Nebraska Stumbles, Prevails in Overtime

So many games involving Nebraska and Kansas at Memorial Stadium have been over by the fourth quarter.

This time, things got interesting.

After No. 21 Nebraska blew a 17-point lead, Cody Glenn scored from a yard out in the first overtime and the Cornhuskers’ defense held Kansas out of the end zone for a 39-32 victory Saturday night.

“I couldn’t believe it was happening,” Glenn said. “We scored the second play of the game, so I was thinking we were just continuing on from last week. For them to come back like that, I was shocked. We had to dig down deep.”

The Huskers, coming off a 56-0 rout of Troy, led, 24-10, at halftime and looked as if they might roll Kansas, just as they have done most other years this game has been played in Lincoln. In 18 previous meetings, all Nebraska wins, the Huskers had won by an average of 35 points.

But Adam Barmann, who threw three interceptions and fumbled in the first half, led Kansas on two long touchdown drives in the last 6:32 to force overtime.

Nebraska, 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference, got the ball first in overtime. Zac Taylor passed to Nate Swift along the sideline for a 21-yard gain to the Kansas one-yard line. Kansas Coach Mark Mangino challenged whether the catch was good, but the call was upheld on video review. Glenn then bulled into the end zone.

Kansas (3-2, 0-1) moved to the nine on its possession, but Barmann overthrew Marcus Henry in the end zone on fourth down, ending the Jayhawks’ upset bid.

“We won. That’s about all we did. We obviously didn’t play our best ball,” linebacker Stewart Bradley said. “When you play a bad game, it’s nice to get out with a win. It says something about the character of our team to be done, to have the lead, lose it and come back and win in overtime.”

The Huskers avenged last year’s 40-15 loss in Lawrence, Kan., which ended a 36-game Cornhuskers’ winning streak in the series.

“I think it’s cause for celebration,” Taylor said. “We’re 1-0 in conference play. If we had won by 60, we would still be 1-0. It’s tough that we blew that lead. That’s really disappointing. That was a good team we were going against, and I’ll take any win.”

Taylor completed 15 of 33 passes for 395 yards. Barmann was 27 for 54 for 405 yards, and Jon Cornish ran 31 times for 145 yards and a touchdown.

“We would have liked to have won,” Mangino said. “There are no such things as moral victories. We’re not playing horseshoes. Close doesn’t count. But I can’t tell you how proud I am of my players. They hung in there. They just came up a little short.”