Tulsa World: Huskers Weather OU Heroics, 19-14

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Huskers Weather OU Heroics, 19-14

By Bill Connors
Published: 11/30/1991
Last Modified: 3/8/2009 9:11 AM

LINCOLN, Neb. - Oklahoma's offense did not capitalize in
the first half and its defense did not hold up in the second
half Friday.
And so, even though Oklahoma led 14-0 and hung on heroically
in miserable weather conditions for most of Nebraska's dominating
second half, when everything was on the line the Sooners
could not cope with tailback Calvin Jones and tight end
Johnny Mitchell.
That gifted pair kept making all-star plays before a national
television audience and a sellout crowd of 76,386 hearty
souls until the Cornhuskers finally prevailed 19-14.
Jones' 15-yard run for the winning touchdown with 2:57 left
clinched a share of the Big Eight Conference championship
and a spot in the Orange Bowl for 11th-ranked Nebraska (9-1-1)
against No. 1-ranked Miami.
The outcome in the season finale dropped 19th-ranked OU
(8-3) to third place and a Jan. 28 date with Virginia in
the Gator Bowl at Jacksonville and sent co-champion Colorado
to the Blockbuster Bowl at Miami against Alabama.
For over 57 minutes, in a freezing rain, the Sooners and
Buffaloes had reason to think they would be the Big Eight
teams spending the holidays in south Florida.
Quarterback Cale Gundy sneaked one yard to give the touchdown-underdog
Sooners a quick 7-0 lead that resulted from flawed ball-handling
and a short punt by the Cornhuskers. Tailback Mike Gaddis
inflated the lead to 14-0 with a one-yard plunge in the
second after the last of three consecutive turnovers by
Nebraska quarterback Keithen McCant. OU had to go only a
total of 75 yards for the two scores.
However, the Sooners got nothing from the other two turnovers
and another field position opportunity. Gundy fumbled a
snap - OU's only turnover - at the 18 to foil the most promising
threat.
After that, it was a matter of whether the Sooners could
hold on. Because of Jones and Mitchell, among the better
players Nebraska has recruited in recent years but who are
not starters, the Sooners could not hold on.
Jones, 205-pound redshirt freshman backup to All-Big Eight
Derek Brown, shattered the Sooners with a combination of
speed and power on the winning drive.
Jones' explosive score came on the 10th play of an 80-yard
drive. He gained 78 of those yards on nine carries, including
four on fourth-and-one on the preceding play.
With 118 yards, Jones rushed for only 29 yards less than
OU.
Mitchell, 260-pound sophomore with tailback speed who made
All-Big Eight as a freshman who specialized in home run
receptions, unraveled the Sooners by catching seven passes
for 137 yards.
Most were on third down. He caught a 31-yard pass to set
up Nebraska's first points, a 22-yard field goal by Byron
Bennett in the second quarter. He caught a 23-yard pass
to set up Nebraska's first touchdown, a five-yard run by
McCant in the third quarter.
Mitchell made a 28-yard reception when double covered to
set up Bennett's 33-yard field goal to shave OU's lead to
14-13 early in the fourth quarter.
Before that play, the big, personable Mitchell used the
break between quarters to walk down the line of scrimmage
and shake hands with OU players. Then he tormented them
by making a catch that linebacker Joe Bowden would later
say "was the kind of play you don't expect to see made
at this level."
With OU guilty of only one turnover and Nebraska going antisceptic
on its last eight possessions, OU coach Gary Gibbs said,
"Both teams did a lot of good things under difficult conditions.
It was a tough, well-played game.
"Jones and Mitchell deserve a lot of credit. They made
some great plays against what we think is a very good defense."
It took a goal-line tackle on fourth down by tackle Stacey
Dillard or that very good Oklahoma defense would have had
a blown-away look in the second half.
The Cornhuskers had only four possessions in the second
half and almost scored on each. They scored two touchdowns
