LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Scott Frost, the native son who quarterbacked Nebraska to a share of the national championship 20 years ago, is returning to the Cornhuskers as coach after orchestrating a stunning two-year turnaround at Central Florida.

Athletic director Bill Moos on Saturday announced the much-anticipated hire a bit later than expected, about two hours after Frost’s 12th-ranked UCF team defeated No. 16 Memphis 62-55 in two overtimes in the American Athletic Conference championship game to extend its perfect record to 12-0. Frost agreed to a seven-year, $35 million contract.

Frost’s arrival at Nebraska has been long anticipated by fans clamoring for the program to return to the so-called Nebraska Way, a culture that yielded unprecedented success from the 1960s to 1990s under Hall of Fame coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne.

“It is a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to return to Nebraska and to lead the Husker football program,” Frost said. “I have been fortunate to be at a wonderful school the last two years, but Nebraska is a special place with a storied tradition and a fan base which is second to none. I am truly humbled to be here. The state of Nebraska and the Husker program mean a great deal to me. This is home.”

The 42-year-old Frost, who will be introduced at a Sunday news conference, takes over for Mike Riley, who was fired last Saturday. Frost is faced with the task of rebuilding a program that during a 4-8 season had their most losses since 1957, their fewest wins since 1961 and saw opponents score more than 50 points four times.

Johnny Rodgers, who won the Heisman Trophy for Nebraska in 1972, welcomed the move.

“I think it’s a good deal because the whole Husker nation is pretty much behind this,” Rodgers said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “We’ve always wanted someone with Nebraska ties as far as coaching was concerned, ever since they let Frank (Solich) go.”

Frost built an impressive resume as an assistant coach at Oregon and was seen by fans as a viable candidate after Nebraska fired Bo Pelini following the 2014 season. But then-athletic director Shawn Eichorst made a surprise hire, bringing in Riley from Oregon State. The Huskers went 19-19 over his three seasons.

Meanwhile, Frost excelled the last two years at UCF in his first head coaching job. He took over a Knights team that didn’t win a game in 2015 and went 6-7 and earned a bowl bid in 2016.

“He’s been able to bring them together in just a very short time,” Rodgers said. “It’s been almost a miracle what he’s been able to do in two years.”

That success has Moos thinking big.

“I am thrilled that Scott is returning to his alma mater to lead the Husker football program,” Moos said. “I truly believe that we have hired the premier young coach in the country and that exciting times lie ahead.”

Frost’s success has happened with a dynamic offense he dubbed “UCF-Fast” and averaged a nation-best 48.3 points per game entering Saturday’s game.

Frost’s father, Larry, played wingback for Devaney from 1967-69. His mother, Carol, was the first Nebraska female athlete to compete for the U.S. Olympic team, competing in the discus in 1968, and she later was the Huskers’ coach in women’s track.

Scott grew up about 100 miles west of Lincoln in Wood River, where his dad was head football coach and his mom was receivers coach. He started all four of his seasons at Wood River, was the state high school player of the year as a senior in 1992 and one of the nation’s most highly recruited quarterbacks.

Frost narrowed his college choices to Nebraska and Stanford and shocked the state when he accepted Bill Walsh’s offer to play for the Cardinal. He never gained traction as a quarterback at Stanford and ended up playing safety.

He returned to Nebraska and sat out the team’s 1995 national championship season due to transfer rules. He was the Big 12’s offensive newcomer of the year in 1996, and the next season he led the Huskers to a 13-0 record.

In an image burnished in the collective memory of Nebraska fans, Frost took the microphone on the field moments after a 42-17 win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl and delivered a speech imploring voters in the coaches’ poll to send Osborne into retirement with a share of the national championship. The coaches did vote Nebraska No. 1, and Michigan was crowned champion by The Associated Press.

The New York Jets drafted Frost in the third round in 1998, and he spent six seasons as a safety with four NFL teams. His coaching career began taking off at Oregon, where he was Chip Kelly’s receivers coach from 2009-12 and Mark Helfrich’s offensive coordinator from 2013-15.

Now Frost returns to his alma mater charged with returning to prominence a program teetering on the edge of national relevancy. The Huskers won five national titles between 1970 and ’97 and rank fifth all-time with 893 victories. They also have won an NCAA-record 46 conference championships, but none since 1999.

