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COLUMBIA, Missouri (Ticker) -- Nebraska's Eric Crouch never will be known for his blazing speed, but on one electrifying run in the third quarter he evoked memories of former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers. Crouch's school-record 95-yard touchdown run highlighted No. 4 Nebraska's 36-3 Big 12 Conference victory over Missouri, its 23rd straight win over the Tigers. With the Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0 Big 12 North) holding a 16-3 lead, Crouch avoided a sack after dropping back into the end zone, then broke several tackles to get clear in the secondary with 2:21 remaining in the third period. Craig Johnson had a 94-yard TD run against Kansas on October 13, 1979 before Roger Craig matched it against Florida State on September 19, 1981. The long run allowed Crouch to finish with a career-high 191 yards on 17 carries. He completed just 8-of-14 for 120 yards as Nebraska dominated on the ground, rushing for 412 yards on 72 carries. The senior quarterback added a 15-yard TD -- his 47th at Nebraska -- with 9:56 remaining before Jamaal Lord capped the scoring with a one-yard TD burst with 4:18 to go. Nebraska's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks, Crouch needs just three touchdowns to break Mike Rozier's school record. He also is only 245 yards away from becoming just the third quarterback in Division I-A history to rush and pass for more than 3,000 yards. Nebraska, which has not lost to Missouri since 1978, sputtered early and trailed, 3-0, after the first quarter. The Cornhuskers' first three possessions resulted in a blocked field goal, interception and fumble. But the Cornhuskers took the lead for good on Dahrran Diedrick's one-yard run on fourth down with 10:39 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The overmatched Tigers (1-2, 0-1) tried to stay with Nebraska, but Crouch executed the two-minute offense to perfection after Brad Hammerich missed a 50-yard field goal with 2:29 left. Freshman Wilson Thomas made a one-handed grab for a 38-yard gain and a 1st-and-goal at the 4, setting up Diedrick's second TD run on the next play with 23 seconds left in the half. The score gave Nebraska a 13-3 halftime lead and seemed to demoralize Missouri. The Cornuhuskers wore down the Tigers in the second half. Judd Davies' 38-yard field goal capped a 14-play drive that consumed more than five minutes and gave Nebraska a 16-3 lead with 5:39 left in the third. While Missouri stayed close early, it had all kinds of trouble moving against Nebraska's defense. The Tigers punted on four of their first five posssessions, getting their only points on Hammerich's 29-yard field goal five minutes into the first quarter. The Tigers were held to just 67 yards on the ground while Kirk Farmer completed only 15-of-39 passes for 128 yards.
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