Roy Helu Jr. ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns, helping Nebraska move into a tie atop the Big 12 North with a 31-17 victory at Kansas Saturday.

Niles Paul had 244 total yards, including 154 on four catches and Alex Henry kicked three field goals to set up next week's Big 12 North showdown between Nebraska (7-3, 4-2) and Kansas State.

"We're going to have to come out with a higher intensity and be ready to fight," NU linebacker Phillip Dillard said.

Helu recovered a fumble in the end zone in the first quarter and had TD runs of 20 and 14 yards in the fourth quarter to give the Huskers their third straight win.

Kansas (5-5, 1-5 Big 12) overcame a miserable first quarter to take a 17-16 lead midway through the fourth, only to give up Helu's second touchdown just 1:04 later.

The Jayhawks' five-game losing streak is their longest in seven years. "They're great kids who have worked hard and done everything we've asked of them," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said of his senior class. "It's been a little bit of a tough stretch for them, but they've done great things here."

Todd Reesing threw for 236 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, but was off-target early and hurt by dropped passes late to finish 19-for-41 in his final home game. Fellow senior Kerry Meier added 10 catches for 127 yards.

For a team that's been struggling offensively with 12.2 points the past four games, the Cornhuskers got off to a fast start against Kansas. Tim Marlowe returned the opening kickoff 40 yards, Zac Lee hit Paul on a 35-yard pass the first play, then Helu recovered Lee's fumble in the end zone. Three minutes in and a 7-0 NU lead.

The Huskers put together a couple more big plays, Lee's 32-yard run and his 37-yard pass to Paul both early in the second quarter set up Henry's 25-yard field goal that made it 10-0. Henry also hit from 34 and 38 yards in the second half to put Nebraska up 16-10.

The Huskers finished with 410 total yards after getting just 180 against the Sooners. "Last week we tried to play conservative to win the game, but this week we were going to take some shots," Paul said.

"The thing we wanted to say is: We've got our mojo back," said Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.

Kansas, after managing 10 total yards and no first downs in the first quarter, scored its first touchdown when Reesing took a quarterback draw up the middle for a 5-yard score in the second. The Jayhawks went up 17-16 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the game when Reesing hit Dezmon Briscoe on a 21-yard touchdown pass over the middle.

The lead didn't last long. Paul returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Kansas 31, a third-down facemask penalty by Justin Thornton kept the drive alive and Helu scampered up the middle for a 20-yard touchdown.

Lee hit Paul on a 2-point conversion to cap the four-play drive, putting the Huskers up 24-17 with just over six minutes left.

After Nebraska held Kansas to a three and out, Helu sealed the victory with a 14-yard run in the closing seconds. Lee had 196 yards on 13-of-21 passing.

"It's kind of been the story of the last couple of games," said Kansas tight end Tim Biere. "We have been so close every single game and just couldn't get over the hump."