Tulsa World: Huskers 'Pass' Test at O-State

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Huskers `Pass' Test at O-State

By Bill Connors
Published: 10/22/1989
Last Modified: 2/27/2007 9:32 AM

STILLWATER - Rod Smith blocked a punt, Mike Gundy and Curtis
Mayfield connected on a home run pass and the last of Cary
Blanchard's three field goals had Nebraska sweating Saturday.
But strong safety Reggie Cooper intercepted Gundy in the
end zone to thwart Oklahoma State's attempt to take the
lead midway of the third quarter. Three minutes later cornerback
Bruce Pickens made a fumble-resulting tackle on Gundy and
quarterback Gerry Gdowski then gave the football game the
look it was supposed to have.
Nebraska won, 48-23. As Tom Osborne assured, the No. 4 Cornhuskers'
seventh straight victory was not nearly as easy as the score indicated.
For much of three quarters Nebraska looked like a team that
had lived too long on a schedule of white meat. The untested
and uninspired Cornhuskers were bothered by a daring OSU
defense that invited them to pass and at times defended
poorly against passing..
OSU led 13-10 in the second quarter and was at the Nebraska
17 threatening to erase a 20-16 deficit midway of the third
quarter when Cooper made the play that stalled the Cowboys'
momentum. Pickens' play opened the flood gates for Gdowski.
An estimated crowd of 40,000 at Lewis Field had its hopes
shattered when Gdowski ran for one touchdown and passed
for two in a seven-minute span that inflated Nebraska's
lead to 41-16 with 13:43 left.
"We got about as much out of our bunch and played that
bunch about as well as we could expect until the two turnovers,"
Pat Jones said.
Gundy, already the Big Eight Conference's career leader
in passing, became the leader in total offense on the 65-yard
touchdown pass to Mayfield that gave OSU its 13-3 lead.
Mayfield, who caught an 85-yard pass from freshman Earl
Wheeler to set up OSU's last touchdown, set a school record
for receiving yardage with 208 yards on six receptions.
But in the final analysis the resourceful Cornhuskers won
because, even against a defense that compromised itself
to stop the run, they were able to run (316 yards) and OSU
could not run (42).
OSU played its safeties like linebackers, except on obvious
passing plays. Osborne estimated, "they came after us with
blitzes 95 percent of the time." This kept tailback Ken
Clark under control . But eventually Gdowski ran and passed
Nebraska to its 16th straight victory over OSU and extended
the Cowboys' winless streak in this series to 28.
Jones said, "We can't play them straight. We had to play
cat and mouse." He likened OSU's strategy to a full-court
press in basketball.
"It can be disruptive or they can wind up shooting layups,"
Jones said. "Our goal was to make them throw the ball.
They are a running football team. If they can beat us throwing
the ball, fine; I'd rather have that than see them ripping
us with the tailback like they did the last two years."
Clark had 85 yards, 40 under his No. 7 national average.
Backup Leodis Flowers ran 52 yards for Nebraska's last touchdown.
No matter it was Gdowski's day.
He completed only 10 of 24 passes but he was not intercepted
and totaled 170 yards. He made a critical third down completion
on the go-ahead touchdown drive, had three completions for
56 yards on a 67-yard drive for a field goal and broke the
game open with touchdown passes of 35 and 20 yards to split
end Jon Bostick.
Gdowski also rushed for a career high of 125 yards to give
him 295 of Nebraska's 511 total yards.
Osborne, saying he was "just glad to get out of here with
a win," thought the 2-5 Cowboys were the best team Nebraska
has played.
Pickens admitted Nebraska's soft schedule "may not have
conditioned us to play as hard as we needed." He added,
"I don't think we were real fired up when the game started."
The Cornhuskers did not get in advertised form until Cooper
made a remarkable, leaping interception of Gundy in the
end zone.
Cooper said, "I felt like Oklahoma State had the momentum
before that. We had not been challenged in a game that late
all year."
The score was unchanged though when Pickens made the play
that broke OSU's back. He blasted Gundy on a blindside blitz.
Gundy was separated from the ball as he hit the turf and
Pickens recovered the fumble at the OSU 27. Some thought
the officials erred in ruling a fumble on Gundy.
On Nebraska's first play after the disputed ruling, Gdowski
ran 26 yards to the one and sneaked for the touchdown. That
was the end of OSU - except for Wheeler's bomb to Mayfield
and his 12-yard touchdown pass to flanker Jarrod Green.
Jones said, "I couldn't see the play on Mike well enough
to know if it was a fumble or not. I get a lot madder about
things like us jumping offsides and dropping passes."
Mayfield dropped a pass in the end zone before Blanchard's
38-yard field goal shaved Nebraska's lead to 20-16. Mayfield
also was unable to hold a first down or possibly scoring
pass before Blanchard's 31-yard field goal that cut Nebraska's
lead to 10-6.
By then Jones "definitely thought we had a chance to win."
He sensed it when the 22-point favored Cornhuskers needed
10 plays to go 28 yards for a field goal and their first
points after tight end Vance Vice's fumble at the OSU 34.
Gregg Barrios' 23-yard field goal gave Nebraska a 3-0 lead.
Smith then made the first play signaling it would not be
an easy day for the Cornhuskers by blocking Mike Stigge's
punt at the 17. This set up Blanchard's tying field goal
of 36 yards.
Clark regained the lead for Nebraska with a 19-yard run
to complete a 74-yard drive. Blanchard cut to 10-6 with
a 31-yard field goal. Then Gundy (13 of 23 for 191 yards
to push his total offense record to 6,559 yards) threw the
65-yard bomb to Mayfield. Mayfield caught the ball near
Nebraska's 35 and broke free of cornerback Tahaun Lewis
at the 28 to score unmolested. Blanchard's conversion gave
OSU its only lead at 13-10.
Clark put the Cornhuskers back on top with a 12-yard run,
on a late pitchout from Gdowski, to conclude a 71-yard drive.
Barrios' 31-yard field goal with five seconds left widened
Nebraska's lead to 20-13 at intermission.
Blanchard made it 20-16 with a 38-yard field goal with 13:45
left in the third quarter.
On OSU's next possession, Gundy passed the Cowboys moved
from their 32 to Nebraska's 17. Suddenly, the 7,000 Nebraska
partisans had cause to be apprehensive.
But Cooper put them at ease on the next play with his interception.
In time, the score and the game looked painfully familiar
to OSU.
By Bill Connors

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