|
|
|
|
Monday, November 26, 2001
O.K. Correll
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
SAN ANTONIO -- Curse? What curse? Leave such illogical suppositions to Red Sox fans, Nebraska.
Cornhusker faithful were convinced that their three-game losing streak to Texas had something to do with a mythological force. Some even half-kidded with ABC's Brent Musburger's that his presence in the booth at each loss was one of the bad luck sources. So, with Musburger in the booth, the Big Red crazies surely must have felt a sense of bad karma once emerging I-back Dan Alexander left the game with a cut hand in the first quarter.
|  | | Correll Buckhalter's running opened up the lanes for Eric Crouch to score two touchdowns. |
Enter backup Correll Buckhalter. If there was any sort of curse at play, Buckhalter was the dose of magic potion the Huskers needed.
The junior from Collins, Miss., carried the ball 20 times in Alexander's absence for 136 yards to power the Cornhuskers to a convincing 22-6 victory over Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. His big-play running is one of the reasons the 11-1 Huskers are heading to Tempe, Ariz., to play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
"Correll played great today coming in for Dan," said quarterback Eric Crouch, who ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. "Any time you have a talent like him ready to come in with amazing speed, power and the talent to make big plays, it's a major plus for a team. His running opened up holes for me today."
Texas showed its respect for Nebraska's running backs from the start. In fact, Crouch opened an Alamo-sized hole by faking an inside handoff to Buckhalter in the first quarter. Once through the line, the sophomore speedster bounced outside and ignited his burners for the last 20 yards of a 31-yard touchdown run to give the Big Red a 10-0 lead. The jaunt made Crouch the nation's leading rusher among signal-callers in '99.
"That play was designed for me to go up the middle and I got such a huge hole by the linemen and because of the fake," said Crouch, while dabbing at several cuts on his face courtesy of the Longhorn's D-line.
Though the domineering Huskers were never challenged throughout the first half, their halftime lead was only 15-0. With the Longhorns getting the ball to start the second half and with Alexander out for the game, Nebraska had reason to feel insecure about a mere two-touchdown lead. That's what made the Huskers' first possession ultra-important, and, ultimately, the biggest of the game.
With 12:41 to go in the third quarter and his left big toe heavily taped, the coaching staff tested Buckhalter by calling his number on the team's first play from scrimmage. When he hammered his way to the Nebraska 41, any doubts they had in the locker room over his availability vanished. Two plays later, Crouch stuffed the pigskin into the abdomen of the 6-foot, 225-pounder once again on an inside handoff.
"As I hit the line, I got caught up on one of my lineman's cleats," said Buckhalter.
His stagger up the middle was quickly righted.
"Once I gained my balance and saw a lot of green in front of me, I accelerated as fast as I could to the end zone," said Buckhalter, after going over the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season and the seventh time in his career.
For a man of his size, his sudden explosion down the right side of the field resembled that of a scalded dog. Cornerback Ahmad Brooks finally caught him at the Longhorn three, but the damage was done and it was only a matter of time before Nebraska's grind-it-out option attack would produce another score. Two plays later, Crouch dove in on an option keeper, using Buckhalter as the bait on the outside.
"It was one of those plays where it wasn't designed for me, but they kept playing it outside so I busted towards the zone," said Crouch, who has run for a touchdown in every game this season except for the Cornhuskers' 20-13 victory over Southern Miss on Sept. 18.
The 22 points the Huskers had on the scoreboard at this point would be all they needed to secure their second conference title in three years.
After the game, Buckhalter made a point to explain the special relationship that exists between the team's running backs.
"The three of us (Alexander and freshman Dahrran Diedrick) share a great friendship on and off the field," said Buckhalter, who now has 670 yards and six touchdowns this season, after starting eight games in '98 in place of an injured DeAngelo Evans. "Whoever is in there, the other two are yelling encouragement and reminding him on what he's got to do. Whoever gets the carries always seems to get the job done. It's very special to be on a team where people put aside their egos and focus only on the team.
"That's what makes teams win championships and get trips to great bowl games. That's why Nebraska is always such a powerhouse."
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online.
|
|
|
|
ESPN.com:
HELP |
ADVERTISER INFO |
CONTACT US |
TOOLS |
SITE MAP
Copyright ©2001 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.
|
 |
 On fourth down, Eric Crouch runs in the 31-yard TD.
avi: 1037 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Eric Crouch rushes into the end zone on the option. (courtesy ABC Sports)
avi: 757 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mack Brown says his Texas team was whipped.
wav: 127 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
|
