By Pfk t«m»on
Senior Reporter
NORMAN. Okla. — The combi
nation of quarterback Brook
Berringer and wingback Abdul
Muhammad proved costly for Okla
homa, as the Comhuskcrs overcame
a disastrous second quarter to capture
a 13-3 win Friday and a fourth
straight trip to the Orange Bowl.
Thanks to Berringer and
Muhammad, the Huskers remained
No. 1 in both polls, collecting 41
more first-place votes than Penn
State. Nebraska is 43 points ahead of
the Nittany Lions in the coalition
poll.
Berringer connected with
Muhammad five times for 98 yards
to help Nebraska bounce back from a
sluggish second quarter in which
Oklahoma gained 117 yards. The
Huskers finished the second quarter
with minus 8 total yards.
Despite the Huskers’ lack of of
fense, Nebraska was able to ride its
defense into the locker room with the
game knotted 3-3 at the intermission.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
- the defenses should be credited rather
than the offenses criticized.
“I was real proud of our defense; I
thought they carried the day,”
Osborne said. ‘‘We felt the strongest
part of Oklahoma's football team was
their defense. We were concerned
about moving the ball. I guess they
didn't miss our prediction by much.
The story of the game was the two
defenses.”
But it was Nebraska that came up
with the big plays.
After a scoreless first quarter, the
Huskers opened the second quarter by
finishing off a 30-yard drive with a
46-yard Darin Erstad field goal.
Nebraska got a big play on
Oklahoma’s next possession.
: The Sooners drove 76 yards but
were denied points when Barron
Miles blocked Scott Blanton's 33
yard field goal attempt.
Oklahoma, however, managed to
tie the game on its next field goal at
tempt — Blanton’s 25-yard field goal
with 2:19 leff in the half.
Linebacker Ed Stewart said giv
‘7 was real proud of our
defense; I thought they
carried the day. We felt
the strongest part of
Oklahoma’s football
team was their defense. ”
TOM OSBORNE
NU football coach
ing up a field goal was three points
too many for the Huskcr defense.
“As a defense, if we get three
points or whatever (from the offense),
we’ve got to try to make that hold
up,” Stewart said. “Wejust try to take
it upon ourselves to stop the other
team from any kind of scoring and
let the offense do their job.”
Muhammad then began producing
the big plays in the second half, when
he had four of his five receptions.
Nebraska look its first drive of the
second half 76 yards in 11 plays and
ended it with a 26-yard Tom Siclcr
field goal.
On a third-and-five play from the
Sooncrs’ 39-yard line, Berringcr hit
Muhammad for a 24-yard gain,
which pul the Huskcrs in field goal
range.
Muhammad, who hung onto the
ball after taking a hard hit in the back
immediately after making the catch,
said practice paid off in situations like
that.
“As soon as I caught the ball, I
locked it up,” he said. “I didn’t sec
the guy behind me. I didn't really
know he was even there. We do drills
like that in practice, and it worked in
the game.”
On Nebraska's next possession,
Muhammad hauled in a pass on a
third-and-10 play for a 44-yard gain
down to the Oklahoma 13-yard line.
Two plays later, Berringcr’s 1-yard
plunge put Nebraska up 13-3 with
13:25 left in the game.
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Osborne said the second hair dem
onstrated the attitude Nebraska had
displayed all season.
“Our team, as a whole, has done
an outstanding job or working to
gether,” Osborne said, “ir there is any
one strength or it (the team), it's been
that they've been a real team. I've
been real proud or their attitude and
work ethic.
“Obviously, they’ve been really
goal-oriented. We’ve got one more
step to go, and hopcrully we’ll get that
I done.”
Nebraska ran 24 plays on its next
two possessions to run the clock out
on the Sooners.
The victory gives Nebraska its first
two consecutive unbeaten and untied
seasons in 91 years
“ ^ flad lo be 12-0," Osborne
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