Tulsa World: OSU Was More Than a 'Patsy' for Huskers

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OSU Was More Than a `Patsy' for Huskers

By Glenn Hibdon
Published: 10/22/1989
Last Modified: 8/2/2008 12:52 AM

STILLWATER - It took more than a half, but fourth-ranked
Nebraska finally shook off Oklahoma State the way it usually
does. The score was 48-23 Saturday at Lewis Stadium and
life predictably goes on inside the Big Eight Conference.
The result was one OSU has come to expect when going up
against the Cornhuskers and Oklahoma, which posted a 37-15
victory two weeks ago.
"Both Nebraska and Oklahoma have good defensive teams,"
said OSU receiver Curtis Mayfield when asked for a comparison.
"OU is a little faster, especially in the secondary. They
can cover a little better."
"I think Nebraska hits harder and is more physical," said
tailback Vernon Brown. "They run the option well, too."
"Both are pretty good ballclubs," added linebacker Sim
Drain III. "Both have excellent skill athletes and don't
make mistakes. I don't see much difference."
While the Pokes faced another frustrating afternoon, Nebraska
had its own problems to overcome. Everyone accuses the Huskers
of playing a patsy schedule and they are ranked behind Colorado
in the Associated Press poll.
"We hear a lot about our schedule, but we don't have any
control over it," said quarterback Gerry Gdowski. "I think
we're playing better since our first few games. We were
young and inexperienced, but we're starting to play well.
"I think it's fair that Colorado is ranked ahead of us.
We still have to go out and play them (Nov. 4) and then
we'll know which team is better. I've seen them on TV and
we're comparable in our types of offense and the defense
we run. But first we've got to get ready for Iowa State
next week."
Strong safety Reggie Cooper agreed with Gdowski in defending
the Nebraska schedule.
"They make up the schedule a long time in advance and you
don't know who will be good," Cooper said. "It's not fair."
"And our schedule won't get any easier," added I-back
Ken Clark. "We have some tough games ahead. Everybody gives
their all against us. Everytime we go into a game we've
got to play with intensity. Today we didn't for a long time."
A couple of big defensive plays helped inspire the Huskers
in the third quarter. Cooper intercepted a Mike Gundy pass
intended for Mayfield in the end zone to protect a 20-16
lead. Then cornerback Bruce Pickens blind-sided Gundy and
forced a fumble at the OSU 27. Nebraska then scored to go
up 27-16.
"Yeah, I think it did change the momentum," Cooper said
of his theft. "They had a good drive going and the interception
threw the momentum back to us. We needed something (a game)
like that because we've been unchallenged all season. We
needed to prove to the fans and media that we can come back
and win a game."
"We stopped ourselves," confirmed OSU's Mayfield, who
caught six passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. "We made
too many mistakes and turnovers. Mike got sacked and fumbled
and you can't do that and expect to beat a team like Nebraska.
We felt Nebraska was not ready to play a tight game and
we knew we had a chance if we executed in the second half.
We just didn't do it."
Pickens gleefully talked about his sack of Gundy. It appeared
Gundy was down and the ground caused the fumble, but the
ball was ruled loose and Pickens recovered.
"That (blind-siding) was twice as good as an interception,"
said Pickens. "But I'm not sure it was the turning point
because we were playing pretty good anyway."
"I don't remember what happened on the fumble," Gundy
insisted. "That's what they said (the ground caused it),
but I can't remember. On the interception I should have
thrown the ball out. I was trying to get the ball to Curtis,
but he was covered and never saw it. I should have thrown
it away."
Gundy, who became the Big Eight's all-time total offense
leader in the game, said it was OSU's best offensive showing
of the season and most of the Cowboys agreed. The problem
was sporadic brilliance.
"We played well in spurts," said Drain. "Our defensive
scheme allowed us to do some things Nebraska hadn't prepared
for. They adjusted in the second half and started hitting
those passes. We had the opportunities to win and made mistakes
and turnovers. When you do that, you don't deserve to win."
Brown, who finished with 52 yards on 22 carries, pointed
to wasted chances inside the 20. One came when Gdowski fumbled
the ball away at his own 21 early in the second half. OSU
had to settle for another Cary Blanchard field goal.
"I think we lacked concentration," said Brown. "We played
OK in spurts, but we didn't have any consistency. We were
playing with confidence and everything was clicking. Then
we got inside the 20 after the fumble and didn't get a touchdown
out of it. That changed things."
Nebraska's Clark felt the third quarter may help his team
later.
"I'm banged up with a pulled hamstring, but I ran better
in the third quarter than I did the whole game," he said.
"I think we've been tested all year, but we were forced
to do some things in the third quarter that will benefit
us down the road."
"We were forced to find some ways to move the ball," said
Gdowski. "They took a lot away from us and I was forced
to run the option. I'm happy with the game. We had to do
a lot of thinking and score in different ways. It helped
us playing away from home and having to score. The third
quarter gave us a lot of confidence."
By Glenn Hibdon

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