Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 27

Huskers Refuse to Panic, 35-31 pimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiinmiii I Jeff Biggest Day Win Workhorse Kinney in How They Scored Nebraska 7 7 14 7-35 Oklahoma 3 14 7 731 Neb. Rodgers 73 punt return (Sanger kick) Okla. FG Carroll 30. Neb. Kinney 1 run (Sanger kick).

Okla. Mildren 3 run (Carroll kick). Okla. Harrison 24 pass from Mildren (Carroll kick). Neb.

Kinney 3 run (Sanger kick). Neb. Kinney 1 run (Sanger kick). Okla. Mildren 2 run (Carroll kick).

Okla. Harrison 17 pass from Mildren (Carroll kick). Neb. Kinney 2 run (Sanger kick). A 61,826.

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll "We were a little apprehensive trying to feel them out in the first half. You Neb. Okla. First downs 19 22 Rushes-yards 59-237 64-279 Passing yardage 65 188? Return yardage 80 7 Passes 6-13-0 6-11-0 Punts 5-36 3-36 Fumbles lost 1 3 Yards penalized 5 5 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii "And the young kids who haven't been beat don't want to be beat," Devaney continued as he talked about the determined second half Nebraska drives which twice overcame Oklahoma leads and preserved Nebraska's claim to being the No. 1 football team in the nation.

Stunned by two lightning Jack Mildren to Jon Harrison aerial bombs which gave Oklahoma a 17-14 lead in the closing seconds of the first half, 0 i Nebraska senior Jeff Kinney (35) had his greatest day for 174 yards on 31 carries and scored four TDs. Here from Jerry Tagge (14) and then a block by Maury i Ci tl -L hi I 'fill i i I I 1 KN. Lincoln, Neb. Nov. 26, 1971 Page 27 the Cornhuskers quietly composed themselves for the second half challenge during the halftime intermission.

"It was a letdown to go in behind, but it was kind of an incentive, too," claimed offensive guard Dick Rupert. "We knew we had to come back. We just concentrated on what we had to do." Strikes Auburn ft I 1 About that Johnny Rodgers "You made he beamed. "We sure Ward said doubt about long as they themselves back on them," Now the sweat out the in the "We'll just play 'em -1 1 really can't do that in a game like this. We just told ourselves we had to get with it," said center Doug Dumler.

"At the half I thought we could score. You get a feeling after you've played awhile. We had played poorly in the first half," added Dumler. "There wasn't much talk at halftime. We just made up our minds to fire up and get the job done," said Jeff Kinney.

Sophomore fullback Maury Damkroger was unsure. "I thought to myself 'we've never been behind I really didn't know what to think," he said. Co-captain Jim Anderson admitted he was disappointed, but not discouraged. "We were down three points, Cont. on Page 28, Col.

Tagge I Certain Of Win By VIRGIL PARKER Norman, Okla. "I never once thought we were going to lose," Nebraska quarterback i Jerry Tagge insisted after he directed the Cornhuskers to a come-from behind football victory over Oklahoma in the Turkey Bowl here Thursday. "But when we were on what I thought was going to be our winning drive and I fumbled, I could have killed myself," the rugged Big Red Signal caller added. "There was only one answer then. We just had to get the ball back one more time and go in to score." The chance came and the Huskers made it pay off.

"The most crucial play of the whole game was the third down pass completion to Johnny Rodgers in that final winning drive," Tagge felt. "Four receivers were to go down and hook in. But Oklahoma only rushed three men and dropped four linebackers back into the hook zone. I thought I was going to have to 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 drive 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 trouble'. Instead, I just figure I'll be able to get it." Tagge added that he was constantly reminding the players in the huddle to be careful not to commit a foul which might stall the march. "We wanted to stay on the ground, keep moving down field and eat up as much of the clock as possible," he explained. "We didn't want them to have enough time left to score again." Tagge and Jeff Kinney, who scored four of the five Husker touchdowns, both felt Nebraska Cont. on Page 28, Col.

7 Big 8 Standings Conference Games Pet. Pft Opp. Nebraska .7 0 0 1.000 279 6 Oklahoma 1 0 .833 270 105 Colorado 5 2 0 .714 181 139 Iowa State 4 3 0 .573 18 145 Oklahoma State 2 4 .333 194 Kansas State ...2 5 0 .284 125 192 Kansas 2 5 .286 104 218 'Missouri 0 7 0 .000 57 200 1 All Games Nebraska 11 0 0 1.000 424 95 Oklahoma 9 1 0 .900 434 180 Colorado 9 2 0 JIB 341 203 Iowa State 7 3 0 .700 274 184 Kansas State .,.5 id .455 219 294 Oklahoma State 4 5 1 .450 170 244 Kansas 4 7 0 .344 187 284 Missouri 1 10 0 .091 93 260 Thursday's Result I Nebraska 35, Oklahoma 31 Remaining Games Saturday Iowa State at San Diego State Saturday, Dec. 4 Nebraska at Hawaii Oklahoma at Oklahoma State I Winner Pat Sullivan Heisman Winner Alway 0 By DON FORSYTHE Norman, Okla. Most of them had been there before staring defeat in the eyes.

They dn't panic. And the new Cornhuskers, who hadn't been in a come-from-behind situation all season, didn't panic, either, in Nebraska's gutty fourth quarter drive i which put the Cornhuskers on top in the Game of the Century. "The pride they have in Nebraska football has been built up in the guys who have played for us fof three years," said Nebraska coach Bob Devaney after his team's dramatic 35-31 conquest of unbeaten Oklahoma Thursday that also clinched another Big Eight championship for the Cornhuskers. Game Fulfills Billing Football writers from throughout the nation converged on Norman, Thursday to cover what had been billed as the "Game of The Century." From all indications it lived up to its billing. A sampling of the comments: Charlie Smith, UPI sports writer T.

