LINCOLN, Nebraska (Ticker) -- One week after giving the ball away, Nebraska more than took it back.
The 14th-ranked Conhuskers rebounded from their first loss of the season by forcing a school record-tying eight turnovers and routing Texas A&M, 48-12, in a Big 12 Conference contest.
Nebraska (6-1, 2-1 Big 12 North) forced three fumbles and had five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
Linebacker Barrett Ruud returned an interception 27 yards to give the Cornhuskers a 20-3 lead late in the first period and defensive end Titus Adams gave Nebraska its final score with a three-yard interception return in the fourth period.
"It was just a matter of getting in the end zone," Ruud said of his first career interception. "It was kind of a blur."
The Cornhuskers made life miserable for Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal, who completed just 7-of-19 passes for 77 yards with three interceptions.
The Cornhuskers turned the ball over five times in last week's 41-24 loss to Missouri, when the Tigers scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. But Nebraska was efficient in this one, wearing down the Aggies (3-4, 1-2 Big 12 South) with a bruising ground attack that accounted for 320 of the Cornhuskers' 371 total yards.
"It's obvious that turnovers played a major part in today's game and we know what that is all about, last week losing the turnover ratio," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "It can be very costly. I will say this. I thought they were forced turnovers. Our defense put a lot of pressure on them and caused the ball to come out at times."
The last time Nebraska forced eight turnovers was against Colorado State in 1991. The five interceptions were the most for the Cornhuskers since they had six against Oklahoma State in 1981.
"Last week, we were disappointed but we put it behind us and got to work this week," Ruud said. "It was a good week of practice, and that's what we have to have if we want to win the Big 12. There are no breaks anymore."
The Aggies grabbed a 3-0 lead on Todd Pegram's 35-yard field goal with 8:35 left in the first period. But Nebraska converted back-to-back interceptions into their first two scores, taking a 14-3 lead on TD runs of 22 yards by Jammal Lord and one yard by David Horne.
"We keep hurting ourselves," Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. "It almost felt like we were playing with a wet bowl out there. It's not like this offense to turn the ball over as many times as did. It was a snowball effect out there."
Lord completed only 2-of-7 passes for 22 yards, but rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Horne added 86 yards and a TD on 14 carries for the Cornhuskers.
"I'm not going to come out and say I want to throw the ball 18 times, 20 times," Lord said. "If it happens, it happens. The O-line set the tone and we rolled."
The Aggies got their only TD on Jason Carter's 89-yard kickoff return with 2:56 left in the contest.
"We just didn't execute," McNeal said. "They just played better than us, and that's about all you can say."
Nebraska stretched its lead to 34-6 in the third quarter on TD runs of 12 yards by Josh Davis and 31 yards to Lord.
"I thought the players responded very well coming off last week," Solich said. "They practiced extremely well and they wanted to get it done. There are a lot of guys that made great plays and gave great effort."
Nebraska held the Aggies to 135 yards on the ground. McNeal rushed for 69 yards on 13 carries.
