ESPN College Football

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Zac Taylor matched his career high with three touchdown passes and No. 20 Nebraska won its 21st consecutive season opener with a 49-10 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

The Cornhuskers effectively mixed the run and pass against their overmatched opponent and amassed 584 total yards.

They scored on the last series of the first half and opening series of the second to break open a 14-10 game on their way to extending the longest winning streak in openers in the nation.

Taylor, who has thrown at least two touchdown passes in nine of his last 10 games, was 22 of 34 for 287 yards. He was intercepted once on a deflected pass.

Four tight ends caught touchdown passes. Taylor's were thrown to Matt Herian, J.B. Phillips and Josh Mueller, and backup quarterback Joe Ganz threw one to Hunter Teafatiller late in the game.

The Huskers, 105th nationally in rushing last season, ran for 252 yards. It was the first time in 14 games that the Huskers had rushed for more than 200 yards.

Coach Bill Callahan made good on his promise to involve all four of his I-backs. Cody Glenn had 88 yards on 13 carries, Marlon Lucky 79 on 13, Kenny Wilson 47 on 15 and Brandon Jackson 36 on three.

Glenn, Lucky and Jackson each had touchdowns.

First-time starter Zac Champion completed 12 of 27 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown, with one interception for Louisiana Tech.

Glenn finished an 11-play, 78-yard drive with a 1-yard run seven seconds before halftime, and Taylor threw a 6-yard TD pass to Phillips for a 28-10 lead early in the third.

Taylor completed 12 of 13 passes on the two scoring drives, including 10 in a row.

Herian, who hadn't played since October 2004 because of a broken leg, caught a 13-yard pass from Taylor to open the scoring in the first quarter.

Tech had to settle for Danny Horwedel's 23-yard field goal after driving from its 20 to the Nebraska 5 on its next possession.

The Huskers then made it 14-3, with Lucky scoring his first career touchdown on a 13-yard run.

Tech's Johnathan Holland made the catch of the game to pull his team to 14-10.

It looked as if Champion had overthrown Holland along the left sideline, but Holland accelerated and stretched to pull in the ball with his left hand at the 2, crossed the goal line for a 39-yard touchdown and bounded over a padded wall into the first row of the end zone seats.

The Huskers squandered three scoring chances. What would have been a 29-yard touchdown run by Wilson was nullified by a holding penalty far behind the play, Taylor was intercepted on a deflected pass by D'Anthony Smith inside the 5 and Wilson fumbled inside the 10.

Attendance of 85,181 was a Memorial Stadium record. The stadium was expanded by 6,500 seats as part of a $50 million facilities project.