Frost will be Nebraska’s fourth coach since Solich, who took over for Osborne, was fired in 2003. Frost’s three predecessors had no ties to Nebraska, and his track record at Oregon and UCF has fans confident he is the right man to return the Huskers to their place in the college football hierarchy.

“He left here a long time ago and rose to be a star,” Rodgers said. “Now, he’s coming back with the opportunity of a legacy.”

Frost looks forward to the challenge.

“I am appreciative of the confidence Bill Moos and our university leadership have in me to lead this program,” Frost said. “I would not have the opportunity to be in this position without a lot of great people who have helped me throughout my career. Specifically, I would like to thank Coach Osborne who has played such an integral role in my life over the past two decades, both on and off the field. Go Big Red!”

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer Jr. and Isaac Copeland scored 15 points apiece, and Nebraska broke open the game late in a 71-62 win over Boston College on Wednesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Cornhuskers (6-2) went on a 12-0 run after Boston College (5-3) had trimmed their lead to 59-57. Palmer, who scored 11 points in the second half, started the spurt. Copeland ended it, leaving the Huskers with a 71-57 advantage with 1:30 to play.

Evan Taylor added a season-high 13 points and Glynn Watson Jr. had 10 points and six assists for the Huskers, who never trailed.

Jerome Robinson had 17 points, Ky Bowman added 13 points and eight rebounds and Nik Popvic had 10 points for the Eagles (5-3), who have lost three straight in the Challenge.

Vin Baker Jr.’s 3 pulled the Eagles within 51-50, and after the Huskers tried to pull away, Bowman scored inside to trim it to 59-57.

Boston College then missed seven straight 3s and a layup during a six-minute scoring drought, and Nebraska went on its decisive run.

The Eagles were coming off a 20-point loss to Providence four nights ago and were missing starting guard Jordan Chatman (shoulder). Freshman Steffon Mitchell made his first start in Chatman’s place.

The Huskers played without forward Isaiah Roby (ankle).

Nebraska, which entered the game shooting 34.8 percent on 3-pointers, made 8 of 13 from deep in the first half, including one by Watson just ahead of the buzzer to give the Huskers a 44-36 lead at the break.

Nebraska was just 1 of 6 from beyond the arc in the second half and finished 9 for 19.

BIG PICTURE

Boston College: Even though the Eagles came in shooting 33 percent on 3s, they were eager to shoot them and went just 4 of 22, including 2 of 15 in the second half.

Nebraska: The Huskers have won three straight and beat a Power 5 conference opponent for the first time this season.

UP NEXT

Boston College visits Hartford on Saturday.

Nebraska visits No. 3 Michigan State on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska volleyball team was selected as the No. 5 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night and will host the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this weekend.

The Big Ten champion Huskers, making their 36th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. against the Stony Brook Seawolves (18-12), champions of the America East. The 4:30 p.m. match will feature the Florida State Seminoles (18-10) of the ACC and the Washington State Cougars (17-15) of the Pac-12. Friday’s winners will meet on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.

The Huskers missed out on a top-four national seed as Penn State, Florida, Stanford and Kentucky received the top four spots from the NCAA Tournament committee. Should those teams all advance past the first weekend, they would host an NCAA regional the following weekend. Nebraska is in Kentucky’s region along with No. 12 national seed Baylor and No. 13 national seed BYU. The Huskers would only have an opportunity to host an NCAA regional if they advance past the opening two rounds and Kentucky gets upset. The Huskers are familiar with Lexington, Kentucky as they won a regional there in 2015 to advance to the NCAA Semifinals before eventually winning the NCAA Championship in Omaha.

As of earlier this week, standing-room only all-session tickets remain for the NCAA first and second rounds in Lincoln. Those can be purchased through Huskers.com/tickets, through Nebraska Athletics Developing & Ticketing, or by calling 800-8-BIGRED.

The Huskers finished the regular season 26-4 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten Conference to earn their second straight Big Ten Championship, which they shared with Penn State. Nebraska will face a Stony Brook squad that is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance. Stony Brook knocked off top-seeded Albany to advance to the America East title game, and the Seawolves swept Binghamton for the conference crown.

The 2017 season marks the 33rd time that Lincoln has hosted NCAA first and second round competition. Nebraska is 102-31 (.767) in 35 previous NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2017 Husker squad is looking to become the first Nebraska volleyball team to reach three straight final fours. This year’s NCAA Championship is set for December 14-16 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

NCAA First and Second Round Schedule
First Round – Friday, Dec. 1
4:30 p.m. – Florida State vs. Washington State
7 p.m.* – Nebraska vs. Stony Brook
*or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 4:30 p.m. match, but no sooner than 7 p.m.

