McC ant’s relentless passes prevail
By Todd Cooper
Senior Reporter
STILLWATER, OkJa. — Although
Nebraska’s 49-15 victory over Okla
homa State was far from a shootout,
Comhusker quarterback Keithen
McCant never quit firing.
And nearly every Huskcr took his
bullets Saturday.
McCant finished with 231 yards
passing on 17 for 19 passes. His re
ceivers profited from the machine
gun barrage.
“We spread it out to keep every
body happy,” tight end Johnny Mitch
ell said. “And Keithen was great. He
threw the ball right on the nose; we
couldn’t help but catch it.”
Five Nebraska receivers couldn’t
help but catch the football at least
twice Saturday.
• Mitchell had four receptions for
47 yards, including a 17-yard touch
down in the third quarter.
.• Wingback Nate Turner doubled
his season catch total, hauling in four
passes for 30 yards.
• Freshman wingback Abdul
Muhammad caught two passes for 38
yards, including a 31-yard touchdown
catch in the third quarter, the first
score of his career.
• Split end Jon Bostick added two
catches for 39 yards.
• Wingback Tyrone Hughes caught
five passes for 77 yards, including his
first touchdown catch of the season.
That touchdown came on Ne
braska’s nine-play, 63-yard opening
drive. Facing \hird-and-four at Okla
homa State’s 34-yard line, Hughes
cut across the middle, caught a McCant
bullet in the middle of the defense
and trotted into the end zone.
"With their blitzes, we used the
slant a lot,” Hughes said. “(McCant)
read the blitz and he has been finding
the open people.”
After Nebraska’s defense held the
Cowboys on their opening posses
sion, McCant gave the ball to I-back
Derek Brown. Brown ran five limes
for 69 yards in the drive, on his way to
143 yards on 18 carries.
On third down at the Nebraska’s
39-yard line, Brown squirted through
the middle for 61 yards—the longest
rush of his career — pulling Ne
braska up 14-0 with 2:29 left in the
first quarter. His 14? yards made him
the first Husker back since Bobby
Reynolds in 1950 to open the season
with five straight 100-yard games.
“That’s what passing does,” said
Brown, who didn ’ t catch a pass Satur
day. “It keeps the defense off balance
and opens up the rush.”
But Brown deserves some credit
• of his own, Oklahoma State Coach
Pat Jones said.
He knocked the breath completely
out of me today,” Jones said. “He
might be the best back in this league.”
While Brown kept Oklahoma
State’s defense dizzy most of the first
half, McCant dazzled — completing
his first eight passes.
His first miscue stalled Nebraska’s
opening drive of the second quarter.
Facing fourth-and-two at the 31,
McCant just tnissed a streaking Vin
cent Hawkins at the Oklahoma Stale
15-yard line.
' According to Nebraska Coach Tom
Osborne, that was one of McCant’s
few mistakes.
“I wouldn’t say he was flawless,”
Osborne said. “But, boy, he audibled
a lot and was right 95 percent of the
time. Keithcn played very well.”
After two stalled possessions by
both teams, outside linebacker David
White recovered Cowboy fullback
Rod Sanders’ fumble at Oklahoma
State’s 30-yard line.
Four plays later, Brown leaped in
from a yard out to put Nebraska up
21-0. The Cowboys capped a late
second-quarter drive with a field goal.
By halftime, Nebraska had racked
up 282 total yards, 155 of them through
the air. Meanwhile, Brown had 100
yards on 16 carries and the feeling
that the Cowboys were doomed.
“After the first drive of the third
quarter we felt we could run about
any play and bust them up the middle,”
Brown said. “We were feeling pretty
confident and comfortable.”
The Huskers took their first pos
session of the second half 67 yards for
a score. McCant accounted for 57
yards on the drive, including a 28
yard option down the sideline. His 8
yard touchdown pass to Mitchell
capped the six-playjjrive.
“After that, we got kind of loose
because we were putting up a lot of
points,” Mitchell said. “But Coach
(Osborne) got us back on track.”
Osborne said he was concerned
with the offense’s consistency.
Oklahoma State blitzed its way to
McCant in the end zone on Nebraska’s
next possession. The safety made it
28-5 with 5:11 left in the third.
After Oklahoma State’s Rick Myers
nailed a 37-yard field goal on the
Cowboys’ ensuing possession, Ne
braska’s offense again sputtered, this
time at the Huskcr 26-yard line.
“But a lot of that had to do with
their blitzing and stunting,” Osborne
said. “Sometimes they won. Some
times we won.”
Osborne said Nebraska won most
of the time Saturday because of one
back formations.
“You can’t send the strong safety
and linebacker consistently against
the one-back,” he said. “You’ve got
to pull the strong safety out because
of four quick receivers.
“Wc were able to throw well out of
it.”
