A sluggish first half offense from No. 3 Oklahoma and a scrappy third down offense by Nebraska kept the rekindled rivalry that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century very close.
But in the end, defense ruled the day.
Tom Osborne and Barry Switzer are no doubt happy. Some things don’t change.
Such as an Oklahoma-Nebraska contest that kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
On Saturday Oklahoma won 23-16 in a battle that ultimately came down to big time defensive plays — most notably an amazing one-handed interception by OU’s D.J. Graham that put an end to what would have been a game-tying drive by the Cornhuskers late in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska had a final chance when it got the ball trailing by a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Cornhuskers could not manage a first down.
Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler’s first half passes seemed out of of sync with Sooner receivers. The Sooners had only a 7-3 halftime lead.
It was the least the team has scored in a half under head coach Lincoln Riley since the Sooners’ three first-half points Ohio State in 2017, which the Sooners won 31-16.
Oklahoma’s offense started fine out of the gate, completing a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Rattler picking up a one-yard score to put the Sooners up 7-0. Nebraska responded with a 14-play drive that resulted in a 51-yard field goal by Conner Culp.
In the second half, Oklahoma turned to their ground game. Eric Gray ran for 84 yards on 15 carries and Kennedy Brooks added 75 yards on 14 attempts for the Sooners to finish the game.
The game had its turning points.
In the third quarter Nebraska captured the moment in the third quarter with a four-yard run by QB Adrian Martinez. Nebraska cut the lead to 14-9.
But, the extra point try was blocked by Isaiah Coe. The ball fell into the hands of Pat Fields, who returned it 100 yards for two points. It was Oklahoma’s first blocked extra point return for a 2-point conversion since Zack Sanchez ran one back against TCU in 2013.
Later, the Huskers went on a drive ignited by a 55-yard pass play from Martinez to Zavia Betts. An unsportsmanlike “sideline interference” penalty on the OU bench advanced the ball further, putting Nebraska in scoring position. But the Sooners defense stiffened and on a fourth down play Graham made his spectacular interception at the two yard line.
“We didn’t like the spot (on the field) we got, but the catch was like amazing. I already knew it was going to be on ESPN before the game was over,” wide receiver Jadon Haselwood said of teammate Graham’s interception.
In the closing minutes Nebraska scored on a 21-yard Martinez toss to Omar Manning, but it was not enough to catch up with the Sooners. The Oklahoma offense went to the ground, eating up precious time after the Huskers exhausted all time outs.
Rattler was 23-of-33 passing for 215 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt junior receiver Jadon Haselwood led the Sooners with six receptions for 61 yards. Freshman wide receiver Mario Williams had two catches for 32 yards.
The Sooners posted the fewest points in an Oklahoma win since 2016.
“We fought our tails off, but we just weren’t quite sharp enough to play elite ball. We had some great moments … but we’ve got to play cleaner ball,” Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley said during his post-game press conference.
Former Sooner Coach Bob Stoops was honored during the game for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Oklahoma is noe 3-0 for the season.
Oklahoma will play host to conference foe West Virginia at 6:30 pm next Saturday in Norman. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
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