Ruud, Byford among Huskers knocked out of the game
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By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
The Huskers didn’t just come out of Saturday’s 36-14 home loss to Texas A&M figuratively wounded.
Nebraska players got beat up literally in NU’s third straight loss.
On three of A&M’s first five offensive plays, Huskers came up hobbling.
Bo Ruud, senior linebacker and team captain, may have suffered the most serious injury. He hurt his left knee while chasing A&M quarterback Stephen McGee on the Aggies’ first offensive play.
Ruud did not return to the game. It appeared that he could hardly put any weight on his leg.
After the game, NU coach Bill Callahan did not know the status of Ruud or any of the other Huskers who were injured.
Ruud wasn’t the only captain who left the field. Center Brett Byford injured a knee late in the second quarter. Jacob Hickman took over at center.
Linebacker Blake Lawrence (ankle) and defensive lineman Brandon Johnson (knee) also were injured. Johnson made a very slow walk to the locker room after the game.
Phillip Dillard, meanwhile, played only a few snaps at linebacker because of a quad injury.
“He wasn’t totally 100 percent today. He was ready to go. He went out early,” defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. “I just thought with the speed of the game, Corey (McKeon) could give us a little bit more today.”
Cortney Grixby also had injury issues. He didn’t return kicks because of a thumb injury, according to teammate Anthony West.
Lucky records
Husker junior running back Marlon Lucky was not even in the top 10 on Nebraska’s all-time season receptions chart entering Saturday. He’s third now.
Lucky caught a school running-back record 13 passes — coming on screens and shovel passes — and had a career-high 125 receiving yards.
Lucky now holds school records for most catches by a running back in a season (49) and a career (83).
Jeff Kinney previously held the record for career receptions by a running back with 82.
Lucky is just seven catches from breaking Johnny Rodgers’ school record for receptions in a season, set in 1972.
Early exit
For the second straight week, some Husker fans filed out of Memorial Stadium early, defeat certain.
That’s never a good thing, but senior cornerback Andre Jones was mostly impressed by the way fans stood behind the team.
“These are fans who have seen the history at this school. When you lose at home by big numbers, of course it disappoints a lot of the fans,” Jones said. “But it doesn’t disappoint them as much as it disappoints us, because we’re the ones out there playing.
“I know these fans and everything, they stick behind us. They still come. They’re still there, coming to the game, 84,000 people. Not many people can say that after a big loss at home that they still have fans that come to your game and still sell out.”
Scary numbers
A&M churned out 359 rushing yards, the highest road rushing output for the Aggies since the first year of the Big 12 Conference.
Asked about quarterback Stephen McGee carrying the ball a career-high 35 times, running back Jorvorskie Lane said: “I looked at him a minute ago. It takes a lot of man to do that.”
‘Everyone is positive’
Husker senior tight end Sean Hill said he doesn’t think this team is breaking, despite its fourth loss.
“‘No, you’d think so, but everyone is positive,” Hill said of the postgame mood. “What else can you say? We broke it down as a team and then the offense talked and we’ll be ready to go. It’s not wearing on us, you can’t give up. This is when teams will split, but we’re not going to.”
Quick hits
The Huskers have been outscored 171-65 in their four losses, an average losing margin of 26.5 points. ... Texas A&M’s win snapped a four-game losing skid to the Huskers. It was the Aggies’ first victory in Lincoln since 1955. ... McKeon finished with a season-high 14 tackles. He also had a second-quarter sack. ... Freshman kicker Adi Kunalic had three touchbacks on three kickoff attempts. He’s now recorded 22 touchbacks on 39 kickoffs this season.
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
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