Any questions about whether Nebraska would bounce back after last week's loss to Oklahoma were answered early as Nebraska scored on their first five possessions and cruised to a 56-17 win over the Kansas Jayhawks.

"We really needed this." said rush end Kyle Vanden Bosch " We let one get away last week so we felt we really needed to convince ourselves, convince our fans and people around the country, that we're still capable of coming out and dominating a game for four quarters."

Quarterback Eric Crouch turned in a record setting performance as he tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns, passed for another and became the school's all-time leading rushing quarterback with 2,152 yards in his career.

Crouch said he was surprised to learn about breaking the record.

"When I heard that my eyes just lit up. It means a lot to me." Crouch said.

Crouch finished with 127 yards rushing in the game despite leaving the game after the first drive of the second half. He was one of three Husker players to top the century mark in rushing in the game. I-Backs Dan Alexander (119) and Correll Buckhalter (100) also accomplished the feat. Only once before have three Huskers rushed for over 100 yards in a game. Steve Taylor, Ken Clark and Terry Rodgers did it against Arizona State in 1988.

Nebraska's offense was able to run at will against Kansas. They gained 451 yards on the ground and attempted only eight passes, completing seven for 69 yards. Kansas, meanwhile, had 266 total offensive yards (97 rushing, 169 passing).

"In my four years (at Kansas), that was the most dominating Nebraska football team that I have seen." said Kansas head coach Terry Allen. "They just totally took it to us offensively. We did not force them to punt all day. They had three guys rush for 100 yards. They just physically dominated us."

Nebraska opened the game with workmanlike precision. After the Husker defense sent Kansas' first drive out in three plays the Nebraska offense marched 56 yards in 7 plays. Alexander aided the attack with runs of 23 and 14 yards. Crouch scored his first TD on a 1 yard run.

Nebraska used a rare key pass on their next drive to keep the spark alive. Facing 3rd and nine near mid field, Crouch connected with wingback Bobby Newcombe on a 17-yard pass. Five plays later Crouch scored on his second 1-yard dive.

Crouch scored again just over two minutes later with a 3 yard run.

Kansas finally got a break on their next drive. After being forced to punt, Joey Pelfanio's kick hit a Husker blocker at the 45 and was recovered by Brandon Weir. Kansas was able to convert the turnover into a 45-yard Joe Garcia field goal.

The Huskers struck right back. Crouch provided a 47-yard run down to the Kansas 33. A Kansas pass interference call later in the drive set the Huskers up near the goal line. Crouch connected with Tracey Wistrom for a 3-yard TD pass. Before the half ended Crouch added another touchdown later in the quarter on a 1-yard dive.

Crouch remained in the game for only the first series of the second half. The junior signal-caller guided the Huskers on an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Buckhalter scored from 4-yards out to put NU up 42-3 early in the third.

The Husker reserves kept up the assault. Quarterback Jammal Lord scored on a 5-yard run in the third and fullback Judd Davies took in a 3-yard touchdown.

The win keeps the Huskers in the hunt for the National Championship. With next week's game against Kansas State and a possible return to the Big XII Championship, Husker head coach Frank Solich knows the team needed to win big against Kansas.

"Statements need to be made. I don't think there's any question about it. Teams involved in trying to get as high a rating as you possibly can in the national rankings need to make statements." Solich said.