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Chattanooga played the past two BCS national champions, so the Mocs knew what they were getting into when they came to Memorial Stadium to play 10th-ranked Nebraska.
Compared with how they fared against Alabama in 2009 and Auburn last season, this outing wasn't so bad, coach Russ Huesman said after the Mocs' 40-7 loss Saturday.
''The best part of it was for 60 minutes we went toe-to-toe. Man, our guys fought,'' Huesman said. ''Our kids feel like they could be a really good football team. They came off of blocks and they were able to run to the ball. For the most part, we defended the option really well.''
Taylor Martinez ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns against Chattanooga of the Football Championship Subdivision. Some BCS teams, to be sure, haven't done as well defending Martinez.
The Mocs forced a total of 12 negative-yardage plays against a Nebraska offense that was using a no-huddle system for the first time.
Offensively, the Mocs moved the ball sporadically against one of the nation's top defenses and finished with 230 yards.
NFL prospect B.J. Coleman, beginning his third year as the starter, completed 19 of 33 passes for 174 yards.
''I felt really good out there in terms of being able to complete the football and move the football throughout the field,'' Coleman said. ''I thought we did a really good job with moving the chains.''
The Mocs' only touchdown came on the first series of the second half, with Marlon Anthony catching a 13-yard TD pass from Coleman after cornerback Andrew Green fell.
''That was really cool being able to drive down. I think it was an 80-yard drive for a touchdown. That's very impressive for us to be able to come out here and do that,'' Coleman said.
The Mocs, coming off back-to-back 6-5 seasons, are picked fourth in the Southern Conference.
Nebraska was the next in a line of major powers to play Chattanooga. The Mocs lost 62-24 at Auburn last year and 45-0 at Alabama in 2009, not to mention 57-2 in 2008 to BCS runner-up Oklahoma.
The Mocs can look forward to playing South Florida, Alabama and Tennessee the next three years.
Huesman said he liked how his team held up Saturday.
''When we came in, we didn't know if we could get off of blocks,'' he said. ''Could we even stop the power play? Can we defend the belly option? And we did. For the most part, I thought we defended a lot of plays pretty well.
''And Martinez, how many third downs did we have, and he scrambles up the middle and gets a first down? He needs 10 yards, he gets 12. That is what good players do. We can't let that happen, but when you play good players and teams, it happens.''
Martinez scored on runs of 7, 43 and 47 yards and completed 11 of 22 passes for 116 yards before giving way to Brion Carnes in the fourth quarter.
Martinez, who matched his career high with 19 carries, showed no signs of the toe and ankle injuries that slowed him the second half of last season. His touchdown runs were his first in nine games, since he had a career-high four against Kansas State. It was the fourth time in his 14 career games that he had at least three TD runs.
Rex Burkhead set up the Huskers' first touchdown by turning a pitch from Martinez into a career-long 52-yard run. Martinez scored on the next play.
Martinez's next touchdown looked a lot like others scored by Nebraska's option quarterbacks of yesteryear. With Legate trailing to his left, Martinez cut around the left corner and turned around Chattanooga's Kadeem Wise on his way to a 43-yard run that put Nebraska up 20-0.
Martinez extended the lead to 40-7 in the third quarter when he faked a handoff and ran 47 yards untouched.
The Huskers sacked Coleman three times. Their biggest defensive play came when the Mocs were backed up against their goal line and Cameron Meredith intercepted a pass that Jared Crick tipped at the line. The play set up Burkhead's 3-yard touchdown that put Nebraska up 33-7.
