| Week 9-Nebraska
went to Norman and ran into a tough team.They picked a bad day to get sloppy and it cost
them the game and possibly alot more.The defense tightened up in the second half but the
offense got worse as the game went on.Can you say execution? Nebraska couldn't. #1 Nebraska 14 #2 Oklahoma 31 10-28-2000
Number one
Nebraska falls to number2 Oklahoma. Heisman hopefull Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel had 300 yards in the air and a touchdown,and the Sooner defense put a clamp on the Cornhuskers to win by a score of 31-14 on Saturday. Nebraska led 14-0 in the first seven minutes of the game, but Oklahoma came back showing their ranking is no fluke.The Sooners earned a run at the national championship after years of mediocre football in Norman. Oklahoma will move into the No. 1 spot in the AP poll,BCS,and Coaches polls. The Sooners last shot at the National Championship was 1988 where they lost to Miami in the Orange Bowl. The Huskers (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) still have a chance to get back in the title chase if they can win out and then beat the Sooners (7-0, 4-0) in a rematch in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 2.
Ahead 24-14 starting the third quarter, the Sooners put the game away with authority. Strait intercepted a pass by Eric Crouch and ran 32 yards untouched into the end zone to break the Huskers' spirit.When Strait hit the end zone, oranges came flying out of the stands, as the crowd of 75,989 began celebrating the Sooners' return to the top of the college football world. This year's national title game will be played in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3. Heupel completed 20 of 34 passes and ran eight times for 46 yards. Crouch was 12-of-27 for 133 yards, one TD and one interception. He ran 24 times for 103 yards. With Oklahoma up by 17 points, Crouch tried to lead the Huskers back, but the Sooners wouldn't let up. In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Matt Davison fumbled and the Sooners' Brandon Everage recovered. Later on, the Huskers were called for running into punter and Oklahoma retained possession. And when time expired, the Sooners had shut out Nebraska over the final 51 minutes, 49 seconds. Nebraska's loss marked the first time a No. 1 team was beaten during the regular season since Michigan State beat Ohio State 28-24 on Nov. 7, 1998. The Sooners shot to the lead 17-14 thanks to a blocked punt by Josh Norman, who broke through the middle of the line and smothered Dan Hadenfeldt's attempt from the 20. Woolfolk picked up the ball at the 7 and was tackled at the Huskers' 3. Nebraska kept Oklahoma out of the end zone, but Tim Duncan kicked a 19-yard field goal with 6:06 left in the half. Oklahoma -- which was 0-5 at home against No. 1 teams before Saturday -- extended its lead to 24-14 a few minutes later on Norman's 8-yard TD run, a play set up on Heupel's 37-yard pass to Antwone Savage, who made the catch despite blanket coverage by cornerback DeJuan Gorce. Crouch threw his 39-yard touchdown pass to Davison 2:58 into the game. On his scoring run, he slipped a tackle just past the line of scrimmage, outran three defenders and finally dragged safety Roy Williams just across the goal line. But that was all the Huskers could muster in losing by 17 points -- their largest margin of defeat since a 19-0 loss to Arizona State in 1996.Oklahoma ended a 7 game losing streak against the Huskers, who outscored Oklahoma 265-61 in those 7 games. If the Cornhuskers (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) win their remaining games, they will win the North Division and play in the Big 12 championship game. A victory there would mean the conference title and, depending on what happens to teams such as Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State, Nebraska could be in the hunt for the championship again this season.For now its wait and see how the season plays out ,but this is the year of the upset so for now its up in the air.
Nebraska is
now 7-1. Up next Kansas. |
Nebraska had the longest
winning streak among major colleges at 13 games coming in.The Sooners became just the
third team to beat the No.1 and 2 teams in consecutive games. Oklahoma beat then-No.
2 Kansas State 41-31 two weeks ago. 