Washington searching for answers after rout by Cornhuskers

"You just want to crawl into a hole. You can't believe this happened on national TV.

Washington quarterback

AP PHOTO Nebraska quarterback Bobby Newcombe ran through the Washington defense last Saturday as his Cornhuskers prevailed in a runaway, 55-7.

AP PHOTO Nebraska quarterback Bobby Newcombe ran through the Washington defense last Saturday as his Cornhuskers prevailed in a runaway, 55-7.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska rushed for more than 400 yards against Washington while the Cornhuskers' defense forced six turnovers and battered a quarterback who was touted as one of the nation's best.

Right now, No. 2 Nebraska looks as powerful as ever to just about everyone except coach Frank Solich.

"We played well and we're 4-0," Solich said after Nebraska's 55-7 victory Saturday.

"But the moment you think you're good, that's when you start to take steps back."

It was Washington's biggest loss since 1975 and dropped the Huskies (2-1) from No. 9 to No. 20.

"It was a very impressive win from a team that under Frank Solich is right in step with (Bob) Devaney and (Tom) Osborne," Washington coach Jim Lambright said.

With I-back DeAngelo Evans and quarterback Bobby Newcombe back from last month's knee injuries, Nebraska rushed for 434 yards and had 527 total yards. Coming in, the Huskers had averaged 259.7 yards rushing.

Evans gained 146 yards on 13 carries and had touchdown runs of 60, 14 and 19 yards. It was his first action since the 1996 Big 12 title game after missing last season with an injured abdominal muscle.

"It was a fairy-tale thing," Evans said. "I was nervous but I felt relaxed. When I got the first hit, all that went away."

After Newcombe's 3-yard touchdown run on the game's first series, Evans scored on three of the next four possessions. After fullback Willie Miller's 3-yard touchdown 5:12 before halftime, Nebraska led 35-0.

"I think at halftime, all of their running backs were averaging seven yards a carry," Lambright said. "We didn't have very good answers with our defense."

Meanwhile, the Nebraska defense pounded Washington's Brock Huard with the same game plan that knocked him out in the first quarter of last year's game at Seattle with an ankle sprain.

Defensive end Chad Kelsay batted Huard's first pass and almost caught it.

Kelsay later had an interception, as did lineman Jason Wiltz, who returned after missing two games with an injured ankle.

Huard was sacked three times and was hit hard on nearly every play. He also fumbled twice.

"He's not the kind of quarterback who can sit back in the pocket and feel comfortable when there's a lot of bodies flying around," Kelsay said.

"It's nice to know coming off the ball that he's not worried about his receivers. He's worried about somebody taking his head off."

Nebraska sometimes stacked up to four extra defenders on the line, usually hitting Huard with blitzes by linebackers and cornerbacks.

Most of Huard's passes were rushed. Others were overthrown or thrown away.

If not for Huard's 6-yard touchdown pass to Joe Jarzynka late in the first half, Washington would have gone scoreless for the first time since 1981.

"This stings, this hurts," said Huard, who was 18-of-32 for 160 yards.

"You just want to crawl into a hole. You can't believe this happened on national TV."

Washington was the last visiting team to win at Lincoln - in 1991.

Since then, the Huskers have 45 straight home wins and an 18-game winning streak overall.

Nebraska is 11-0 in the past five seasons against Top 10 teams.

09-28-98