Second Round – Saturday, Dec. 2
7 p.m. – First Round Winners

— NU Athletics —

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Nebraska had big leads slip away in both halves but still wound up victorious.

Glynn Watson Jr. scored 26 points and Nebraska hung on after nearly blowing a 22-point lead to beat Long Beach State 85-80 Sunday in the fifth-place game at the Advocare Invitational.

“He’s a disruptive force,” Long Beach head coach Dan Monson said of Watson. “It’s almost like Richard Sherman on defense. You don’t want to challenge him.”

Isaac Copeland and Evan Taylor had 3-point plays during a second-half opening run that put Nebraska ahead 62-40.

Long Beach State responded with a run of its own and got with 76-59 with five minutes to play. The 49ers made it 83-80 on Jordan Griffin’s 3 with three seconds remaining.

“Somehow we have to be able to self-correct and change our trajectory when things start going bad,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said.

Anton Gill added 16 points for Nebraska (5-2) and Copeland finished with 13 points. Watson had 16 points in the first half as the Cornhuskers led by nine.

“I wasn’t really looking at the score,” Watson said. “Just out there playing hard and trying to build the lead.”

Long Beach State (3-4) got 22 points from Gabe Levin and Deishuan Booker added 15.

“I think they showed that they’re good enough to compete in our league, but they’re not consistent enough,” Monson said of his team. “The biggest thing is we got to get more consistent in what we do. You can’t start both halves the way we did and expect to take a Big Ten team and beat them.”

BIG PICTURE

Long Beach State: Levin has scored in double-digits in six of seven games. He averaged 16 points over the three games at the invitational.

Nebraska: Sophomore forward Isaiah Roby, who entered averaging 7.8 points and 19.8 minutes off the bench, landed awkwardly on his left leg and sprained his ankle midway through the first half. He watched the final 18 minutes of the game from the end of the bench with the ankle area taped.

COSTLY MISCUES

Nebraska converted 21 Long Beach State turnovers into 31 points. The Cornhuskers had 13 turnovers that resulted in 15 points by the 49ers.

FROM THE FLOOR

Nebraska was coming a season-best shooting of 56.7 percent in Friday’s 84-59 win over Marist. After a 58.3 percent performance Sunday in the first half, the Cornhuskers finished at 47.8 percent after making just 35.5 percent of their attempts over the final 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

Long Beach State: Plays Wednesday night at Arizona.

Nebraska: Hosts Boston College Wednesday night as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

— Associated Press —

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Central Florida rode a strong first half to remain undefeated.

Ceasar DeJesus scored 15 points, 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Central Florida downed Nebraska 68-59 in a first-round game Thursday at the Advocare Invitational.

UCF (4-0) is off to its best start since 2010-11

James Palmer Jr. had 20 of his 22 points in the second half for Nebraska (3-2).

Palmer’s strong second half helped Nebraska, which trailed by 18 early on, get within 53-47 with 3:15 to play but the Cornhuskers could get no closer than six the rest of the way.

“I thought we handled it pretty well,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We were pretty much able to maintain that seven- to 11-point lead. They switched defenses and that kind of slowed us down. We had to make adjustments.”

UCF converted 14 of 25 free throws, while Nebraska went 11 for 13.

“We couldn’t get to the line and we couldn’t get to the rim, and obviously that’s their MO,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “Tacko does an excellent job of being an air traffic control guy and just seeing everything in front of him and seeing when to go.”

DeJesus scored 10 and Fall had nine, including a slam that came off a nifty move into the paint, as UCF went ahead 36-20 at the half.

Fall departed with 4 1/2 minutes left after landing awkwardly on his right knee after trying to block a shot. He was able to return in the final minute before intermission.

“I’m okay,” Fall said. “Just have to fight through it.”

Fall got his lone second-half basket with 1:15 remaining, a slam that made it 60-51

The Knights held a 26-6 scoring advantage in the paint during the opening 20 minutes over Nebraska, which shot 25 percent (7 for 28). UCF’s margin in the paint for the game wound up 36-20.

LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY

Nebraska forward Isaac Copeland, who broke out of an early-season slump with 30 points in Sunday’s 92-70 win over North Dakota, had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. The junior forward missed a good portion of offseason work following back surgery last winter.

JUST MISSED

UCF forward A.J. Davis had eight points and 10 rebounds, and came up just short in a bid for a third consecutive double-double.

BIG PICTURE

UCF: Fall is one of the 40 tallest living persons in the world and the tallest player in NCAA Division I. His shoe size is 22 and has a wingspan of 8 feet, 4 inches.

Nebraska: Both losses have come against teams in the Advocare Invitational. The Cornhuskers lost to semifinalist St. John’s 79-56 on Nov. 6.

UP NEXT

UCF: Will play in the semifinals Friday night.

Nebraska: Enters consolation-round play Friday night.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It took four tries for Isaac Copeland to have the kind of game he was expected to play for Nebraska this season, scoring 30 points to lead the Huskers to a 92-70 win over North Dakota Sunday.

The Georgetown transfer, who averaged just 7 points per game in Nebraska’s first three contests, made 12 of 14 shots, including 3 of 4 three pointers, and pulled down eight rebounds while triggering the early first half spurt that put Nebraska up for most of the game.

Copeland was relieved to have his first big game at Nebraska.

“It felt good,” he said. “I have a good support system around me. My dad calls pretty much daily to let me know to keep working, stay positive and this is eventually is going to happen. I didn’t expect it to be 30 points. But I’ll take it.”

Nebraska (3-1) hit six of its first nine shots, taking a 15-5 lead on Copeland’s layup with 15:13 left in the first half. The Huskers led by as many as 18 in the first half in which they hit 61 percent of their shots.

North Dakota (2-2) turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and made just 12 baskets to fall behind 49-32.

The Fighting Hawks took advantage of Nebraska’s cold shooting to open the second half to cut the Husker lead to 53-46 on a Cortez Seales jumper with 14:07 remaining. Nebraska used a 12-2 run capped by an Anton Gill 3-pointer to go up 75-55 with 8:57 remaining.

“The second half we cut it to 10, but Conner (Avants) picks two quick fouls and that kind of deflated our rhythm a little bit,” said North Dakota coach Brian Jones. “Some of the things we tried to take away we did, some of the things we needed to take away we did not. … I give them a lot of credit. They have not shot the ball even remotely or nearly as well as they had today.”

Nebraska held Geno Crandall, who came into the game averaging 28 points per game, to just two free throws in the first half. Crandall, who finished with 13 points, got his first field goal with 12:50 remaining in the game.

“Evan Taylor did a tremendous job on Crandall in the first half,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “I don’t think people realize how tough he is to guard one-on-one. We had some guys helping him too, to shrink the floor. But Evan really did a great job on him. You can’t keep him forever. He still got 13.”

Marlon Stewart led North Dakota with 20 points. Avants had 16 points and Dale Jones had 11 points for the Fighting Hawks.

Gill had a career-high 16 points, Glynn Watson, Jr. had 13 points and Isaiah Roby had 11 points for Nebraska.

BIG PICTURE

North Dakota: This is the fifth-straight season the Fighting Hawks have played a Big Ten opponent and are now 0-7 all-time against the league since moving to NCAA Division 1 in the 2008-2009 season.

Nebraska: The Huskers struggled shooting through the first three games, making just 36 percent overall and only 27 percent from 3-point range. The Huskers finished at 53 percent on Sunday.

QUOTABLE

Miles on Copeland, who had back surgery and missed last season and Gill, who had knee surgery last year.

“I’m just so happy for them. Two guys go through major surgery, back surgery and the injury that Anton went down and see them just really explode, I’m just so happy for them. I know what a relief it is, how exciting it is for them and they deserve it. They’re worked every day, they’ve struggled without any groaning and griping. They’ve stayed with it … I’m really happy for those guys to bust out.”

UP NEXT

North Dakota will return to Grand Forks where it hosts Northland College in its home opener Tuesday.

Nebraska travels to Orlando where it will meet Central Florida in the first of its three games in the Advocare Invitational Thursday.

— Associated Press —

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Still a junior, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley wasn’t included Saturday in the Senior Day festivities even though it might’ve been his final game in Happy Valley, too.

If Penn State’s 56-44 victory over Nebraska was indeed it for Barkley — who’ll be coveted by the NFL should he decide to forgo his senior season — the Heisman Trophy candidate put on a memorable performance.

