The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 27

i Friday, Nov. 26, 1971 Th Lincoln Star 27. fill Jl IK II I 5)K CO Tagge, Qlover Pace NU To Keep No. 1 Rating By HAL BROWN Star Sports Editor Norman, Okla. It was billed as the Game of The Decade.

It turned out to be the Game of The Century. And Nebraska coach Bob Devaney called it "the greatest victory of my career." It was a game in which Nebraska found a way to beat the Oklahoma wishbone-T-outscored it which the Huskers did here Thursday afternoon, driving 74 yards in the closing minutes for a come-from-behlnd 35-31 victory with the Big Eight as well as the national championship riding on every signal barked by quarterback Jerry Tagge during the do-or-die march. "It's, the greatest victory of my career," a happy Bob Devaney told a crowded roomful of writers as he appeared before them, dripping wet from a trip to the showers, courtesy bad 81 yards between them and the Husker end zone and only 1:38 to get there. The Nebraska Black who had yielded 31 points and 467 yards, nearly 300 above their give-up average, already, weren't about to give up anymore. Oklahoma quarterback Jack Mildren first tried to pass.

It went incomplete. He than kept for the yards, but on the next play, Husker tackle Larry Jacobson, who only Tuesday had been named the nation's outstanding lineman by the Football Writers Association, got to him before he could get rid of the ball for an eight-yard loss, and the Sooners were faced with a fourth and 13 from their own 16. Jacobson and middle guard Rich Glover took care of the final Sooner hope with Glover batting Mildren's pass attempt down as the two chased the Sooner quarterback. That gave the Huskers the ball at the Sooner 16 with of his jubilant squad. "The way we did it, coming from behind against a great Oklahoma team makes me very proud of this team.

It will make for a very happy Thanksgiving for everyone back in Nebraska." But when Oklahoma went ahead by 31-28 with only 7:10 left in the game, some of the less confident Husker backers may have been wondering about the happiness of this Thanksgiving. Devaney wasn't among them. "I figured we could score," Devaney said. was worried, that we might score too quickly and giive them a chance' to come back." The Huskers took 5:32 seconds to march the 74 yards in 12 plays for the winning touchdown and when they turned the ball over to the Sooners on the ensuing kickoff, Oklahoma PZ llO-Mildren 8 "'-v 'V- 1:10 remaining and with no desire to "run up the score" ran out the clock to clinch their third straight Big Eight championship and assure themselves of at least the United Press International's national championship with, the coaches' panel choosing not to take a post-bowl vote. Nebraska will have to put its claim to the Associated Press national title on the line one more time against Alabama in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Night, where the Huskers won their first national crown a year ago with a 17-12 victory over LSU.

Thursday's victory was typical of so many of the Husker victories under Devaney a come-from-behind one with a length of the field drive as the clock ran down. Devaney-coached teams have done it at least 10 times in his 10 years at the Husker helm, but never have they done it with so much riding on the do-or-die effort. Coming from behind was a new thing for this 1971 team. They had not trailed in 10 previous victories this season. But when they did fall behind and they did twice here Thursday before a record Owen Stadium crowd of 63,385 there was no panic, another trademark of Devaney-coached teams.

The winning drive started immediately after Oklahoma had gone ahead by 31-28 on a 69-yard drive in 12 plays that ended with Sooner split end Jon Harrison beating all-Big Eight defensive back Bill Kosch for the third time in the game, on a 16-yard pitch from Mildren. The drive was in trouble when it reached a third and eight at the Sooner 46. But Johnny Rodgers made a shoestring catch of a Jerry Tagge pass at the Sooner 35 to keep it alive. The drive was never in trouble again as" Jeff Kinney went for 13 to the 22. Rodgers gained seven and Kinney added seven more for a first and goal at the eight.

It was Kinney for two, Kinney for four and Kinney for the final two. And when Kinney trotted off the field with his fourth touchdown of the afternoon, his tear-away jersey was in shreds. Six Husker backs wore tear-away jerseys for this game for the first time this season. It took such an exciting finish to top the excitement generated for Nebraska fans by Johnny Rodgers early in the game. When the Nebraska Black Shirts stopped Oklahoma on the Sooners' first possession, one of the few times the Black.

Shirts did stop the wishbone, and forced a punt from the OU 38, Rodgers fielded it at the Husker 28. Before he gave up the football, he was in the OU end zone, having jitterbugged down the sideline in full view of the Oklahoma bench and the 72 yards wiped out the Big Eight's season punt return yardage record of 515 yards set. by Jack Mitchell of Oklahoma in 1943. The 72-yard return gave Rodgers 534 for the season and the Huskers were ahead by 7-0 with only 3:32 gone in the game. The Sooners came right back to march from their own 15 to the Husker 13 before the Black Shirts held and John Carroll kicked a 30-yard field goal with 5:53 left in the first quarter.

