Oklahoma 31
Nebraska 24

Jan. 1, 1979 • 7 p.m. Central
Orange Bowl • Miami, FL • NBC
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Nebraska7031424
Oklahoma7717031
First Quarter
NU: T. Smith 21 pass from Sorley (Todd kick) 8:29
OU: Sims 3 run (von Schamann kick) 0:07
Second Quarter
OU: Lott 3 run (von Schamann kick) 6:22
Third Quarter
OU: Sims 11 run (von Schamann kick) 13:30
OU: von Schamann 16 field goal 9:18
NU: Todd 31 field goal 4:24
OU: Lott 2 run (von Schamann kick) 0:15
Fourth Quarter
NU: Berns 1 run (Todd kick) 9:12
NU: Miller 2 pass from Sorley (Todd kick) 0:00

Attendance: 66,365
                          NU       OU
First Downs ............. 27       17
  Rushing ............... 16       14
  Passing ................ 9        1
  Penalty ................ 2        2
Rushes-Net Yards .... 54-217   53-292
  Yards Gained ......... 223      297
  Yards Lost ............. 6        5
  Long Play ............. 18       38
Net Yards Passing ...... 220       47
  Comp-Att-Int ..... 18-31-2    2-3-0
  Long Play ............. 28       38
Total Offense ....... 85-437   56-339
Int. Returns-Yds ....... 0-0     2-66
Punts-Average ....... 2-37.5   3-39.3
Punt Return Yds .......... 2        0
Kickoff Return Yds ...... 45       53
Fumbles-Lost ........... 0-0      1-1
Penalized-Yds ......... 8-96     6-50
Third-Down Conv. ...... 8/18     7/12

RUSHING     Att.  Net   Avg.  TD
Berns ...... 19    99   5.2    1
Hipp ....... 18    66   3.7    0
Sorley ...... 7    24   3.4    0
Wurth ....... 2    10   5.0    0
Franklin .... 3     9   3.0    0
Brown ....... 1     7   7.0    0
Johnson ..... 3     6   2.0    0

PASSING       Att. Com. Int.  Yds   TD
Sorley ....... 31   18    2   220    2

RECEIVING       No.    Yds.    TD
Miller .......... 3     49      1
T. Smith ........ 3     62      1
Franklin ........ 2     10      0
Wurth ........... 1      5      0
Brown ........... 5     43      0
Lockett ......... 1     22      0
Johnson ......... 1      3      0
Kotera .......... 1     12      0
Hipp ............ 1     14      0

PUNTING          No.    Yds.   Avg.
Smith ..........   2      75   37.5

RETURNS        Punts   Kickoffs    Int.
Johnson ........ 0-0      2-22      0-0
Brown  ......... 0-0      1-12      0-0
Miller ......... 0-0      1-11      0-0
Liegl .......... 1-2      0-0       0-0

                            Sacks-  Fum
DEFENSE      UT   AT   Int   Yds    Rec
Andrews ..... 9    2    0     0      0
Dunning ..... 7    3    0     0      0
Cole ........ 6    3    0     0      0
Kunz ........ 5    5    0     0      0
Pillen ...... 5    2    0     0      0
Horn ........ 5    1    0     0      0
Fischer ..... 4    2    0     0      0
Hansen ...... 3    1    0     0      0
Means ....... 3    0    0     0      0
Nelson ...... 1    1    0    1-1     0
Pensick ..... 1    0    0     0      0
Weinmaster .. 1    0    0     0      0
Saalfeld .... 1    0    0     0      0
Cotton ...... 1    0    0     0      0
Leroy ....... 1    0    0     0      0
Clark ....... 1    0    0     0      1
Gary ........ 0    1    0     0      0
RUSHING     Att.  Net   Avg.  TD
Simms .......25   134   5.3    2
Lott ........14    74   5.3    1
King ........11    65   5.9    0
Overstreet .. 3    19   6.3    0

PASSING       Att. Com. Int.  Yds   TD
Lott  ......... 3    2    0    47    0

RECEIVING       No.    Yds.    TD
Rhodes .......... 1     38      0
Kimball ......... 1      9      0

PUNTING          No.    Yds.   Avg.
Ray .............. 3     118   39.3

RETURNS        Punts   Kickoffs    Int.
Rogers  ........ 0-0      2-47      0-0
Anderson ....... 0-0      1-6       0-0
Ray ............ 0-0      1-0      1-37
Babb ........... 0-0      0-0      1-29

                            Sacks-  Fum
DEFENSE      UT   AT   Int   Yds    Rec
Kinlaw ..... 11    0    0     0      0
Hunt ....... 10    2    0     0      0
Goodman ..... 6    2    0     0      0
Cumby ....... 5    4    0     0      0
Banks ....... 6    0    0     0      0
Dittman ..... 5    0    0     0      0
Tabor ....... 4    3    0    1-5     0
Lewis ....... 4    1    0     0      0
Taylor ...... 4    1    0     0      0
Jimerson .... 3    1    0     0      0
Ray ......... 3    0    1     0      0
Babb ........ 2    0    1     0      0
Burget ...... 2    0    0     0      0
Taton ....... 1    2    0     0      0
Mathis ...... 1    1    0     0      0
Sanders ..... 1    0    0     0      0
Lovelady .... 1    0    0     0      0
Paul ........ 1    0    0     0      0
Claphan ..... 1    0    0     0      0

Coverage

Recap
Rick Berns

Rick Berns rushed for 99 yards on 19 carries before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. | Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

Sooners
fend off
rally, win
rematch

Sooners fend off rally, win rematch

In a game between the 1978 Big 8 champions — Nebraska had defeated Oklahoma 17-14 a month earlier — Oklahoma this time came out on top and withstood a furious Nebraska fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Huskers, 31-24, in the Orange Bowl.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Sooners were comfortably ahead 31-10, when the Huskers’ charge began. Nebraska drove 78 yards in 15 plays, when senior I-back Rick Berns scored from the one yard line, with 9:12 left. Billy Todd’s extra point was good, and Nebraska trailed 31-17.

On Oklahoma’s next possession, Sooner senior quarterback Thomas Lott fumbled on the Oklahoma 42-yard line and the ball was recovered by Nebraska sophomore tackle David Clark, with 8:07 left.

The Huskers then drove 35 yards in eight plays — aided by an opening 15-yard gallop by junior I-back I.M. Hipp. Seven yards from the Sooner goal, Nebraska was faced with a fourth and one. Sophomore I-back Craig Johnson tried the middle but was stopped by OU linebacker George Cumby for no gain with 4:24 left. Time was beginning to run out.

The Cornhuskers had one more opportunity to score and put it to good use. Starting at the Nebraska 42 yard line with 2:21 remaining following a Sooner punt, the Cornhuskers drove 58 yards in 10 plays and scored on a one-yard toss from Sorley to Miller with :03 left.

Full recap here.

Tim Smith

Tim Smith’s touchdown reception gave Nebraska an early lead. | Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics
Neb. sources
More Sources
Pregame & team info
1978 schedule
04/29White 14, Red 13
09/02@ AlabamaL 3-20
09/09CalW 36-26
09/16HawaiiW 56-10
09/30@ IndianaW 69-17
10/07@ Iowa St.W 23-0
10/14Kansas St.W 48-14
10/21@ ColoradoW 52-14
10/28Oklahoma St.W 22-14
11/04@ KansasW 63-21
11/11OklahomaW 17-14
11/18MissouriL 31-35
01/01OklahomaL 24-31
* Article may require subscription