October 1, 2006 NO JOKE JAYHAWKS Huskers start strong, then hold on, in overtime scare with Kansas By Jim D. Berryman MissingNebraska.com jimmyb@missignebraska.com After Nebraska jumped to a 17-0 lead over Kansas in the first quarter Saturday night, I actually said it: "The Huskers are back."  In the first quarter, my words rang true. But then came the rest of the game. A memorable game between Nebraska and Kansas, two teams that have played each other more times than almost all others. Despite that 1st quarter lead, the Huskers had to hold on to win an overtime thriller against the determined road team Jayhawks. Final score: NU 39 KU 32. Even though Nebraska won the battle on the scoreboard, the stats of the game sing a different tune. Kansas ended up with more yardage. That's right, the Jayhawks mowed over the Blackshirts, especially in the second half, and posted 574 yards to Nebraska's 511. Kansas had ten more first downs than Nebraska, 26-16. Kansas took the lead over the Huskers with just over 6 minutes left in the game. But the scoring wasn't done yet. Nebraska answered KU's first lead of the game with a touchdown of their own and a 2-point conversion to go up 32-25. Then the pesky Jayhawks answered with a touchdown to tie the game at 32 and send the game into overtime.  A gigantic stunned hush swept over the sellout crowd of 85,000 plus at Memorial Stadium. Was Nebraska back? Or was Nebraska's back to the wall? The latter seems to ring true in this case. Yes Nebraska is an improved team over last season, but allowing other teams down the road to "hang around", then get back into the game, will not have the same outcome. Even though Kansas started the game looking more like a high school team than Division 1-A college team, the Jayhawks had their way with the NU defense in the second half.  Play after play, 1st down after 1st down, Kansas looked like Texas for awhile. Nebraska still has work to do before Texas comes to Lincoln...heck, there's work to do before this Saturday's game in Ames against Iowa State. Therefore, in my humble opinion, Nebraska is not yet "back".  Much better, but not back. There's still plenty of time to become "back" this season too, it's just that NU is not quite there. Even so, Nebraska escapes with a win and improves to 4-1 (1-0 Big 12). A win is a win and Nebraska made some huge plays to win the game. Even though the Huskers tried to give the game away, it really doesn't matter all that much at the end of the season. Nebraska is one step closer to winning the Big 12 North. With the loss, Kansas drops to 3-2 (0-1 Big 12). It should be a good one this Saturday night in Ames. Can the Huskers win a road game? Tune in and find out! GO BIG RED! NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS vs. KANSAS JAYHAWKS                                GAME STORIES & LINKS   10-01-06: K-Whew! Huskers survive determined Jayhawks in OT More from Omaha World-Herald 10-01-06: NU-KU Fun Notes: From The Stands More from Omaha World-Herald 10-01-06: Huskers outlast KU More from Lincoln Journal-Star 10-01-06: Huskers win thriller in overtime Story & Video from KOLN-KGIN TV 10-01-06: Close Call: Jayhawks force overtime; Huskers escape Story & Video from WOWT-TV 10-01-06: No QB pressure leads to tough night for D  More from Lincoln Journal-Star 10-01-06: Huskers foil Jayhawks in OT More from Kansas City Star 10-01-06: Big Red Scare: Jayhawks awful, awfully good in loss More from Lawrence Journal-World   10-01-06: Emotional win doesn't mask concerns  More from Grand Island Indpendent ** 10-01-06: Huskers.com Big Red Review NU-KU Stories, Stats & More from Huskers.com 10-01-06: KETV-Omaha Big Red Zone: Nebraska vs. Kansas NU-KU Stories & Video, Stats & More **Registration Required Nebraska Football '06 Schedule / Results Huskers on ESPN.com Husker Hot Pics Photos from AP Husker Game Watch Locations Nationwide