McCant finished his barrage with
a 31-yard touchdown strike to Muham
mad in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska’s defense preserved the
lead, snatching three second-half inter
ceptions that led to 14 points, on a 40
yard run by Brown and a 11-yard
option by back-up quarterback Mickey
Joseph.
ucicnsivc coordinator c^narnc
McBride said Nebraska blitzed about
25 percent of the time, but usually to
stopOklahoma Slate’s running backs.
“They’re really quick,” McBride
said. “And if you give them any room,
they’re dangerous.”
But the Cowboys didn’t gel much
room to roam, finishing with just 100
rushing yards on 37 carries. Of Okla
homa State’s 354 total yards, 141
came against Nebraska’s reserves in
the fourth quarter.
Cowboy quarterback Kenny Ford
finished 18 for 44 with three intercep
tions. His offense finished with 63
yards in penalties, including four dclay
of-gamc calls.
“I think they were giving a dose of
our own medicine to a degree,” Jones
said. “They’d show blitzes and come
out of them.”
Mitchell said Nebraska came out
of Stillwater Saturday with a new
notion.
“Our offense looked good and our
defense played well,” Mitchell said.
“It’s great when everyone out there is
playing together.
“That’s the best feeling and it’s
hard to beat a team that way.”
Robin Trlmarchi/DN
Stad McKee/DN
Robin Trimarchi/DN
Cowboys fail to stop Huskers
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Editor
STILLWATER, Okla. — Okla
homa State football coach Pat Jones
knows what it lakes for his team to
beat Nebraska.
“We’ve got to do things basically
perfect,” Jones said, “with no margin
of error.”
“It’s hard for this team to do that.”
Oklahoma State was far from per
fect Saturday. The Cowboys commit
ted four turnovers and converted only
four of 16 third-down plays as Ne
braska rolled to a 49-15 win.
Jones said the first turnover was a
key part of the game.
Down 14-0, the Cowboy defense
held Nebraska on fourth- and-two,
taking over at the Cowboy 31-yard
line. On first- and-10, Oklahoma Slate
fullback Rod Sanders coughed up the
ball, and David While recovered.
Four plays later, Nebraska led 21 -
0.
“At that point it looked like we
would get out of the half down 14-3.
But when they scored it was loo much
for us to overcome,” Jones said.
Quarterback Kenny Ford, who
completed 18 of 44 passes, threw
three interceptions which led to 14
Comhuskcr points and finished the
last Cowboy drive of the game.
Jones said Oklahoma Stale’s de
fense continued to play its “cat-and
mouse game with blitzes” against
Nebraska, but produced only one sack
of quarterback Kcilhcn McCant — a
two-yard loss for a safely.
V “We’ll invent some new blitzes
next year,” Jones said.
Offensively, the Cowboys had to
work against a Nebraska blitz that
produced one 8-yard sack and sty
micd the Cowboy running game,
holding Oklahoma State to 100 rush
ing yards.
The Huskcrs are not as good at
pass rushing as they have been, he
said, nor is the 1991 squad as good as
former teams.
“It’s not vintage Nebraska,” he
said. “I don’t mean that derogatorily,
but I think I’ve seen them when I
thought they were better.”
Jones said Nebraska isn’t doing
anything new on offense despite tai
loring their offense to the passing
ability of McCant.
“They’re geared a little differently.
It’sobviously something they worked
on, but they came in as the leading
rushing team in the country,” Jones
said. “They’re more well-equipped to
do things like passing the ball than
I’ve seen them, probably more than
ever.”
W-J_ ~ 1r ii -JE-1
Staci McKee/DN
Hughes 34 pass from McCant (Bennett ki£KT flj
Brown 61 run (Bennett kick)
Brown 1 run (Bennett kick) V
- FG Myers 33 ^
Mitchell 8 pass from McCant (Bennett kick) ^
- Safety, McCant tackled in end zone
- FG Myers 37
Brown 40 run (Bennett kick)
Muhammad 31 pass from McCant (Bennett kick) I
- Denson 14 run (Myers kick)
First downs 20 21
faBj Rushes-yards 37-100 40 273
' tPS Passing yards 254 231
1I Total yards 354 504 y
Return yards 25 46 s
Passing 18-44-3 17-23 1
WM Punts 7-34 4 4 47.3
V Fumbles lost 2-1 1-1
Penal ties-yards 8-63 4-48 / /
I mi Time of Dossession 34:50 25:10
_r .^luumjmnnnM JO
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Nebraska l-back Calvin Jones searches
for the ball after fumbling during the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Keithen McCant attempts a pass early in the third
quarter. McCant finished the day with 231 yards on 17-for-19
passing and three touchdowns.
Linebacker Mike Petko pursues Oklahoma State running back
L.G. Thompson as Thompson makes a shoestring catch early in
the third quarter.
Split end Tyrone Hughes celebrates with tackle Brian Boerboom.
Hughes had just scored the first touchdown of the game, a 34-yard
pass from McCant.
„ ' -l