Wyoming Cowboys vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Match Player Stats On Aug 31, 2013

No. 18 Nebraska 37, Wyoming 34: Imani Cross scored two touchdowns and the host Cornhuskers held off a valiant rally by the Cowboys to win their nation-leading 28th consecutive season opener.

Taylor Martinez rushed for 80 yards and went 17-for-22 for 155 yards and three touchdowns, connecting twice with Quincy Enunwa. Ameer Abdullah rushed for 114 yards and Cross added 105 more as Nebraska piled up 375 yards on the ground in a game that featured 1,132 yards of offense.

Brett Smith went 29-of-43 for 383 yards and four touchdowns while Shaun Wick rushed for 101 yards – his first career 100-yard game – and another score. The Cowboys outgained the Cornhuskers 602-530, but fell to 0-7 in the all-time series.

Cross sparked a stretch of 21 unanswered points with the first of two scoring runs to help Nebraska overcome the second of two first-half deficits. Cross scored for the first time in the second to give the Cornhuskers a 17-14 halftime advantage while Martinez capped the run with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Enunwa with 4:08 left in the stanza.

Smith cut the deficit to 31-21 late in the third with his first touchdown pass and added two more in the fourth – one to Jalen Claiborne with 6:02 remaining and another to Robert Herron with 1:32 left – to bring the Cowboys to within 37-34. Nebraska was unable to run out the clock on the ensuing possession, but Smith’s desperation heave from Wyoming’s side of the field sailed out of bounds as time expired.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Smith – who did not throw an interception in his final 174 pass attempts last season – was intercepted on his 12th attempt Saturday, but set Mountain West and school records for the most such attempts at 185. … Nebraska had won each of its previous 27 games during its season-opener streak by at least nine points. … Martinez became the first quarterback in school history to start four consecutive season openers.