IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Nebraska had too much talent and too many bodies. On a hot day, all those bodies made a difference.

Leading just 7-0 after a mistake-laden first half, No. 5 Nebraska returned to form in the second half behind quarterbacks Bobby Newcombe and Eric Crouch and beat Iowa 42-7 Saturday in the opener for both.

Newcombe atoned for three first-half turnovers by running for two touchdowns and passing for one, and Crouch scored three times as the Cornhuskers wore down the Hawkeyes with their depth and spoiled the debut of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.

Newcombe, who won a highly publicized battle with Crouch for the starting job, threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Sean Applegate to get the Cornhuskers going early in the third quarter, then had scoring runs of 1 and 5 yards to stretch the lead to 28-0.

"We really came out and scored quickly. I believe we can do that as an offense," Newcombe said. "That right there relieved the pressure on the offensive line, receivers and myself big-time."

Crouch sprinted 28 yards for Nebraska's first touchdown and scored on fourth-quarter runs of 6 and 21 yards as the Hawkeyes wilted in the heat. It was 85 degrees at kickoff and 92 by the fourth quarter.

"I got a little frustrated early," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "But sometimes we're going to struggle early. Eventually we find a way to put points on the board, maybe break a big play."

Ferentz, a former Iowa and NFL assistant, replaced Hayden Fry, who retired last November after 20 years as coach. Ferentz's first team showed plenty of early zip on defense, but none on offense.

Iowa's deepest penetration was to the Nebraska 33 early in the fourth quarter, a drive that ended when Julius Jackson intercepted Kyle McCann's pass, and the Hawkeyes had just 169 total yards.

"Obviously, it wasn't too enjoyable," Ferentz said. "It wasn't a lot of fun. We just didn't get it done offensively. Offense is a lot about tempo and timing, and we never got either established."

Iowa averted a shutout when Doug Miller blocked Dan Hadenfeldt's punt and Tim Dodge scooped up the ball and went 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:30 left.

Newcombe was limited to six games last season by a knee injury. He wasn't sharp early, losing two fumbles and throwing an interception, but eventually settled in, completing 7-of-10 passes for 128 yards and rushing for 35 yards. Crouch finished with 92 yards in five carries. Nebraska had 543 yards, 347 on the ground.

"Where are our two quarterbacks?" Solich said. "I'd say we're right where we're at with it. Both of them I thought really played well. We have two outstanding quarterbacks. They both will be used."

In the first half, Iowa's defense stopped Nebraska on downs at their 36 and 22, Matt Stockdale foiled another drive by intercepting Newcombe's pass and Newcombe lost two fumbles, bobbling a snap at the Iowa 15 and making a bad pitch at the Iowa 10.

Iowa's offense, however, didn't get a first down until just 3:36 remained in the opening half.

(5) Nebraska 42, IOWA 7



                   1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH  FINAL
                   --- --- --- ---  -----
Nebraska            0   7  14  21    42
Iowa                0   0   0   7     7

Second Quarter
     Neb-Crouch 28 run (J. Brown kick), 7:54.
Third Quarter
     Neb-Applegate 47 pass from Newcombe (Brown kick), 11:14.
     Neb-Newcombe 1 run (Brown kick), 8:46.
Fourth Quarter
     Neb-Newcombe 5 run (Brown kick), 14:56.
     Neb-Crouch 6 run (Brown kick), 9:43.
     Neb-Crouch 21 run (Brown kick), 5:14.
     Iow-Dodge 10 blocked punt return (Douglas kick), 2:30.
	
                       Neb      Iow
                       ---      ---
First downs             24        8
Rushes-yards        62-347    26-57
Passing                196      112
Comp-Att-Int       10-15-1  11-30-1
Return Yards            98       69
Punts-Avg.            4-33    12-42
Fumbles-Lost           3-2      2-2
Penalties-Yards       6-57      0-0
Time of Possession   35:55    24:05

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
	
RUSHING-Nebraska, Alexander 15-95, Crouch 5-92, Evans 13-69,
Newcombe 15-35, Buckhalter 3-22, Perino 2-13, R. Brown 3-12,
Miller 2-6, Diedrick 2-5, Uhlir 1-4, Applegate 1-(minus-6). Iowa,
Betts 15-73, Allen 1-2, Thein 3-2, Crockett 3-0, McCann
4-(minus-20).
 	
PASSING-Nebraska, Newcombe 7-10-1-128, Crouch 3-5-0-68. Iowa,
McCann 11-27-1-112, Mullen 0-3-0-0.
 	
RECEIVING-Nebraska, Davison 4-69, Wistrom 2-32, Applegate 1-47,
Golliday 1-24, DeBates 1-18, McKee 1-6. Iowa, Kasper 5-58, Oliver
2-22, Wheatley 2-13, Flemister 1-15, Betts 1-4.
A-70,397.