Bo Pelini earlier confirmed that true freshman running back Rex Burkhead is out "for a while" with a foot injury. Burkhead's injury deals a blow to a Husker offense that's already been inconsistent against decent opponents this season. Burkhead is second-string on the depth chart behind Roy Helu Jr. He's also Nebraska's second-leading rusher, and replaced Niles Paul when Paul struggled with fielding punts in the rain at Missouri.
The injury leaves Austin Jones, Lester Ward, Marcus Mendoza, Collins Okafor and Dontrayevous Robinson as running backs available to take over in Burkhead's absence.
Redshirt freshman Tim Marlowe or newcomer Antonio Bell may be candidates for returning punts.
Burkhead's stats on the season: