Paul’s 85-yard kick return keys Huskers in 35-12 victory

LINCOLN (AP) -- Until Niles Paul’s 85-yard kick return for a touchdown, San Jose State was threatening to leave Memorial Stadium with more than just the $800,000 it was due for showing up Saturday.

Not content to play the patsy role, the 26 1/2-point underdog Spartans pulled within two points after a field goal early in the fourth quarter and had the momentum.

Then Paul broke loose for his long runback, San Jose starting quarterback Kyle Reed was knocked out of the game and the Spartans were finished. Nebraska went on to win 35-12.

“We got lucky. That’s all it was,” offensive lineman Matt Slauson said. “The football gods were looking upon us. There was a point in the game where they had double our yards and we were still up. I don’t know how that works.”

Nebraska’s lead became much less tenuous when Paul scored after Jared Strubeck’s 27-yard field goal made it 14-12 with 12:17 left.

On the kickoff, the sophomore made a move to his left and headed up the sideline untouched for his first collegiate touchdown, accompanied by Alfonzo Dennard.

“I could pace myself and watch ’Fonzo,” Paul said. “I know he’s only a freshman, but he plays like a senior. He told me to follow him, and I trusted him. He picked up two blocks and saved my butt twice.”

San Jose’s comeback hopes all but ended on the first play after Paul’s return, when Zach Potter and Phillip Dillard knocked Reed out of the game with a sack. Reed suffered a slight concussion.

Roy Helu Jr. scored on a 14-yard run and Marlon Lucky from 5 yards out to put the game out of reach and send the Spartans (1-1) to their 12th straight nonconference road loss.

San Jose coach Dick Tomey said last week that he backed out of a game at Tennessee in order to replace it with the trip to Lincoln, where the Huskers have won 43 of 45 nonconference games.

It didn’t look like a bad move for a while.

The Spartans played the Huskers on even terms or better most of the afternoon. All the Huskers (2-0) had managed before Paul’s return was one long scoring drive and nose tackle Ndamukong Suh’s 49-yard interception return.

San Jose outgained the Huskers 353-315 overall, and though the Spartans trailed 14-9 after three quarters, they easily could have led if their kicking game hadn’t cost them seven points the first half. Will Johnson missed an extra point and a 41-yard field goal and Strubeck bounced a 32-yarder off the right upright.

“We practiced to be in the hunt in the fourth quarter with a chance to win,” Tomey said. “That’s what you hope to do in every game and we were right there. Nebraska deserves the credit for shutting the door on us and making plays of their own in the fourth quarter and we didn’t get it done. The winner gets everything, the loser gets nothing.”

Nebraska’s Joe Ganz, 17-for-25 for 216 yards and an interception, said he and his offensive teammates couldn’t find any rhythm.

“It took Niles’ kickoff return to jump-start us,” he said.

San Jose sacked Ganz twice on Nebraska’s first series, then Reed drove the Spartans 59 yards in five plays for a 6-0 lead. Yonus Davis broke a 24-yard run before Reed, a transfer from California, passed 14 yards to Jalal Beauchman and ran 12 up the middle for the touchdown.

Quentin Castille scored from 3 yards to cap a nine-play, 86-yard drive that gave the Huskers the lead, and then Suh intercepted a pass tipped by Potter and ran it back 47 yards to put the Huskers up 14-6.

The Huskers were fortunate to lead at half after allowing three sacks and getting called for six penalties, including three straight false starts by receivers.

“We were very sloppy in the first half,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “I mean, when you talk about penalties, we had a multitude of errors. Tackling was sloppy in the first half. We were our own worst enemy.”

Nebraska couldn’t get anything going offensively until late in the third quarter -- and then it was derailed by Castille’s fumble at midfield. That led to Strubeck’s field goal that made it 14-12, and the possibility of Nebraska’s most embarrassing nonconference home loss in five decades loomed.

But on San Jose’s first play from scrimmage after Paul’s return, Potter and Dillard broke through to bring down Reed hard. Myles Eden replaced Reed but couldn’t generate anything other than a 55-yard pass to set up the Spartans at the Nebraska 10.

But Eden was intercepted by Potter, Lucky scored, and the Spartans never threatened again.

“We just tried to keep playing and not look at the scoreboard,” San Jose defensive end Carl Ihenacho said. “Coach told us not to look at the scoreboard because it’s a liar.”

In the end, the scoreboard always reveals the truth.

The scoreboard also told the Huskers one other thing, Ganz said.

“Now,” he said, “we realize we’re not as good as we thought we were.”