LAWRENCE, Kan. — Tim Marlowe has had a handful of kick returns this season.

But none like the 40-yarder the 5-foot-10, 175-pound wide receiver busted on the game's opening kickoff.

Marlowe went right, zigging and zagging his way to the NU 42 before tripping up. The redshirt freshman got plenty of congratulations on the sideline.

“I tripped,” Marlowe screamed to teammate Eric Hagg in frustration.

But leave it to teammate Niles Paul to one-up him. The junior returned a kickoff 44 yards in the second half, besting the NU season-high return of Marlowe by four yards.

On the kickoff, Paul said he saw something in KU kicker Jacob Branstetter that signaled there would be a pooch kick.

“We've been watching film, and I knew by the way he was coming up to the ball that he was going to squib it,” Paul said. “They tried to pooch it. I went up and got it because that's my job. Those guys blocked hard for me. They gave me a lane and I took it.”

No rest for the weary

Nebraska's defense played 87 snaps against Oklahoma and another 70 on Saturday. Carl Pelini said he thinks it's time for some rest.

“I thought we looked a little fatigued,” the NU defensive coordinator said. “Bo and I were talking after the game, and we've got to think about how we practice this week. We need to freshen these guys up.”

It's typical to shorten practices late in the season. Additionally, the game this week against Kansas State will be the Huskers' seventh straight without an open date.

Offense helps defense

Carl Pelini said he was glad to share some credit Saturday with the NU offense. The Huskers' 31 points were their most in six Big 12 games.

NU rushed for 214 yards, its highest total since gaining 259 in the season opener against Florida Atlantic.

“It was awesome,” Pelini said. “They found their identity again. They really wore (Kansas) down. We stayed patient with the run and did a nice job with play action. I thought they called a good game.”

Barry drops back

The Huskers showed a different look defensively at the start of Kansas' last drive in the first half. The Jayhawks moved the ball well as NU rushed just three linemen and dropped defensive end Barry Turner into coverage.

“That's part of our blitz package,” Pelini said. “We do that all the time.”

Regardless, KU converted a pair of third downs on the drive and five straight third-down opportunities over two possessions. Perhaps the most frustrating was a third-and-14 completion to Dezmon Briscoe, on which the KU receiver gained nearly all of his 28 yards after the catch. “We just didn't execute at times today,” Pelini said, “and I don't even know if it's that as much as that they're talented.”

Freshman stands out

Somewhere along the line Saturday, KU may have found its running back of both the future and present in Toben Opurum.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound true freshman carried a team-high 15 times for 44 yards, including 6 of 7 plays on KU' s second-quarter touchdown drive.

“Toben ran the ball well,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He was able to see things, he got his pads down, he ran very well. He looked sharp. Toben's coming along, he really is.”

Opurum converted a pair of fourth-and-ones on the drive, amassing half of his yards on that possession.

But all that momentum that KU built on the touchdown drive and another score late in the first half went away in the third quarter with a fumble deep in Husker territory.

“At that point I think we had a lot of momentum on our side,” Opurum said. “We really believed we could take things over from there. I don't want to call it bad luck. I think it's just a lack of focus, lack of execution.”

Fortunate find

One of Nebraska I-back Roy Helu's biggest plays Saturday did not show up on the stat sheet as a rushing attempt or any yards gained.

Zac Lee kept on an option play and tried to cap the Huskers' opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. But the quarterback fumbled just before the goal line and the football rolled into the end zone.

Helu, the pitch man on the option, beat Kansas safety Darrell Stuckey to it for the first of his three touchdowns.

Ho-hum Henery

Alex Henery came out for postgame interviews and reporters hardly knocked each other over to get to him. Ho-hum, the junior kicked three field goals again, making him 15 of 18 for the season and 41 of 47 for his career.

But Henery easily could have been looking at a potential game-winner from 52 yards out if Kansas hadn't committed a costly fourth-quarter penalty and then watched Helu score on a 20-yard run on the next play.

“I thought I'd have another one there at the end,'' Henery said. “But I was glad Roy scored that touchdown.''

Lee takes off

On Lee's 32-yard gain on a second-quarter bootleg, the junior quarterback dropped his shoulder a bit, ran through a tackle and gained 20 additional yards after contact.

You could almost sense Shawn Watson's relief.

What happens with inexperienced quarterbacks, Watson said, is that they become a starter and think they have to “be a passer.”

“One of the things that was so attractive about Zac coming out of junior college was his ability to run,” Watson said. “We've had some real heart-to-hearts about that.

“He's got to pull that ball down and go with it, because it's an attribute he brings to the table that a lot of guys don't.”

— Nick Rubek, Mitch Sherman, Rich Kaipust and Dirk Chatelain

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