ika vs. Oklahoma
Monday, November 4,1996 ■ Daily Nebraskan ■ Page 9
Photos by
Jay Calderon
Clockwise from left:
JARED TOMICH(No. 93) leads
the charge to stop Oklahoma
quarterback Justin Fuente.
Fuetne completed 5 of 16 passes
for 68 yards.
DAMON BENNING burst
through a pack of defenders as
OU cornerback Ramon
Burroughs attempts to tackle the
Nebraska 1-back.
SCOTT FROST tries to elude
Sooner defenders Travian Smith
(No. 36) and Martin Chase. Frost
threw for 163 yards and ran for
14.
KENNY CHEATHAM is (based
by OU's Ryan Fisher during
Cheatham’s 85-yard kickoff
return for a touchdown in the
fourth quarter.
Football Polls
Associated
PresOjPeilr^
Team Record Pm
2. Ohio St. (5) 8-0 2
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4. ArizoaaSt.(1) 94) 4
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6. TemeMee 6-1 6 : ^
8. North Carolina 7-1 8^.,;
10. 7-1 '•• 10
12. Brigham Young 9-1 13
14. Pam St 8-2 IS
SBRRSSSBjhSBSBSBSSRSKPPSSSiO^^SPdRP^
16. Wyoming 9-0 17
18. Northwestern 7-2 11 .
20. Southern Miss. 8-1 23
21 Auburn 6-2 24
24. Syracuse 6-2
Coaches' Poll
Tmm Wncord Ptbm,
1 Florida St (5) 7-0 2
4. Arizona St 9-0 4
6. Tennessee 6-1 6
8. North Carolina 7-1 8
tO. Alabama 7-1 11
12. Ikigham Young 9-1 14
14. Pen St 8-2 15 <
16. Vapaia 6-2 18
18. Northwestern 7-2 10
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20. Wastriogton 6-2 23
21 Southern Miss. 8-1 24
24. Auburn 6-2 25
I— ■ ■■■■ - ■■ a d n >.ii , - ■ , ■ ■■ —■ , m ——— ■ ■ - - *
Sooners search for answers
OU Coach Blake says momentum of game swayed on one call
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
NORMAN, Okla. — In the 77
game football senes between Nebraska
and Oklahoma, there have been many
plays that almost single-handedly
changed the outcome of the game.
And although losing 73-21 Satur
day —in a game in which neither team
sewed until midway through the sec
ond quarter — Oklahoma pointed to
one play that ended any chance it had
to upset fifth-ranked Nebraska.
The Sooners will remember a non
fumble by NU tight end Vershan Jack
son at the OU 1-yard line. Jackson
appeared to lose the football trying to
fight his way into the end zwie with
Nebraska leading 3-0 in die second
quarter.
OU linebacker Dale Allen recov
ered the ball in the end zone. Sooner
players and fans celebrated, thinking
their defense had stopped a drive set
up when Nebraska’s Jay Foreman in
tercepted a Justin Fuente pass at the
Sooner 19.
But the back judge emphatically
pointed to the ground, ruling that
Jackson’s knee was down before the
ball popped loose. Replays showed
Jackson was not down.
On the next
play, DeAngelo
Evans scored to
give the Corn
huskers a 10-0
lead, and things
snowballed from
there.
“They said he
was down,” OU
linebacker Tyrell
Peters said, “and
we all saw he was
going for extra yardage when he lost
the ball.”
First-year Sooner Coach John
Blake said, “That play turned this game
around. They are too good, and we’re
not good enough to give up opportu
nities like that.
“We got beat up by an outstanding
football team. The fumble was a big
turning point of this football game for
nomentum purpose. Against a team
Nebraska, any breaks you create,
you nave to take advantage of.”
If Nebraska didn’t score that touch
down, Blake said, “It’s a different
u
You can’t play Nebraska like we did.”
John Blake
OU football coach
game.”
“If we hold them to a field goal,
make them fumble the ball, or play
good defense and stop their drive,
those are all things that build momen
tum for you to feed off of.”
Fuente, who shared playing time
with Eric Moore, said he wasn’t sure
if that one play changed die game dras
tically.
“It was a tough call,” Fuente said,
“and it went the other way obviously.
But it’s hard for me to (nek just one
turning point.”
Many other OU mistakes led to
opportunities for Nebraska, which
scored 31 points off Sooner turnovers.
“You can’t play Nebraska like we
did,” Blake said. “You can’t give them
the ball on the 20,30 and 15-yard line
and expect to keep them out of the end
zone.
Three-straight Oklahoma passes —
two from Fuente and one from Moore
— were intercepted in the third quar
ter.
Oklahoma had only 89 yards and
zero points after three quarters before
exploding for 21 points — all touch
down runs by D6Mond Parker — and
186 yards.
Since the scoring margin was so
great, Blake said, the Sooners must put
Nebraska behind them as they prepare
for Oklahoma State on Saturday. But
several positives emerged from die 52
point loss.
“We identified a lot of weak
nesses,” he said. “Our players learned
a lot today. They learned truly how
good they are and what it takes to win
a football game.”
