Shatel: No upset — just a glimpse of the past, and the future

LINCOLN — The clock said there were 27 seconds left, but it felt more like eight years and 27 seconds.

There were 85,000 standing and waiting and holding their breath. They had waited all night, all season, and maybe even since 2001 for a moment like this. Nebraska was up on Oklahoma 10-3. The two had played a chess game with blood-stained pieces all night, and the longer it went, the longer the Huskers kept the lead, the more you could feel the tension. You could feel 85,000 waiting to exhale.

Just like old times. Just like Tom and Barry used to create. These Huskers were unranked and these Sooners were 24th, but they turned this into a heavyweight bout, trading body punches, waiting for someone to stagger. Nobody would.

The old legends were in street clothes at halftime, and Barry Switzer and Billy Sims were safely tucked in a suite somewhere, but the good folks with memories knew that as long as crimson and white had one more shot in this stadium, it’s never over.

Time and again, the Blackshirts had turned away Landry Jones and the Sooner offense. Five interceptions. Three missed field goals. It was an unreal effort.

But now it came down to this, with 27 seconds left, with Jones in NU territory again, and no timeouts and you wondered who was going to fall out of the sky and into the end zone this time for OU.

The answer was nobody. Jones threw a Hail Mary of sorts, deep near the end zone, and Matt O’Hanlon was there to catch it. And, yes, there is justice in this world.

A month and a half ago, the senior safety was seen chasing a Virginia Tech receiver down the sideline and got stuck with the tab of a missed opportunity for that big victory. It’s a long season, and you hoped O’Hanlon would get a shot at redemption.

O’Hanlon fell to the turf with his third interception and the crowd roared. Memorial Stadium was like a bowl of popcorn with a lid, and finally the lid exploded. And on a day of crazy games and upsets in college football and, closer to home in the Big 12 neighborhood, there was a sense of normalcy that came with this one — at least to the good folks standing and screaming and going nuts.

Some will call this one an upset, but this fell somewhere between an upset and the future of Nebraska football.

The long-term and immediate future. The only thing missing at the end was the barrage of oranges splattering in the end zone, but make no mistake, the stakes were high for Bo Pelini and Co.

First there was the tangible stuff. Two weeks after driving into a ditch, Big Red is back in the driver’s seat of the Big 12 North race and, on a warm night in November, it felt like the season had begun again.

And it felt a little like the Pelini Era had begun, too. Check back in a few weeks and see how that North thing turns out.

They may have found a new formula to take with them to Lawrence, Kan., back here for Kansas State and then to Boulder, Colo.

Great defense. Good special teams. And a running game with a quarterback under center and a fullback leading the way.

Or is it two quarterbacks?

Zac Lee replaced freshman Cody Green early in the second quarter after Prince Amukamara intercepted Jones and returned it to the OU 1-yard line. Remember Lee? He and Ryan Hill converted a nice 1-yard play-action pass for a touchdown.

But there would be no rotating quarterbacks. Lee played the rest of the game and, though he still is no threat to run, he looked comfortable in this new role: lining up under center and handing off to Roy Helu (20 carries, 138 yards) and Dontrayevous Robinson.

It wasn’t pretty. But it was certainly effective in a game with 11 Nebraska punts. And as long as you have Alex Henery’s prolific punting, the strategy was sound.

Pelini said he went with his gut, thinking Lee would be a more stable choice against the Sooners. Considering how shaky Lee was just two weeks earlier, that’s an amazing gut.

What it said was that Pelini is in it to win it. Now. The last month will not be a training session to get Green snaps for 2010. There’s a Big 12 North title to win, and perhaps more, and the head coach is all in.

Will he switch again? Who knows. We’ve got this drama now, but Helu is back trying to hurdle over upright defenders and running 63 yards down the sideline, and if he can keep that up the next three weeks, that will take away some of the drama.

Helu did fumble a Lee pitch after his big run to the OU 11 and a scoring opportunity was wasted. But the Sooners, with five picks and nine of their own penalties, were determined to keep NU in the game and then some.

The good news is that NU won’t see another defense like Oklahoma’s again this season — except at practice. The other good news is that Ndamukong Suh, Phillip Dillard and the rest of the Blackshirts are getting better by the week. Talk about strong backs.

Call it a signature win, but in today’s week-to-week college football, those signatures come with an eraser. For now, for tonight, this was Pelini’s best win in a small collection, but it was a beauty. It’s a win that was all about guts and perseverance and going with your gut and belief in your players and rolling with the punches. A win that reminded us why Pelini was hired. A win that reminded you of a lot of things.

Contact the writer:

444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com