The Nebraska Blackshirt defense took over every facet of the game in the Cornhuskers 31-3 defeat of Wake Forest.

The defense scored three touchdowns, held the Demon Deacons out of the end zone for the first time in four years and consistently provided the Husker offense with excellent field position.

The game’s developments had Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe shaking his head after the game.

"Turnovers kill you but turnover for scores are just ridiculous,” Grobe said. “We had three of them of them tonight. That is a season or two seasons worth of turnovers for scores.”

Sophomore linebacker Corey McKeon provided the game’s first thrilling moment when he picked off a Benjamin Mauk pass and returned it 38 yards to give the Huskers a 7-0 lead with 6:24 remaining in the first quarter.

The Blackshirts struck again less than four minutes later when safety Daniel Bullocks ripped the ball from Deacon running back Micah Andrews’ arms and sprinted untouched 30 yards for a second touchdown.

“I didn't think you could steal a fumble, but I did that in high school. I just take advantage of practice and work on stripping the ball every time and I saw that opportunity tonight and I rushed to it and took advantage of it," Bullocks said.

The defensive scoring didn’t end there. In the final period linebacker Stewart Bradley intercepted another Mauk pass and raced 43 yards into the end zone.

The defensive fireworks were welcomed for a Nebraska team whose offense has been struggling to find its feet. The Huskers were unable to take advantage of several scoring opportunities in the game. Their mounted just one scoring drive in the third period, thanks primarily to a 57-yard run by Cory Ross. Quarterback Zac Taylor hit Franz Hardy on a four-yard TD pass for the offense’s only points. Another scoring threat later in the period ended with a 21-yard Jordan Congdon field goal with 1:41 left in the third quarter.

It's nice when you look up at the scoreboard, it's 14-0 and you haven't done anything. It's definitely very helpful, but obviously the offense wants to score some points as well," Taylor said.

Ross finished the night with 20 carries for 123 yards for his 10th career 100-yard game. Taylor finished the night with completing 14 of 33 pass attempts for a total of 114 passing yards. The Huskers put up 234 total yards of offense on the Demon Deacons, who recorded a total of 247 yards of offense.