Oklahoma Sooners hold on to beat Nebraska Cornhuskers 23-16

It wasn’t quite “Game of the Century” good but the Oklahoma Sooners and Nebraska Cornhuskers played a really entertaining game. The more talented team would come out on top as Oklahoma went on to win 23-16.

The Sooners came out on the game’s very first possession and looked poised to do whatever they wanted to Nebraska. Quarterback Spencer Rattler looked sharp and would eventually sneak in the game’s first touchdown.

Nebraska struggled to contain the Sooners vaunted defensive line all day. Cornhuskers QB Adrian Martinez, who came into the game as the most pressured Power Five quarterback, felt that pressure in abundance against the Sooners.

Nebraska would fight hard going to a soft zone on defense that seemingly stumped Lincoln Riley and the Sooners for the entire second quarter.

OU would find its groove running the ball and finding some plays in the passing game to keep Nebraska honest. A trick play from Mario Williams who threw the ball back to Spencer Rattler who then found an open Marvin Mims, set up the Sooners for another score.

The Sooners cashed in and took a 14-3 lead when Rattler found Jeremiah Hall in the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown pass.

The Sooners defense kept bringing the pressure and at a critical moment Isaiah Coe blocked an extra point which was returned for two points by senior and captain Pat Fields. That’s Oklahoma’s first blocked extra point return for a 2-point conversion since Zack Sanchez ran one back against TCU in 2013.

OU would take control of the trenches in the fourth quarter finishing a drive off with a Kennedy Brooks touchdown run from two yards out with 10:24 left that made it 23-16.

Nebraska would threaten again as Adrian Martinez found Zavier Betts for 55 yards and then a sideline interference penalty tacked on 15 more yards. The pressure from OU put Nebraska into a tough 4th down situation, one which resulted in a candidate for play of the year from cornerback DJ Graham:

Nebraska eventually gained possession in good field position, and Martinez found Omar Manning for a 21-yard touchdown pass. The extra point cut Oklahoma’s lead to 23-16 with 5:38 to play.

Nebraska fought hard all day and ended up with a chance to tie the game with 56 seconds left. When it mattered most, though, the defense came up big with Perrion Winfrey and Nik Bonitto sacking Martinez twice on the game’s final drive.

Nebraska falls to 2-2 and has a date September 25th in East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans. OU moved on to 3-0 and will host the West Virginia Mountaineers next to kick off their Big 12 portion of the schedule.