Oklahoma was driving again when all-American Greg Pruitt fumbled at the Husker 46 and Jim Anderson scooped it up. The Huskers used 12 plays to drive the 54 yards to go ahead, 14-3, with 11:08 left in the first half with Kinney going over from the one for his first touchdown. The only pass completion in the drive was a 12-yarder from Tagge to Rodgers with the rest coming on the running of Kinney and Tagge. But that was the end of the Husker offense in the first half as the Sooners battled back to take a 17-14 halftime lead. The Sooners drove 80 yards in 13 plays to close the gap to 14-10 with 5:10 left in the half, Mildren going in from the two.

Oklahoma later forced a Husker punt with only one minute remaining in the first half and turned to the pass to go 78 yards in four plays. With a first and 10 at their own 33, Mildren hit Harrison with a 43-yarder as Kosch lost track of the ball while trying to cover the Sooner receiver. Now with a first and 10 at the Husker 24 and only five seconds left in the first half, Harrison again beat Kosch, this time in the end zone, and Mildren hit him to put the Huskers behind for the first time this season, 17-14. And statistically, things looked even worse for the Huskers as they trotted to the dressing room to talk things over. Oklahoma enjoyed a 14-5 margin in first downs and a 311-191 edge in total offense.

But the proud Huskers, who were trying to extend their unbeaten string to 30 straight, soon turned the momentum around. Going primarily to a running game in the second half, they marched 53 yards in six plays the second time they got the ball after the intermission. Dave Mason gave the Husker offense the ball at the NU 47, recovering a Mildren fumble. Tagge kept the Huskers on the ground all the way, eating up 32 of the yards by himself on an option play to put the ball at the OU three. Kinney bulled his way in for his second touchdown with 8:54 left in the third quarter to give the lead back to the Huskers, 21-17.

The Black Shirts held again and forced a punt that gave the ball back to the offense at their own 39 and they drove the 61 yards in nine plays, again staying on the ground except for two plays of the nine, a 20-yard and a 10-yard pass from Tagge to Rodgers. This time Kinney went in from one yard out with 3:38 left in the third quarter and the Huskers had what some thought was a safe lead with things going their way at 28-17. But it didn't last as Oklahoma scored the next two times it got the ball, going 73 yards in seven plays and 69 in 12 to go ahead by 31-28, setting up the do-or-die situation for the Huskers. THE HUSKERS DID. Husker Fans Mob Returning Gridders About people mobbed the Lincoln Airport prior to the return of the victorious Nebraska Cornhusker football team, police reported Thursday night.

Cars were parked or jammed on the north entrance to the airport all the way to Cornhusker highway. People lined the fences 10-deep and the crowd was completely out of control, reporters for the Star said. No difficulty was encountered in keeping the runway cleared for the landing, reporters said, but the plane was unable to reach the terminal and was unloaded on the runway where the plane came to a stop. One member of the jubilant crowd said it looked like "the movement of the Israelites." Police said there were no injuries but that a lot of people didn't even get out to the airport Police said the State Patrol was stopping traffic on Interstate 80 and Lincoln police were stopping traffic; at lltli and Cornhusker in an effort to reduce the lamr STAR PHOTO NO GAIN Husker middle guard Rich Glover (79) slips past would-be OU blocker to stop Leon Crosswhite (17) for no-gain. Hodlgers Tagge "Pass Mosft Cryciai? DEVANEY CALLS TRIUMPH 'THE GREATEST OF MY CAREER' Breaking A Wishbone Time NU OU Ii)w Scored Left First Quarter 6 0 Rodgers, 72 purit return 11:28 7 0 Sanger, placement 7 3 Carrol, 3D field goal 5:53 Second Quarter 13 3 Kinney, 1 plunge 11:08 14 3 Sanger, placement 14 9 Mildren, 2 run 5:10 14 10 Carroll placement 14 16 Harrison, 24 pass from Mildren 0:05 14 17 Carroll, placement Third Quarter 20 17 Kinney, 3 run 8:54 21 17 Sanger, placement 27 17 Kinney, .1 run 3:38 23 17 Sanger, placement 28 23 Mildren, 3 run 0:23 28 24 Carroll, placement Fourth Quarter 28 30 Harrison, 16 pass from Mildren 7:10 28 31 Carroll, placement 34 31 Kinney, 2 run' 1:38 35 31 Sanger, placement only rushed three men and dropped four linebackers back into the hook zone.

I thought I was going to have to run, but at the last second I saw Rodgers cutting across the middle. It wasn't thrown very well, but he made a great diving catch to keep the march alive." Rodgers said it never entered his mind that he wouldn't snare the low toss. "I don't think, 'You gotta catch this one or we'll be in Instead I just figure I'll get it." Rodgers added that he was originally supposed to go down 15 yards. "But I saw Jerry was in trouble, so I glanced over to see where the first down marker was and started cutting across the field at that point. I knew if I could get open we'd at least have the first down." Jeff Kinney, who scored four of the Huskers' five touchdowns, ran off tackle and to the outside more than in any game this year.

"They were pinching us off up the middle," Kinney explained. "So in that final drive we went to our power play off tackle. I'm sure I ran harder than at any time. It was certainly the most important game of my career. If we hadn't won, the whole season in fact my whole career would have seemed for naught." Kinney felt the Cornhuskers tried to get "top fancy" at the outset of the game.

