Nebraska football came prepared to play Texas A&M in the second Big 12 Championship game, Tom Osborne said following the Huskers’ 54-15 victory in the San Antonio Alamodome, December 6. 1997.
The score was sufficient evidence, as was the fact Nebraska led 37-3 at halftime. The Huskers flipped the script from the first Big 12 Championship game, in which Texas upset them 37-27.
A&M came to San Antonio ranked 14th, with a 9-2 record. Nebraska was 11-0 and second-ranked.
The Huskers wasted no time in taking control. After forcing a four-and-out, Nebraska drove 55 yards in eight plays, the eighth a 6-yard Scott Frost run. Kris Brown kicked the extra point.
Before the quarter was over, Brown kicked three field goals and the rout was on. The Huskers scored on all seven first-half possessions, with two Ahman Green touchdowns and another Frost touchdown in the second quarter. A&M managed a field goal after Green’s first touchdown, a 25-yard run.
Brown kicked a fourth field goal in the third quarter, and Green and back-up quarterback Frankie London ran for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete Nebraska’s scoring.
A&M ran for a touchdown and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska rolled up 536 yards of offense, including 335 yards rushing. Green led the way with 179 yards and the three touchdowns, on 34 carries. Green rushed for 100 or more yards in every game but the opener against Akron, when he ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Frost carried 15 times for 79 yards and the two touchdowns. He completed 12-of-18 passes for 201 yards, without an interception. “In big games, the games we had to win, he’s played great,” Osborne was quoted in the Lincoln Journal Star. “I don’t know what else the guy’s got to do.”
As noted in last week’s newsletter, Frost was among only 11 major-college quarterbacks to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season. He reached those totals against Colorado.
Green rushed for 104 yards in the first half. By comparison, A&M finished with a net of 13 rushing yards on 23 carries. The net was a result of six Husker sacks for 38 yards in losses. So the Aggies actually “rushed” for 51 yards on 17 carries. Still, not so effective on the ground.
Six Huskers had sacks: Chad Kelsay, Joe Walker, Mike Rucker, Tony Ortiz, Jason Peter and Kyle Vanden Bosch. Mike Brown, the leading tackler with eight, and Ralph Brown intercepted passes.
The Nebraska defense was without a leader for much of the game. Peter, a tackle, left the game with back spasms with 8:53 remaining in the first half and didn’t return.
The victory ensured the Huskers’ invitation to the Orange Bowl, where they would play third-ranked Tennessee. Nebraska’s hope was a victory would result in a national championship. Top-ranked Michigan would play eighth-ranked Washington State in the Rose Bowl.
The Wolverines took the top spot from the Huskers by upsetting second-ranked Penn State the Saturday Nebraska got past Missouri at Columbia in overtime. Nebraska dropped to third, then climbed to second the next week after pounding Iowa State 77-14.
