LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska kept things basic on offense — except for on the play that broke open the Cornhuskers’ 38-7 victory over New Mexico State.
Nebraska (3-0) renewed its emphasis on the running game, but the big play Saturday night against the Aggies was I-back Marlon Lucky’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Joe Ganz on the quarterback throwback.
The call to run it came after Armando Murillo returned an interception 57 yards to put the Huskers at the Aggies’ 20 in the second quarter.
Lucky took a handoff and ran to his right while Ganz released out of the backfield. Lucky pulled up and lofted a perfect spiral to Ganz for a 14-0 lead. Lucky also threw touchdown passes against Iowa State last year and against Texas in 2006.
“He hit me right in stride,” Ganz said of Lucky. “He’s just money when you turn on the lights. Every time we run a trick play with him, he comes through.”
Ganz also threw a TD pass and ran for another, becoming just the third player in program history to produce a touchdown three ways in one game.
Johnny Rodgers did it in the 1973 Orange Bowl against Notre Dame and Eric Crouch in 1999 against California. Both won the Heisman Trophy.
“It would have been a lot better if I were the first,” Ganz said, “but those guys aren’t bad company.”
New Mexico State (0-1) was playing its first game of the season because its Sept. 4 opener against Nicholls State was canceled by Hurricane Gustav. The Aggies dropped to 1-19 against opponents in BCS conferences.
Lucky helped revive Nebraska’s rushing attack, which came in ranked 82nd nationally at 118.5 yards a game. Lucky ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns and went over the 2,000-yard mark for his career before leaving in the middle of the third quarter.
The Huskers generated 330 of their 553 total yards on the ground.
