LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini delivered two postgame speeches after the sixth-ranked Cornhuskers’ 38-17 pounding of Idaho on Saturday.
“I told the defense that they played their tails off,” he said.
As for the offense, Pelini said, “They got a good you-know-what chewing.”
Taylor Martinez, a freshman quarterback, rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and Roy Helu Jr. ran for 107 yards and a TD. But the Huskers (2-0) committed four turnovers and had 10 penalties for 123 yards.
Nebraska’s defense shined.
The Blackshirts intercepted native Nebraskan Nathan Enderle five times — with defensive backs DeJon Gomes and Rickey Thenarse scoring touchdowns on returns — and they had seven sacks against the Vandals (1-1) of the Western Athletic Conference.
The uneven performance was a red flag to Pelini, whose team faces a major road test next Saturday at Washington.
“Our attention to detail needs to pick up. Our attitude needs to pick up, and our standards need to pick up,” Pelini said. “We’ll get that fixed. We’ll be fully ready as a football team to go to Seattle. I promise you that.”
Martinez went over 100 yards rushing for the second straight game, but he fumbled and threw an interception that resulted in Idaho’s first touchdown. “We didn’t come out very strong at all,” he said. “I didn’t think it was a very good game at all.”
It was a brutal day for Enderle, the Idaho quarterback who grew up rooting for the Huskers and was playing in his home state for the first time since high school. The fifth-year senior from North Platte, Neb., was sacked five times. And he threw three of his five interceptions on consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Nebraska converted each of those second-quarter picks into touchdowns to lead 31-3 at halftime.
Enderle was 16-of-31 for 141 yards and was pulled midway through the fourth quarter.
“It was rough,” Enderle said. “You don’t like to have a game go that way.”
Gomes finished with a team-leading 10 tackles and Jared Crick had 2 1/2 sacks.
