LINCOLN, Neb. -- Having two able quarterbacks is a luxury most college teams don't have. That's not the case with the University of Nebraska. When the Cornhuskers' starting quarterback Bobby Newcombe was pulled for being ineffective, Nebraska coach Frank Solich knew he could count on backup Monte Christo. And Christo came through scoring two second-half touchdowns.
"The feeling was that Bobby was not effective in the opportunities that he had so it made sense to go with Monte," Solich said after seventh-ranked Nebraska stopped 19th-ranked Missouri 20-13 yesterday at Memorial Stadium. "Bobby did some good things in the first half, but he wasn't as consistent as he had been and was not consistent as we needed him to be in order to get some things going offensively."
But Christo was the man for the job. In the first half, with Newcombe and Christo alternating at quarterback, Nebraska ran for 104 total yards and scored just two field goals. Once Christo was given the reins, Nebraska came to life and with two touchdowns and rushed for 152 team yards.
"With Bobby's knee bothering him again, we just needed someone who was 100 percent to go in and do the job," Christo said. "I just went in and did the best I could."
Solich knew that was enough.
"I think Monte's quickness was able to show," Solich said. "Monte is a stable quarterback for us. He does everything well and has the ability to run our offense and get us out of bad plays and into good ones. I thought he ran well and that he did a wonderful job passing. He's a great young man and his talent showed."
But it's not like Christo hasn't been in this position before. Newcombe sat out two games against Alabama-Birmingham and California because of an injured left knee, and Christo led the Cornhuskers to a 38-7 win over the Blazers and a 24-3 road victory over the Bears.
But the Tigers came into to Memorial Stadium with much better credentials than Christo had faced in his two victories. Nevertheless, the 6-foot, 195-pound senior, known as The Count of Monte Christo', was totally confident he could get the job done.
"I've been coming into games late in the contest, but this was by far the most meaningful," Christo, who rushed for 79 yards on 20 carries said. "I just wanted to get in there and get things done. I came in and wanted to give them a shot at winning the game and things turned out pretty well."
Christo's effort combined with the battering ram-like influence of I-back Correll Buckhalter, who started for an injured DeAngelo Evans and gained 127 yards on 25 attempts, was more than Missouri could handle in the second half.
"It was definitely the most physical game of the season," Buckhalter said. "Before the game, the coaching staff emphasized that Missouri was a very physical team. We wanted to come out and show them that we were the more physical football team."
But the duo's full impact wasn't felt until Nebraska's third drive of the third period when Christo dove in from one yard out to tie the game at 13 with 1:32 remaining in the quarter. The six-play, 14-yard scoring drive was set up by Shevin Wiggins' 53-yard punt return.
Unlike the first half, where two of Nebraska's drives stalled and the Huskers could only manage field goals, the triple-option threat of Christo and Buckhalter made sure a touchdown was in the books for the defending national champions.
"I've got to read the defense and figure out where to run it," Christo said. "We knew we could be successful if we ran our offense right. We know teams will only give you so much, but that's why it's called an option. You've got three different things you can do, so you've got to be patient and aggressive."
Two possessions later in the fourth quarter, Nebraska scored the game-winning touchdown as Christo kept the ball again on the option and rushed over the left end for paydirt with 10:27 to play.
"We came out with more heart and more intensity in the second half, and those were the things that were lacking," Christo said.
"We knew we wouldn't totally overpower them, but we felt that we had a good chance of moving the ball at them," Christo said.
