Tulsa World: Husker Defense? OU 'Never Expected That'

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Husker Defense? OU `Never Expected That'

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

LINCOLN, Neb. - Oklahoma's football players had been in
their warm dressing room for almost a half-hour Friday.
But Mike Gaddis and Mike McKinley were still shivering.
"I don't know if I will ever get warm," McKinley said.
"That was the worst weather I've ever played in," Gaddis
said. "I've played in cold and I've played in rain, but
never when it was this cold and this much rain."
But Nebraska weather did not surprise Oklahoma's running
backs as much as Nebraska's defense. While Nebraska's offensive
domination in the second half of the Cornhuskers' 19-14
comeback victory was the leading topic of conversation,
it was Nebraska's defense that most surprised the Sooners.
They knew Nebraska was loaded with offensive weapons. They
read the weather reports and knew what to expect: 32-degree
temperature and rain that varied from a drizzle to a downpour.
But they did not expect a Nebraska defense that had a so-so
reputation and lacked speed to hold Gaddis to 63 yards on
22 carries and the Sooners to a total of 187 yards and an
average of 3 yards per play.
McKinley said, "They can talk about our defense not being
able to hold Nebraska, but the fact is we had enough chances
in the first half to win it and we couldn't do it. Nebraska
just stopped us. I never expected that."
Gaddis said, "The field may have had something to do with
it. But they are good, better than I thought."
Quarterback Cale Gundy said, "I would see holes open and
think we had a big gain and Nebraska would close it. I wasn't
expecting that. I knew they were big and strong, but on
film they didn't look very quick, but I guess they are.
"Still, I thought to the end we would win. We run that
two-minute drill every day and know how to execute it. But
we never had to do it in this kind of weather."
Gundy, who missed OU's game with Oklahoma State two weeks
ago after undergoing minor surgery and was sick this week
with a cold, said, "I felt fine. At the end, I felt like
I was getting it again, but that wasn't the reason we didn't
move the ball in the second half."
Gundy assured the Sooners were not "overly conservative"
after they led 14-0. He said, "We went on the field for
every possession thinking we needed to score a touchdown."
Coach Gary Gibbs said, "We knew 14 points would not be
enough to win the game. We wanted to score more, but we
didn't have the ball in the second half, for obvious reasons:
Nebraska kept it and controlled the line of scrimmage, and
we didn't move when we had it."
OU's defensive players were full of praise for Nebraska
tailback Calvin Jones and tight end Johnny Mitchell.
Strong safety Jason Belser said he once had Mitchell covered
"as well as I could and if (Keithen) McCant had thrown
the ball in the right place I would have intercepted. But
he made a bad throw and Mitchell dove and caught it. I just
threw up my hands. What can you say? The guy is a great
player."
Belser, a senior, called Nebraska "the best offensive team
we've played since I've been at Oklahoma. When you play
Colorado, you think about (Darian) Hagan. But Nebraska has
so many weapons and does so many things."
End Reggie Barnes said, "Nebraska is the best team we've
played. They are a lot better than they were two years ago
when they beat us so bad up here."
Barnes called Jones "a good back. He's not great yet. He's
a freshman. But he's going to be great."
Linebacker Joe Bowden complained that the Cornhuskers "got
by with a lot of holding. We kept telling the officials,
but they wouldn't call it. But I also give them credit.
They are very good.
"When they came out at the start of the second half, they
used two tight ends and really did a good job of blocking
us."
Bowden said he had a good view of OU's attempt to down Brad
Reddell's punt at the 1-yard line prior to Nebraska's winning
drive. An official ruled OU did not "secure" the ball
and Nebraska started the drive at its 20.
"There was no doubt about it, Nebraska should have had
to start at the 1," Bowden said. "But I didn't think they
could go 80 yards on us."
Linebacker Chris Wilson, who left the game with an ankle
injury on the play before Jones scored the winning touchdown,
said, "Nebraska is the best team I've played against. They
can play smash-mouth football and come right at you or throw
to Mitchell. It's a tough offense to stop."
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne called his team "the most enjoyable
team I've coached. We probably came as close to being as
good as they can be.
"I think we played an Oklahoma team today that was a lot
better than the one that lost to Texas and Colorado."
Osborne said he considered going for a field goal on fourth-and-one
at the 19-yard line before Jones scored.
"But we've had a couple blocked this year and I thought
the odds of us making a first down was better than us kicking
a field goal," Osborne said.
Jones got the first down with a four-yard run, then scored
from the 15. It was the fifth time Nebraska has come from
behind this year to win (four times) and tie (Colorado).
Of the fourth-down play, Jones said, "I knew I was going
to get the ball. I think my eyes were the size of half-dollars."
That was fitting, because dollars were on the line. Nebraska
will receive $4.2 million for going to the Orange Bowl.
The Gator Bowl payoff is $1.2 million.
By Bill Connors

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