NU STAR

Junior receiver Niles Paul did it all, catching four passes for 123 yards, running 20 yards on a reverse and adding returns of 49 yards on a kickoff and 28 yards on a punt. Paul supplied the knockout punch when he beat Arizona cornerback Devin Ross for a 74-yard touchdown catch with 3:39 left in the third quarter.

HIGHLIGHT

Nebraska unveiled the “Wildcat” formation, which was both new and largely effective. The Huskers had I-back Rex Burkhead take snaps from the shotgun on seven plays, the first of which the freshman turned into a 34-yard run. Burkhead also ran 5 yards out of the formation for a second-quarter touchdown and even handed off later to Dontrayevous Robinson.

BUSTED PLAY

There were few, but Nebraska did botch a good red-zone opportunity at the start of the second half. From the Arizona 5, quarterback Zac Lee threw incomplete on a play that included defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh out for a pass and then got chased out of the pocket and had to unload a third-down throw.

OUR TAKE

Nebraska was not only better but drastically so against a respected Arizona defense. Lee made some headway running the football (on 18 carries), was usually given good time to throw, and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson even mixed in some flavor with the “Wildcat” and the reverse. After the struggles throughout the season, the 396-yard, 33-point production should send the Huskers into the offseason with some much-needed optimism.

— Rich Kaipust

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