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Big XII Recap - Championship Game
December 3, 2006 | By Benjamin Miraski
Let’s say that this Big XII Championship had a little less drama associated with it than it has recently. It might be the renewal of an old rivalry in Nebraska and Oklahoma, but this game didn’t have the stakes of the last few contests.
Go back.
2003 – Oklahoma was the leader all season and lost(!) the game yet still went to the BCS championship game. And then they lost to LSU, causing the only split champion under the BCS system.
2004 – Oklahoma again had to put their unblemished record on the line for a chance at the BCS title game. A win got them a chance to be blown out by USC.
2005 – Texas had to roll through this game on their way to the National Title.
So, far be it for this game to attract a lot of attention when the National Title isn’t on the line. All that was at risk was the “Boise State Challenge Cup”. The winner’s greatest victory was getting a chance to play the upstart Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl in January. Well, that and a great deal of cash.
Oklahoma, who the football gods apparently had a grudge against earlier in the season, managed to overcome adversity to get to the game. They lost what they thought was their opening day quarterback. Their best running back broke is collar bone. They lost a controversial game at Oregon because of obvious replay issues. They needed two losses by South division leader Texas in order to pass them. And yet, Oklahoma kept on running, earning their berth in Kansas City.
Come Saturday, the Sooners took all that adversity and changed it to a positive, winning 21-7 over Nebraska.
The Sooners had to rely on the throwing arm of Paul Thompson more than at any time this season in order to win the game. While Nebraska shut down the running game, holding Oklahoma to only 42 yards, they attacked through the air.
Thompson finished 19 for 34, gaining 265 yards. He threw two touchdowns and only one interception. All told, this was by far his best performance of the year. Not bad for a quarterback who was expected to be a wide receiver during spring practice.
His counterpart, Zac Taylor, did not have as great a day. Taylor threw three interceptions, which were just the beginning of the issues for Nebraska who had 5 turnovers, a title game record.
The game was also record setting for a few players. Malcolm Kelly, who caught both touchdowns for Oklahoma, had 142 yards receiving, breaking the title game record. The Nebraska punter also set a record. Dan Titchener hit 6 punts inside the 20, a testament to how poor the offense was for the Cornhuskers, but also a lesson in great kicking.
With the victory, Oklahoma will go on the Fiesta Bowl to play Boise State. Nebraska gets a trip to the Cotton Bowl to face the Auburn Tigers.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted December 3, 2006 10:20 PM
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