Nebraska football scored 50 points against Texas Tech in the second game of the season at Memorial Stadium in mid-September 1993. In other words, the Huskers coasted, right?
Well, not exactly. With 8:37 remaining in the third quarter, the Red Raiders took a 21-20 lead on a 51-yard Tom Hall touchdown pass, his third of the game.
Texas Tech’s lead held until 4 minutes remained in the quarter, when Byron Bennett kicked a 29-yard field goal, his third of the game. The others were from 41 and 45 yards, both in the first half.
With 3:09 remaining in the third quarter, linebacker Darren Williams recovered a Hall fumble, forced by outside linebacker Trev Alberts, at the Texas Tech 23-yard line, and five plays later, Tommie Frazier passed to tight end Gerald Armstrong 5 yards for a touchdown — 1:20 remained in the quarter.
The Red Raiders fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Huskers’ Jamel Williams recovered it at the Texas Tech 5-yard line. Fullback Cory Schlesinger gained 3 yards and I-back Damon Benning scored from 2 yards out, his second touchdown of the game. Texas Tech blocked Bennett’s extra-point kick — 44 seconds remained.
Nebraska added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Final score, 50-27.
If not for the recovery of the fumbled kickoff, the Huskers would have been “in the soup for the rest of the day,” Coach Tom Osborne said. “I think it would have gone down to the last series, the last set of downs. We kind of got it broken open there.”
Nebraska wasn’t exactly the same team that overwhelmed North Texas 76-14 the week before. Starting I-back Calvin Jones was out with a knee injury, suffered in the opener, and though he started, quarterback Tommie Frazier wasn’t 100%, dealing with an ankle injury suffered on the first play of the North Texas game. As a result, Frazier’s snaps were limited in practice during the week.
“I can’t remember a week where we were as disjointed in terms of getting ready at quarterback,” Osborne said. If Frazier hadn’t been able to go, Brook Berringer would have started.
Berringer, who had an elbow issue, saw limited action in the first quarter, and Tony Veland came on for a series in the second quarter, a preplanned switch. But Veland suffered a season-ending ruptured kneecap tendon on his third play, and Frazier returned sooner than planned.
The situation at quarterback was “fairly desperate,” said Osborne.
But Frazier limped through, completing 12-of-28 passes for 206 yards and the Armstrong touchdown and scoring another. He finished with an untypical 16 yards on 11 carries. Benning carried 19 times for 127 yards and the two touchdowns. Lawrence Phillips, who was suspended for the first game, carried 14 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. Jeff Makovicka also ran for a touchdown.
On the defensive side “we had some good series, and then we had some very average series,” Osborne said. “We gave up too many big plays defensively, but of course, they had a fine receiver, a great quarterback and a good running back.”
Bam Morris ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Hall completed 10-of-21 passes for 169 yards and the three touchdowns, but Nebraska sacked him nine times for 55 yards in losses. Alberts led with four sacks and 11 tackles. Nose tackle Terry Connealy had two sacks.
The loss was the first of five in a row for the Red Raiders, who then won five in a row before losing to Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl. Nebraska moved up one place, to eighth, in the rankings.
Next up for the Huskers, UCLA. “They have a good football team,” Osborne said of the Bruins. “They recruit well every year, and they have two weeks to prepare for us.”
UCLA, which lost its opener to California 27-25, had an off-week to get ready.
