LINCOLN, Neb. (Sports Network) - Redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for two touchdowns as sixth-ranked Nebraska routed Idaho, 38-17, for the program's 500th all-time home win.
Martinez rushed 14 times for 157 yards while completing 12-of-17 throws for 106 yards and was intercepted once.
DeJon Gomes and Rickey Thenarse returned interceptions touchdowns and Roy Helu Jr. carried the ball nine times for 107 yards and a score for the Cornhuskers (2-0), who were coming off a 49-10 win over Western Kentucky.
Idaho QB Nathan Enderle finished 16-of-31 for 141 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off five times, as the Vandals (1-1) failed to build on a 45-0 win over North Dakota last week.
Alex Henery kicked a 24-yard field goal midway through the first quarter.
The Cornhuskers squandered a chance for points later in the period when Martinez was sacked and fumbled in the red zone. He made amends by bolting 67 yards for a touchdown early in the second, and Helu made it 17-0 with a 58- yard TD burst with 8:22 left in the half.
Gomes' 40-yard interception return widened the margin to 24 points just over two minutes later, and with four minutes to go in the half, Thenarse rumbled 47 yards for a touchdown off another interception.
Trey Farquhar's 34-yard field goal at the buzzer represented Idaho's only points of the half.
Enderle hit Michael LaGrone with a two-yard TD pass in the third, but Martinez countered with a 20-yard scoring run later in the stanza.
Brian Reader threw 19 yards for a score to Armauni Johnson late in the fourth.