Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 44

4F Lincoln Journal Star Sunday, November 2, 2008 HUSKER EXTRA QiD GSDD Who's saying what about the game Behind enemy lines Scanning th WW 22 "This Is like watching a train wreck. I cant take my eyes away, even though this is going to make the Florida-Georgia game look tight." "This has to be the most absurd first quarter I've seen In a long time. We look worse than Kansas State did. That cant be good." "The last time Nebraska was on the National Stage was 2001. Recruits were like 9, 10 years old then.

The Nebraska mystique is gone." "I am not putting blame on anyone, just a very bad start for the of fense and a bad defensive game. We're just not ready for the big boys yet, but we will be in a year or so. I have faith In the team and coaches." We just came out firing with everybody. I just thought our guys were really focused and we couldnt have executed much better in all parts of the game. Our offense was moving and running fast and our defense made all the big plays and turnovers.

I felt like Dominique Franks really Ignited us with that screen. So it was a good way to start a good game." OU coach Bob Stoops. "I got the chance and I made the play. I saw their formation and knew it was coming. Our defense just thinks about creating turnovers and giving the ball back to our great offense." DB Dominique Franks.

"I'm not saying Nebraska Isn't a good team, but 28 points is too many to give up. We came out and played well, but I think there is al- -ways room for improvement and we can always play better." DT Gerald McCoy. Chaney makes impact good and bad No one had a more active start to the game than wide receiver Quentm Chaney. Good and bad. On the opening kickoff, Chaney's per- sonal foul negated some of a 62-yard return by DeMarco Murray.

Then, after catching a 7-yard pass to begin OU's next possession, Chaney was flagged for holding, which erased a first-down catch. But on the next play, Chaney raced down the middle of the field past the Nebraska secondary and reeled in a 48-yard touchdown reception. Chaney continues to thrive since being inserted into the starting lineup three games ago In place of an Injured Manny Johnson. Against Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska, Chaney has a combined 13 receptions for 288 yards and a touchdown. "He's really coming on, playing better, making an impact," coach Bob Stoops said.

"He's been exciting to watch." The Oklahoman Huskers just overmatched against Sooners 'v r-, imuiiuu 1 ri ii I Jtnn Pelini show their frustration after a second-quarter touchdown by Oklahoma. I ,1 I vl i i 'I' Vik4 r. The Sooners had 49 points by halftime tying the most a Husker team has given up in a half. Nebraska gave up 49 in the second half of the Texas Tech game in 2004. The loss drops the Huskers to 5-4 and 2-3 in the conference.

The worst of the schedule is past, but Pelini knows his team has a "small margin for error" as it prepares for its stretch run against Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado. "I feel strongly that this team will respond the right way. I really do," Pelini said. "One thing I can say is we're not a football team that points fingers at one another. We're not a team that is divisive.

It's a group that, I think we're going to hang together through thick and thin. We're going to keep working. I told them, "The only way I know how to go about things in situations like this is roll up your sleeves and keep And that's all we're going to do. "Obviously, that isn't what we wanted. It hurts.

But the reality of it is if you coach in this game long enough, if you play in this game long enough, you're going to face situations like this." Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristophersonjournalstar.com. I Nebraska sophomore Roy Helu scores on a 14-yard run in the second quarter on Saturday. Helu rushed for a career-high 157 yards. His previous high was 66. ERIC GREGORY Lincoln Journal Star i 31 1 yards, fiveTDs, one pick).

But Nebraska's not as bad as it looked early in this game. And that's on Pelini, who admirably accepted responsibility. Pelini barred his players from talking to the media after the game. He said he wanted to be the only voice. Neither Tom Osborne nor Frank Solich ever went that far.

Pelini became angry when pressed about the matter, but calmed as his postgame session progressed. "We're going to hang together through thick and thin, he said. Lack of talent is one thing. But the Nebraska defense too often looked confused and out of position. The Sooners' game-opening touchdown drive looked much too easy.

Of course, Joe Ganz's in 7 MUM I Nebrska coaches Carl (left) and Bo Huskers Continued from Page IF talked, Sooner fans screamed in the background, watching the dramatic end of Texas Techs win against top-ranked Texas on televisions in the stadium concourse. It was me first time in at least 30 years that Husker players weren't made available to the media after a game. Why weren't they? "Because I'm the voice," Pelini said. "I'm responsible for what happened out there. I'm the voice of this team.

I told my guys Oklahoma is over. We're movingon. I'm not talking about it. They're not available. Is that enough said? It's over.

