Huskers shut down No. 20 Oklahoma
Print
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
All toasts go to the Blackshirts.
Pick a name and pass your compliment. Ndamukong Suh. Phillip Dillard. Matt O’Hanlon. Prince Amukamara.
In a showdown of great defenses, the Huskers knew they’d have to be splendid on Saturday night against Oklahoma. They were.
And because of it, Nebraska notched a 10-3 win over the Sooners at Memorial Stadium — easily the most impressive win of the Bo Pelini era.
Pelini seemed as closed to ecstatic as he might ever be after the win.
“I’m proud of everyone in there,” the Husker coach said, gesturing toward his locker room. “There were 87 total plays (on defense), and they sucked it up and found a way, and I’m proud of that team tonight.”
As Oklahoma tried to tie the game in the fourth quarter, there were Husker players cramping (even Suh, who apparently is not all machine) and nearing empty on energy.
Still, the Blackshirts wouldn’t give in.
Dillard said the message was simple: “We got to keep fighting. We’ve fought this long. We found something deep inside.”
Dillard intercepted Oklahoma freshman quarterback Landry Jones on a fourth-and-4 from the Husker 33 with 2:31 left, sending the crowd into a delirium.
That roar was equaled when O’Hanlon got his third interception of the night at the NU 7 with 26 seconds left to seal the deal.
O’Hanlon fired the ball into the air. He drew a flag, but no one cared. This one was over. Some Husker players, led by Roy Helu, jumped into the North Stadium seats to hug the fans after the game was over.
“This is the best feeling I’ve had in football, to be honest right now,” said Husker quarterback Zac Lee, who replaced true freshman Cody Green in the first half.
It was an amazing win considering the Huskers mustered seven first downs and Alex Henery punted 11 times.
Nebraska’s defense was that good.
“We were tired of hearing about their defense, and we had to step up and try to show what this defense is about,” Dillard said.
By beating the 20th-ranked Sooners, Nebraska claimed its first win over a Top 20 team under Pelini and first since defeating Michigan in the 2005 Alamo Bowl.
With the win, Nebraska seriously helped its chances of winning the Big 12 North. The Huskers (6-3, 3-2 in Big 12) remain a half-game behind Kansas State. But if Nebraska defeats the Wildcats in Lincoln on Nov. 21 and wins at least one of its other two games, it takes the North Division.
One guy who is glad he won’t be seeing the Husker defense again is Jones, Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback.
Jones threw an incredible 58 passes but completed 26 of them. He was intercepted five times. Two of those picks led to Nebraska’s 10 points.
None was bigger than cornerback Prince Amukamara’s interception in the second quarter. The Husker junior stepped in front of the pass at the Sooner 23 and did some fancy footwork to put the ball at the 1.
Lee, on his first snap, hit tight end Ryan Hill on a touchdown pass a play later.
Little did anyone know this would be all this Husker defense would need to secure a win.
“Oklahoma is a helluva football team,” Pelini said. “We found a way. That game could have gone a lot of different ways, but we just found a way to hang in there and hang in there.”
As for the locker room celebration?
“Dudes are going in crazy in there,” junior wide receiver Niles Paul said. “We’re all happy, but we all know we need to focus and get ready to go down to Lawrence and play.”
Paul said he didn’t even need to watch the game to know what was going to happen when the Husker defense was on the field, “because I knew they were going to do their job.”
The receiver said the win is a “confidence booster” as the Huskers go forward.
Suh called it a good win, but said this team can’t stop to be satisfied.
“It’s one that’s expected in my book,” Suh said. “Oklahoma’s a great team. This is what I came here to do – to play in big games and win big games.”
Pelini held a similar tone, reminding all in the room that it’s just one win and it won’t mean a whole lot if the Huskers go to Lawrence and lose next week.
But then the coach smiled. He acknowledged that he told his players to be careful in celebrating the win on Saturday night.
“Because I think the town might get turned upside down tonight,” Pelini said.
Yes, the party was on. To Husker fans, this season suddenly felt very, very good again.
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.
Nebraska-Oklahoma game highlights
Most Commented Football