Editor’s note: This story appeared in the Oct. 25, 1970, editions of the Lincoln Journal and Star.
The old football axiom “statistics are for losers†never had more truth than Saturday.
Nebraska’s pride in one meaningful statistic — defense against scoring — was damaged by Oklahoma State’s 31-point explosion. And the Cowboys’ ripped Nebraska’s pass defense for 329 yards.
Who cares?
Bob Devaney obviously does, but few of the 67,822 wild-eyed Memorial Stadium fans who saw Nebraska put 65 points on the board Saturday got overly concerned about it.
The 65-31 rout of the Cowboys marked the biggest Nebraska scoring spree since the Cornhuskers opened the 1922 season with a 66-0 whitewashing of South Dakota and the most points they’ve scored against a conference opponent.
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When the game still had some meaning even the statistics were lopsided in favor of the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska coach Bob Devaney has never seen one of his teams take an opponent apart like the Cornhuskers dismantled Oklahoma State in the first half as they rolled up an unbelievable 41-7 lead.
The Cornhuskers made two obvious mistakes in succession after a workmanlike 15-play, 75-yard drive which produced a 6-0 lead.
Paul Rogers missed the extra point for the first time this season and while folks were shaking their heads over that misfortune, Oklahoma State’s Dick Graham took Rogers’ ensuing kickoff at the two-yard line and skittered 98 yards for a tying touchdown. Uwe Pruss then gave the Cowboys a 7-6 lead with his conversion.
It was like waving a red flag in front of a snorting bull.
The Cornhuskers were forced to punt from their own 49 on their second possession. For an instant it looked like it was a replay of last week’s Kansas game as Oklahoma State’s Tony Pounds hit tight end Tom Dearinger for 15 yards and sent Bobby Cole over left guard for 13 yards on the Cowboys’ first two plays.
From that point on, it was all Nebraska. Tackle Larry Jacobson made the first of his seven unassisted stops to halt Cole for a one-yard gain on the next play and defensive ends Willie Harper and John Adkins collaborated on a forceful blitz of Pounds as he dropped back to throw on second down.
Harper got a hand on the ball and deflected it into the hands of the onrushing Adkins. The 6-3, 222-pound junior showed some of his old prep track talent as he fielded the ball on the Oklahoma State 37 and raced into the end zone ahead of a pack of white-shirted pursuers.
From that point on the Cornhuskers put everything together. The Black Shirts held Oklahoma State without a first down on their next six possessions before intermission.
They gave the offense good field position and (Van) Brownson knew what to do with it.
Brownson, getting his second start, was 10-13 for 157 yards at the intermission.
Pounds was just 2-9 with two tosses intercepted and had yet to connect with either Graham or split end Hermann Eben, his two leading receivers.