Sooner Schooner Keeps Rolling Right Through the Cornhuskers
Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: October 20th, 2029
The Nebraska Cornhuskers came out on the field like a team with a newfound enthusiasm with the return of starting quarterback Dexter Iverson and with less than two minutes left in the first half, found themselves trailing their rival Oklahoma by a mere touchdown. The fact that the game ended in a 49-14 drubbing by the Sooners shows you how quickly the game got out of hand for Matt Campbell and the floundering Cornhuskers.
Dexter Iverson picked up right where he left off, leading a precise 13-play opening drive and going an immaculate 8/8 on the drive. The only problem? Wide receiver Tanner Terch left his hands at home, fumbling a reception that would have moved the Nebraska offense to the Sooners 4-yard line on their opening drive.
It took Oscar Robledo one play to make the Huskers pay, dashing 96 yards on the first play from scrimmage as the "Boomer Sooner" chants rang out by the time he reached midfield.
Iverson marched the Huskers right back down the field with another surgical drive, delivering a 36-yard touchdown strike right back to Terch to pull even for a brief moment. Oscar Robledo would answer back with his second touchdown in the contest, making the Sooners 2/2 in the contest despite only having two possessions midway through the second quarter.
Nebraska's next drive would fizzle out at midfield and from there, the onslaught began. Cole Welliver orchestrated a perfect two-minute drill, finding Elijah Thomas on a 20-yard post to take the 21-7 lead with just 30 seconds left in the 1st half.
Oklahoma opened with possession to start the second half and went right back to work, orchestrating a quick four-play drive that ended in Robledo's third touchdown of the night on a 6-yard swing pass. The hits kept coming for Nebraska as Iverson was intercepted on his first pass attempt on the ensuing drive and Terrance Butcher slashed in his own 27-yard touchdown.
What was once a 14-7 game with just two minutes remaining in the 1st half was suddenly a 35-7 shellacking in the making. Manu Raiola—no relation to former Cornhusker Dylan Raiola—answered back with a lightning strike 90-yard touchdown of his own, but the momentum had firmly swung to Oklahoma's sideline. Oklahoma answered with two more touchdowns to finish the 49-14 contest as the backups played the majority of the 4th quarter.
Despite only generating a singular sack, Leon's defense was as ferocious as always, something the former defensive coordinator praised in his postgame press conference.
•••
Question One - James McDavid (OU Daily): "Coach Leon, the one explosive run by Raiola aside, your defense was once again dominant, even if it didn't come with the gaudy sack numbers your unit typically produces. How hard is it for the defensive line and pass-rushers to stay locked in when they aren't seeing their effort correlate into sacks?"
Armando Leon: "They may have only generated one sack, James, but they were swarming all night long. My guys know that even if they aren't getting the sacks we're accustomed to generating, they're still impacting the game. Those misthrows that turned into interceptions don't happen if Iverson isn't rushing his reads to get the ball out. Nebraska came out with a game plan to utilize the quick passing game to neutralize our pass rush and it worked for the most part. The fact that we still generated 3 turnovers and 13 tackles for loss despite that is all the evidence my guys need that they're still having a positive impact."
Question Two - Jimmy Breck (The Daily Nebraskan): "Dexter Iverson was precise in the passing game, even if it didn't turn into chunk plays. What adjustments did you make to keep them from turning those 5-yard completions into 15 with regularity?"
Armando Leon: "Just kept reiterating that we had to play sound to keep from beating ourselves. If they wanted to take the underneath stuff, then fine. But we couldn't let them take that, and then turn it into extra yardage, otherwise we'd be chasing them up and down the field. Outside that explosive run from Raiola, which happened precisely because we weren't disciplined in our run fits, we kept them to minimal gains and took advantage when they got greedy. Everybody loves when we have 10 sack efforts, but these games where we're constantly hitting the quarterback, even if they aren't sacks, have the same effect. Once he starts to slow down, you've got 'em. By the second half, Dexter had absorbed enough punishment where he was trying to make a statement and that's when we took advantage and really stretched the lead."
Question Three - Meg Semental (SEC Network): "The talk regarding your offense is always about Oscar Robledo and his Heisman caliber performances on a weekly basis, but I want to switch gears a bit. What does the steady and consistent play of Cole Welliver and your receiving corps do to keep the opposing defense honest and set up Oscar to have these ridiculous performances?"
