Nebraska 35
Oklahoma 31
Nov. 25, 1971 • 1:50 p.m. Central
Owen Field •
Norman, OK • ABC
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | F | ||
| Nebraska | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 | |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
They can quit playing now, they have played the perfect game.”— Dave Kindred, Louisville Courier Journal
First quarter
NU: Johnny Rodgers 72 punt return (Rich Sanger kick) 11:28
OU: John Carroll 30 field goal 5:53
Second quarter
NU: Jeff Kinney 1 run (Sanger kick) 11:08
OU: Jack Mildren 3 run (Carroll kick) 5:10
OU: Jon Harrison 24 pass from Mildren (Carroll kick) 0:28
Third quarter
NU: Kinney 3 run (Sanger kick) 8:54
NU: Kinney 1 run (Sanger kick) 3:38
OU: Mildren 3 run (Carroll kick) 0:28
Fourth quarter
OU: Harrison 16 pass from Mildren (Carroll kick) 7:10
NU: Kinney 2 run (Sanger kick) 1:38
NU OU
First downs ............... 19 22
By rushing ............... 15 16
By passing ................ 4 6
By penalty ................ 0 0
Rushes-yards .......... 59-297 64-279
Net passing yards ......... 65 188
Comp.-Att.-Int. ...... 6-13-0 6-11-0
Total offense ......... 72-362 75-467
Punts-Avg. ............ 5-36.4 3-35.7
Punt returns ............ 2-80 1-7
Fumbles-lost ............. 1-1 5-3
Penalties-yards .......... 1-5 0-0
RUSHING
NU: Kinney 31-171, Tagge 17-49, Rodgers 4-27, Olds 4-22, Damkroger 3-23, Dixon 1-2.
OU: Mildren 31-130, Pruitt 10-53, Wiley 3-11, Crosswhite 12-59, Welch 8-26.
PASSING
NU: Tagge 6-12-0—65, Rodgers 0-1-0—0.
OU: Mildren 5-10-0—137, Harrison 1-1-0—51.
RECEIVING
NU: Rodgers 5-61, Kinney 1-4.
OU: Harrison 4-115, Chandler 2-73.
PUNT RETURNS
NU: Rodgers 2-80. OU: Wylie 1-7.
KICKOFF RETURNS
NU: Kinney 2-30; Rodgers 1-25; Jamail 1-1.
OU: Wylie 1-16; Pruitt 1-9; Crosswhite 1-7; Dodd 1-2.
TACKLING LEADERS (UT-AT-TT)
NU: Glover 3-19-22, Terrio 4-13-17, Jacobson 2-12-14, Blahak 5-8-13.
OU: Driscoll 5-6-11, Aycock 2-9-11, Selmon 1-9-10, Pope 6-3-9.
Attendance: 63,385
Oh, man, woman and child, I never thought I would live this long to see this kind of a football game.”— Lyell Bremser, KFAB radio
The cerebral types … will keep playing it into the ages and wondering whether it was the greatest collegiate football battle ever. Under the agonizing conditions that existed, it well may have been.”— Dan Jenkins, Sports Illustrated
In what surely must stand as one of the most stirring dramas in the 102 years of college football, Nebraska’s magnificent Cornhuskers asserted their right to the national championship by driving 74 yards in the final minutes to defeat top challenger Oklahoma, 35-31. … The teams were 1-2, the pollsters said, and there was nothing in the conduct of the game or in the final accounting to refute that estimate.”— Wally Provost, Omaha World-Herald
