LINCOLN, Neb. -- Tommy Armstrong complied 431 yards of total offense, Drew Brown kicked five field goals and Nebraska defeated Southern Miss 36-28 on Saturday to avoid its worst start to a season since 1957.

Armstrong threw for 324 yards and rushed for 63, including a 16-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for his career with the Cornhuskers (2-2).

Southern Miss (2-2) rallied from a 22-0 halftime deficit behind quarterback Nick Mullens, who passed for 407 yards and completed touchdowns passes of 21 and 16 yards to Casey Martin in the fourth quarter.

But Southern Miss, which converted an Armstrong interception into a touchdown early in the second half, came up empty on three other drives into Nebraska territory in the first three quarters.

Parker Shaunfield missed field goal attempts of 33 and 45 yards, and Nebraska stopped the Golden Eagles on fourth and-1 from the Nebraska seven-yard line.

Armstrong led an eight-play, 71-yard drive touchdown drive to open the game, completing four passes to junior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp, including a six-yard score.

Westerkamp finished with a career-high 11 catches for 118 yards.

Nebraska moved the ball on its next five series but stalled each time and turned to Brown, who tied an NCAA record with five field goals in the first half.

Browns connected from 29, 27, 40, 22 and 50 yards, the last coming to close the first half for a 22-0 lead.