I'm the voice tonight. "I was hired. I want our guys moving on to the next game. It's a three-game season now. There's nothing we can do about what happened at Oklahoma and I dont want them talking about it.

We're moving on." Oklahoma returned the opening kickoff 62 yards and scored a touchdown seven plays later. That was just the beginning. The avalanche came next. The Sooners scored another touchdown just four seconds later Sipple Continued from Page IF Nebraska has on its entire roster. "Our margin for error is small," Husker coach Bo Pelini said.

Nebraska made a large number of errors, and we all saw the margin 62-28. We're about to learn more about Pelini, the psychologist. Pelini has to make sure his players retain some semblance of confidence in the wake of a nationally televised embarrassment. As strange as it might sound this morning, Nebraska's final three games are very winnable, although Kansas now will be the favorite coming to Lincoln next Saturday. Kansas State and Colorado have deteriorated into piti-ful shape.

With a record of 5-4 overall, Nebraska remains in excellent shape to return to a bowl game. I cling to the notion that, for growth's sake, Pelini's program needs a bowl game. Anyway, it's' safe to say the Huskers could use the extra 15 practices. "That was a poorly coached defense, and I'm at the head of that," Pelini said. Nebraska's offense managed 418 yards, most of which fell under the "empty yards" category.

Once again, there were too many NORMAN, Okla. How many times has this happened to you? (No, not watching Nebraska lose to Oklahoma 62-28; we all know the answer to that question.) I'm talking about when you're working on your laptop researching something really important online. Or, maybe it's about as important as filling out your fantasy football lineup. Anyway, all of a sudden, one of those program error messages pops up and asks if you'd like to report the problem. You initially think, "OK, maybe I'll learn something.

Maybe I'll hear back from some Microsoft official explaining the deal if I send it in." But, of course, that never happens when you do. Does it? The Huskers got the same kind of response from Oklahoma after their start against the fourth-ranked Sooners here Saturday night. And there isn't a reboot around that could have magically fixed NU's issues. It's only been two years, but it doesn't look as if anything has changed with these two tradition-rich programs since OU beat Nebraska in 2 1 -7 in frigid Arrowhead Stadium to win the 2006 Big 12 championship. The Huskers don't have near the megabytes or pixels to handle all the information OU was throwing at them.

"We couldn't have executed much better in all parts of the game," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "Our offense was moving and running fast and our defense made all the big plays and turnovers." It is, indeed, hard to imagine things being any worse for Nebraska than they were Saturday. But I have no problem believing if these teams played here an-other five times, the message the Sooners would deliver would be the same: "You're not ready for us." Well before halftime, heck, well before the end of OU's 35-point first quarter, a good portion of the Oklahoma-based media in the press box had turned their attention to the Texas-Texas Tech game. Can't blame them, either. And no offense to Tech and Oklahoma State, but a Sooner-Longhorn rematch in the national championship game sounds appealing.

I know, the Longhorns have already been there, done that. And Alabama and Penn State might have something to say about it But I'd love to see Texas or anybody else try to stay with the Sooners. OU looked so much faster and stronger and better prepared that you wonder whether the mismatch will test the friendship between Bo Pelini and Stoops. No chance. As disappointed as he was about NU's showing, all it's likely to do is stir up Pelini's competitive fire for next year's game in Lincoln.

What it definitely should inspire him to do is go get a quarterback like Sam Bradford, a rare gem and homegrown product from just up the road in Oklahoma City. What Nebraska discovered was that it was no fluke Bradford finished his freshman season last year ranked No. 2 nationally in passing efficiency. Nor that he's up there again this year. The 4 1 -yard strike he put over the shoulders and into the arms of Ryan Broyles while rolling out to his left on OU's first drive was as pretty a CURT McKEEVER Journal Star Staff Writer McMaver's points MISSOURI 31, BAYLOR 28: The Tigers drove 75 yards and got a 34-yard field goal by Jeff Wolfert with 2:31 to play to avoid the upset and remain in control of their fate in the Big 12 North Division.

Baylor, which had tied the game on Robert Griffin's 36yard TD pass to Jay Finley with 9:54 left, had its final hopes dashed when the freshman quarterback threw his first interception in 210 attempts this season with 1:40 remaining. ARKANSAS 30, TULSA 23: Exclude the Golden Hurricane from further discussion about BCS bowl game matchups. Tulsa entered SO and as the nation's top-scoring team, but managed just three points in the third quarter and was shut out in the fourth (its first scoreless period of the season). Arkansas' Dennis Johnson returned a kickoff 96 yards for a TD late in the third quarter to break a 23-23 tie. MICHIGAN STATE 25, WISCONSIN 24: The Spartans can earn at least a share of the Big Ten title by finishing with wins against Purdue and Penn State.

ery as you'll ever see. It also showed his keen ability to make a play under duress, which is probably why the Sooners have scored touchdowns on their opening possession eight times in nine games this season. The next time he took the field, Bradford connected with Quentin Chaney for a 48-yard touchdown. It left him, in less than two seasons, with 30 completions of at least 40 yards a feat accomplished by no other Sooner. Bradford left after three quarters, having earned a well-deserved rest while completing 19 of 27 passes for 3 1 1 yards and five touchdowns.

