 "Photo: Andrew Lamberson")
Daily Nebraskan
If Memorial Stadium’s chain link fence couldn’t hold back Roy Helu Jr., the Oklahoma Sooner defense didn’t stand a chance.
Helu climbed the fencing into the North Stadium stands after Nebraska’s enthralling 10-3 win. The combination of an emotional game and a roaring fan base propelled him and several teammates to try to join the crowd.
Though it had many of the same traits, Helu wasn’t about to compare the climb to the similar tradition in Green Bay.
“It wasn’t as nice of a jump as a Lambeau Leap. I had to jump on the pipe and then jump in the crowd,” Helu said. “It was fun to do that, really cool. I was just maybe overexcited.”
No one could blame him. Nebraska’s win avenged the Huskers’ worst defeat last year, a 62-28 loss in Norman, Okla., and it was also NU’s first win over Oklahoma since 2001.
The Huskers overcame their long-time rival with stellar play from Helu and a ground game that helped control field position and force Oklahoma to try to drive the field against the Huskers’ stout defense. The junior I-back ran for 138 yards on a Sooner defense that only gave up 180 yards total to the Huskers. He accounted for 85 percent of Nebraska’s offense.
Helu didn’t get much help from the rest of NU’s offense, specifically at the quarterback position that saw another mid-game switch – this time stopping on Zac Lee. He finished the night with ugly numbers, only throwing for 35 yards.
Lee stepped in for Cody Green during the second quarter. Green completed only two passes on the night, with his last attempt thrown 20 yards away from the closest receiver.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said the switch wasn’t planned but was necessary.
“The lights were pretty bright out there,” Watson said, “Zac came in and managed the game, which is what we needed to do. We needed to settle down and settle Green down.”
Following the game, Green said he may have been emotional, but he still felt like he was in control and was surprised to find out that he was being replaced.
“I guess the coaches needed another tempo with Zac,” Green said.
NU coach Bo Pelini didn’t say anything about the game’s pacing, but did say it was a gut decision he made with Watson.
“It just felt right,” Pelini said. “Cody is a freshman, it’s a good defense, there were a lot of things going on. It just felt like the right thing.”
Pelini said he still has confidence in Green, but he also felt Lee could get the job done. His faith in Lee was rewarded, as the junior provided the game’s only touchdown when he connected with Ryan Hill in the corner of the end zone on his first pass attempt of the game.
The touchdown was set up by Prince Amukamara’s interception and return, which set the Nebraska offense up at OU’s 1-yard line.
“It was a pretty good situation to be in, being in first-and-goal,” Lee said.
Watson said Lee stayed composed on the sidelines after the touchdown.
“He was really calm,” Watson said. “He understood what we told him. We said it was going to be a heavyweight fight.”
Lee said his demeanor didn’t change whether he was playing or not.
“They always say to be ready just in case,” Lee said. “They called my number and I was ready.”
After the game, Watson wasn’t going to make any declarations about who will start against Kansas.
“I don’t know that,” Watson said. “It’s too early to go there tonight, brotha.”
It may not even matter, as the switch at quarterback during Saturday’s game didn’t phase wide receiver Niles Paul – he wasn’t even aware it had happened.
“I didn’t really understand when they did that, and I didn’t know Zac was in the game until the second half,” Paul said. “I was focusing on doing my assignment and my play. We ran the ball a lot, so it really didn’t matter.”
To be fair to Paul, neither quarterback looked his way. Nebraska’s leading receiver was targeted a few times but finished with zero catches in a game for the first time this season.
Watson said the idea was to keep OU’s offense off the field by running the ball often, even when most situations would have called for a pass play.
“We played it close to the vest, but that’s what we felt like we had to do to win the game,” Watson said.
Nebraska attempted only 14 passes compared with 43 rushing attempts.
“We just kept pounding the ball,” Lee said. “We didn’t get as many big breaks as we wanted.”
But Helu was able to take advantage of the breaks when they came. He followed fullback Tyler Legate around the left side of the line to find a huge opening, breaking loose for a 63-yard scamper before being tackled at the 10-yard line.
“Tyler Legate – I need to give that guy a shout-out,” Helu said. “He did awesome today. There were two linebackers in the hole. He happened to choose the right guy for me to take a long one.”
Watson noted that Helu ran hard all night long even if the lanes weren’t open, a testament to toughness that NU fans hadn’t seen in several weeks.
“Roy has been a warrior,” Watson said. “He really played his heart out tonight and made some exceptional runs that really broke things open for us.”
michaelschaefer@dailynebraskan.com
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