Minnesota jumped on Nebraska' s woeful pass defense on the Gophers first possession, with Eric Carter catching a 24 yard touchdown pass to give Minnesota a 7-0 lead. Nebraska's Terrell Newby answered with a 69 yard run off of a zone read play to tie the game at 7-7. After Nate Gerry forced a Minnesota turnover, Tommy Armstrong found Alonzo Moore in the end zone for 32 yard touchdown to give Nebraska a 14-7 lead after the first quarter.
While the Huskers had success stopping Minnesota's running backs, the Gopher receivers were running wide open consistently. Drew Brown kicked a 45 yard ield goal to open the second quarter..J. Maye scored on a wide receiver screen to cut the Husker lead to 17-14. But just before halftime, Terrell Newby scored again on a 9 yard run to give the Huskers a 24-17 lead.
Newby leads the Huskers with 97 yards rushing on 9 carries. Minnesota's running backs have been limited to 24 yards in the first half, though K.J. Maye leads with 21 yards rushing. That sounds good for the Blackshirts until you realize that Minnesota's Mitch Leidner has looked like the second coming of Peyton Manning, completing 16 of 17 passes for 156 yards.
Can the Huskers hold on and claim the Broken Chair Trophy in the second half?