The only OSU victory was recorded in the first meeting of the schools. The Cowboys prevailed 7-6, and the game was played on Nov. 12, 1960 -- four days after John F. Kennedy was elected president.

"I knew it was a long time," OSU coach Mike Gundy said this week. "I didn't know it was 47 years."

When the Cowboys and Huskers collide at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, they'll do it before the 287th consecutive sellout crowd at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium.

OSU has a 20-game losing streak in Lincoln, but against a Nebraska team that has pronounced defensive flaws, the Cowboys seem to have a real opportunity to shake the hangover of past road failures.

The Gundy-coached Cowboys are 1-11 in true road games. In a 24-23 setback at Texas A&M last week, they squandered a 17-0 lead.

"Very much, I'm looking forward to playing at Lincoln," Cowboy tight end Brandon Pettigrew said. "Coach Gundy says (a victory) is the quickest fix after a loss."

OSU is 3-3 overall, 1-1 in the Big 12. Nebraska's records (4-2, 1-1) do not suggest that the Husker program is in trouble, but its fans are alarmed by some remarkable defensive statistics.

The Huskers proudly promote their "Blackshirt" heritage, but Nebraska currently is 97th nationally in rushing defense and 96th in total defense. Three weeks ago, against a visiting Ball State team that has lost to Miami (Ohio) and Central Michigan, the Huskers gave up 610 yards and escaped with a 41-40 win.

At Missouri last week, Nebraska was hammered 41-6. The Tigers had 606 total yards. The Huskers had 297. On 25 rushing attempts, they had only 74 yards.

"The frustrating part is that we're a good football team. We haven't shown it," Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. "There's an urgency there, believe me.

"There's an urgency throughout our program to step it up another level. That's realized and heartfelt throughout our program."

Saturday's scoring and yardage totals could be substantial. While the Cowboy defense exhibited better recognition and tackling at Texas A&M, OSU is ranked 11th in the Big 12 in total defense. It could be worse. Actually, Nebraska is worse. Nebraska is last on the Big 12's total-defense chart.

In this match-up, the marquee performers are on the offensive units. After sustaining a slight concussion last week, OSU sophomore Zac Robinson is expected to start at quarterback and pump the football to playmakers like tailbacks Dantrell Savage and Kendall Hunter, wide receiver Adarius Bowman and Pettigrew.

Nebraska's premier performers are quarterback Sam Keller, who has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,720 yards; and I-back Marlon Lucky, who leads the Big 12 in rushing and leads the Huskers in receiving.

"This is a big game. (The Cowboys) are a good football team," Callahan said. "If you study them and watch them, you can see the balance of their game on offense."

OSU does have the better offensive balance. The Cowboys are nearly 50-50, averaging 234.5 rushing yards and 238.7 passing yards. Nebraska's rushing output amounts to half of its passing production. The Husker averages: 146.2 rushing yards, 293.2 passing.

Gundy acknowledged a victory at Nebraska would be significant. With OSU wins in the last two meetings at Stillwater, a win on Saturday would be its third in the last four meetings.

"I have a lot of respect for the history of Nebraska football and I think Callahan is a good football coach," Gundy said. "There's no question about that. We're going to try to win it, just like we did last week. As a staff, that's our job. We need the players -- they've got to make some plays to win the game."

Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com

5 storylines

A look at five key things to watch in today’s OSU-Nebraska contest.

Look out for Lucky

Nebraska has an outstanding I-back in 6-foot, 210- pound junior Marlon Lucky. (Yes, the Huskers still use their old-school ‘‘I-back’’ terminology to label their running back.) At 105.3 yards per game, Lucky is the Big 12’s leading rusher.He also leads the Huskers in receptions for 35 for 261 yards. Whether it’s on a running play or with a catch, Lucky averages 5.6 yards with every touch of the football.

The improved defense

During last week’s loss at Texas A&M, the muchmaligned OSU defense showed signs of improvement. The Aggies were limited to 150 rushing yards —nearly 120 below what had been their average.With Sam Keller at QB, Nebraska is better offensively than Texas A&M. The Huskers are No. 29 nationally in total defense, and they often attack with the type of shortrange passes that gave the poor-tackling Cowboys serious problems against Georgia, Troy and Texas Tech.

Zac Robinson

After sustaining a slight concussion against A&M last week,Cowboy QB Zac Robinson did not miss a day of Nebraska practice. He and the offense have a chance to post big numbers against the Huskers, who are 96th nationally in total defense and gave up 610 yards in a one-point victory over Ball State.

Down the stretch

While Mike Gundy correctly points out that OSU prevailed in tight contests with Alabama and Texas Tech, it has been more common for the Cowboys to lose the tight ones. Five of OSU’s last six Big 12 setbacks were not decided until the last two minutes of the game. If there is a similar scenario at Nebraska, can OSU make the decisive play?

Tailback production

With Dantrell Savage and freshman Kendall Hunter, the Cowboys pack an effective 1-2 punch at the tailback position. Hunter gets 7.7 yards per carry, an average that ranks third nationally (behind the 10.52 average of Arkansas’ Felix Jones and the 8.2 of Southern Cal’s Stafon Johnson). Savage and Hunter are on pace to combine for 1,700 rushing yards, and they could have a huge game against a Husker team that is 97th nationally against the rush.