Sooners Try To Stake Claim For No. 1 In Big 12 Tussle Against Cornhuskers

Oct. 24, 2000

NORMAN, Okla (AP) - One of college football's most storied rivalries regains its national prominence as third-ranked Oklahoma hosts No. 1 Nebraska on Saturday.

For four decades, the road to the Big 8 Conference title almost always traveled through either Norman, Okla., or Lincoln, Neb.

But since coach Barry Switzer led the Sooners to the 1985 national title and left after the 1988 season, Oklahoma has enjoyed little national recognition and this matchup has lost its luster.

The rivalry is back.

The Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12 South) have begun a resurgence under second-year coach Bob Stoops, the former Florida defensive coordinator and fourth coach of Oklahoma since Switzer's departure. Stoops also is well versed in the knowledge of the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry from his days as a defensive coordinator at Kansas State.

"For people here it's a special game," Stoops said. "We're excited in the fact it's special again."

Because the schools were placed in different divisions with the expansion of the conference, they have not met since Nebraska thumped Oklahoma 69-7 in 1997. This game marks the 17th time the teams are playing when both are ranked in the top 10 and the 13th time when one school is No. 1.

While Oklahoma has not enjoyed a national renaissance until this season, Nebraska flourished in the 1990s while the Sooners floundered. Coach Tom Osborne led the Cornhuskers to national championships in 1994, 1995 and 1997, and now third-year coach Frank Solich has Nebraska (7-0, 4-0 Big 12 North) in the midst of another national title hunt.

"You can tell there's an extra amount of excitement right now in the air," Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel said. "We came in after the K-State game and we've got, I would guess, 1,000-plus fans waiting for us at the stadium. People are talking about the program, talking about the game and the importance of it."

The Sooners had last week off following their 41-31 upset at then-No. 2 Kansas State on Oct. 14. Heupel shredded the top-ranked defense in the nation for 374 yards and two touchdowns.

He has been outstanding the last two games in victories over top-10 programs Texas and Kansas State, completing 46-of-64 passes for 649 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

"I can't say I am totally surprised," Stoops said. "We have an exceptional quarterback. We have great poise and confidence. Our receivers did a great job of getting open, and our running game has come along. So we feel confident we should score points."

One can argue the Cornhuskers are also coming off a bye, having thrashed Baylor 59-0 on Saturday. I-back Dan Alexander rushed for 104 yards before Solich pulled him in the second quarter. Quarterback Eric Crouch had 69 total yards and played less than one quarter as Nebraska rung up 38 first-quarter points on the hapless Bears.

"I don't know if we would have been in as good of shape playing Oklahoma three weeks ago. Now we have a lot of confidence and everything is clicking," defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said.

Nebraska's defensive unit has been awesome in blowout victories over Texas Tech and Baylor the last two games, holding them to three points and 284 yards of total offense. The Cornhuskers held the Bears to 84 yards in Saturday's rout and their last three opponents to 62 yards rushing.

The Cornhuskers have won the last seven games between the teams, but the Sooners still hold a 39-36-3 lead in the all-time series. Oklahoma's last win was a 45-10 rout in 1990 at Norman. It is the fourth time in the last five games between the schools Nebraska has been No. 1.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Try To Stake Claim For No. 1 In Big 12 Tussle Against Cornhuskers

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