Columbia, Mo. ? Brad Smith’s record-setting day gave Missouri the lead, and the Tigers’ under-appreciated defense made it stand up.

Just as important as Smith’s school-record 480 yards in total offense in Saturday’s 41-24 victory over Nebraska was a stout game on the other side of the ball. The Cornhuskers were shut out in the second half and finished with minus-2 yards rushing on 19 carries, the school’s worst total since 1951.

It added up to produce a three-game winning streak for Missouri (5-2, 3-1 Big 12 Conference) heading into this week’s game at Kansas University and kept the Tigers tied for first in the Big 12 North with Colorado while Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) fell a game back.

Coach Gary Pinkel particularly was proud of a beleaguered defensive line that helped produce six sacks of Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor. Two of Nebraska’s touchdowns came right after Missouri turnovers, adding to the impressive day.

“We looked for articles on the Internet, and there were some articles written about how awful our defensive line was, and it was circulated a little bit,” Pinkel told reporters. “Certainly, we’re young and inexperienced in a lot of those places, but they responded well.

“People like you write articles, and people like us use them.”

Xzavie Jackson had 11â2 sacks, and Brian Smith had one, plus his first career interception on a tipped ball. Stryker Sulak’s hit on Taylor produced David Overstreet’s key third-quarter interception that led to a field goal by Adam Crossett that put Missouri ahead by 10 points early in the fourth quarter.

“We feed on everything negative,” Jackson said. “It fills our tank for the game.”

Nebraska had entered the second half with momentum after rallying from a 21-3 first-quarter deficit to tie it at 24 behind two Taylor touchdown passes.

“We just ran out of gas,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. “We had an opportunity to get back in it, but the turnover was very costly.”

Of course, it would be difficult to overlook the contributions of Smith, threw for 200 yards and ran for 200 yards while running for three touchdowns and throwing for a fourth score. He had 246 yards on 28 carries with three carries of 40 or more yards and was 21-for-36 for 234 yards.

The biggest game of his career came the week after he watched freshman backup Chase Daniel rally Missouri from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Iowa State in overtime. Smith is only the sixth quarterback in NCAA history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards in the same game.