Associated Press Photo
LINCOLN, Neb. (Sports Network) - Taylor Martinez threw a pair of touchdown passes for No. 25 Nebraska, which scored 35 points in the first quarter on Saturday in a 73-7 rout of the Idaho State Bengals.
Playing just half the game, Martinez passed for 165 yards on 9-of-13 attempts while Rex Burkhead collected 119 yards rushing and two scores on just eight carries to give Nebraska (3-1) its second consecutive blowout win.
Kenny Bell, Quincy Enunwa and Steven Osborne all caught a touchdown pass for Nebraska, while Ameer Abdullah, Braylon Heard and Imani Cross added scores on the ground.
The Bengals (1-2), who only totaled 210 yards of offense to the Cornhuskers' 569, didn't score until the fourth quarter, when punter C. J. Reyes threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Luke Austin.
Starting quarterback Kevin Yost threw two interceptions and completed just 16- of-34 passes for 123 yards in the loss.
After Brett Maher missed a 51-yard field goal try on the Cornhuskers' first drive, Nebraska scored touchdowns on each of their next four offensive possessions.
Burkhead made solid contributions on each of Nebraska's first two scores. After taking a hand off 61 yards for a touchdown, Burkhead caught a 25-yard pass on the following possession to put the Cornhuskers inside the Bengals' 20-yard line. Four plays later, Abdullah crossed the goal line on an 8-yard carry to make it 14-0.
Nebraska scored on its first plays from scrimmage on its next two offensive touches.
Following an Idaho State turnover on downs, Nebraska started the drive inside Bengals' territory. Martinez connected with Enunwa for a 35-yard touchdown strike to push the advantage to 21. On the Cornhuskers' following possession, Martinez tossed a shovel pass to Bell, who ran it 68 yards to the end zone for a score.
Already down 28-0, Idaho State dug themselves deeper when Yost threw an interception to Ciante Evans, who returned it 29 yards the other way, capping a five-touchdown first quarter for Nebraska.
The hosts added 10 more before halftime on Burkhead's 2-yard run and Maher's 49-yard field goal.
The Bengals punted away on their first possession of the third and Abdullah took it back 81 yards to increase Nebraska's lead to 52.
After the Cornhuskers blocked a punt on the Bengals' ensuing possession, back- up quarterback Ron Kellogg III connected with Osborne for a 5-yard score and Heard scampered 27 yards for a touchdown on Nebraska's following possession to make it 66-0.
Following the Bengals' only scoring drive, Cross broke off a 20-yard touchdown run to account for the game's final margin.