If turnovers create drama, then Saturday night's game was a regular soap opera.
But when it came to the beneficiary of that drama, it was a tale of two halves.
One look at the final stat sheet after Nebraska's 39-32 overtime victory showed the Cornhuskers edged Kansas 4-3 in the turnover battle. Neither half was that close.
The first quarter was all Nebraska. KU quarterback Adam Barmann threw interceptions on the Jayhawks' first two offensive series before he completed a pass. Both were picked off by NU senior safety Andrew Shanle, allowing the Huskers to start deep in KU territory.
At the end of the first quarter, NU held a 17-0 lead and was looking for more.
Instead, the Jayhawk offense started showing signs of life, but its progress was hampered by two more turnovers deep in Husker territory. Barmann fumbled and threw an interception on two second-quarter drives where it looked like the Jayhawks were poised for scores.
"Turnovers come in bunches, and we had a bunch of them," NU Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "It was important that we got those turnovers early."
NU got generous in the third quarter. The Huskers opened the second half with fumbles on their first two drives, the first by senior quarterback Zac Taylor on a bad snap and the second by sophomore I-back Cody Glenn as Nebraska was putting a drive together. The fumbles led to 10 Kansas points.
"I really felt that hurt us," NU Coach Bill Callahan said. "(The Jayhawks) were efficient and they executed some turnovers against our backs - some very timely turnovers for that matter - and had the ability to execute and put the ball in the end zone."
Nebraska found a way to cure its fumblitis after that, still holding a 24-19 lead, but couldn't force any more turnovers against Kansas either.
Multiple Husker players said that by that time, the Jayhawks had momentum going their way.
"Coaches always talk about the pendulum, and it swings back and forth, and it definitely kind of swung over to their side for a while," NU senior linebacker Stewart Bradley said. "But I think it shows something about the character of our team to be down and come back and win it in overtime."
Nebraska Offensive Coordinator Jay Norvell said the Husker turnovers were especially big because of how quickly they came during NU's offensive drives, taking away any continuity the offense tried to muster.
Consequently, he added, the Jayhawks were able to start drives with good field position against a Blackshirt defense that admittedly was a little fatigued late in the game.
"We have to know we can't turn it over against a good team and expect to win," Norvell said. "We were fortunate enough to make enough big plays in the passing game to get us over the hump tonight, but it's going to be tough to do that week in and week out."
Nebraska's plus-1 turnover differential put it at plus-5 on the season, still a respectable total through five games.
"We should have had some more," Bradley said of NU forcing four Kansas turnovers. "Unfortunately, the turnover margin wasn't as big as an advantage for us as we thought it was going to be at first in the game."
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