It was Nebraska’s first play from scrimmage against Oklahoma, and quarterback Joe Ganz calmly tossed a quick screen pass to wide receiver Todd Peterson - the bread-and-butter staple of NU’s offense during its three-week renaissance.

The ball never got there. OU cornerback Dominique Franks read the play, stepped in front of Peterson, intercepted the pass and pranced into the end zone.

The game wasn’t three minutes old, and the Sooners were ahead 14-0. And they wouldn’t be done piling on the Cornhuskers until they had staked a stunning 35-0 lead after the first quarter. That’s the most ever dropped on an NU squad in one quarter.

In front of 85,212 at Gaylord Memorial Family Stadium, Oklahoma would coast over Nebraska 62-28 in one of the great thumpings of this rivalry, the first in which friends Bob Stoops and Bo Pelini coached against each other. It was a costly loss for Nebraska, both in terms of how it looked to a national audience on ESPN, and the damage it did to any hopes of winning the Big 12 North title, which seems securely in Kansas or Missouri’s hands now.

OU (8-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12 Conference) racked up 504 total yards and turned each of NU’s four turnovers into touchdowns. It gained 10.5 yards per pass play and 183 yards on kick returns.

In contrast to his anger after a 52-17 loss to Missouri, Pelini was pragmatic and subdued in a post-game press conference.

He was also the only one doing the talking.

Calling himself “the voice of this team,” Pelini told NU players and coaches not to grant interviews.

“Oklahoma is a damn good football team,” Pelini said. We needed to make a play to get things under control so we could take a breath. We were never able to take a breath…I’ve never been quite a part of one that started that bad. It takes the wind out of your sails. You need a psychologist better than me to come in and fix that.”



Pelini described OU’s first-quarter performance as an “avalanche.” Here’s how it went down:



*OU running back DeMarco Murray returned the opening kickoff 62 yards. Two plays into the drive, quarterback Sam Bradford threw a perfect pass to receiver Ryan Broyles for a 41-yard gain. Four plays later, running back Chris Brown scored from two yards.



*Nebraska received the kickoff, started at its 20, and Ganz promptly threw the interception. OU led 14-0.



*NU’s next drive started on its own 40. On the second play, Ganz rolled to his right, completed a pass to tight end Dreu Young, who fumbled. The fumble call seemed close – Young was hit just as his two feet his the turf, and Pelini challenged the ruling. The play was upheld, OU took over at its own 48, and scored two plays later on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to Quentin Chaney.



*On the second play of Nebraska’s following drive, Ganz threw high and behind Marlon Lucky, who tipped the ball right to OU defensive back Lendy Holmes, who intercepted the pass and returned it to NU’s 9.



“Joe was off with rhythm a little bit,” Pelini said. “Let’s face it: He’s the guy. There’s been a lot put on his shoulders…I’m not putting that game on Joe Ganz…he made a couple miscues to start the game. That’s gonna happen.”



Bradford, who passed for 311 yards and five touchdowns, found tight end Jermaine Gresham for nine-yard score on OU’s first play after the interception.



With 9:22 remaining in the first quarter, Nebraska (5-4, 2-3) trailed 28-0. OU barely had 100 total yards and had only run seven total offensive plays. The Sooners would add a more traditional touchdown near the end of the first quarter, going 97 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a one-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to Brown.



“We just came out firing with everybody,” OU Coach Bob Stoops said. “I just thought our guys were really focused and we couldn’t have executed much better in all parts of the game. Our offense was moving and running fast and our defense made all the big plays and turnovers. I felt like Dominique Franks really ignited us with that screen.”



From that moment forward, Pelini said, Nebraska’s goal for the game changed: Just keep fighting.



And to NU’s credit, the offense did so pretty well, scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter and adding two more in the second half. Aside from a blocked extra point, OU matched those totals, and probably could have had more if Bradford hadn’t left the game early in the fourth quarter. But, in all, the Huskers gained 418 yards, averaged 5.8 yards per rush and possessed the ball for half the game.



Sophomore Roy Helu, spelling an injured Marlon Lucky, had a career day against OU’s defense, running for 157 yards and a touchdown.



“Roy played really well tonight,” Pelini said. “He just kept playing. We ran the ball pretty effectively at times.”



Ganz recovered from his interceptions and threw for 206 yards and a touchdown. Senior Nate Swift caught a 67-yarder. Peterson led all NU receivers with five catches for 73 yards. And redshirt freshman Patrick Witt scored his first touchdown on a 16-yard run with 21 seconds left.



Nebraska’s defense didn’t fare so well. Pelini called their play “lousy.” Although missing several key defenders, including middle linebacker Phillip Dillard, the Huskers nevertheless seemed more frustrated than usual and taken off guard by OU’s no-huddle offense; NU had to burn two first-half timeouts because of the confusion. Bradford was deadly accurate, but OU’s backs and receivers were consistently a step behind Nebraska’s safeties and cornerbacks. The Huskers generated no rush whatsoever. And Brown, the Sooners’ No. 2 running back, averaged 10 yards per carry.



NU also struggled with penalties again, getting flagged eight times for 74 yards, including a couple personal fouls. One was called on redshirt freshman defensive tackle Terrence Moore, who was announced to OU fans as ejected. Pelini said he ejected Moore, but did not think he had been ejected from the game.



Sure to emerge from this OU contest is criticism of Pelini’s decision not to let players or assistants talk to the media. He defended it at the beginning of his comments with the following:



“They're not available. Is that enough said? It's over. I'm the voice tonight. I was hired. I want our guys moving on to the next game. It's a three-game season now. There's nothing we can do about what happened at Oklahoma and I don't want them talking about it.”

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