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The defense rests Husker defenders answer resiliency questions vs. OU
Updated: Saturday October 27, 2001 8:54 PM
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Through the years, Nebraska has produced its share of vaunted defenses. Heck, the guys that play that side of the field get their own special nickname in these parts: Blackshirts. But the past couple of seasons, the Husker D earned a considerably less flattering pseudonym in some corners, a kiss-of-death moniker no coach ever wants to hear: soft. It reared its head last season in unflattering losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State, and it began surfacing again last week when Texas Tech torched the unit for 31 points and 353 passing yards. But any doubts about Nebraska's defense were soundly put to rest Saturday. Facing a potent Oklahoma offense that spreads you out with a seemingly endless stable of receivers, the Huskers flat shut things down. With relentless pressure -- though not necessarily blitzing constantly -- they forced Sooner quarterbacks Jason White and Nate Hybl into 22-of-49 passing, picked off two passes and notched three sacks. "We felt we could get pressure with four guys rushing," said defensive end Chris Kelsay. "We were flat out beating them up front, one-on-one."
All the Huskers' defensive plans start up front with the pass-rushing abilities of Kelsay (seven tackles), tackle Jeremy Slechta (four) and linebackers Jamie Burrow (game-high 16) and Mark Vedral (1.5 for loss). While White -- before spraining his knee -- had the ability to scramble away from pressure, the more stationery Hybl was often swallowed up in the Huskers' rush. The pressure kept OU from getting off some of the big pass plays it did in last season's game, and that Texas Tech had against Nebraska the week before. "We got them all out of our system last week," secondary coach George Darlington said of the big plays. "When you get good pressure on the passer, the quarterback doesn't have as much time to find his receivers for a big play." Defensive backs Keyou Craver and DeJuan Groce, both of whom were questionable early in the week with injuries sustained against Texas Tech, blanketed the Sooner receivers. The only target to do noticeable damage was tight end Trent Smith, who caught seven passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. But the Huskers seemed content to give up the little stuff underneath to Smith in order to negate any possibility of deep balls to the wideouts. Mark Clayton, Josh Norman and Antwone Savage had 12 catches between them, but numerous other attempts were broken up or dropped. "We've been told all week this would probably be the best receiving corps we've faced all season," said Craver, who notched his third interception of the season on OU's first offensive play. "We wanted to come out and show everybody we are for real defensively." Yes, they are for real. And if the Huskers are to make a run at their fourth national title in eight seasons, it will be largely on the strength of their defense. The household names aren't there like with Oklahoma's Roy Williams and Rocky Calmus. But the results are the same. While the Sooners holding Nebraska's option attack to 164 yards -- roughly half its average -- is equally impressive, it's the Huskers who walked away Saturday with the "W." "We don't have any all-stars on defense," said Kelsay, "but we have an all-star defense." All not lost for the Sooners . . . just a whole bunch.For the first time in the 21st century, Oklahoma has tasted defeat. The Sooners' first loss since the 1999 Independence Bowl against Ole Miss -- coach Bob Stoops' first season -- will knock them down from their perch atop the BCS standings. Just how far will go a long way in determining whether they're still in the running to defend their national title. Even in defeat, their much-heralded defense did not fail them. The Sooners largely negated Nebraska's running attack, especially quarterback Eric Crouch (21 yards). Until the Huskers' 63-yard fourth-quarter touchdown on a trick play, the game was basically a draw, with both defenses excelling. But that was the problem for OU. Without a Josh Heupel to lead them down the field, neither White or Hybl were able to sustain a drive for the Sooners. And the Sooners missed a key scoring opportunity late in the first half, when they marched 77 yards on 14 plays only to settle for a field goal after having first-and-goal at the 2. That made the score 10-10 at halftime rather than an Oklahoma lead. "In the end, losing is a strange feeling in our locker room ... because we haven't experienced this in quite a while," said Stoops. "I am very proud of our assistants and our players and the way they competed. ... They realize that we still have a great season ahead of us, with four more games." Of those four, the toughest remaining comes against Texas A&M. It is quite conceivable the Sooners could run the table, finish 11-1 and get a rematch with Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game in Dallas. They control their own destiny, having beaten the South Division's other one-loss club, Texas. But the Sooners have a serious question to answer before they can renew dreams of Pasadena, and that comes at quarterback. White was "hurt fairly significantly," said Stoops, when he sprained his knee while planting his foot on a pass attempt. He could be out for an extended time, leaving the offense in the hands of the inconsistent Hybl. And even if OU was to somehow reach the Rose Bowl, Saturday's game exposed a dearth of speed for the Sooners that would likely doom them against a Miami or Florida, whereas Nebraska could rely on its power game. Stoops remains, as always, optimistic. "Our players are still strong in the locker room and upbeat, and understand that we will live to fight another day," said Stoops. "The future looks good in the way we are playing." Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com.
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