Ross gives Jayhawks the slip
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Everybody made such a big deal about the problem Cory Ross had with his feet in Pittsburgh.
Maybe it was rather fitting, then, that Ross turned Saturday night's game around with his hands.
Well, one of them anyway.
Ross turned a one-handed catch on a short screen pass from Joe Dailey into a 14-yard touchdown -- the winning score in Nebraska's 14-8 victory against Kansas at Memorial Stadium.
"It kind of scared me, because the ball was hanging up there too long," said Ross, who had to reach up to snag the ball. "I was like, 'Oh, my God, I think I'm about to get killed."
"But I caught it, turned around, and there was no one there."
The third-quarter play worked perfectly, Ross said, because Nebraska caught the Jayhawks in a blitz. He also benefited from a block by lineman Mike Erickson.
"Anytime you're catching a screen pass in a blitz, you're going to get a lot of yards," Ross said. "As soon as I caught the ball, I saw nothing but green."
Ross, a junior I-back, finished with 107 yards on 19 carries for his third 100-yard outing in four games this season. He ran for only 73 yards on 24 carries two weeks ago on a sloppy field in Pittsburgh. Ross slipped numerous times in that game.
"I was making cuts that I felt like if I had in Pittsburgh, it would've been a different story there, too," Ross said.
Ross scored Nebraska's other touchdown on an 18-yard run in the second quarter. It gave the Huskers a 7-5 lead.
"We thought we could keep pounding on them, and that's what we did," Ross said. "Eventually, something's going to pop, because I don't think they were ready for that type of physical game."
Ross finished with 144 all-purpose yards, as he also caught three passes for 37 yards. On Nebraska's third offensive play, he turned a short pass from Dailey into a 24-yard gain, thanks to key blocks from Brandon Koch and Kurt Mann.
"Cory does a great job of hitting the holes," Koch said. "He makes people miss. He makes big plays for us, makes things happen. Even if it looks like there isn't something there, he always makes something happen. That's real key."
Ross had been used rather heavily in Nebraska's first three games and left the Pittsburgh game a little banged up. He even wore a green, no-contact jersey during recent Husker practices.
It's a rarity for an I-back to do that at Nebraska, but it probably benefited Ross.
"You see I'm not walking up here with a limp right now,"he said, smiling.
Coaches also talked about limiting Ross' workload. He had five fewer carries than he did in Pittsburgh and eight fewer than he had against Southern Mississippi.
To relieve Ross, the staff turned to true freshman Brandon Jackson on Saturday night. He responded with seven carries for 28 yards.
"We got the young guys in there, and they're getting carries," Ross said. "The committee did a great job today. I'm proud of those guys.
"You want to get into a rhythm, but I've been here three years, and I've learned once you get in there, you've got to do what you can and get what you can get while you're in there."
Ross and wide receiver Ross Pilkington, who caught a career-high eight passes for 113 yards, were the bright spots for an offense that again struggled to sustain momentum. Nebraska had 322 total yards and four turnovers.
"If you watch the game, it's just the little bitty mistakes that just mess us up," Ross said. "All we can do is work on it. But it's just the little stuff that hurts."
It was last year against Kansas when Ross had his breakout game as a Husker. He picked up 108 yards on 19 carries in a 24-3 victory in Lawrence, Kan., for his first career 100-yard rushing game.
Ross said his success against KU is probably because his brother, Roger, used to play there.
"I've got to hurt his team," Ross said, laughing. "I hope he's not watching."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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