No starting quarterback for Nebraska? No problem. No leading receiver? Ditto.
Then again, it was “just” Colorado on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
In the final regular season game before both schools move on to the (money) greener pastures of new conferences, the Cornhuskers easily rolled over, through and around the Buffaloes en route to a 45-17 win. Or, as the Boulder Daily Camera put it: “Colorado closes Big 12 era with whimper”.
The win locks up the Cornhuskers’ second consecutive outright Big 12 North crown and gives them one of the two spots in the conference’s championship game in Arlington next Saturday. The name of that opponent remains to be seen, although it’s a 99.999-percent certainty it will come from the winner of tomorrow night’s Bedlam game between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
Taylor Martinez was sidelined this afternoon with both an ankle injury and a significant case of turf toe, and was replaced in the starting lineup by Cody Green, although it was Rex Burkhead who had arguably the biggest impact on the quarterback position on the day; the running back threw two touchdown passes -- his only two attempts -- in the win, while also running for 101 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore’s passer rating on the day? A robust 556.0.
There was one bright spot for a Buffaloes team that finished at 5-7 as senior Cody Hawkins set the school record for most career passing yards. Dan Hawkins, Cody’s father who was fired by the school earlier this month, watched the record-setting day from a spot in the Memorial Stadium press box.