Published: November 07, 2009 12:16 am         

Stakes different for OU, Huskers

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mention the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry to longtime college football fans, and it conjures memories of November classics from yesteryear.

Those were the days in the 1970s and 1980s when Big Eight championships and, often, national title hopes were on the line. Even as the Big Eight morphed into the Big 12, and the scheduling format allowed the teams to meet only twice every four years, the series still had its moments.

Unfortunately, today’s game offers little for folks who still think of Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne when they hear the words Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Texas seems well on its way to winning the Big 12 South, leaving the 20th-ranked Sooners (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) to jockey for the best possible bowl bid.

Nebraska (5-3, 2-2) is still very much alive in the North despite an offense that has generated just three touchdowns in three games. If the Huskers win their mess of a division, the reward likely would be a date with a Texas team that will be favored by double digits in the conference championship game.

Sooners coach Bob Stoops tried to inject some oomph into the game by showing his players Oklahoma-Nebraska video clips from back in the day.

“There’s a lot of amazing tradition and history,” Stoops said. “I always wonder if our freshmen, sophomores and guys who haven’t been around very long have a true understanding of the tradition and history and pride of that program. I’ve always felt that playing them is tough.”

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said his players understand the history.

“But we’re worrying about 2009 right now,” he said.

The Sooners have won four straight against Nebraska, including last year’s 62-28 victory in Norman. For the Sooners, it was the first of five straight games they scored in the 60s before they lost to Florida in the national championship game. For the Huskers, it was their last loss before they started a six-game win streak that carried into this season.

Neither program has recaptured its momentum.

Sam Bradford, the Sooners’ 2008 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, injured his right shoulder in the opener against BYU and was knocked out for the season against Texas in mid-October. The Sooners had already lost All-America tight end Jermaine Gresham to a knee injury.

Landry Jones has been a capable replacement for Bradford, throwing 17 touchdown passes against six interceptions.

“It’s exciting to see what he has been able to do,” Stoops said. “In five starts, he has been the player of the week twice in the Big 12 Conference, so he’s doing an excellent job.”

The Sooners’ defense ranks 11th or higher in three of four major statistical categories. Still, losses to BYU, Miami and Texas have taken the air out of a season that started with the Sooners ranked No. 3.

Stoops said his players have kept a good attitude.

“They are pushing to get better,” he said. “We’ve made some improvement. There is still a lot more to go though. We’re not at all where we can be.”

Nebraska also expected to have achieved more by this point in Pelini’s second season.

The Huskers were in position to beat Virginia Tech on the road but ended up losing by a point after giving up an 81-yard play on the Hokies’ winning drive. They rose to No. 15 in the AP poll after rallying in the fourth quarter to beat Missouri last month, but embarrassing home losses to Texas Tech and Iowa State have left them out of the rankings and behind upstart Kansas State in the North.

“Hopefully we’ll move forward and it will allow us to get into the Big 12 championship and get into a good bowl game,” Nebraska nose tackle Ndamukong Suh said.

For that to happen, the Huskers better find some offense. Fresh-man quarterback Cody Green is in line to make his second start after taking over for Zac Lee, who struggled against Texas Tech and was victimized by a school record-tying eight turnovers, three of them his own, against Iowa State.

“We haven’t put it all together,” Pelini said. “We have been mixing and matching a decent amount trying to find the right combinations where we’re limited. We just have to execute more consistently. That will be even more magnified against a group like this.”