"We didn't establish our running game and probably threw the ball too much. So when we came out for the second half we decided to do what we do best. And that's run right at 'em." Devaney, the nation's winningest active coach, also called the victory "the greatest of my career. And the way the kids did it, coming from behind against a great Oklahoma team, made me very proud." The Sooner passing game, seldom nsed in prior games this fall, gave the Huskers fits, Devaney said. "That (Jack) Mildren threw just like a pro quarterback," the NU, grid boss said.

"We used our normal defense except against the he revealed. "Instead of the zone, we tried to coyer their wide receiver (Jon Harrison) with a one-on-one, man-for man defense. At the end, after getting we went back to a ihrce-deep zone coverage. I wish we'd have done that just before the half. That was terrible to allow them to score with just seconds remaining." Bill Kosch, normally a safety, drew the with the exception of the pass coverage and "a counter option which Mildren ran real well." The NU head man especially cited the play of middle guard Rich Glover and defensive ends Willie Harper and John Adkins.

"The ends came across deep enough to shut off the pitchout and force the play inside," Devaney explained. "We copied that part of the defense from Missouri. We also picked up some ideas from watching films of Oklahoma's game against Southern Cal. That wishbone is a potent offense." But the Black Shirts held the Sooners to their lowest rushing total of the season. "Glover played a big part in that," Devaney added.

"In fact, early in the game I kiddingly told the other defensive linemen that they ought to give Rich a hand in there once in a while." Devaney then said, "And we aren't through with the wishbone yet," referring to the Alabama Orange Bowl meeting. "Coach (Bear) Bryant is a fine coach and we're good friends. But I'd like to get to him just once." Alabama has beaten Nebraska in two previous bowl appearances. Regarding the ratings picture, Devaney chuckled and said that "if we can get by Hawaii some way, we ought to be No. 1 in the UPI version anyway.

They have their final poll prior to the bowl games. So this win and a squeaker over Hawaii ought to give us that." It was the first time Nebraska had been behind this year. "When I fumbled to end our next-to-last drive," Tagge remembered, "I could have killed myself. But I never felt we were going to lose. I just knew we had to get the ball back one more time and then score.

All the marbles were on the line on that last chance." Nebraska needed a similar come-from-behind touchdown in the closing minutes to beat LSU in the Orange Bowl and claim the national title last Jan. 1. "But that was different," Tagge feels. "Where as that situation came up suddenly, this meeting has been building up for a long period of time. There was a lot more pressure and tension in this one." A record Owen Field crowd and millions of TV viewers could feel it too.

By VffiGIL PARKER Norman, Okla. "Happiness is The cartoon books are full of examples, but none could create the joy in the Nebraska dressing room caused by a come-from-behind victory for the No. 1 rated Cornhuskers over second-ranked Oklahoma here Thursday. Coach Bob Devaney's Big Red defense didn't exactly eat up the wishbone, but they slowed the Sooners' potent offense enough to claim the heart-stopping 35-31 Turkey Day triumph. "The key was the final winning drive," quarterback Jerry Tagge observed.

"I kept telling the guys in the huddle not to commit a foul and let a penalty stop the drive. And we wanted to use up as much of the clock as possible. We didn't want them to have time to score again." Tagge called a third-down pass completion to Johnny Rodgers the most crucial play of the game. "Four receivers were to go down and hook in," Tagge explained, "but Oklahoma Huskers1 Glover Scores 22 Stops Okla. Nebraska middle guard Rich Glover was in on a whopping 22 tackles in the Huskers' 35-31 victory over Oklahoma here Thursday.

Glover, who lined up on the nose of ail-American center Tom Brahaney, made three solo stops and helped out on 19 others. Linebacker Bob Terrio was in on 17 stops, 13 of them assists; tackle Larry Jacobson had 16 12 of them assists; while defensive back Joe Blahak was in on 13, 8 of them assists, demonstrating the pursuit and gang tackling the Huskers used against the Sooners' Wish-bone-T. Kodak Honors Two Cornhuskers Rochester, N.Y.' Two Ne-brasakans were named Wednesday to the Kodak All-. American football squad by the American Football Coaches Association Larry Jacobson and Johnny Rodgers. difficult assignment.

"On the long completion (next-to-last play before halftime) I lost the ball," he admitted. "I saw it was going to be a pass and took off. I actually had a stop on Harrison, but I looked up twice and never could find the ball. I guess the wind held it up. "I lost my helmet on the tackle and was still looking for it when they lined np and threw the touchdown pass.

Things went better the second half, but I was still pretty jumpy." Defense coach Monte Kiffin came to Kosch's defense. "In all fairness to Bill," Kiffin noted, "he's never played man-to-man' in his career. All in all he did a heck of a job." Kosch. when reminded that Nebraska will face another wishbone offense against Alabama in the Orange Bowl, laughingly admitted that he wasn't likely to volunteer for the job of covering 'Bama wide receiver Dave Bailey in the same manner, Devaney 'was pleased with the overall defense played by the- famed Black Shirts.