and a field goal and were stopped when Brown was shattered
by Dillard at the 1. They out-yarded OU 277-75 in the second
half and 398-187 for the game.
"I was surprised Nebraska could dominate the game offensively,"
Gibbs said. "But they are a very good offensive team."
Gibbs did not question an official's ruling that OU did
not secure the ball in attempting to down Brad Reddell's
punt at the 1-yard-line prior to Nebraska's winning drive.
"I would have rather they had to go 99 yards, but they
went 80 and you have to give them a lot of credit," Gibbs
said.
Gibbs said he would not second-guess himself for kicking
off to Nebraska to start the second half, when the Sooners
led 14-3. Nebraska drove 70 yards, mostly on assaulting
runs by Brown, against the wind for a touchdown, then had
the wind in the fourth quarter.
"It was a game of field position," he said. "We thought
we could go out and hold them and re-establish field position
in our favor. We wanted to depend on our defense, which
is the strength of our team."
While Nebraska players said they considered Gibbs' decision
a dare, coach Tom Osborne said, "It backfired, but it wasn't
bad strategy."
Gibbs, perhaps miffed that his decision was questioned,
stressed, "That did not lose the football game. We had
our chances."
True. Besides the squandered chances in the first half,
the Sooners drove from their 20 to Nebraska's 44 in the
final minutes on Gundy's passing before the sophomore threw
four straight incompletions.
Gundy and offensive coordinator Larry Coker thought Nebraska
possibly got away with pass interference on Gundy's second-
and third-down passes.
That drive and a five-minute drive to Nebraska's 40 early
in the fourth quarter were the only times the Sooners crossed
midfield on their own initiative.
They went only 33 yards for their first touchdown, after
Brown had a difficult time fielding the slippery ball on
the kickoff and a 27-yard punt.
Gundy scrambled on the first play and wound up with an 18-yard
gain when he fumbled forward and tackle Brian Brauninger
recovered. Five plays later Gundy sneaked for the touchdown
and Scott Blanton's extra point made it 7-0 with only 4:21
elapsed in the first quarter.
End Trey Tippens, who frustrated Nebraska's option play
in the first half, blitzed McCant and recovered his fumble
at the Nebraska 42 to set up the second touchdown.
Gundy's 10-yard pass to tight end Joey Mickey and Gaddis'
running carried to the 1, where Gaddis scored on fourth
down. Blanton's kick wrote a 14-0 lead with 12:39 left in
the third quarter.
With McCant looking shaky, Nebraska sputtered until Jones
and Mitchell sparked a drive that reached OU's 2. There,
McCant slipped for a three-yard loss to force Bennett's
22-yard field goal to make it 14-3 at halftime.
The Cornhuskers stormed out for the second half with an
assaulting game plan. Using two tight ends and ignoring
the pass, the Cornhuskers began to pound the Sooners with
Brown, who gained 42 of his 98 yards on a 70-yard drive.
McCant ran the option untouched from the 5 for the touchdown.
Bennett's kick made it 14-10 with 9:53 left in the third
quarter.
After Dillard's goal-line play stopped the next threat,
the Cornhuskers used Mitchell's circus catch to set up Bennett's
33-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 with 12:20 left.
Then, Jones took over. The clock showed 7:08 left when the
Cornhuskers took over at their 20 (thanks to the ruling
that the punt was not downed at the 1).
It was about the same amount of time that was left 20 years
ago when Nebraska's 1971 national champions made their winning
drive to win the Game of the Century 35-31 at Norman.
Jeff Kinney was the hero of that fabled drive. But he looked
like a piker compared to Jones.
Jones ran 21 yards on the first play, then 3, then 17, 6,
5, 2 and 4 (on fourth-and-one after Osborne rejected a field
goal) to reach the Sooners' 15.
On the next play Jones powered through the Sooners like
a speeding truck. He hit the end zone with 2:57 left for
the winning points.
By Bill Connors

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