LINCOLN, Nebraska (Ticker) -- Last year's defensive struggles are fast becoming a distant memory at Nebraska.
Jammal Lord accounted for more than 200 yards of total offense as the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers blanked Troy State, 30-0, in their final non-conference contest.
Nebraska, ranked first in the nation in total defense, continues to dominate under first-year coordinator Bo Pelini, who was hired after the Cornhuskers allowed 24 points per game during last year's 7-7 season.
Nebraska (5-0) held Troy State to just 150 total yards, a season low for the Cornhuskers, who recorded their first shutout since a 59-0 victory over Baylor on October 21, 2000, a span of 36 games.
"There are a number of factors involved," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "We have a lot of speed on the defense. If you don't have a defense with speed, you are not going to create turnovers. The coaches have done a good job maximizing the ability we do have."
Lord completed 7-of-12 passes for 135 yards and also rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
The Cornhuskers managed only a 47-yard field goal by David Dyches until Lord's one-yard run with 1:47 left in the second quarter gave Nebraska a 10-0 halftime lead.
The Cornhuskers broke it open in the third quarter, taking a 23-0 lead on Sandro DeAngelis' three-yard TD run and Lord's six-yard scamper.
Freshman backup Joe Dailey tossed a 21-yard TD strike to Matt Herian with nine minutes left in the contest.
"It seemed like we played two different halves," Solich said. "We got some offensive production in the second half, but hopefully we can get four quarters together offensively. I was real pleased with the last two quarters."
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Troy State (3-3), which was coming off a 33-24 victory over Marshall.
"We faced a very good defense that is going to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season," Troy State coach Larry Blakeney said. "They are good enough to take this team all the way. We weren't good enough to consistently move the ball against them today."
Troy State was held to 10 first downs and its deepest penetration was the Nebraska 22 on the final play of the game. The Trojans fumbled twice, threw two interceptions and punted 10 times.
"Coming into this game, we knew that Troy State didn't turn the ball over a lot so we stressed putting pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers," Nebraska cornerback Pat Ricketts said.
"We've got to play better," Nebraska tackle Patrick Kabongo added. "We want to go out and get another shutout (next week against Missouri). That's what we look for all the time. If they can't score, they can't win."
Nebraska failed to convert a number of opportunities to add to its 3-0 lead as Dyches missed two field goals and the Cornhuskers turned the ball over on downs at the Troy State 26.
But Nebraska regained possession just three plays later as Aaron Leak fumbled at the 21. Josh Davis carried three straight times to set up Lord's one-yard dive over right tackle.
Lord's 77-yard completion to Herian set up Cory Ross' three-yard TD run with 5:18 left in the third that made it 17-0.
Leak completed just 9-of-19 passes for 81 yards before giving way to Hansell Bearden, who was 2-of-4 for three yards.
Troy State, which lost to Nebraska for the third straight year, was held to just 66 yards on the ground.
