Cox was 2-of-6 for 15 yards, but the Aggies finished with just seven yards total offense in the second quarter.

"They did such a great job early on throwing short, controlled patterns," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "It seems like when we are able to get to the quarterback and get some hits, all of a sudden it gets a little tougher to make throws. Demorrio had a great game for the second week in a row."

The Aggies had the ball inside the Nebraska 35 two times in the first half. One drive resulted in the loss of downs, and the other ended when back-up quarterback Matt Crivello — from a lateral — threw an interception. Utah State recovered a fumble one play earlier, putting the Aggies in prime scoring position.

The offensive woes continued for Utah State in the second half. Cox was 0-for-8, and the Aggies rushed for just 25 yards and earned just one first down with only 14 plays on the third. They had the ball just over nine minutes in the second half.

Spanning parts of three quarters, Cox failed to get a completion on 12 straight passes. In the second half alone, he was just 2-of-12 for 31 yards.

After Nebraska scored on its first possession of the second half on a David Horne 3-yard run to cap a 74-yard drive, Utah State, after three plays, was forced to punt from their end zone.

After a 30-yard return along with a face-mask penalty, the 'Huskers had a first-and-goal at the Utah State seven. It resulted in a 20-yard field goal by Dyches.

"We gave them a couple of short-field opportunities in the third quarter that were very, very difficult to recover from," Dennehy said.

Dyches, who made just four field goals in high school last year, kicked four Saturday.

Although the Aggie defense allowed 405 total yards, they held the 'Huskers to four field goals, and late in the game they forced a turnover on the one-yard line to negate another potential score.

---

E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com