Barkley broke Penn State’s career touchdown record with three scores and had 208 of 224 total yards in the first half to lead the No. 13 Nittany Lions to their 18th win in 21 games. Barkley passed Lydell Mitchell for the record with his 39th touchdown.

Trace McSorley ran for a touchdown and threw for 325 yards on 24-of-36 passing with three touchdown passes for Penn State (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten). Mike Gesicki caught two scoring passes and became Penn State’s career touchdowns leader by a tight end with 13, and DeAndre Thompkins also had a touchdown catch in the highest-scoring game in Beaver Stadium history.

Backup quarterback Tommy Stevens added a touchdown pass to tight end Nick Bowers to help the Nittany Lions go unbeaten at Beaver Stadium for the second straight season. Penn State’s 609 yards of offense were the most by a Nittany Lion team since it put 661 on Rutgers in 1995.

“The first half was probably the best half of football we’ve played,” McSorley said.

Nebraska’s Tanner Lee returned from concussion protocol to complete 26 of 41 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns.

Morgan Stanley Jr. caught seven passes for 185 yards and a touchdown for Nebraska (4-7, 3-5). De’Mornay Pierson-El and Jack Stoll added touchdown catches for the Cornhuskers, who outscored Penn State 34-14 in the second half after trailing 42-10 at halftime.

“We just got off to a horrible start in the game and Penn State was real good,” Nebraska coach Mike Riley said. “(Barkley) made a big run early that set us off in a bad way. It got out of hand like that right off the bat.”

Devine Ozigbo and MIkale Wilbon ran for touchdowns and Drew Brown added a 23-yard field goal for the Cornhuskers. They will miss out on a bowl game for the first time since the 2007 season.

It didn’t take Barkley long to snap out of a recent rushing funk. The Heisman Trophy candidate broke his streak of three games with 63 rushing yards or less when he galloped 65 yards down the sideline on his first carry.

Barkley gave Penn State the lead for good with a 1-yard plunge late in the first quarter to make it 14-10 and passed Mitchell on an 8-yard run up the middle in the second.

Nebraska took advantage of two short fields to pull ahead 10-7 early.

The Cornhuskers recovered a punt that hit a Penn State player and Brown made a short field goal eight plays later. A shanked Blake Gillikin punt gave the Cornhuskers the ball in Penn State territory again and Ozigbo capped a short drive with a 1-yard scoring run that gave Nebraska a 10-7 lead with 6:17 to play in the first.

Nebraska managed just seven yards of offense the rest of the half and went 3-and-out six times, with five in a row to end the half.

But Lee had plenty left and led five touchdown drives on the Cornhuskers’ final seven possessions.

“The second half, obviously it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, offense and defense,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We didn’t play up to our standard at the end.”

BETTER THAN LYDELL?

Barkley passed a man who has always been regarded as one of, if not, the best player to wear a Nittany Lion uniform.

Former coach Joe Paterno used to refer to Mitchell, who was an All-American in 1971, finished fifth in Heisman Trophy balloting that season and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, as the best player he ever coached.

Franklin could likely say the same about Barkley who’s put highlight after highlight on tape in his three seasons. Franklin gave Barkley his opinion before the season about what he should do next but wouldn’t reveal that to reporters after the game.

“If I think they should leave early now, then I tell them that,” Franklin said. “If IBM came to our computer engineering department and offered a junior a $12 million contract, they’d be gone.”

Barkley remained mum on his future afterward.

“To be honest, I’m not really thinking about the future right now,” he said.

WIDEOUT DUO SHINES

Until this season, Nebraska never had two receivers reach the 800-yard mark. Stanley and Spielman have ended that drought and should give the Cornhuskers hope that the offense has playmakers on the outside moving forward.

Spielman bounced back from an apparent early shoulder injury to finish with six catches for 96 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Nebraska: The loss knocked the Cornhuskers out of bowl contention and speculation about head coach Mike Riley’s job security will likely ramp up in the coming days. Nebraska has lost five of six and allowed a combined 235 points in those defeats.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions got a confidence boost for what had become a one-dimensional offense lately and delivered a big blow in the series. Their 56 points are the most a Penn State team has put on a Nebraska squad ever, surpassing a 40-7 win in 2002.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Iowa on Saturday.

