Trophy. But Nebraska's defense probably ended that talk for both players.
Thomas was held in check Thursday night, averaging less than 3 yards on 22 attempts. Locker went 4 for 20 with two interceptions in a loss to NU on Sept. 18 in Seattle.
“I feel bad for the Heisman hopefuls,” Amukamara said, “but we're just playing Nebraska ball. Our defense is just playing the way we're taught.”
Hey, it rhymes
So that's where Kyler Reed's nickname comes from.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end showed off some wheels on a third-quarter touchdown reception, outrunning a cornerback after Reed had to slow down to catch a deep ball.
“‘Speed Reed,' that's what we call him,” said Mike McNeill, a receiver and former tight end.
For the second straight game, Reed caught a touchdown pass. His score Thursday was a 79-yard reception on which Reed motored away from a defensive back for the final 40 yards or so.
“I knew he was somewhere near me. That's why I kind of took an angle toward the sideline,” Reed said. “I was like, ‘I have to score this way. This is my chance for the night.' I had to make the most of it.”
Reed's catch came off a run fake, something he said the Huskers could feature more if teams key on stopping the run.
“As a tight end, when we're doing play-action passes and the safeties are coming up for run support, it's a real advantage for us,” he said. “So it's a big advantage for us if we're running the ball well. It helps me get behind the safeties.”
The end of a rivalry
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini offered his thoughts Thursday on the end of the Kansas State-Nebraska series. The teams have played 95 games in 99 years, but future schedules don't include games between the teams as the Huskers move to the Big Ten next season.
“I haven't been here much,” Pelini said. “I haven't been a part of this rivalry, but by the location, by what coach (Bill) Snyder's done with the Kansas State program, it's a shame.
“But you move on, I guess. I thought it was a good rivalry on both sides.”
A change of pace
That was no hurry-up offense the Huskers instituted twice against K-State. Just a change of pace, Pelini said.
“We were trying to get the defense backs on their heels,” he said.
The Huskers hurried to the line of scrimmage late in the first half after a 17-yard Taylor Martinez pass to Niles Paul moved NU to the K-State 30-yard line. A false start moved Nebraska back to the 35 before Martinez ran for a touchdown.
NU returned to the faster pace for two plays in the fourth quarter before two carries by Rex Burkhead. The drive ended with a 41-yard Martinez run for the Huskers' final touchdown.
Ekeler on top of action
Nebraska knew that it would have to make in-game adjustments while defending the K-State offense, so linebackers coach Mike Ekeler joined the staff in the press box to help monitor the action from above.
That meant Ekeler had to spend this trip back to his alma mater away from the sidelines. Not exactly ideal for the animated Husker assistant, right?
“They sedated me and put me up in the cage,” Ekeler joked after the game.
Ekeler played under Snyder from 1991 to 1994. He said he always enjoys returning to Manhattan, Kan., even if he's away from the on-the-field action.
“I spent four great years here. I had the time of my life,” Ekeler said. “I really enjoyed playing for coach Snyder. I have a ton of respect for him.”
— Nick Rubek, Mitch Sherman and Jon Nyatawa
From the LJS:
NU offense improves execution of running game
After what was a rough night against South Dakota State, Nebraska running backs coach Tim Beck said the offense went to work on improving execution.
"We've just got to be better and more consistent at what we do, because we can be tough to stop at times when we're executing on all cylinders," he said.
Thursday was a case in point, as Nebraska rolled up rushing numbers not seen at NU since the 2001 season. Even more impressive, with 451 yards, Nebraska was the first K-State opponent since 1989 to surpass 400 rushing yards.
Quarterback Taylor Martinez was huge, but with 110 yards on eight carries Thursday, Roy Helu had his third 100-yard game this season and the 10th of his career. With 2,574 yards, he's now within 125 of reaching Nebraska's career top-10 list for rushers.
Helu's 68-yard TD run in the third quarter was the longest run of his career. Five of NU's touchdowns covered more than 35 yards, including 35-, 80- and 41-yard runs by Martinez. Nebraska's redshirt freshman QB now has 12 runs of 20 yards or longer this season.
"It's really a unit effort, but he's at the helm taking responsibility for that," Helu said.
The 241 rushing yards by Martinez rank as the eighth most productive night in school history and are the most by any Husker since Calvin Jones' school-record 294-yard performance at Kansas in 1991.
Martinez broke the quarterback single-game rushing record of 234 yards by Jammal Lord against Texas in 2002.
A passing grade
Kyler Reed had a long wait for Nebraska's longest pass play in eight years.
A wide-open Reed had to come back to catch an underthrown ball from Martinez, but after making the catch near the K-State 40-yard line, the sophomore tight end raced down the sideline for a 79-yard score to put NU in front 38-6 late in the third quarter.
"I think we had a fake on to Rex (Burkhead), and that really drew the safety and the corner up, and allowed me to get over the top," said Reed, who has scored on two of three receptions this season. "When you're running the ball like we were, it really helps the tight ends, especially, on those play-action passes."
Nebraska hadn't had a pass play cover as many yards since Lord connected with Matt Herian for an 80-yard touchdown against Colorado in 2002.
Cherry on the mark
After briefly losing his job for the season opener, McCook native Josh Cherry is 5-for-5 on field goals since returning to the Wildcats' lineup. Cherry connected twice Thursday, hitting from 46 yards and a career-long 48.
Nebraska's Alex Henery also connected twice and has made 12 straight field goals.
Injury report
* Kansas State wide receiver Brodrick Smith was carted off the field after trainers placed a splint on his left leg. Smith was gang tackled as Nebraska attempted a goal-line stand midway through the fourth quarter.
* Marcel Jones missed a fifth straight game for Nebraska. The Huskers' junior right tackle has been out with a sore lower back.
A numbers game
Nebraska's six straight road wins are the most since the Huskers won 10 straight from 1996 to 1998. Now 11-1 since losing to Iowa State last year, the Huskers have their best 12-game record since winning 13 in a row in 2000 and 2001.