Jackson caps strong month with 182-yard effort
Stillwater, Okla. — Maybe kids in Lincoln will dress up as Brandon Jackson for Halloween, because his running has given opponents nightmares all October.
The junior running back capped off his impressive month with 182 yards rushing on 21 carries in the Huskers’ 41-29 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
NU offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said he’s impressed with Jackson’s performance.
“Brandon is a real tough competitor,” Norvell said. “He comes to play every week and has made a lot of big plays for us. You can’t say enough about how he’s played the last month. We’ve just got to continue to build on the positive performances he’s had.”
The Huskers took a 16-0 lead against the Cowboys in the first half by giving Jackson the ball. On the Huskers’ first drive, Jackson had six carries for 66 yards, with three of the carries going for 11, 16 and 24 yards, respectively.
Jackson said it was important for the Huskers to establish the running game early.
“It’s always important to have a good game, come out here and pound the rock and try to win the game,” Jackson said. “We knew their weakness, and we just tried to pound the rock at them and hit the holes and the gap.”
On the Huskers’ second scoring drive, Jackson continued to beat OSU’s defenders and had a 28-yard run to start the drive. Later in the drive, he scored the game’s first touchdown, on a 2-yard run. In the first quarter, Jackson had 11 carries for 99 yards.
Jackson scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard scamper early in the second quarter.
After his second touchdown, Jackson didn’t see another carry and finished the half with 124 yards on 13 carries.
While Jackson was on the sideline, Oklahoma Stake cut the Huskers’ lead to three points.
Jackson added 58 more yards to his career day in the second half, but head coach Bill Callahan said the Huskers got behind and started to go away from the run.
“We thought we could come in today and run the ball at them and that plan held up until we got behind,” Callahan said. “Then we started throwing the ball down the field, probably a little too much.”
Jackson said the Huskers might have gone away from the run too soon, but doesn’t question Callahan’s play calling.
“I felt like we could have run the whole game, but it’s not my decision to run or pass, and I believe coach Callahan had a great game plan,” Jackson said.
In the month of October, Jackson rushed for 430 yards. Besides his 182-yard outburst Saturday, Jackson rushed for 116 yards against Iowa State and 92 against Kansas State.
Although he only rushed seven times for 40 yards last week against Texas, Jackson was the ABC Player of the Game in the loss and scored a 49-yard touchdown on a shovel pass to bring Nebraska back into the game.
But does Jackson’s great month mean an end to Nebraska’s running back-by-committee? Jackson said he doubts it, but doesn’t care too much about being the Huskers’ feature back.
“I’m not worried about that right now,” Jackson said. “Even when I was third or fourth, I felt like my role is still the same and just a little more now. I’m just out here trying to help my team win games.”
The junior running back capped off his impressive month with 182 yards rushing on 21 carries in the Huskers’ 41-29 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
NU offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said he’s impressed with Jackson’s performance.
“Brandon is a real tough competitor,” Norvell said. “He comes to play every week and has made a lot of big plays for us. You can’t say enough about how he’s played the last month. We’ve just got to continue to build on the positive performances he’s had.”
The Huskers took a 16-0 lead against the Cowboys in the first half by giving Jackson the ball. On the Huskers’ first drive, Jackson had six carries for 66 yards, with three of the carries going for 11, 16 and 24 yards, respectively.
Jackson said it was important for the Huskers to establish the running game early.
“It’s always important to have a good game, come out here and pound the rock and try to win the game,” Jackson said. “We knew their weakness, and we just tried to pound the rock at them and hit the holes and the gap.”
On the Huskers’ second scoring drive, Jackson continued to beat OSU’s defenders and had a 28-yard run to start the drive. Later in the drive, he scored the game’s first touchdown, on a 2-yard run. In the first quarter, Jackson had 11 carries for 99 yards.
Jackson scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard scamper early in the second quarter.
After his second touchdown, Jackson didn’t see another carry and finished the half with 124 yards on 13 carries.
While Jackson was on the sideline, Oklahoma Stake cut the Huskers’ lead to three points.
Jackson added 58 more yards to his career day in the second half, but head coach Bill Callahan said the Huskers got behind and started to go away from the run.
“We thought we could come in today and run the ball at them and that plan held up until we got behind,” Callahan said. “Then we started throwing the ball down the field, probably a little too much.”
Jackson said the Huskers might have gone away from the run too soon, but doesn’t question Callahan’s play calling.
“I felt like we could have run the whole game, but it’s not my decision to run or pass, and I believe coach Callahan had a great game plan,” Jackson said.
In the month of October, Jackson rushed for 430 yards. Besides his 182-yard outburst Saturday, Jackson rushed for 116 yards against Iowa State and 92 against Kansas State.
Although he only rushed seven times for 40 yards last week against Texas, Jackson was the ABC Player of the Game in the loss and scored a 49-yard touchdown on a shovel pass to bring Nebraska back into the game.
But does Jackson’s great month mean an end to Nebraska’s running back-by-committee? Jackson said he doubts it, but doesn’t care too much about being the Huskers’ feature back.
“I’m not worried about that right now,” Jackson said. “Even when I was third or fourth, I felt like my role is still the same and just a little more now. I’m just out here trying to help my team win games.”
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