Nebraska football, 5-0 and second in the AP poll and now the Coaches poll, led Oklahoma State 9-3 at halftime of the Big Eight opener at Memorial Stadium, Oct. 8, 1994.
I-back Lawrence Phillips scored the touchdown on a 2-yard run (Tom Sieler missed the extra point wide left) early in the second quarter, and Darin Erstad kicked his first field goal as a Husker, from 48 yards, with 4 seconds remaining in the half.
But that’s not exactly the lead story.
Junior Tommie Frazier, the third-year starter at quarterback, was in the hospital, intensive care, being treated for blood-clot issues. And junior Brook Berringer, Frazier’s replacement, was taken by police car to the Student Health Center to have a lung X-ray after playing the first half.
The X-ray revealed a partially collapsed lung, less collapsed than when he unknowingly played the second half the previous week against Wyoming, but partially collapsed, nonetheless. So he watched the second half against Oklahoma State from the sideline and went to the hospital afterward.
That meant third-string quarterback Matt Turman, a sophomore walk-on, would play the second half, and starting free safety Tony Veland would play only briefly before being pulled, in case something were to happen to Turman. Veland, a junior, had begun his Husker career as a quarterback.
Veland finished spring practice in 1992 atop the depth chart but suffered a broken collarbone in late August, missing the first five games while recovering, then returning as a back-up to Frazier. Veland shared second-team at quarterback with Berringer in 1993 before a ruptured patellar tendon in the second game sidelined him for the season. Then he moved to the secondary.
In that context, Phillips and the defense stepped up. Phillips rushed for 221 yards and two more touchdowns, on 33 carries, and the Blackshirts limited Oklahoma State to 136 yards, including 40 yards on 31 carries. Take away three sacks and the Cowboys managed 63 yards on 28 carries.
The Huskers also recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.
Back-up I-back Clinton Childs scored the other touchdown, on a 7-yard run, after which wingback Jon Vedral took a bad snap and passed to Erstad for a 2-point conversion. On the previous touchdown, Turman passed to tight end Eric Alford for 2 points. Erstad kicked the final extra point.
Oh yes, and obviously Oklahoma State didn’t score after the first-quarter field goal.
Linebacker Ed Stewart led the Blackshirts with 10 tackles. Defensive tackle Christian Peter had nine.
“I give Nebraska credit for just lining up and whipping us, particularly in the third quarter,” Oklahoma State Coach Pat Jones said. “At halftime, we felt like we had a legitimate chance at them.”
Nebraska rushed for 112 yards on 21 carries and Turman was 1-of-2 passing for 23 yards in the third quarter. Phillips carried 14 times for 81 yards and his second and third touchdowns.
“I think they’ve got some struggles at quarterback, but they’ve still got an awful good supporting cast,” said Jones. “Their defense will have to turn it up. They can win ballgames with the defense and the kicking game, if they have to. Anytime you get down to your third-team quarterback, there are going to be problems. But they can still win ballgames.”
Third-team quarterback?
“I’ll be ready next week,” Berringer said.
And so he would be.
