MINNEAPOLIS — Nebraska piled up the yards like Tom Osborne’s teams from back in the day, and all coach Bo Pelini could think about was how much better Rex Burkhead and Co. could have been.
The demanding coach sees the potential in these Huskers, and Pelini wasn’t about to be satisfied with a dominant victory against an overmatched opponent.
Burkhead rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown and No. 13 Nebraska racked up 346 yards on the ground in a 41-14 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.
“We had a lot of yards,” Pelini said with a shrug. “I thought there was a lot of things we needed to get cleaned up. I would give us probably somewhere around a ‘B’ in how we played in the run game.”
The Huskers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) took over TCF Bank Stadium in their first trip to the Twin Cities since 1989. More than two-thirds of the stadium was filled with red-clad Nebraska backers, and they had plenty to cheer about.
Taylor Martinez threw for 162 yards and a touchdown, and Austin Cassidy returned a fumble for another score in the Huskers’ first game since losing star defensive tackle Jared Crick to a season-ending injury.
“When you shut a team out in the first half, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it feels good,” Cassidy said.
MarQueis Gray was 9-for-18 for 122 yards for the Golden Gophers (1-6, 0-3) but was 2-for-8 for 9 yards in the first two quarters. Minnesota has been outscored 144-31 in three Big Ten games this season, including a 58-0 loss at Michigan and a 45-17 defeat at Purdue.
After Bill Callahan tried to bring more of a pro-style offense to Lincoln, Pelini has returned the Huskers to their power-running roots that made them perennial title contenders under Osborne. Martinez chipped in 52 yards and Kenny Bell added an 82-yard reverse for a score.
