Michigan State Powerless to Stop Rout by Nebraska

The ninth-ranked Spartans had a chance to build an almost insurmountable lead in the Big Ten Legends Division on Saturday against No. 13 Nebraska, but the Spartans’ road demons cropped up again in a 24-3 loss.

“What a difference a week makes,” Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio said.

The Spartans were held to 187 total yards, and quarterback Kirk Cousins couldn’t get anything going in the passing game against Nebraska’s swarming defense.

After throwing for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns in last week’s crazy 37-31 home win over Wisconsin last week, Cousins missed on 12 of his first 16 passes and finished 11 of 27 for 86 yards. He was sacked four times.

Cousins was intercepted on the Spartans’ first possession, was nearly picked off three other times and often threw into double coverage.

“We’re a much better team than we showed today, and we still have a lot of things in front of us to accomplish,” Cousins said.

The Cornhuskers (7-1, 3-1) have moved into a tie with Michigan State (6-2, 3-1) and Michigan for the Legends Division lead. The Huskers own the tiebreaker with Michigan State.

Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns and ran 35 times for 130 yards as Nebraska won for only the second time in 17 games against a top-10 opponent.

Burkhead, who went over 100 yards for the fifth time in six games, scored at the end of 80- and 89-yard drives in the third quarter that broke open a 10-3 game and seemed to break the Spartans’ spirit.

Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez completed only a shovel pass for no yards in the first half and was intercepted on a poorly thrown ball, but the offensive coordinator Tim Beck called on him to throw anyway.

He went 4 for 4 on the first series of the second half and completed third-down passes to Tim Marlowe and Brandon Kinnie before Burkhead scored from a yard out to make it a two-touchdown lead.

After another defensive stop by Nebraska, Martinez led the Huskers on a 12-play series that lasted 5:24 and essentially wrapped up the game. Burkhead carried on eight of the first nine plays and then, two plays after limping off the field with a leg cramp, caught a 27-yard touchdown pass.


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