LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -
Taylor Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and matched his high with five touchdown passes to lead No. 17 Nebraska to a 49-20 victory over Southern Mississippi on Saturday.
The Huskers won their nation-leading 27th straight opener.
Nebraska played the last three quarters without Rex Burkhead. The 1,300-yard rusher last season went out with a sprained ligament in his left knee after opening the scoring with a career-long 57-yard run.
Backup Ameer Abdullah ran 15 times for 81 yards and made an acrobatic catch for an 11-yard TD.
Southern Miss backup quarterback Anthony Alford carried 15 times for 84 yards in his first college game.
The Golden Eagles, with first-year coach Ellis Johnson, scored their first touchdown on Tracy Lampley's 100-yard kickoff return. They tied it 14-14 on first-time starter Chris Campbell's 24-yard pass to Dominique Sullivan.
Nebraska's go-ahead TD came on Martinez's 9-yard pass to Jake Long.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Montee Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, and No. 12 Wisconsin needed a big defensive play to survive a fourth-quarter scare from Northern Iowa in a 26-21 victory Saturday.
Wisconsin's defense didn't allow Northern Iowa on its side of the 50-yard line until the 4:27 mark in the third quarter -- but then the Badgers nearly melted down.
Leading 26-7 in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin allowed Northern Iowa quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen to throw a pair of long touchdowns to David Johnson, cutting the lead to five. With the Panthers facing fourth-and-1 at the Wisconsin 41-yard line, defensive lineman Ethan Hemer tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage to stop the drive.
MISSOULA, Mont.-- Josh Vander Maten threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as Montana rallied to defeat South Dakota 35-24 to spoil Joe Glenn's first game back on the Coyotes sideline.
Down 16-3 with a little more than a minute to play in the first half, Vander Maten hooked up with Terrance Terry on an 8-yard pass to pull the Yotes to within 16-10.
USD carried that momentum into the second half and on their opening possession Vander Maten hit Terry for an 80-yard strike to put the Yotes up 17-16.
On the ensuing drive for Montana, Charlie Goro picked off Trent McKinney and returned it 50 yards to open up a 24-16 lead for South Dakota.
But the Grizzlies scored 19-unanswered points of the game to secure the win.
Taylor Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards in NU's win over Southern Miss.
