According to “Endymion,” the John Keats poem: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Tom Osborne’s 200th career victory with Nebraska football would be a joy forever, you could say.
But it “wasn’t a thing of beauty,” Osborne said, following 7th-ranked Nebraska’s 27-13 victory over Oklahoma State at Lewis Field in Stillwater on Oct. 7, 1993.
Well, you could say the Huskers’ play in the second half was a thing of beauty compared to their play in the first. The Huskers managed only 47 yards rushing, on 17 carries, in the first 30 minutes, not a surprise when considering Oklahoma State ranked first in the Big Eight and 12th nationally against the run. But running the ball was the foundation of Nebraska’s offense.
Also, the Huskers managed only two Byron Bennett field goals in the second quarter and trailed Oklahoma State 13-6 going to the locker room. Bennett’s second field goal, from 28 yards, came as time elapsed in the half. The Cowboys had 161 yards of offense to Nebraska’s 118.
Nebraska was healthier than it had been, Osborne said, with I-back Calvin Jones back after missing two games and on the field for one play to start the third, and quarterback Tommie Frazier at full health after playing through ankle issues. “But we weren’t better,” said Osborne.
Again, at least during the first half.
The Blackshirts stepped up, limiting Oklahoma State to a net of 59 yards of offense in the second half, while Jones and Frazier led the offense. Jones finished the game with 136 yards and a touchdown, on 21 carries, and Frazier rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown, on 15 carries.
Frazier also completed 8-of-19 passes for 109 yards, without an interception. Half of those completions, on seven attempts, came in the final 1:09 of the first half.
The key play of the game, however, according to Osborne, was a blocked punt returned 2 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Barron Miles 51 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Nebraska a 20-13 lead. Jones capped the victory with a 44-yard touchdown run with 3:38 remaining. That run came after the Cowboys gained only 3 yards on a fake punt, fourth-and-8 from the Husker 45-yard line.
Linebacker Ed Stewart led the defense with 12 tackles. Outside linebacker Trev Alberts had 11 tackles, free safety John Reece 10. Alberts and outside linebacker Dwayne Harris each had a sack, bringing Nebraska’s season total to 28, Alberts leading with nine.
Alberts also had 46 tackles for the season.
Oklahoma State went into the game with a 3-1 record. But the Cowboys wouldn’t win again. Nebraska, which had dropped a spot in the Associated Press rankings, moved back to sixth.
Osborne had predicted the game wouldn’t be for the “faint-hearted.” And it wasn’t. “I take it with some mixed emotion,” he said of his 200th victory in his 21st season. “You want to see players play up to potential, and in the second half we did. In the first half we didn’t.”
In the context of the season, it might not have been a thing of beauty. But it would be a joy forever, his 200th career victory, among 255, with just 49 losses and three ties.
*Footnote: Televised games were limited in 1993. This one, played on a Thursday night, was televised nationally by ESPN.
