FIRST QUARTER

• Ndamukong Suh: The Huskers' big nose tackle tracks down Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert on second-and-20, knocking the football loose. It's recovered by Jared Crick at the NU 41.

• Rex Burkhead: The fleet-footed freshman I-back takes an option pitch from Zac Lee and squirts for a 14-yard gain on third-and-5 to the Mizzou 30. The Huskers go the wrong direction on the next play, losing 15 yards on an illegal block by right guard Ricky Henry to kill a scoring opportunity.

• Andrew Gachkar: The Missouri linebacker storms downfield to fall on a Jake Harry punt that bounces off Nebraska's Mathew May after return specialists Niles Paul and Burkhead can't communicate well enough to field it. The special teams mishap gives Missouri possession at the Nebraska 33.

• Crick: The sophomore defensive tackle sacks Gabbert for a 7-yard loss on third-and-20 to end a sloppy, penalty-riddled first quarter. Crick's sack ends a Tiger drive that lost 19 yards after Mizzou recovered the mishandled punt in position to score.

SECOND QUARTER

• Alex Henery: The Nebraska punter leans to grab a third consecutive poor snap from freshman P.J. Mangieri. Henery evades a first wave of rushers but loses his balance and tosses the football out of the end zone for a safety and the game's first score.

• Niles Paul: The parade of special teams errors continues for Nebraska as Paul fumbles yet another Harry punt. Nebraska freshman Eric Martin jumps on top of this one at the NU 26-yard line.

• Jasper Simmons: Mizzou's junior free safety obliterates Burkhead on a second-down screen pass as the Nebraska offense stays painfully inefficient and predictable.

• Jared Perry: The Tigers catch a break as Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara falls down on a deep, third-and-10 pass from Gabbert. Perry spins and makes a nice catch, gaining 38 yards to the NU 6 with 30 seconds to play in the opening half.

• Gabbert: The sophomore QB, after two unsuccessful runs by tailback Derrick Washington, keeps it on fourth-and-1 with 2 seconds left in the half. Gabbert powers through a tackle, reaching the end zone for the only touchdown of the first half to give the Tigers a 9-0 lead at intermission.

THIRD QUARTER

• Gachkar: The Missouri junior recovers another fumble as NU center Jacob Hickman fires wide to Lee's left on a shotgun snap, the second play of the half. Mizzou gets it at the 29-yard line but fails to convert by missing a 42-yard field goal.

• Carl Gettis: The speedy Tiger punt-returner takes a Henery boot from the end zone back 16 yards to the Nebraska 34 as momentum starts to swing dangerously in favor of Mizzou.

• Grant Ressel: The Missouri kicker hits a 33-yard field goal to make it 12-0, but it's a small victory for Nebraska, which benefits from a holding penalty on second-and-goal and pass breakups by Suh and safety Larry Asante.

• Burkhead: The Huskers' initial first down of the second half by an offensive play looms large as the freshman gains 4 yards on a third-and-3 play to the NU 42. Three plays later, we saw why.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Paul: The junior from Omaha, benched earlier in the half along with the other starting receivers, breaks through coverage and Lee connects deep for a 56-yard touchdown — the first NU touchdown in seven quarters against BCS conference competition — to make it 12-7.

• Suh: On the Tigers' first play after the Paul touchdown, Nebraska's star defender gets his hands around a Gabbert throw, intercepting it at the line of scrimmage. It's especially sweet for the Huskers, who had good chances but could not convert any of four earlier opportunities previously to pick the former NU recruit.

• Lee: The Nebraska quarterback is starting to feel it. After going the whole third quarter without a completion, he finds Paul again for a score to put the Huskers on top. Paul beats a pair of MU defenders, Hardy Ricks and Kevin Rutland, to come down with a tough catch.

• Dejon Gomes: The Nebraska newcomer, inserted early as a replacement at the dime defensive-back spot, steps in front of a Gabbert pass for Perry and streaks to the Tiger 10-yard line. It sets up a third-down TD pass from Lee to Mike McNeill.

• Roy Helu: After Mizzou loses the ball on downs, trailing 20-12, the junior I-back runs for a pair of huge first downs to keep the clock moving. Lee's QB sneak converts another first down before Helu takes off for a 41-yard run to the 5 and scores on the next play to ice the Nebraska victory.

— Mitch Sherman