Kansas Ends 36-Game Skid Against Nebraska

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas finally beat Nebraska, ending a 36-game losing streak to the Cornhuskers with a 40-15 victory Saturday and thousands of fans rushed the field to celebrate one of the biggest wins in school history.<br> <br> Mark Simmons caught two touchdown passes and Jon Cornish ran 72 yards for another score as Kansas ended the NCAA&#39;s second-longest losing streak against an opponent in an uninterrupted series. The record is 41 wins in a row by Notre Dame against Navy.<br> <br> In the 100th consecutive game between Kansas (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) and Nebraska (5-4, 2-4), the Jayhawks ended decades of futility in front of a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 51,750.<br> <br> The loss was the third straight for the Huskers, and came two days after coach Bill Callahan was reprimanded by the Big 12 for his apparent throat-slashing gesture at an official in a loss last week to Oklahoma. <br> <br> Midway through the fourth quarter, many of the several thousand Nebraska fans began quietly filing out. One of their last streaks linking them to the glory days of Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne had been severed in the second year under Callahan.<br> <br> During its run against Kansas, Nebraska had routs of 54-0 in both 1979 and &#39;80 and 70-0 in 1986. From 1971-74, the Huskers outscored the Jayhawks by a combined 177-9.<br> <br> Nebraska got a turnover on the Kansas 16 and scored on Cory Ross&#39; 1-yard touchdown run to close the margin to 17-15 midway through the third period.<br> <br> Two plays later Kansas struck back, with Cornish taking a delayed handoff and speeding 72 yards up the middle, giving the Jayhawks a 24-15 lead over a team they hadn&#39;t beaten since Lyndon Johnson was president.<br> <br> A few minutes later, after Kyle Tucker&#39;s punt put the Huskers on their own 5, Eric Butler sacked Zac Taylor in the end zone and Kansas led 26-15.<br> <br> Then, Jason Swanson hit Simmons with a 12-yard TD pass for a 33-15 lead for the clincher, sending many of the red-clad Husker fans on their way home.<br> <br> Kevin Kane intercepted Taylor&#39;s pass and returned it 40 yards for the final TD.<br> <br> Swanson also hit Simmons with a 40-yard touchdown pass on Kansas&#39; first possession. The Jayhawks also scored on Darren Rus&#39; 20-yard return of a blocked punt and Scott Webb&#39;s 21-yard field goal.<br> <br> Clark Green had 100 yards rushing and Cornish had 101 while Simmons caught six passes for 100 yards - the first time in 25 years Kansas had two 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver in a game.<br> <br> The Huskers had only 32 yards of total offense until Taylor engineered a six-play, 64-yard drive in the final minutes of the first half to make it 17-9. Three passes and a penalty against Kansas brought Nebraska to the 30, then Terrence Nunn got wide open on the left side and hauled in Taylor&#39;s 30-yard TD pass with 1:47 to go.<br> <br> It&#39;s been so long since Kansas has beaten Nebraska, that eight presidents had occupied the Oval Office since the Jayhawks last beat the Huskers, 23-13 in 1968.<br> <br> Six different Kansas coaches - Don Fambrough, Bud Moore, Fambrough again, Mike Gottfried, Bob Valesente, Glen Mason, Terry Allen - had come and gone with nothing but losses to show against the mighty Huskers. Current coach Mark Mangino came into the game 0-3 against Nebraska.<br> <br> © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.