Penn State travels to Maryland on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — Shamorie Ponds scored 22 points, Justin Simon had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and St. John’s pulled away early from Nebraska for a 79-56 victory on Thursday night.

Bashir Ahmed scored 15 points and Marcus LoVett added 13 with three assists for St. John’s (3-0), which outrebounded Nebraska 50-39 and outscored them 44-16 in the paint. Ponds had seven rebounds and five assists, and scored 20-plus for the second straight game. Simon added four steals in recording his second straight double-double.

“This was our biggest test to date on this early season, and it was definitely going to pose some huge challenge — particularly on things that we haven’t done well in game situations, which are rebounding and defensive play,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. “We did a good job on both, but I think the most important thing is that tonight was really the first time that I saw our defensive alertness, quickness, and athleticism really showed.”

Marvin Clark II put the Red Storm up for good at 6-5 and it was 37-24 at halftime behind Ponds’ 14 points. Nebraska closed to 40-32 on Glynn Watson Jr.’s 3 pointer early in the second half, but St. John steadily pulled away to a 13-point lead on 3-pointers by LoVett, Ahmed and Clark.

James Palmer Jr. scored 13 points and Isaac Copeland grabbed seven rebounds for the Cornhuskers (2-1).

“The only good thing about basketball tonight is that we get the chance to strap it on again in three days,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “We didn’t rise to the occasion tonight and that’s disappointing, but it’s early in the year we have a lot of improvement ahead of us and I look forward to getting to it as soon as we can.”

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were unable to slow down the Red Strom backcourt after closing to within eight in the opening minute of the second half. … The Huskers shot just 28 percent from the floor, including 6 of 26 from 3-point range, and committed 16 turnovers.

St. John’s: The Red Storm had their most dominant effort of the season against their first high-major opponent at Carnesecca Arena. St. John’s opened with wins against New Orleans and Central Connecticut State.

“We knew coming into this game it was going to be a big one for our whole team and we wanted to come out with a lot of energy and I feel like we started and finished the game like that,” LoVett said.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts North Dakota on Sunday.

St. John’s closes out a four-game homestand on Monday night against Division II Molloy.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said he watched quarterback Demry Croft run read-option plays with running back Rodney Smith on Saturday and twice yelled “fumble” into his headset.

Croft had the Gophers’ first-year coach as confused as Nebraska.

Croft ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns, Smith added 134 yards rushing and a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and Minnesota ran over the Cornhuskers 54-21 on Saturday.

Kobe McCrary had 93 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Gophers, who finished with season highs of 409 yards rushing — eighth-most in school history — and 514 yards of total offense. Minnesota scored its most points in a Big Ten game since a 63-26 win against Indiana in 2006.

“We had this since training camp, really,” Croft said. “We just put it all together, all three phases of the game, today.”

Croft’s big day included an untouched, 73-yard touchdown run up the middle for a 20-7 lead at the start of the second quarter and he had a 64-yard scamper in the fourth as he set a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback.

“I thought he did a great job deciding when to pull it and when deciding not to pull it,” Fleck said of Croft running the read option. “I think that’s where the growth has come from. . The decision on him being able to pull it, he made those decisions. Weeks in the past, he didn’t make those decisions as well.”

The Gophers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) held Nebraska to 69 yards rushing on 33 attempts.

Redshirt freshman JD Spielman, a Minnesota native and the son of Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, caught nine passes for 141 yards for the Huskers (4-6, 3-4).

Smith set the tone for the day by taking the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, the first time the Gophers returned an opening kickoff for a score since 1998 when Tyrone Carter had an 86-yard touchdown return.

“It started bad and went from there,” Nebraska coach Mike Riley said. “The opening kickoff was really a setback for us. It didn’t have to be a killer. I thought we responded really well, and then we responded again after that and then got stopped on fourth down, and we never really did stop them from there.”

EARLY SWING

The game might have turned on a defensive play by Minnesota early in the second quarter.

The Huskers came back after Smith’s kick return touchdown with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a touchdown run by Mikale Wilbon. After Croft finished a similar drive with a touchdown run, Nebraska was challenging again.

But Wilbon was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 6-yard line by safety Duke McGee, and the Gophers pulled away from there.

CHANGE AT QUARTERBACK

Huskers sophomore quarterback Tanner Lee was 13-of-18 passing for 174 yards and a touchdown but was held out the second half. Riley said Lee was dealing with an “impact migraine” from a hit in the game.

