MINNEAPOLIS _ Amazing what a couple of early big plays will do to boost a football team.
Also amazing: what a quintet of 70-plus-yard scoring marches will do to demoralize an opponent.
Both scenarios were on display Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium, as the Gophers put it all together in a 54-21 blowout of Nebraska.
Rodney Smith returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Demry Croft had a 73-yard TD run among his 183 yards and three TDs on the ground as the Gophers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) kept alive their hopes for six wins and bowl eligibility.
In the process, Minnesota dropped Nebraska to 4-6 and 3-4, extending the misery for the Cornhuskers in a lost season. Maybe the Gophers didn't get revenge for the 84-13 thrashing they took from the Huskers in 1983, but they certainly embarrassed the proud program on Saturday.
The Gophers rolled up 311 total yards in the first half, including 238 on the ground, and finished with 514 overall and 409 on the ground. And Croft put together his best game as a Gopher, completing 9 of 15 passes for 105 yards to go along with his school-record running day by a quarterback.
The game began perfectly for the Gophers, when Smith returned that opening kickoff for the TD, cutting back, shedding an arm tackle attempt and sprinting down the left sideline for a 100-yard play. Smith added 134 rushing yards and finished with 279 all-purpose yards.
Nebraska responded on its first possession, marching 75 yards on 12 plays, with Mikale Wilbon scoring on a 1-yard run after the Huskers converted a third-and-4 from the 13 with a 9-yard hookup from Tanner Lee to JD Spielman.
On their first possession, the Gophers drove to the Nebraska 30 and faced third-and-1. Smith was stuffed for a 1-yard loss, but an option pitch from Croft to Smith gained 7 yards on fourth down. Croft then was flushed from the pocket but scrambled 22 yards to the 3. From there, Croft kept it on an option and scored for a 14-7 Gophers lead with 3:08 left in the first quarter. The drive covered 75 yards in 12 plays and took 5:49.
Again, Nebraska moved the ball, with Lee hitting De'Mornay Pierson-El for a 44-yard gain to the Gophers 26 after Minnesota failed to cover him. Lee's hookup with Spielman five plays later originally was ruled a 6-yard gain on third-and-6 from the 12, but a replay review overturned that spot, leaving Nebraska with fourth-and-1. Duke McGhee hit Wilbon for a 1-yard loss, and the Gophers took over on downs.
Croft quickly cashed that in, keeping the ball on a beautiful option fake, sprinting 73 yards for a touchdown and a 20-7 Gophers lead with 11:42 left in the half. The extra point failed because of a bad snap.
The Gophers defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense nearly had big play, with Croft faking a jet sweep to Smith and throwing to a wide-open tight end Brandon Lingen, who dived for the catch but dropped the ball upon impact. No worries. Gains of 14 and 17 yards by Smith and 11 by McCrary, and a 15-yard Croft-to-Phillip Howard hookup brought the ball to the Huskers 11. McCrary did the honors, executing a double spin move for an 11-yard TD run and 27-7 Gophers lead with 6:40 left in the second quarter.
Down 20 points, Nebraska began looking for Spielman, and Lee found him for consecutive gains of 10, 18 and 27 yards to the Minnesota 32. Facing fourth-and-3 from the 25, Lee hit Spielman for an 11-yard gain to the 14. Lee then hit tight end Tyler Hoppes for a 14-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 27-14 with 2:50 left in the first half. Spielman had four catches for 66 yards on the march.
The Gophers were backed up at their 11, but quickly move the ball, with Smith gaining 13 on a rush and Croft hitting Tyler Johnson for gains of 21 and 23 yard to the Nebraska 31. After Croft's 8-yard scramble to the 23, Smith got a 5-yard run for first down with 32 seconds left. Croft spiked the ball to stop the clock and then threw the ball away with no one open. His third-down fade to Johnson was incomplete, and Emmit Carpenter kicked a 36-yard field goal for a 30-14 lead with 4 seconds left in the half.
Nebraska began the third quarter with Patrick O'Brien replacing an ill Lee at QB. The Gophers, aided by 30 yards in Huskers penalties, drove to the Nebraska 27 before Croft was sacked for a 14-yard loss on third down. That brought in Ryan Santoso for his first punt of the game.
Another three-and-out forced by the defense returned the ball to the Gophers, and Minnesota responded by marching 51 yards in seven plays, with McCrary's 9-yard TD run boosting the lead to 37-14.
On its next possession, Nebraska moved to its 44 before Blake Cashman sacked O'Brien for a 6-yard loss on fourth-and-2. The Gophers cashed that in with Carpenter's 30-yard field goal for a 40-14 lead with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
Nebraska cut the lead to 40-21 on Devine Ozigbo's 1-yard TD run with 10:17 left in the fourth quarter.
With 8:42 left in the fourth quarter, Croft broke off a 64-yard run to the Nebraska 1. His 1-yard run made it 47-14 with 7:05 left. McCrary scored his third TD on a 43-yard run with 3:21 left.
