NU star committed to O-State, but he ended up in Lincoln.
Zac Taylor could have been a Cowboy.
Instead, he became a Demon Deacon (at Wake Forest) and then a Grizzly (at Butler Community College in Kansas).
Taylor now is a Cornhusker -- the starting quarterback of a Nebraska team that could kick another dent in Oklahoma State's bowl hopes.
The 20th-ranked Huskers (6-2 overall, 3-1 Big 12) and Cowboys (4-3, 1-2) collide at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater. The game is televised regionally by ABC (KTUL channel 8).
With five games remaining in the regular season (and with the schedule including meetings with Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma), O-State needs two more victories to become bowl-eligible.
"It's going to be nice to play in Stillwater," Taylor said during a telephone interview. "I've been to Oklahoma State a million times."
Saturday's game matches the Big 12's most efficient passers. OSU's Bobby Reid, expected to start after sustaining a possible concussion and missing nearly three quarters of the Texas A&M game, leads the league with a pass efficiency rating of 177.7. Taylor is next with a rating of 167.7. Reid and Taylor have a combined total of 33 touchdown passes against nine interceptions.
Both OSU and Nebraska were dealt heartbreaking defeats last week. The Cowboys failed on two extra-point attempts (including one in overtime) as they lost 34-33 to Texas A&M, while Nebraska's late fumble led to a Texas field goal and a 22-20 Longhorn triumph in Lincoln.
During the summer of 2001, Taylor, then a Norman High School senior, committed to sign with OSU. After watching then-Cowboy freshman Josh Fields beat Oklahoma in the Bedlam game that season, Taylor rescinded his commitment and eventually signed with Wake Forest. He was redshirted during the 2002 season and was the Demon Deacons' backup QB in 2003.
Taylor transferred to Butler (Kan.) Community College in 2004 and one season later signed with Nebraska. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior has been a prolific operator of Husker coach Bill Callahan's West Coast offense. In only 20 games at Nebraska, Taylor has passed for 4,477 yards. He is 558 yards shy of Dave Humm's 1972-74 school-record career total of 5,035 yards.
"It would be cool to have your name in the Nebraska record book," said Taylor, the son of former OU defensive back Sherwood Taylor. "But it's more important for us to win games than for me to set any record."
Said Callahan: "I can't say enough good things about Zac Taylor and what he means to our football team from a leadership standpoint, and from the aspect of quarterback play."
Taylor was recruited by Mike Gundy, who was OSU's offensive coordinator in 2001.
"Josh Fields had come on strong at the end of that year," Taylor recalled. "He came in and beat Oklahoma as a true freshman. When you're still in high school, seeing something like that affects you. I saw him as being the big man at OSU. He was a great player, so I thought it was best if I went somewhere else."
For the second time this season, the Cowboys face an opposing quarterback who committed to OSU before playing elsewhere. On Sept. 23, Houston's Kevin Kolb riddled the Cowboys for 313 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 34-25 Cougar victory.
Gundy said he respects Taylor not only for being a skilled QB, but for being a tough one.
"He takes a lot of big hits and steps back in there and gets back in it," Gundy said. "The guy's got some heart. He's obviously very intelligent with running the system they're running."
Taylor and Bobby Reid met last summer while attending the Manning Passing Academy, an annual quarterback camp operated by Peyton, Eli and Archie Manning in Louisiana.
"Bobby is a real good guy," Taylor said. "We knew we'd be playing each other this year, so we had a couple of conversations. I enjoyed getting to know him."
For the first time this season, OSU will play before a significant television audience. Most viewers do not have access to ESPNU, which carried the Sept. 9 Arkansas State contest; or CSTV, which televised OSU's game at Houston.
Reid said the Cowboys are excited to flaunt their offense (37.4 points, 421.7 yards per game) on television, but he said the team must sustain its focus on two goals -- beating Nebraska and eventually reaching at least the six-win mark needed for bowl eligibility.
"We let a couple of games get away that we know we should have won," Reid said in reference to OSU's losses to Kansas State and Texas A&M. "In my opinion, it's fight or fold. We're still looking to go out to win every game we play. We've just got to close. That's our main objective.
"A win against a team like Nebraska would really boost our confidence. It would really, really get things going around here."
Bill Haisten 581-8397
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Online: Read other stories about OSU football and the OSU blog by writers Bill Haisten and Matt Doyle at www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra.
Nebraska vs.Oklahoma State
A quick glance at the matchups.
OSU run offense vs. NU run defense
OSU has gone with the tailback-by-committee approach. Last week, the hot back was Dantrell Savage (134 yards against Texas
A&M).OSU ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in rushing,while the Huskers allowonly 3.4 yards per attempt.
Advantage: Even
OSU pass offense vs. NU pass defense
Cowboy wide receiver Adarius Bowman scored two TDs on only three catches last week. OSU's Bobby Reid remains the
league leader in pass efficiency. More than any other previous OSU opponent, Nebraska blitzes its linebackers and safeties.
The Cowboys can counter by having the 6-foot-4 Bowman and 6-2 D'Juan Woods make plays against smaller cornerbacks.
Advantage: OSU
NU run offense vs. OSU run defense
The Huskers are driven by a four-man rotation at I-back. Sophomore Marlon Lucky (481 yards) is the starter. Nebraska
has rushed for 19 TDs.
Advantage: Nebraska
NU pass offense vs. OSU pass defense
With Zac Taylor at QB, the Huskers average nearly 250 yards per game,with 20 TDs against only three interceptions.
OSU (23 sacks) effectively pressures QBs, but the defense has only six interceptions, the Big 12's second-lowest total.
Advantage: Nebraska
Special teams
The Cowboys rank first nationally in kickoff returns and 10th in punt returns, and OSU has the league’s No. 1 punter in
Matt Fodge. Nebraska is average in both kickoff and punt returns.
Advantage: OSU
Intangibles
The Cowboys defeated Nebraska in 1960 and 1961, but couldn’t do it again until 2002 in Stillwater. Nebraska is 9-2 in its
last 11 games. The losses were against Texas and Southern Cal. In its last eight conference home games, OSU is 2-6.
Advantage: Nebraska
Three keys to look for today
1 Four quarters of Reid
Complementing the passing game and tailback ground game is the running of Cowboy QB Bobby Reid. After sustaining a possible concussion, he missed most of three quarters against Texas A&M last week. OSU needs a four-quarter contribution from Reid. And against a Nebraska defense that allows only 3.4 yards per rush attempt, OSU needs Reid’s big-play connections with Adarius Bowman and D’Juan Woods.
2 Three-and-out
The Cowboy defense allowed A&M to dominate the clock and convert a huge fourth-and-13 play.Nebraska also is a practitioner of time-consuming drives.
OSU must get third-down stops.
3 Break a big one
Ultimately, special-teams mistakes were the biggest factor in O-State’s one-point overtime loss to A&M. Something positive in the kicking game could be a positive difference-maker against Nebraska. The Cowboys have gotten big returns all season, and they could benefit tremendously from popping one on Saturday.
