No. 20 Huskers Fall in Shootout with Cowboys

Stillwater, Okla. - Brandon Jackson rushed for a career-high 182 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, but three fourth-quarter touchdowns by Oklahoma State gave the Cowboys a 41-29 win over No. 20 Nebraska at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday.

The Huskers slipped to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 despite leading 23-20 at the end of three quarters. The loss was Coach Bill Callahan's first Nebraska loss when leading at halftime, as NU was 17-0 the past three seasons when leading at intermission. Oklahoma State improved to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Callahan said Oklahoma State deserved the credit for the victory, but the Huskers could have played better football.

“Give them a lot of credit today, they were outstanding in the second half. We just did not respond and make the plays we needed to make in the second half. Give them credit, they are a fine football team, and they definitely deserve the win," Callahan said. "We just have to get better. I am not pleased with our efforts today. We can play better, we can coach better and that was pretty evident today. I felt coming into today that special teams was an area that we had to at least match, and we failed to do that. I was not satisfied with our fielding decisions, our coverage and our kicking.”

In a game that featured nearly 1,000 yards of total offense by both teams, Nebraska managed 452 total yards, including 242 yards passing by Zac Taylor, who completed 21-of-39 attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Husker offense also maintained control of the ball for 34:59.

Quarterback Bobby Reid led the OSU offense to 496 total yards by completing 13-of-21 passes for 229 yards and two scores. Reid also rushed eight times for 61 yards to account for 290 yards of total offense by himself. Dantrell Savage led OSU with 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

Nebraska appeared to be in firm control of the game through the first 20 minutes on the strength of Jackson's explosive rushing. Jackson's second rushing touchdown came with 10:43 remaining in the second quarter on a 24-yard burst to give the Huskers a 16-0 lead. The snap and hold on Nebraska's ensuing extra-point attempt were unsuccessful.

Jackson had pushed NU's lead to 10-0 with a two-yard touchdown run with just 33 seconds left in the first quarter, after setting up NU's field goal on its opening drive by carrying for 60 yards.

Callahan said Jackson's performance was impressive.

“He had 182 yards today and two touchdowns. He ran the ball hard and averaged 8.2 yards a carry.  We thought we could come in today and run the ball at them and that plan held up until we got behind. Then we started throwing the ball down the field, probably a little to much.  All in all, I thought he did a great job.”

The Cowboys then showed their own explosiveness. OSU answered quickly after NU's third score, flying 80 yards in five plays, thanks primarily to a 56-yard run by Reid, who capped the drive with his 12-yard touchdown pass to Keith Toston with 8:12 left in the first half.

The OSU defense forced its first three-and-out on the next drive, giving the Cowboys the ball back in good field position at the 50. Three plays later, Oklahoma State slashed the NU lead to just three points on an 18-yard touchdown run by Savage with 4:13 left in the half.

Taylor pushed the Husker lead back to 10 points with his 22-yard touchdown connection to Maurice Purify with just 56 seconds left in the half and Nebraska appeared to firm up its grip on the game.

But the Cowboys struck quickly again, using a 39-yard kickoff return by Perrish Cox to set up Reid's 45-yard touchdown pass to Adarius Bowman on the next play from scrimmage to cut NU's halftime edge to 23-20.

In the first half, the Huskers rolled up 285 yards of total offense and held the ball for 18:39, while Oklahoma State amassed 265 yards in just 11:21, after managing just 27 yards of total offense in the first quarter.

After the two teams combined for 33 points and nearly 400 yards of total offense in the second quarter, the defenses reasserted themselves in a scoreless third quarter.

Unfortunately for the Huskers, the Cowboys showed that they still had a few big plays left. Reid connected with D'Juan Woods on a 55-yard pass on the opening play of the fourth quarter, before Savage sprinted into the end zone from 20 yards out on the next play to give OSU its first lead of the day at 27-23 with 14:34 left.

The Cowboy defense continued to stifle the Huskers in the second half, and the OSU offense capitalized by pushing its lead to 34-23 on Julius Crosslin's two-yard touchdown run with 8:05 remaining.

Nebraska tried to battle its way back, but OSU's Patrick Lavine closed the door on any Husker comeback hopes when he sacked Taylor and forced a fumble that was scooped up by Nathan Peterson, who raced 19 yards for a touchdown to give the Cowboys an insurmountable 41-23 edge with 3:14 left.

The Huskers closed the scoring on Taylor's five-yard touchdown pass to Purify with seven seconds left in the game, but Congdon's extra-point kick was no good, ending his personal streak of 70 straight made extra points to close the scoring at 41-29.

Purify finished the day with six catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskers. Woods led the OSU receivers with four catches for 87 yards, while Bowman added three catches for 86 yards and a score.

The Huskers return to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln to celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, Nov. 4, when they take on Missouri. The game will be televised by ABC at 11 a.m.

The Nebraska women's basketball team will also open its 2006-07 season with an exhibition game against Nebraska-Omaha at the Devaney Center. Tip-off is set for 4:05 p.m.

In addition to the Homecoming festivities at Memorial Stadium, several other Husker teams will be in action in Lincoln next Saturday. The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team will be at the NU Coliseum to battle Oklahoma. The match time will be announced soon.

The NU swimming and diving will also host its annual Alumni Meet at the Devaney Natatorium. Start time will also be determined after the announcement of Saturday's kickoff time for football.

Scoring (Oklahoma State 41, Nebraska 29)

First Quarter (NU 10, OSU 0)
NU - Jordan Congdon 26 field goal, 8:17, NU 3-0
NU - Brandon Jackson 2 run (Congdon kick), 0:33, NU 10-0

Second Quarter (NU 23, OSU 20)
NU - Brandon Jackson 24 run (kick failed), 10:43, NU 16-0
OSU - Keith Toston 16 pass from Bobby Reid (Jason Ricks kick blocked), 8:12, NU 16-6
OSU - Dantrell Savage 18 run (Ricks kick), 4:13, NU 16-13
NU - Maurice Purify 22 pass from Zac Taylor (Congdon kick), 0:56, NU 23-13
OSU - Adarius Bowman 45 pass from Reid (Ricks kick), 0:15, NU 23-20

Third Quarter (NU 23, OSU 20)
No Scoring 

Fourth Quarter (OSU 41, NU 29)
OSU - Dantrell Savage 20 run (Ricks kick), 14:34, OSU 27-23 
OSU - Julius Crosslin 2 run (Ricks kick), 8:05, OSU 34-23
OSU - Nathan Peterson 19 fumble return (Ricks kick), 3:16, OSU 41-23
NU - Maurice Purify 5 pass from Taylor (Congdon kick no good), 0:07, OSU 41-29