Barnum and 'Ben Hur' met on a- football field Thursday. It was one of those rare occasions in sports when the product was as great as the promotion." Tom Weigel, Chicago Daily News "Leon Crosswhite is the fullback in Oklahoma's wishbone-T attack. And all week before the Sooners "Game of The Century" with defending national champion Nebraska, a little voice inside Leon was saying, 'Don't fumble on Thanksgiving, you "It's too bad for Oklahoma fans that Lean's little voice couldn't have played Jiminy Cricket for the other Pinocchios in the Sooner backfield. Because While Leon didn't fumble, quarterback Jack Mildren, halfback Greg Pruitt and substitute fullback Tim Welch did." Dick Wade, Kansas City Star "Proud and resilient Nebraska, its back jammed to the wall for the first time this season, stormed 74 yards and scored with 1:38 left to knock back free-wheeling Oklahoma 35-31. "The victory kept Nebraska's reputation intact as college football's finest team but only after a stirring game that matched the nations No.

1 and No. 2 giants in all their glory." Volney Meece, Daily Oklahoman "Nebraska's No. 1. "But Nebraska won't argue if you want to rank Oklahoma No. Vk in the world.

"Sometimes sensational and sometimes methodical but always relentless and always poised, Nebraska conquered explosive but fumbling Oklahoma, 35-31, here this chilly Thanksgiving afternoon before a crowd that was 61,826 officially but 63,385 counting newsmen and officials. Clyde Bolton, Birmingham (Ala.) News Jeff Kinney, who runs the football for Nebraska, stood in the dressing room in the tatters of a tear-away jersey and summed up the Cornhusker-Oklahoma game. "We knew before the game we had to score the last touchdown." 'Dazed' Auburn, Ala. Pat Sullivan." Those words were strung up on a theatre marquee in this small campus town, and though the students were away for Thanksgiving holidays, the theater's tribute seemed to catch the prevailing mood. Auburn had become Heisman Trophy Town after the Tigers' senior quarterback, Patrick Joseph Sullivan, was awarded the 1971 crown Thursday night.

Sullivan had been sequestered in a town motel to await the announcement, which came from the Downtown Century Mi I. break Kinney through the And now he's on his way Oklahoma's Mark Driscoll at I a I i -V, -Ig, Thursday as he rushed he gets the ball (right) Damkroger (46) Sooners (59) after a 22-yard gain. Oklahoma's last hopes died on this play when Rich Glover, who was in on 22 tackles for Nebraska's Black Shirts, broke through the line and blocked Jack Mildren's (11) pass attempt on fourth down. Orange Bowl Officials Happy With Se lection Helps Before being stopped by ,1 1 ''JL 1 1 S. time, Cornhusker wingback walked by.

a good choice, didn't you?" did," said Llewellyn. mere was never too much the bid going to Nebraska. "As were No. 1 and proved No. 1 you couldn't turn your he said.

Orange Bowl committee must second half of its parlay-Alabama Alabama-Auburn battle Saturday. worry about that later we one at a time," Ward smiled. Norman, Okla. Orange Bowl representatives Bill Ward and Jim Llewellyn may have been the most nervous spectators among the record 63,385 Owen Field crowd Thursday. "I wasn't comfortable until the final gun," said Orange Bowl past president Llewellyn, a "regular" at Cornhusker games.

Ward, the current Orange Bowl president, was watching Nebraska for the first time Thursday. His reaction? "Wow!" "That team doesn't lose its poise," Ward said. "And that's what makes 'em No. 1," echoed Llewellyn. 1971 Heisman Bedlam Sullivan Athletic Club of New York City during halftime ceremonies of nationally televised Georgia-Georgia Tech game.

The 21-year-old native of Birmingham, said he was dazed when he heard his name called, but that he was in better shape when Head Coach Ralph (Shug) Jordan drove over to the motel to pay him a jV I 1 1 ft -i if If, Sl i1 '1 Campus team, we're extremely proud of Pat Sullivan's winning the Heisman trophy." Sullivan was also paid a complimentary call by his friend, Johnny Musso, whose unbeaten Alabama team collides with the undefeated Tigers in Birmingham Saturday. Sullivan said Musso, who was fourth in Heisman balloting, was happy that he got the award. Sullivan, sitting with his wife and baby daughter, had a wide, happy grin on his face as he said, "Well, I don't know what to say." "He was just real happy," Sullivan said of his coach, who is in his 21st year at the helm of the Sugar Bowl-bound Tigers. Jordan, for the most part, turned the spotlight over to the quarterback who has guided Auburn to 26 victories in 31 games over the past three years. But he did say: "Speaking for the staff and the Chuck Ealey, Toledo 31 Walt Patulskl, Notre Dame I Eric Allen, Michigan Stale 15 Bill Taylor, Michigan 12 Bob Moore.

Oregon 6 Terry Beasley, Auburn 1 Ssnnv Slxkilltr, Washington 3 137 121 109 84 50 50 45 Heisman Trophy Voting Pat Sullivan, Auburn 353 1597 Ed Marlnaro, Cornell 295 1445 Greg Pruitt, Oklahoma 64 584 Johnny Vusso, Alabama 23 365 Lydell Mitchell, Penn State 29 2.11 Jack Mildren, Oklahoma 35 200 Jerry Taaae, Nebraska 23 168 I.