LINCOLN — It's the latest rage around the Nebraska's postgame press conferences.

And Marvin Sanders wanted to be a part of it.

Fans probably have seen players wearing leis made of candy after the games. Sanders, the defensive backs coach, sported one Saturday.

The leis are made by Roy Helu's mom and distributed by the Husker I-back. He gave one to Arkansas State's Sifa Etu, a fellow Californian.

How did Sanders get his? By using a dose of guilt treatment.

After Helu told the coach that he gave them out to friends after the games, Sanders called him “Mr. Helu” all week since they weren't “friends.”

Sanders' strategy apparently worked. He got his candy lei and wore it proudly.

“I have a big-time sweet tooth,” Sanders said, “so there's no question I'm going to eat this thing.”

Arkansas State QB's disappearing act

ASU quarterback Corey Leonard is elusive. For a second, NU safety Eric Hagg thought Leonard was magic.

Hagg came charging on a blitz and totally whiffed on Leonard, who went to the ground for a second-half sack.

“I looked around like, ‘Where'd he go?'” Hagg said. “It was almost like he disappeared.”

McNeill catches two TD passes

Junior tight end Mike McNeill caught two touchdown passes Saturday and continued to show an ability to go up and get contested passes.

“I've just got to go up and make a play,” McNeill said. “They stress catching the ball in traffic everyday. Coach Brown always says, ‘The first man in the air wins the war,' and that's what I try to do.”

Five tight ends caught passes Saturday, led by McNeill's four receptions for 57 yards.

Cooper makes first NU catch

Khiry Cooper couldn't decide if he was more excited or relieved about his first collegiate catch.

“I'm just happy it came in a game and not in practice,” the redshirt freshman wide receiver said.

Cooper said it was nice to finally contribute. He said his fourth-quarter grab, a 6-yarder, will be one he'll remember for quite some time.

Brandon Kinnie and Tyler Legate also made their first NU career catches.

Jones' hold negates 70-yard TD pass

Nobody felt worse than tackle Marcel Jones as an enthused offensive unit realized that an apparent long touchdown pass didn't count.

Zac Lee threw a 70-yard pass to Niles Paul, a score that would have put Nebraska up 28-0 with about 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

But the play was called back because Jones was flagged for holding.

Jones said he apologized to Paul.

“I told him, ‘My fault, man. I'll make sure I get you in the end zone next time,'” Jones said. “It's a really bad feeling, but it happens.”

Sledge-hammer inspiration

To get pumped up before kickoff, ASU players huddled and chanted around senior cornerback Daylan Walker as he pounded the ground with a sledge hammer.

Arkansas State's hammer, known as The Hit Stick, is handed out to the player who makes the biggest hit defensively in the previous game.

Hickman's injury not serious

Nebraska senior center Jacob Hickman limped off in the fourth quarter, but he appeared to be in good shape after the game.

Hickman said he “rolled his ankle'' and came out for interviews without having the ankle taped. Mike Caputo replaced him midway through the scoring drive that gave the Huskers their 38-9 lead with 8:14 left.

“It was just precautionary,'' Hickman said “Nothing bad. It'll be fine.”

Helmet removal draws penalty

Eric Martin picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he removed his helmet on the field after a second-quarter kickoff return.

The true freshman linebacker fell to the ground in front of the NU sideline with an apparent injury after he was flagged. Martin was spared, at least momentarily, a chewing from his coaches as trainers tended to him.

“He just made a freshman mistake,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “He got double-teamed, and he had the wind knocked out of him a little bit. And he pulled his helmet off.

“I don't know if it was in anger or because he had the wind knocked out of him. But you can't take your helmet off in the field of play.”

Huskers lose replay challenge

Bo Pelini lost his first challenge of the season as officials upheld a call in the first quarter that Arkansas State running back Reggie Arnold was down before fumbling.

Safety Larry Asante administered the hit, and defensive end Pierre Allen thought he made the recovery.

Pelini waited for an official timeout. It didn't happen, so he signaled the challenge just before the next snap.

“To me, that was a fumble,” Asante said. “I came in and punched at the ball. But that's the refs' call. It has nothing to do with me.”

Fewer penalties, more QB sacks

Numbers to watch from Saturday: Four sacks, three penalties and one turnover forced.

The sacks and penalties marked an improvement over the opener, when NU did not record a sack and was penalized nine times.

“We took it personal last week, not getting any sacks,” said defensive tackle Jared Crick, who shared a first-half sack with Ndamukong Suh.

After going minus-11 in turnovers a year ago, the Huskers are plus-three this year through two games.

The penalties were Martin's 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul, a holding call on Jones that wiped out a 70-yard TD pass and a 15-yard face-mask call on Rickey Thenarse on a punt return.

Bits and pieces

Quarterback Cody Green directed Nebraska's final series, completing 3 of 6 passes for 18 yards. ... The official attendance for the 299th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium was 85,035. The Huskers' next home game, Sept. 26 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, will mark the stadium's 300th sellout in a row.

— Nick Rubek, Jon Nyatawa, Rich Kaipust, Mitch Sherman and Joe Bonge

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