BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, October 28, 2006 7:00 pm
STILLWATER, Okla. — Nebraska had rhythm. Adam Carriker was sacking quarterbacks and dragging down running backs by their jerseys. Jay Moore was swatting passes.
An interception here, a forced and recovered fumble there. Life was good for the Blackshirts.
There was, however, one glaring warning sign standing sturdy among all those positives.
Oklahoma State was still gaining chunks of yardage.
“I just know when they started moving the ball on us,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said, “we were having problems.”
Indeed.
The quick-striking Cowboys amassed yardage in almost every way possible, collecting 496 totals yards in a 41-29 victory Saturday against No. 20 Nebraska before 40,108 fans at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Unranked Oklahoma State (5-3), ranked second in the Big 12 Conference in running the football, did so at will against Nebraska, collecting 267 rushing yards, the most allowed by the Huskers this season.
The Cowboys did ample damage through the air, too, with sophomore quarterback Bobby Reid throwing for 229 yards, including passes of 45 and 55 yards.
The 45-yarder was a touchdown to Adarius Bowman, who got over the top of free safety Andrew Shanle and cornerback Cortney Grixby, caught the ball around the NU 18-yard line and strutted into the end zone 15 seconds before halftime. That pulled OSU within 23-20.
“It was a big mental boost for them,” Carriker said.
Surely the Cowboys had to be feeling pretty good, too, about their ability to run the football. Led by Dantrell Savage’s 117 yards, the Cowboys knifed through the Blackshirts.
Oklahoma State especially had success running off-tackle and to the boundary. These weren’t 3- or 4- yard gains, either. Running backs bounced to the outside and collected 10-, 12-, and 14-yard chunks.
“They came out and pounded us a little bit,” Nebraska linebacker Corey McKeon said. “They were able to get around the corner and let their backs play. We knew it was coming but we just weren’t able to stop it today.”
Referring to his game plan as a “chess game,” Cosgrove said Nebraska’s run support was hurt by the fact he sometimes wanted to double-cover OSU’s receivers, particularly Bowman and D’Juan Woods, with a defender underneath and another over top. That took a defender away from the run defense.
“You pick your poison. They just did a good job of timing things,” Cosgrove said. “They did a nice job of taking their third-down package into their first down, so when we tried to get our doubles on those guys, it makes you a little short in the run.”
NU players said they were focused throughout the week and prepared for what OSU did.
“They didn’t come out and run the quadruple-option or anything,” Carriker said. “We just didn’t play very well, to be honest with you.
“They ran the zone play. They ran it very well. We weren’t able to stop it very well.”
In addition to the Bowman touchdown pass before halftime, the Huskers were hurt by two other big plays.
Reid, looking to throw a bubble screen pass, scrambled, evaded linebacker Steve Octavien near the line of scrimmage and broke free for a 56-yard gain to the Nebraska 21-yard line. That set up OSU’s first touchdown, a 16-yard pass to Keith Toston.
Oklahoma State also went deep on a third-and-9 play to start the fourth quarter. Woods ran a simple go route down the Oklahoma State sideline and beat cornerback Andre Jones for a 55-yard catch. Savage scored on a 20-yard run on the next play.
Nebraska also had difficulty fighting off blocks, with OSU blockers seemingly glued to NU linebackers and defensive backs to free up big gains.
Cosgrove noted Nebraska’s banged-up linebacker corps — Lance Brandenburgh, who forced a fumble that Stewart Bradley recovered in the first half, was playing with a cast on his arm because of a chipped bone. McKeon and Octavien were less than 100 percent, with both fighting ankle sprains.
Those, of course, aren’t the answers many Big Red fans are looking for today. They’re not alone.
“I wish I had a natural answer for why things happen, but sometimes collectively you just don’t get it done,” Bradley said.
“We didn’t make plays when we needed to make plays.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.