Nebraska 17
Oklahoma St. 3

Oct. 6, 1984 - 2:50 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, NE
1st 2nd 3rd 4th  T 
Oklahoma St. 3 0 0 0 3
Nebraska 0 0 0 17 17 
First Quarter
OSU: Larry Roach 40 field goal, 11:45
Fourth Quarter
NEB: Dale Klein 36 field goal, 13:05
NEB: Shane Swanson 49 punt return (Klein kick) 8:51  
NEB: Jason Gamble 64 pass from Travis Turner (Klein kick) 1:49

                        OSU       NEB 
First downs ............ 13        14
  Rushing ............... 4         9
  Passing ............... 9         5
  Penalty ............... 0         0
Rushes-yards ........ 42-82    56-205 
Passing yards ......... 242       147 
  Comp-Att-Int .... 14-28-1    9-17-3
Total offense ...... 70-324    73-352
Return yards ........... 49        47
Sacks by ............. 3-21      2-19
Punts ............. 10-39.0    8-43.5
Fumbles-lost .......... 2-2       0-0
Penalties-yards ...... 5-45      4-20
Possession time ..... 27:13     32:47
Third-down conv. ..... 5/17      6/18

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing
OSU: Charles Crawford 20-61, Shawn Jones 7-18, Thurman Thomas 6-12.

NEB: Doug DuBose 30-157, Jeff Smith 6-19, Tom Rathman 6-17, Swanson 1-13.

Passing
OSU: Rusty Hilger 14-28-1-242.
NEB: Turner 5-10-0-100, Craig Sundberg 4-7-3-47.

Receiving
OSU: Malcolm Lewis 6-96, Thomas 2-34, Terry Werner 2-32.

NEB: DuBose 3-30, Swanson 2-17, Gamble 1-64.

Missed field goals: OSU, Roach 42.

SCORING SUMMARY & MORE STATS

Attendance: 76,368

Coverage

Recap
Danny Noonan and Rusty Hilger

Danny Noonan makes life difficult for OSU quarterback Rusty Hilger. | Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

Swanson’s punt return breaks deadlock

For the first time ever, Oklahoma State (4-0) came into the Nebraska game with a better record than the Huskers (3-1). And for three quarters it looked like OSU might win for the first time in 23 years.

The ninth-ranked Cowboys carried a 3-0 lead into the final period before No. 8 Nebraska finally tied the game with a Dale Klein field goal with 13:05 left. A few minutes later, the Huskers downed a Scott Livingston punt at the OSU 5 and forced the Cowboys to punt on fourth-and-inches. Senior wingback Shane Swanson fielded the ball at the OSU 49 took it back for an electrifying touchdown to get the Huskers over the hump and on their way to a hard-fought 17-3 win.

The Huskers sealed the victory in the final two minutes when quarterback Travis Turner connected with Jason Gamble on third-and-10 from the Nebraska 36. The freshman split end caught the ball at the NU 47, shook off a defensive back’s hit and took it all the way to the end zone.

NOTES: Coming into the game, Nebraska ranked first nationally and OSU fifth in total defense. … The teams punted a combined 18 times and committed three turnovers apiece. … The Huskers were shut out in the first half of a game for the first time in three years.

Game on YouTube
Lincoln Journal Star
More sources
Omaha World-Herald
Daily Nebraskan
The Oklahoman
Associated Press
Pregame & team info
1984 schedule
04/28 Red 35, White 13
09/08 Wyoming W 42-7
09/15 Minnesota W 38-7
09/22 @ UCLA W 42-3
09/29 @ Syracuse L 9-17
10/06 Oklahoma St. W 17-3
10/13 Missouri W 33-23
10/20 @ Colorado W 24-7
10/27 Kansas St. W 62-14
11/03 @ Iowa St. W 44-0
11/10 @ Kansas W 41-7
11/17 Oklahoma L 7-17
01/01 LSU W 28-10
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