Armando Leon: "Cole is a gamer and all he wants is to win, but we make sure we remind him each and every week the critical role he plays. If he isn't precise back there, isn't making the throws that the defense gives him to keep them honest, then things suddenly get a lot denser at the line of scrimmage for Oscar. It's a symbiotic relationship. If Cole and the receivers aren't making the plays when they're there, then Oscar doesn't get room to gallop. On the other side, if Oscar isn't shredding every defensive game plan he comes across, the passing game suffers. They understand that and embrace that. We're all working towards the same goal, but when you've got talented guys like Cole, Ja'Kayden, Iosefa, and Elijah that are willing to let Oscar steal the limelight, it makes us even more dangerous."
•••
I have to admit, I was more than a little surprised when Dexter Iverson and the Cornhuskers moved the ball at will to start the game. But once the hits started coming, they never stopped, and you could definitely see the Nebraska offense just wearing down with each consecutive drive. I don't want to name any names, but I saw more than a few Nebraska players literally celebrate when the coaches told them they weren't going back out in the 4th. That's how demoralized they were by the end of the contest.
It's another rivalry win and another game where Oscar Robledo gets the bulk of the glory, but all of the little things keep this wagon rolling.
Boomer Sooner, baby!
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Nebraska | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 49 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Nebraska | Oklahoma |
| 1st | Oklahoma | 4:45 | Oscar Robledo, 96 Yd Run | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | Nebraska | 9:52 | Tanner Terch, 36 Yd Pass From Dexter Iverson | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 4:32 | Oscar Robledo, 6 Yd Run | 7 | 14 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 0:36 | Elijah Thomas, 20 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 7 | 21 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 8:32 | Oscar Robledo, 6 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 7 | 28 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 7:59 | Terrance Butcher, 27 Yd Run | 7 | 35 |
| 3rd | Nebraska | 7:45 | Manu Raiola, 90 Yd Run | 14 | 35 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 3:12 | Ja'Kayden Ferguson, 8 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 14 | 42 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 7:42 | Terrance Butcher, 6 Yd Run | 14 | 49 |
Nebraska Oklahoma Passing | Stats Passing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Dexter Iverson |16/21, 179 Yds, TD, INT Cole Welliver | 23/29, 283 Yds, 3 TD Shawn Wortham | 2/6, 13 Yds, INT Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Manu Raiola | 15 Att, 132 Yds, TD Oscar Robledo | 15 Att, 150 Yds, 2 TD D'Andre Hardeman Jr | 4 Att, 32 Yds Terrance Butcher | 8 Att, 78 Yds, 2 TD Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Patrick Aguayo | 6 Rec, 43 Yds Elijah Thomas | 6 Rec, 86 Yds, TD Tanner Terch | 3 Rec, 67 Yds, TD Iosefa Topa | 4 Rec, 63 Yds Isaiah Mozee | 3 Rec, 55 Yds Ja'Kayden Ferguson | 3 Rec, 38 Yds, TD Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ SS Connor Kiernan | 8 Tkl, TFL FS Nathan Tilmon | 8 Tkl, 3 TFL, FF FS David Ofodile | 7 Tkl, TFL SS DeMarco Slayton | 7 TKl, TFL, INT MLB LaMarcus Grimes | 6 Tkl, TFL DE Leon Britt | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL
SEC Week Eight Results
24 Arkansas (4-4) @ Kentucky (3-4) 17
20 Vanderbilt (3-4) @ Auburn (5-3) 34
21 Mississippi State (2-6) @ Boston College (5-3) 42
6 South Carolina (5-2) @ UConn (4-4) 21
47 #4 Tennessee (6-1) @ #24 LSU (5-3) 20
28 #18 Florida (6-2) @ #16 Missouri (5-3) 25
30 #12 Ole Miss (5-2) @ #1 Georgia (7-1) 38
35 #10 Alabama (6-1) @ Texas (3-5) 33
Notable Week Eight Results
42 #21 Oregon (4-4) @ #22 Washington (5-2) 21
31 Kansas (6-1) @ #19 Texas Tech (5-2) 28
27 #6 Maryland (6-1) @ UCLA (5-2) 10
48 #3 USC (7-0) @ #7 Notre Dame (7-1) 17
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