Big Eight Roundup : Nebraska Buries Minnesota, 48-0

Ken Clark ran 18 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night as No. 3 Nebraska avoided a slow start for the first time this season and beat Minnesota, 48-0, at Minneapolis.

Clark has rushed for 398 yards in three games and has 2,239 career yards, moving him from 11th to seventh on the Nebraska list. No. 6 is Jeff Kinney with 2,244 yards.

Darrell Thompson, Minnesota’s all-time rusher with 3,530 yards, was held to 45 yards in 17 carries.

Although Minnesota (1-1) leads the series 29-19-2, the Cornhuskers (3-0) have won the last 13 contests since 1960, including an 84-13 victory in 1983 in their only other visit to the Metrodome. In their last nine meetings, the Cornhuskers have outscored Minnesota, 433-58.

It was the Gophers’ worst loss since Oklahoma beat them, 63-0, in the second game of 1986.

The Cornhuskers were tied, 17-17, at halftime in their opener before beating Northern Illinois, 48-17, and they trailed Utah, 13-7, before winning, 42-30, last week.

But the Gophers had no such success, gaining just 52 yards in the first half, including minus-two passing.

After Brent Herbel’s 33-yard punt in the second quarter, Nebraska took over at the Minnesota 37 and scored five plays later on a 26-yard pass from Gerry Gdowski to Richard Bell with 3:50 left in the half.

Gdowski completed 10 of 15 passes for 180 yards. Bell caught five passes for 121 yards.

Chris Drennan made a 42-yard field goal and Leodis Flowers scored on a one-yard dive to give Nebraska a 34-0 lead after three quarters. Flowers added a 37-yard touchdown run in the fourth and Mark Dowse added a seven-yard scoring run in the fourth.

Texas Tech 31, Oklahoma St. 15--Quarterback Jamie Gill came off the bench to direct three second-half scoring drives, and backup tailback Anthony Lynn rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns as the Red Raiders won at Stillwater, Okla.

Second-string quarterback Jason Rattan started in place of Gill and led the Red Raiders (3-0) to a 10-9 halftime lead. But Gill, who had injured his hip last week, led three drives that buried the Cowboys. Gill wound up completing six of seven passes for 110 yards.

Oklahoma State (0-3) forced four Red Raider turnovers but couldn’t take advantage, settling for two of Cary Blanchard’s three field goals. Quarterback Mike Gundy also scored on a one-yard run when the game was out of reach.

Northern Illinois 37, Kansas State 20--Linebacker James Matlock’s pass interception robbed the Wildcats of their momentum in the fourth quarter to lead the Huskies at Manhattan, Kan.

The loss, Kansas State’s third this season, extended the nation’s longest major college winless streak to 30 games and the longest losing streak to 16.

Northern Illinois is 2-1.