STILLWATER -- Victor DeGrate and his Oklahoma State defensive teammates say one word to each other in the huddle each day in practice and before they take the field for every series.
Finish.
Finishing has been problematic for OSU's defense in recent weeks. The final-minute breakdowns in losses to Kansas State and Texas A&M have been dissected countless times for DeGrate and company.
In the fourth quarter Saturday against Nebraska, the Cowboys' defense faced a similar situation: Come up with needed stops, or come up short on the scoreboard.
Unlike K-State three weeks ago or A&M last week, the defense came through.
After giving up 268 yards and 23 points in the first half, OSU slowed down the Huskers in the second half to help pull off the 41-29 victory. OSU stopped Nebraska on six consecutive second-half drives and gave up just 104 yards in that stretch.
"Last week (against Texas A&M), everybody started doing more than they were asked to do. This week, we just did our job," DeGrate said. "We got on the field, did what we were supposed to do, and got off (the field)."
Much-maligned defensive coordinator Vance Bedford made subtle halftime adjustments to thwart Nebraska's offense. Bedford wanted his veteran defensive line to supply more pass rush on Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor. Bedford wanted to play eight men close to the line of scrimmage. And he put OSU's young defensive backfield in man-to-man coverage.
Taylor torched OSU in the first half, going 9-for-10 passing for 109 yards and one touchdown. Taylor, though,
was rattled in the second half. The Norman High School graduate completed 12-of-29 passes and was sacked four times.
"I turned them (the defensive line) loose and told them they had to make plays," Bedford said. "We had to play eight-man fronts to slow their running game down, and if they went back to pass, we had to go sack the quarterback."
When OSU gained the lead early in the fourth quarter, there was no apprehension on the defense's part. The defense made plays.
Nathan Peterson had two sacks in the fourth quarter. The Union High School graduate put the exclamation point on the second-half defensive effort with a 19-yard fumble return for a TD with 3:16 remaining.
"We knew what we had to do going into the fourth quarter. We gave away two games in the fourth quarter, and that's something we're not going to take lightly the rest of the year," Peterson said. "We knew we could stop them. It was just a matter of making tackles. We didn't do that in the first half. We were in place to make plays, and it finally came together in the second half."
Matt Doyle 581-8316
matt.doyle@tulsaworld.com
