Lincoln, NE – Rex Burkhead carried the ball 22 times for 120 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers ran all over the 38, in front of an NCAA-record 314th consecutive sellout.
Taylor Martinez completed 10-of-21 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns for the Cornhuskers (3-0), who have scored 133 points over their first three games of the season. Martinez also carried the ball 17 times for 83 yards and a score.
The Cornhuskers ended with 309 rushing yards, compared to 146 for Washington.
Nebraska has scored at least 40 points in each of its first three games. The last time Nebraska had at least 40 points in the first three games was the 1995 season when the Cornhuskers topped 40 points against Oklahoma State (64), Michigan State (50) and Arizona State (77) in the first three games.
"It was a good win. A good win for our football team, and I'm excited about being 3-0," Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said. "I just told this team, the beautiful part about it is there's a lot more out there for us. We can get a lot better in every phase."
Keith Price connected on 21-of-37 passes for 274 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions for the Huskies (2-1), who saw a six-game winning streak come to an end.
Chris Polk carried the ball 22 times for 130 yards and one score. James Johnson caught six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Jermaine Kearse hauled in five passes for 69 yards and two scores.
Burkhead scored two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter to help Nebraska pull away. The Cornhuskers' first drive of the second half lasted nine plays and covered 56 yards. Burkhead capped the march with a one-yard TD plunge.
Bishop Sankey fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the one-yard line. Burkhead rumbled into the end zone once again to make it a 34-17 game with 10:09 left.
Brett Maher made a 29-yard field goal less than three minutes later to give Nebraska a 20-point cushion.
Washington's last chance to stay in the game came on the next drive. The Huskies moved the ball down to the Nebraska 12-yard line. On 4th-and-2, Price was sacked by Cameron Meredith.
Aaron Green's six-yard TD run early in the fourth made it a 44-17 game.
The margin was suddenly down to 13, 44-31, after Polk and Johnson scored.
Washington was penalized for interference on an on-side kick. Nebraska took over in Washington territory and Martinez scampered into the end zone from six yards out for a 51-31 lead with 4:42 to play.
Johnson's 52-yard TD catch with 4 1/2 minutes left accounted for the final margin.
A tightly played first half saw each team score on its opening possession. It took Nebraska just two plays to score a touchdown. After Kenny Bell caught a 50-yard pass, Tyler Legate hauled in a three-yard TD pass.
The Huskies found the end zone in six plays, with Kearse capping the drive with a 38-yard touchdown catch.
Maher's 44-yard field goal with 7:39 to go in the first quarter gave the Cornhuskers a 10-7 lead.
Washington was forced to punt the ball away at the end of the first period, but Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah fumbled the football. Kearse capitalized for the Huskies with a six-yard TD catch to make it 14-10 early in the second.
Green caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Martinez on Nebraska's ensuing possession to make it a 17-14 contest.
Erik Folk's 40-yard field goal tied the game with 9:24 left. Maher put the Cornhuskers ahead by three, 20-17, at the half with a 35-yarder.
"It's a three-point game at half on the road," Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "This is where we want to be. You can't ask for much more than being on the road in a nice college football road environment, so let's go play and finish. We just didn't perform in the third quarter."
Game Notes
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Washington, 5-4-1. Last year, Nebraska beat Washington, 56-21, in Seattle during the regular season before the Huskies avenged that loss with a 19-7 victory in the Holiday Bowl...The Cornhuskers had 464 yards of total offense, compared to 420 for Washington.
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