Green guides Nebraska past Baylor in first start

 

WERE YOU THERE?

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there »

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	11	18
Total Yards	273	276
Passing	128	222
Rushing	145	54
Penalties	6-65	4-25
3rd Down Conversions	5-15	5-16
4th Down Conversions	0-0	1-2
Turnovers	2	3
Possession	29:52	30:08

Air/Ground Leaders
Nebraska Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Green 12/21 128 0 1	Baylor Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Florence 19/38 222 0 2
Nebraska Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Robinson 13 61 1 23 Green 8 43 0 10	Baylor Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Finley 8 19 0 7 Wright 4 15 0 7
Nebraska Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Paul 2 54 0 45 Robinson 3 22 0 19	Baylor Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Gettis 7 124 0 41 Wright 4 49 0 28

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				NEB	BAY
	TD	13:31	Justin Blatchford 25 Yd Return Of Blocked Punt (Alex Henery Kick)	7	0
	FG	05:43	Alex Henery 45 Yd	10	0
SECOND QUARTER				NEB	BAY
	FG	12:16	Alex Henery 22 Yd	13	0
	TD	09:28	Dontrayevous Robinson 1 Yd Run (Alex Henery Kick)	20	0
THIRD QUARTER				NEB	BAY
	FG	09:22	Ben Parks 41 Yd	20	3
	TD	03:27	Cliff Odom 45 Yd Interception Return (Ben Parks Kick)	20	10

WACO, Texas -- Freshman Cody Green led Nebraska to points on its first three drives in his first college start as the Cornhuskers ended a two-game losing streak, beating Baylor 20-10 on Saturday.

Justin Blatchford returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, Dontrayevous Robinson added a rushing score and Jared Crick had a school record of five sacks to help Nebraska (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) beat Baylor (3-5, 0-4) for the 10th-straight time.

Green, a Texas high school star from a town about 200 miles southeast of Waco, was 12 of 21 for 128 yards passing to stake Nebraska to a 20-0 lead. The Huskers had scored a just 17 combined points in recent home losses to Texas Tech and Iowa State, and they matched a school record with eight turnovers against the latter.

Baylor lost its fourth in a row and hasn't beaten Nebraska since 1956. Clifton Odom returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter to bring the Bears within 10.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini promised personnel changes earlier this week after watching his offense sputter in consecutive lackluster performances. The biggest move came at quarterback, where junior Zac Lee had started the first seven games of the season.

Green got a hand from the Huskers' special teams before he even took the field.

Eric Martin came up the middle and blocked Derek Epperson's punt on the first series of the game. Blatchford scooped up the loose ball at 25 and dove into the end zone right in front of the red-clad Nebraska contingent.

Green and the Huskers offense received a hearty applause from Nebraska's fans when they first took the field.

The 18-year-old from Dayton, Texas scrambled for 10 yards to earn a first down on third-and-5 during Nebraska's opening offensive series, which ended in Alex Henery's 45-yard field goal.

Green was 3 of 5 passing on his second drive, including a 22-yard toss to Kyler Reed that set up another Henery field goal.

Green dropped a perfect throw just over Niles Paul's shoulder for 45 yards, giving the Huskers the ball at the Baylor 1. Robinson scored two plays later, extending Nebraska's lead to 20-0 with 9:28 left in the first half.

Nebraska had 273 yards of offense, 30 fewer than what it averaged in conference play. The Huskers, though, capitalized on their opportunities, something they didn't do when they turned the ball over four times inside the 5 last week.

The Huskers then went more than a quarter without a first down to help Baylor get back in the game.

Ben Parks kicked a 41-yard field goal to cap the Bears' first possession after halftime, then Green made his biggest mistake of the game.

Odom stepped in front of Paul and intercepted Green's pass, returning for a touchdown with 3:27 left in the third.

The Bears drove inside the Nebraska 20 twice in the fourth quarter but came away with no points. Parks missed a 24-yard field goal and turned the ball over on downs as Baylor failed to cut into Nebraska's lead.

Nebraska's defense constantly badgered quarterback Nick Florence, who started the season third on the depth chart before he was forced into action because of injuries.

Florence, 19 of 38 for 222 yards, was intercepted twice and sacked seven times. David Gettis caught seven passes for 124 yards.