Nebraska 25
Oklahoma 21

Oct. 31, 1959 • 2 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Oklahoma770721
Nebraska01231025
First Quarter
OU: Prentice Gautt 3 run (Jim Davis kick) 11:10
Second Quarter
NU: Dick McDaniel 3 pass from Harry Tolly (pass failed) 13:38
NU: Lee Zentic 36 return of blocked punt (kick failed) 7:56
OU: Bob Cornell 6 run (Davis kick) 4:36
Third Quarter
NU: Ron Meade 22 field goal, 4:54
Fourth Quarter
NU: Harry Tolly 1 run (Meade kick) 11:57
NU: Ron Meade 33 field goal, 7:12
OU: Prentice Gautt 3 run (Davis kick) 4:07

                        OU       NU
First downs ........... 19        8
  Rushing ............. 12        6
  Passing .............. 5        1
  Penalty .............. 2        1
Rushes-net yards .. 51-240   47-127
  Yards gained ....... 248      148
  Yards lost ........... 8       21
Passing yards ........ 100       34
  Comp-Att-Int .... 7-16-1    2-8-2
Total offense ..... 67-340   55-161
Punts ............. 9-30.8   7-41.0
Fumbles-lost ......... 5-3      1-1
Penalized-yards ..... 6-61      2-9
Field goals .......... 0-0      2-2

Attendance: 32,765



RUSHING
NU: Tolly 8-37; Fischer 10-32; Fricke 9-12; Zaruba 9-30; Dyer 5-11; White 3-4; Meade 3-1

OU: Boyd 8-36; McClellan 3-33; Hobby 11-60; Gautt 13-53; Cornell 5-20; Holt 3-2; Hartline 8-36

PASSING
NU: Fischer 1/2  30 yds, 0 INT
    Tolly   1/4   4 yds, 1 INT 
    Meade   0/2   0 yds, 1 INT
OU: Boyd    5/14 76 yds, 1 INT 
    Cornell 2/2  24 yds, 0 INT

RECEIVING
NU: Fricke 1-30; McDaniel 1-4
OU: McClellan 1-17; Hobby 4-50; McDaniel 1-18; Holt 1-15

PUNTING
NU: Tolly 5-43.0; Bond 2-36.0
OU: McDaniel 7-34.4; Cornell 2-18.0
LJS sports front
The Sunday Journal & Star sports front, Nov. 1, 1959. The photo shows Jim Moore’s punt block, which gave Nebraska a second-quarter lead.

Coverage

Recap

Jennings victory ride
Coach Bill Jennings gets a victory ride from Jim Moore (54) and Mick Tingelhoff (51).

Huskers snap Sooners’ streak

It was an upset for the ages as NU broke Oklahoma’s 74-game conference unbeaten streak with a 25-21 Homecoming victory in Lincoln.

Oklahoma, favored by 14 to 17 points, fell to the Huskers for the first time since 1942. It was the first conference defeat in the 13-year career of Sooner coach Bud Wilkinson.

The Sunday Journal & Star reported: “It was the Tolly-Meade-Fischer combo that really stole the show this happy afternoon, Harry with his field generalship and punting, Ron with his game-winning field goals and game-saving pass interception, and Pat with his spectacular punt return which set up NU’s third TD.”

In the first half, Nebraska matched OU’s two TDs but missed both conversion tries and trailed 14-12 at intermission. The first Husker touch­down came on a 3-yard Harry Tolly pass to Dick McDaniel, capping a 47-yard drive, and the second came on a punt block by Jim Moore that was picked up by Lee Zentic and returned 36 yards to paydirt. OU’s first-half scores came on marches of 72 and 56 yards.

Nebraska took the lead for good on Ron Meade’s 22-yard field goal in the third quarter and added a TD and another Meade field goal in the fourth period for a 25-14 lead. The touchdown was set up by Fischer’s 61-yard punt return, and two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Don Olson recovered an Oklahoma fumble at the Sooners’ 43 yard line to set up the field goal.

Victory seemed in peril when Oklahoma proceeded to march 67 yards in nine plays for a touchdown and then forced a Nebraska punt. But Meade sealed the win in the final minute when he picked off an Oklahoma pass in the end zone on a third-and-10 play from the Nebraska 27.

H’Max notes
  • Restrictive substitution rules made for some difficult decisions in the fourth quarter. For example, sending in Ron Meade for a field goal left the Huskers without a top defender, Harry Tolly, for the final seven minutes.
  • The goalposts came down, and one section ended up in the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion. Chancellor Clifford Hardin canceled Monday classes.
  • Though unbeaten in 74 consecutive conference games, 19th-ranked Oklahoma entered the Halloween contest with a 3-2 record, having lost to Northwestern and Texas.
  • The 1959 Huskers went 4-6 but featured three members who would become the longest-tenured pro players to come out of Nebraska: Ron McDole (18 seasons in the AFL & NFL), Mick Tingelhoff (17 NFL seasons) and Pat Fischer (17 NFL seasons).
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