Huskers’ upset falls short in 23-16 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. – From the opening kickoff until the final minutes, it looked like Nebraska had a chance to pull off its biggest upset of the century.

In the end, though, the 50th anniversary of the 1971 “Game of the Century” ended with No. 3 Oklahoma holding on long enough to hand the Huskers a 23-16 defeat on Saturday.

The Blackshirts gave OU and quarterback Spencer Rattler fits all game, and Adrian Martinez made some big plays with his arm and legs to keep NU within a touchdown going into the fourth quarter. But some crucial special teams blunders turned the course of the day.

Oklahoma got the ball first to start the game and methodically marched 75 yards on 14 plays and took a 7-0 lead out of the gates on a one-yard touchdown sneak by Rattler.

Nebraska answered with a 14-play drive and a 51-yard field goal from Connor Culp on its opening series, but it could have been more had it not been for four NU penalties that cost 30 total yards during the possession.

That would do it for scoring the rest of the half, though, as both teams traded punts and a missed field goal each to leave it at a 7-3 Oklahoma lead at the break.

The Huskers managed just 137 total yards and six first downs in the first half, but their defense kept them in striking distance by holding OU to just 200 yards of its own and its lowest point total in a half since Sept. 9, 2017, at Ohio State.

Nebraska opened the third quarter with an 11-play drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal attempt from Culp. But for the second time of the day, Culp came up empty by missing the kick wide left.

Rattler connected with Marvin Mims for a 23-yard throwback pass to quickly move Oklahoma past midfield. Nine plays later, Rattler rolled out and found Jeremiah Hall in the end zone for a one-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-3 with 3:50 left in the third.

The Huskers needed an answer, and Martinez delivered on the ensuing drive with a 26-yard pass to Rahmir Johnson, a 38-yard completion to Travis Vokolek, and then took it in on his own for a four-yard touchdown run.

However, rather than pulling back within three points, the extra point try by Kelen Meyer – who replaced Culp at placekicker – was blocked by Isaiah Cole and recovered by Patrick Fields, who ran it out of the Sooner end zone all the way in for a two-point score to make it 16-9.

Oklahoma followed that up with a 12-play drive capped with a two-yard touchdown run by Kennedy Brooks to take its largest lead yet at 23-9 with 10:24 remaining in the game.

Nebraska fired right back, though, with a 55-yard pass to Zavier Betts and a 15-yard penalty on OU to move the ball to the Sooner 17-yard line. But the Huskers came up empty, as Martinez was intercepted at the NU 3 on a fourth-down prayer.

Martinez and Co. got the ball back inside Sooner territory after a three-and-out stop, and this time they capitalized with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Omar Manning to cut the deficit to 23-16 with 5:38 still to play.

Oklahoma chewed up 4:40 off the clock and NU’s last two timeouts on its next possession, but the Huskers got the ball back at their own 17 with 57 seconds on the clock. However, the final drive ended with a thud as Martinez was sacked twice before the final whistle sounded.

Martinez completed 19-of-25 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown and interception while rushing 17 times for 34 yards and another score in the loss. Rattler finished 24-of-34 passing for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Nebraska will return to action next week when it travels to take on Michigan State for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on FS1.