Oklahoma Leaned on a Strong Mindset Amidst Early Adversity Against Nebraska
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LINCOLN, NE — Oklahoma dominated Nebraska on Saturday, but it was actually the Cornhuskers who launched the first salvo.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the No. 6-ranked Sooners (3-0) were actually forced to punt five plays into the game.
Nebraska linebacker Luke Reimer sacked OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel after the Sooners picked up a quick first down, burying the Oklahoma offense behind the chains.
Sooner punter Michael Turk pinned the Huskers (1-3) deep into their own territory, but Texas transfer Casey Thompson wasted little time making OU pay.
Nebraska barely broke a sweat, riding the wave of momentum 77 yards in six plays to tack on the opening touchdown.
The Sooners’ three-man defensive front provided little on the opening drive, and the 87,161 fans inside Memorial Stadium responded with a roar of relief and belief after enduring another tumultuous week in a bleak decade of Cornhusker football.
Nebraska’s moment in the sun was fleeting, however, as Gabriel and the Sooner offense immediately responded.
Playing in his first road game for the Crimson and Cream, Gabriel broke off his longest career rush, a 61-yard scamper to level the contest and suck the life right back out of the crowd.
From there, the Sooners reeled off 49 unanswered points in the perfect response to the early adversity.
“I think they had 77 yards on that first drive and then 71 yards the rest of the half,” OU head coach Brent Venables said. “… I’m glad that happened because I believe you develop an identity, you develop a mindset, you develop through some failure and adversity.
“That's how you grow and improve. I know nobody likes that that happened in a Sooner uniform but you need that to happen. Hats off to Nebraska for being ready out of the gate, but hats off to our guys for responding the right way.”
Regardless of what took place surrounding the Nebraska program, the Sooners were prepared for the ‘Huskers’ best effort. But after the dismissal of Scott Frost last Sunday, Venables told his team to expect everything Nebraska could muster on Saturday.
“He’s always talking about it’s going to be a fight,” OU defensive end Jonah Laulu said after the game. “It’s going to be a fight and the hunt should be better than the victory.
“So we were expecting it to be a tough fight. So when (Nebraska scored), Coach Venables said, ‘Good. Good. They scored on us? Good. First drive of the game they scored on us? Good. And it’s how you respond.’ And I think we responded the right way.”
The defense kept Thompson in their sights for the rest of the first half, dragging him down for four sacks before the half.
And while the defense asserted their will, Jeff Lebby’s offense opened up the playbook.
Gabriel guided the offense to 355 total yards and points on five of eight drives in the first half alone.
The Sooner quarterback felt that the offense had self-inflicted mistakes on the first drive, and his unit didn’t panic and made the necessary adjustments to lead to an explosive performance.
“Came out and had missed opportunities on my part,” Gabriel said. “I felt really good about the things we had. But just had to get some momentum going, make big plays and just continue to keep coming at them.
“I felt that we answered back well. Lot of things to fix on my end, for sure.”
Oklahoma’s early response was a crucial step in forging an identity for the season, and one they’ll no doubt have to lean on as more adversity hits in conference play.
But the Sooners have cleared their first benchmark, and closed the book on non-conference play in dominating fashion against Nebraska.
“A lot to learn and grow with,” Venables said. “Again, we've not done anything other than win our first road game and get to 3-0. We’ve got a really incredible challenge next weekend in Norman with Kansas State coming.”
Oklahoma opens conference play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on FOX.
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