Meanwhile, a defense that gave up 550 yards and 35 points to Kansas State was out to prove its problems are behind it The Sooners accomplished that mission in five plays the amount they needed to force three turnovers. Throw in one more, later in the game, and that gave them 13 takeaways in the three contests since they didn't get any in losing to Texas 45-35. No doubt, that turnaround is reviving stuff for the folks who were hanging around the stadium glued to monitors that showed Tech's stirring last-play, game-winning touchdown against the Longhorns. Listening to their whoops from below, it was as if the night had taken care of any program -error messages they might have felt like reporting. Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeevarejoumalstar.com.

r1 WILLIAM LAUERLlncoln Journal Star First quarter to forget Oklahoma takes a 7-0 lead on Chris Brown's 2-yard touchdown run in a seven-play, 53-yard drive. 12 "13 OU's Dominique Franks intercepts Joe Ganz and returns it 18 yards for a touchdown. 14-0. Ganz completes a first-down pass to Dreu Young, but NU fumbles. The Sooners recover.

10:31 Oklahoma makes it 21-0 three plays later. 9:32 Lendy Holmes picks off Joe Ganz and returns it 26 yards. One play later, Sam Bradford finds Jermaine Gresham for a 280 lead. terceptions on NU's first and third series obviously didn't help matters, nor did tight end Dreu Young's fumble on the second series. OU converted all three turnovers into touchdowns.

Ball-game. "You need a psychologist bet: ter than me to come in and fix that stuff that fast," Pelini said. Nebraska faced an awesome challenge against a bona fide top-five outfit. But the Huskers obvi-ously weren't ready for that challenge. They weren ready to match the Sooners' intensity.

A lot of the fan and media discussion in Nebraska during the past week was about the Huskers' previous trip to Norman in 2004. The Husker offense stayed in a shell most of that night, apparently trying to, well, avoid an embarrassment like this. After a practice earlier this week, Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler motioned toward Pelini. "He's never going to have a team that tip-toes down the ramp (to the playing field)," Ekeler said. Nebraska didn't tip-toe down the ramp Saturday, but it did stumble badly once it reached the field.

Now, the psychologist in Pelini has to pick up the pieces quickly, because his team still has a lot lot which to play. Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or com. when Joe Ganz's screen pass, intended for Todd Peterson, was intercepted by Dominique Franks at the 18-yard line. Franks breezed into the end zone.

Score: 14-0. Time off the clock: 2 minutes, 47 seconds. Two plays later, Dreu Young fumbled at the Sooner 47. OU scored three plays later when wide receiver Quentin Chaney split Nebraska's safety and cornerback for a 48-yard touchdown catch. Score 21-0.

Time played: 4:29. And two plays after that, Ganz sailed a pass nign. The ball deflected off the hands of Marlon Lucky and into the hands of Oklahomas Lendy Holmes, who returned it 26 yards to the NU 9. The Sooners scored one play later on a pass to Jermaine Gresham. Score: 28-0.

Time played: 5:33. Oklahoma scored again with four seconds left in the quarter on Chris Brown's 1-yard reception after a 97-yard drive. "I'm embarrassed," Pelini said. "I'm just not used to this." Whatever success Nebraska eventually found on offense running back Roy Helu provided flashes with 176 total yards was quickly done better by an Oklahoma no-huddle offense that made NU's defense look silly. 'V 7 A I lusker penalties (eight for 74 yards).

Either NU had a player ejected late in the game, or Pelini booted him from me sideline, depending on whom you ask. Whatever, the Huskers too often seem undisciplined. What's more, the kickoff coverage was abysmal. Yes, fourth-ranked Oklahoma (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) enjoys a significant edge in talent. The Sooners have two All-Big 12-caliber players on the offensive line in left tackle Phil Loadholt and left guard Duke Robinson.

You can make a strong all-conference argument for center Jon Cooper. Tight end Jermaine Greshman (two touchdowns) will play in the NFL as long as he wants. Same goes for Sam Bradford (19-for-27,.