35 lock-, Cornhuskers Shuf Off Sooners' Greg Pruitt, Exfend Streak to 29 By HERSCIIEL NISSENSON Associated Press Sports Writer NORMAN. Okla. (AP) - Nebraska beat Oklahoma ... at its own game. Not only did the Cornhuskers defuse Oklahoma's volatile Wishbone attack, but they out-rushed the nation's best rushing team 297 yards to 279, and they did it on five fewer carries. That was the story of Thursday's .classic see-saw showdown, which wound up with top-ranked Nebraska's defending national champions turning back runner-up Oklahoma 35-31 on Jeff Kinney's fourth, touchdown of the game, a two-yard thrust off left tackle with 1:38 left to play, capping a 74-yard, 5-minute drive. Nebraska's top rated defense, although it was stretched for 467 yards by the nation's most offensive-minded team, never snanDed. and. in fact, took away the fuse that ignites the Sooner attack the end sweeps by, speedy Greg Pruitt. Meanwhile, the Nebraska of fense discovered the Oklahoma defenders were vulnerable to a power play off tackle and the Cornhuskers sent Kinney smashing for 154 yards in the second halt. "The onlv thing they took away from our defense was that we didn't break any 70-yarders," said quarterback Jack Mildren, Oklahoma's star performer with 30 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns and five of 10 passes for 137 yards and two more scores. "Thev kept us from going wide with Pruitt." "They just weren't giving us the pitchout," said Pruitt, who gained 53 yards on 10 carries, only twice running the feared pitchout-sweep that made him the most explosive running back in the country. In effect, the only thing Nebraska took away from Oklahoma's offense was the spark plug. It was enough. Nebraska's defensive ends, Willie Harper and John Adkins, played wide to shut off Oklahoma's pitchouts. "We knew they had to," said Coach Bob Devaney. "They were turning the play back into our other people. The way the defensive ends played the pitch-out we copied from Missouri, which defensed Oklahoma very well. We also copied some things that Southern Cal did well against them. We looked at eight or nine different game films and tried to incorporate the best of them. "But we were very cautious to get our defensive ends wide enough. You might not have no ticed them as the ones doing tne jod, but they were. I talked to John McKay of Southern Cal and he said their defensive ends probably underestimated Oklahoma's speed. So we plaved it wider." The Cornhusker offense, which had planned to run wide but managed onlv 67 yards in the first half, took the fight directly to Oklahoma after trailing. 17-14 at the half. "In the first half, we kind of had to figure out where we could move the ball," explained Devanev. "In the second half, we decided to go right at them. We found we ciu'd move the ball on the ground and we relied a little more on our ground game in the second half. Okla- homa has a fine; ground game but ours was certainly great today." ; "We beat them physically m the second half," said quarterback Jerry Tagge. "One play, a power play off tackle, was going very well. When they lined up strong to one side, we just ran it to the other side. I called quite a few audibles." ?, The nation's 1-2 teams took turns thrilling a sellout crowd of 61,826 and a national .television audence. Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers zipped 72 yards on a punt return with only 3 minutes gone and, following a 30-yard field goal by Oklahoma's John Carroll, the Cornhuskers took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter on the first of Kinney's four short touchdown plunges. That's when Oklahoma proved its own worth. Twice the Sooners battled back; from an 11-point deficit. This time they went 80 yards, with Mildren scoring on a three-yard keeper, and they exploded 78 yards in only four plays and 46 seconds just before halftime to nose ahead 17-14. . Behind for the First time in this 11-0 season, Nebraska wasn't about to be denied. Kinney capped drives of 53 and 62 yards with third-period touchdowns to make it 28-17. 'But again the Sooners tilted the roller coaster in their direction. Mildren scored on a two-yard run at the end of a 73-yard strike that featured a 51-yard bomb from Jon Harrison,; who grabbed Mildren's two ' touchdown passes, to Albert Chandler and Mildren lofted a 17-yarder to Harrison with 7:10 remaining. -- Threatened with having their 20-game winning streak and 29-game unbeaten skein broken, the Cornhuskers went 74 yards for the winner, with Kinney covering 50 yards on seven carries and Rodgers making a div ing catch of an 11-yard third-down Tagge pass at the. Oklahoma 35. ; 1 , ; "Nebraska is a true , champion," said Oklahoma's Chuck Fairbanks. "They've gof a great football team, probably the most complete team I've ever seen. They can do so many things to win. . "They can do everything. They've got poise, they play offense, they play defense and they've got a superb kicking game. Other great teams; have been more dominant ; in ' one phase of the game than another." -r SPORTS SHORTS . -MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Will Carruthers, who has been general manager of the Texas Baseball League Memphis Blues for the past four years, has resigned from the club. Dr. Bernard Kraus, owner of the Blues, said Carruthers decided to quit in a contract dispute. "Will asked for a contract that I could not agree to," said Kraus. Don't miss Tonight's Bosket-boll. Ploy-By-Play Action by Rog Higgins on KFYR-FM 92.9. BJC vs. Jamestown College, 7:00 P.M. and Mary College vs. South Dakota Tech ot 9:00 P.M.
