All the numbers pointed to a Texas victory.
The Longhorns had one turnover to Nebraska's three. UT also held the ball for nearly nine more minutes and ran 74 offensive plays to the Cornhuskers' 53.
But Saturday, the statistics nearly lied.
Despite the untimely turnovers and penalties, No. 17 Nebraska came within two points of an improbable upset against No. 5 Texas before falling 22-20 in the final seconds.
"We made a lot of errors, but, nonetheless, we were in it with the way we came back in the second half," NU Coach Bill Callahan said of his team's play. "They competed hard, and as a staff, we're awful proud of those guys."
The most painful miscue for the Huskers came on a third-and-eight play late in the fourth quarter.
After forcing Texas to burn its final two timeouts on consecutive running plays and leading 20-19, Nebraska was looking for a first down to seal the game. NU senior quarterback Zac Taylor completed a pass to junior wide receiver Terrence Nunn, who gained nine yards before Texas' Aaron Ross jarred the ball loose with 2:17 left.
The Longhorns recovered and drove down the field for the game-winning field goal less than two minutes later.
"There's not really much to say," Callahan said. "We had an opportunity to close the game and misfortune occurred, and victory was more or less swept away on that third down play."
Nunn, who finished with a team-high five catches and 84 yards, declined interview requests after the game.
Taylor said Nunn would bounce back. NU junior running back Brandon Jackson said he told Nunn after the game to keep his head up.
"We're a team," Jackson said. "He fumbles; we fumble. You've got to pick your teammate up."
But Nunn's turnover was only the final slip in what amounted to too many opportunities for the Longhorns.
With less than five minutes left in the first half, Taylor threw a pass under pressure that was intercepted by Texas safety Michael Griffin. On the next play, UT quarterback Colt McCoy found wide receiver Limas Sweed streaking down the right sideline for a 55-yard touchdown and a 16-7 lead.
Later in the half, NU senior safety Andrew Shanle recovered a McCoy fumble, only to have Taylor fumble the ball back to the Longhorns with 29 seconds left. Texas missed the 39-yard field goal try but still led 16-7 at the break.
"Some days that's how you feel - the football gods aren't with you," NU senior defensive end Adam Carriker said. "But you've got to overcome the football gods."
Carriker said the Texas offensive line congratulated him on a good performance after the game and told him they looked forward to seeing him again in Kansas City, Mo., where the Big 12 Championship will be held in December.
"We've got to win the North, and we still got games to play," Carriker said. "But that's been our goal all season long, and that's where we want to be."
Besides the turnovers, the Huskers committed seven penalties for 67 yards compared to Texas's five for 42.
With the Longhorns leading 16-14 in the fourth quarter, McCoy threw incomplete to wide receiver Billy Pittman in the end zone on third-and-9, but NU junior safety Tierre Green was called for pass interference, eventually leading to another field goal for Texas.
Another telling statistic is the fact that in the chilly weather conditions, Texas fumbled the ball five times and lost it once while both of NU's fumbles resulted in turnovers.
"They're the best team in our conference, and we could have beaten them," Taylor said. "We're going to be a lot more confident after this game."
Texas and Nebraska players alike expressed a desire for a rematch after the game, adding they thought their teams made too many mistakes.
"It's tough to beat a team twice," NU sophomore wide receiver Nate Swift said. "We're going to go into that (Big 12 Championship) game knowing we can play with these guys."
