LINCOLN, Neb. — Two loyal Nebraska fans since the 1960s paused as they made their way through the Cornhuskers’ Memorial Stadium after Oklahoma had, for the 48th time in series history, asserted its dominance over their beloved team Saturday.
James Leffler and his son, Don, haven’t missed a home game since 1965. In that time, they have watched everything from the highs, like the Cornhuskers’ five national championship wins and Oklahoma-Nebraska’s famous 1971 Game of the Century, to the lows.
The most recent low being the devastating upset against Georgia Southern a week ago that led to Scott Frost’s termination as coach six days before their storied rival returned to Lincoln for the 88th meeting of the teams.
Through it all, only one thing kept the father-son duo from leaving, even during the fourth quarter with the game already out of reach.
“Tradition,” they said, referencing their team despite its struggles, but perhaps also a sport despite its rapid changes.
On Saturday, the No. 6 Sooners (3-0) defeated Nebraska (1-3) 49-14 in their highest-scoring effort in Lincoln ever. Only a ghost of what the Cornhuskers were in the eras of Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, Oklahoma diminished any hopes of them revitalizing their season under interim head coach Mickey Joseph.
As fans that have watched the downfall of Nebraska — a program without a bowl appearance since 2016 that has mustered at best a second-place conference finish since moving to the Big Ten in 2011 — they couldn’t help but remember the glory days that feel more long gone than Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s first quarter 61-yard touchdown run that opened the floodgates.
“We miss the days of the Big Eight and the Big 12 where there used to be real tradition,” Don said.
OU football head coach Brent Venables and Sooners during the game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sept. 17.
Despite what the scoreboard said, Nebraska showed promise out the gates. It forced an initial punt after sacking Gabriel, and instantly fired back with a 77-yard touchdown drive in less than two minutes, seizing an early lead that brought the crowd of 87,171 to its feet in what marked the 385th consecutive sellout at a venue that, on game days, serves as the state’s third-largest city.
From there, however, it was all OU. The offense went on to deploy a rushing attack that racked up 312 yards and four touchdowns. Although a modern system, it emulated that of Oklahoma’s 1987 violent wishbone led by quarterback Charles Thompson, the father of current Huskers signal caller Casey Thompson, who recorded 126 rushing yards in the Sooners’ dominant 17-7 win in “Game of the Century II.”
After Gabriel’s long touchdown run on Oklahoma’s second drive, the Sooners scored 49 unanswered points. The Huskers required 12 possessions before reaching the end zone again.
OU’s response silenced one of the most loyal fanbases in college football. After each touchdown drive, fans in “The Boneyard,” Nebraska’s student section, began to fizzle out the bowl. Midway through the third quarter, nearly half of the once-electric stadium had disappeared.
"OVERSIZE LOAD" sign during the game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sept. 17.
The banner labeled “Oversize Load” that waved through pregame and into Nebraska’s promising first quarter, a nod to the beef-fed behemoths that long anchored Husker lines, soon vanished too.
OU redshirt senior tight end Brayden Willis could feel the crowd deflate after a 25-yard touchdown reception by sophomore receiver Jalil Farooq put OU ahead 14-7 in the first quarter.
“You definitely can see it and feel the whole energy drain out the stadium,” said Willis, who threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Major on a trick play in the third quarter. “And that’s what we talked about, coming in here, and kind of just silencing the crowd is going to make things easier for us.
"That was a big point of emphasis for us this weekend and I’m glad we were able to do that.”
Leading up to Saturday, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables explained how quickly a former perennial powerhouse can devolve from contender to bottom feeder. One measure is the loss of killer instinct, as evidenced by Nebraska losing 13 consecutive one-possession matchups entering Saturday.
The program's recent fall has even made some Cornhuskers fans call for the hiring of Urban Meyer, a national champion coach at Ohio State in 2014 who was later fired by the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars last season after poor play and allegations of psychologically abusing players.
Meyer, who was in attendance with Fox's Big Noon Kickoff show on Saturday, heard Nebraska fans chant "We want Urban" during his pregame segments.
"We want Urban!" 👀 pic.twitter.com/g0pLheTfOL
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 17, 2022
“It doesn’t take much to be on the wrong side of it,” Venables said Tuesday of a program’s momentum, the very thing he was hired in Norman to perpetuate rather than squander. “Just snake bit for whatever reason. Whether it’s injuries, or just a timing standpoint, just being on the wrong side of it.
"And there’s no one thing or person I would expect to point a finger to. They’ve done a good job foundationally there (and) they haven’t been far away. In most of their games, they’ve been right there.”
Willis could sense the life being sucked out of the crowd as the game progressed. Venables said that was the goal leading up to Saturday.
“The best teams learn how to control the volume,” Venables said postgame. “Whether it’s home or away, we learn how to control the volume. And we did that today.”
During the second half, with the Sooners running up the score and their backups starting to trickle in, Willis said the difference from pregame was even more noticeably absent.
Fans — like the Lefflers — who remember the golden days of Nebraska football could never predict a backup quarterback playing in the rivalry unless an injury occurred, let alone for the entirety of a quarter. Oklahoma replaced Gabriel with backup Davis Beville due to its large lead, and the Cornhuskers relieved Thompson for Chubba Purdy due to struggles, displaying the opposites of the programs’ performances late.
As the Lefflers departed the stadium that has consumed their Saturdays for 57 years, they continue to hope by the next time the Sooners come to Lincoln in 2030, Nebraska’s program can be a bit closer to its days of old.
They’ll also yearn for the smash-mouth teams that made them fall in love with the sport, and less of the t-shirts labeled “Saturdays are for pain and sadness.”
“It was the boys that came from the fields around here that made them fight,” Don said. “And that’s what got lost. They don’t pay attention to that anymore.”
