Nebraska 35
Oklahoma 31

Nov. 25, 1971 • 1:50 p.m. Central
Owen Field •Norman, OK • ABC
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Nebraska7714735
Oklahoma3147731
quotes (1K)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
quotes (1K)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

Embed from Getty Images

quotes (1K)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
quotes (1K)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

Coverage

'Game of the Century'
Kinney
Huskers Edge Sooners in a Thriller for the Ages

It was billed as the “Game of the Decade” and came across as the “Game of the Century.” The Cornhuskers twice came from behind in the second half to pull out a sensational 35-31 victory over Oklahoma and maintain their No. 1 national ranking.

No. 2-ranked Oklahoma, led by a great quarterbacking job from wishbone artist Jack Mildren, gave the Huskers a magnificent battle before becoming Nebraska’s 21st straight victim.

Johnny Rodgers provided the lightning to ignite Nebraska to an early 7-0 lead with a 72-yard punt return, but it was the quarterbacking of Jerry Tagge and the running of Jeff Kinney that sparked the final drive after the Black Shirts — spearheaded by Rich Glover and Outland Trophy winner Larry Jacobson — had blunted but not stopped the wishbone.

With 7:10 left in the game, Oklahoma took the lead, 31-28, and then the Cornhuskers went to work. Helped by a key third-down reception by Rodgers, the Huskers marched 74 yards in 12 plays for the winning TD. In the 98 seconds remaining for the Sooners, the Black Shirts stopped them cold.

FULL RECAP

Rodgers
Omaha World-Herald*
More Neb. sources
Daily Oklahoman
National sources
LJS retrospectives
More retrospectives
50th anniversary
All Huskers
Multimedia
Pregame press
Game & team info
1971 schedule
05/08Reds 64, Whites 21
09/11OregonW 34-7
09/18MinnesotaW 35-7
09/25Texas A&MW 34-7
10/02Utah St.W 42-6
10/09@ MissouriW 36-0
10/16KansasW 55-0
10/23@ Oklahoma St.W 41-13
10/30ColoradoW 31-7
11/06Iowa St.W 37-0
11/13@ Kansas St.W 44-17
11/25@ OklahomaW 35-31
12/04@ HawaiiW 45-3
01/01AlabamaW 38-6
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