Redshirt freshman Patrick O’Brien replaced him and was 12 of 18 for 137 yards passing.

THE TAKEAWAY

Nebraska: The Huskers have two games left — at No. 16 Penn State and at home against No. 25 Iowa — and need wins in both to become bowl eligible. Nebraska hasn’t missed a bowl since Bill Callahan’s final season as coach in 2007, when it went 5-7. The Huskers need a win to avoid their first four-win season since 1960. The ineptitude has made coach Mike Riley the target after Bill Moos replaced Shawn Eichorst as the athletic director in October.

Minnesota: Bowl eligibility is looking more likely in Fleck’s first season. The Gophers’ performance against Nebraska is the type that can give them hope going to Northwestern next week before finishing at home against No. 6 Wisconsin. There’s an outside chance of Minnesota still earning a bowl bid with its five wins due to the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate in which the Gophers are tied for fourth. The APR standings are used if there aren’t enough six-win teams to fill the bowl requirements.

UP NEXT

Nebraska travels to Penn State on Nov. 18.

Minnesota looks for its sixth win at Northwestern next week.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Northwestern has no problem working overtime. None at all, it seems.

The Wildcats’ 31-24 victory over Nebraska on Saturday made them the first Football Bowl Subdivision program in history to play three consecutive games that have gone to overtime and win them all.

“I definitely think it’s our mentality going in,” linebacker Paddy Fisher said. “You get to play some more football. There’s nothing better than that. You just take it up another notch.”

Northwestern had the ball first in overtime for the third straight game, and Thorson sneaked into the end zone on fourth-and-1 for the go-ahead touchdown. The Wildcats’ defense came up with a big sack and pass breakup to give them their fourth straight win after an 0-2 start in Big Ten play.

Northwestern (6-3, 4-2), which became bowl eligible for a third straight year, came to Lincoln off a 39-31 triple-overtime win at Michigan State. The week before the Wildcats beat Iowa 17-10 in overtime at home.

“I think our guys have some confidence in tight games,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “To see the look in their eye in overtime — we’re going to win the game.”

Northwestern scored the tying touchdown with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter, and Thorson’s pass to the end zone was broken up on the final play of regulation.

In overtime, the Cornhuskers (4-5, 3-3) kept Thorson out of the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1. Northwestern chose to go for the touchdown rather than kick a field goal, and Thorson got into the end zone on the next play with a push from Trey Pugh.

On Nebraska’s possession, freshman defensive tackle Samdup Miller sacked Tanner Lee on second down for a 10-yard loss. After Lee hit Tyler Hoppes for 8 yards to set up a fourth-and-12, Kyle Queiro broke up a pass intended for JD Spielman to end the game.

“We’re obviously disappointed in our finish,” Nebraska coach Mike Riley said. “It felt like there had been some good football and then it felt deflated right through and into the overtime. The defense did their best after giving up some yardage early in the overtime to keep them out. It went to fourth down and we didn’t quite get it done.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Northwestern: The Wildcats, who have won three of four meetings in Lincoln since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011, took sole possession of second place in the Big Ten West.

Nebraska: Lee had shaken off the interception bug the last month, but his three picks against Northwestern gives him 13 for the season.

ACTION JACKSON

Northwestern’s Justin Jackson scored on a 17-yard run in the first quarter, his school-record 39th career touchdown. He ran 31 times for 154 yards and has 798 yards in nine games. He has three games and a bowl to get the 202 yards he needs to hit 1,000 for a fourth straight year.

“The line was working,” he said. “I think they did a great job. Credit goes to them, man. They’ve been working the last month, month and a half, getting better every single day. You’re seeing that on the field.”

QUITE A DAY, QUEIRO

Northwestern’s Queiro intercepted two passes, broke up three and finished with six tackles. Queiro tipped away a deep ball intended for JD Spielman that probably would have gone for a touchdown, and he had the breakup on the game’s final play.

“Not to be corny, but I thought I left some plays on the field,” Queiro said. “On the same note, I was fortunate to make those plays. The coaches put me in the right position.”

BROWN PASSES BROTHER

Nebraska’s Drew Brown kicked a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter for the 58th of his career. He passed his brother, Kris (1995-98), for second place on the school field-goal chart.

UP NEXT

Northwestern hosts Purdue on Saturday.

Nebraska visits Minnesota on Saturday.

— Associated Press —