Tulsa World: Huskers Light It Up, 64-21 // Phillips Paves Way, Blurs Simmons' Debut

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Huskers Light It Up, 64-21 // Phillips Paves Way, Blurs Simmons' Debut

By Rhett Morgan
Published: 9/1/1995
Last Modified: 8/1/2008 7:59 AM

STILLWATER -- Kickoff temperature for the Nebraska-Oklahoma State
matchup approached triple digits.
For a while, it seemed as if Nebraska's margin of victory would, too.
Riding the legs of Heisman Trophy hopeful Lawrence Phillips, the
defending national champion spoiled the head coaching debut of OSU's Bob
Simmons 64-21 in a nationally televised (ESPN) game in 99-degree heat at
Lewis Field.
Sweating through the hottest Cowboy home game in the past 20 years, a
crowd of 42,100 witnessed the Cornhuskers roll up 671 yards offense in the
Big Eight Conference and season openers for both schools.
But few were around for the unsightly end, the second-ranked Huskers'
22nd straight triumph over the Cowboys and the fourth-highest output by an
OSU opponent in school history.
A junior I-back, Phillips rushed 12 times for 153 yards as Nebraska ran
for 513 and extended the Cowboys' winless streak in the conference to 19
games. Quarterback Tommie Frazier rushed for a score and threw for two
others.
"What you saw was two football teams -- Nebraska is a national champion
who played flawlessly, and you saw a young team in OSU," said Simmons, who
started four freshmen.
"It all boils down to one thing: We did not tackle Lawrence Phillips. If
we tackle him, he does not have those long runs."
After losing a fumble on their opening possession, the Cornhuskers scored
on their next eight possessions to forge a 50-7 lead early in the the third
quarter. By then, they were well beyond their two-deep roster and OSU's
grasp.
"I thought (quarterback) Tommie Frazier had a very good game and, of
course, Lawrence Phillips was exceptional," Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said.
"I really think we have the capability to be a big-play offense."
The Cowboys totaled 282 yards, many courtesy of junior tailback David
Thompson. He carried 16 times for 128 yards and a touchdown, an 8-yard
scamper in the third quarter. His 79-yard jaunt in the second quarter was
the school's longest since 1988.
"The goal line looked like it was a thousand miles away," Thompson said.
"The closer I got, the further away it looked."
Senior OSU fullback Geoff Grenier tacked on an 8-yard TD pass from
quarterback Tone Jones early in the fourth. At Nebraska's 35, the Cowboys
were driving late in the game when Jones was picked off for the third time,
with defensive tackle Jeff Ogard returning the interception 19 yards.
The Cowboys' other score came on a 2-yard TD run by Andre Richardson that
followed Thompson's lengthy jaunt. That made it 16-7. But whatever momentum
the play generated was destroyed by Phillips' 80-yard sprint, the longest of
his career.
Nebraska played three quarterbacks -- Tommie Frazier, Brook Berringer and
Matt Turman -- and got touchdowns from four players. Frazier, 6-of-10
passing for 120 yards, ran for a score and threw for two more. Phillips had
TD runs of 6, 80 and 27 yards.
"This is a great start for a team that should be great," the tailback
said. "We wanted to impress America."
Slipshod tackling and seemingly no protection for Jones kept the Cowboys
from making a game of it. Forever backpeddling, Jones was sacked four times
for 35 yards in losses. He finished 11-of-27 for 138 yards.
"Nebraska has good, strong athletes who are very fast," Jones said. "They
got to me a few times, and I just couldn't get away from them.
"But we'll get better. We scored 21 points on Nebraska. Not many people
score 21 points on them. At times, we moved the ball pretty well."
Said Simmons, "Basically, we need to be a sound football team; right now
we're not. We just played a national championship program. Now we have to
hold our heads up and become a solid football team."
Nebraska exposed the Cowboys' youth in nearly every form imaginable. By
the end of the first quarter, they already had played eight freshmen.
But while inexperience was OSU's undoing, it also provided hope for a
team that has endured six consecutive losing seasons.
R.W. McQuarters, a freshman from Tulsa Washington, was extraordinary in
his collegiate debut, playing cornerback, wideout and returning kickoffs. He
caught one pass for 12 yards and returned six kicks for 141.
"(R.W) was a bright spot," Simmons said. "We wanted to play him, and we
were aware of his ability, but he made some mistakes in the secondary."
The Cornhuskers found the end zone six times in the first half.
Their second drive netted the first score, a 3-yard run by Phillips that
capped a 72-yard drive at the 6:20 mark of the first quarter. Freshman
kicker Kris Brown missed the extra point.
The Cornhuskers marched 44 yards on their next possession, coming away
with a 24-yard field goal by Brown that made it 9-0 about two minutes into
the second quarter.
Third-string linebacker Terrell Farley stepped in front of a Jones pass
and returned an interception 29 yards as Nebraska went ahead 16-0 only 1:13
seconds later.
Phillips then continued his Heisman Trophy candidacy. His career run made
it 22-7, and on Nebraska's following series, he scored from 27 yards out,
concluding the first half with 125 yards on nine carries.
The Cornhuskers took advantage of a 28-yard punt by Greg Ivy for their
final score of the first half.
They then went 34 yards in six plays, with Frazier finding the end zone
on a 1-yard keeper that pushed the margin to 36-7 at intermission.
"I'm not apologizing for the way we played," Simmons said. "From a talent
standpoint, we're deep. We just have to execute."
By Rhett Morgan

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