SAN ANTONIO - The Nebraska Cornhuskers left the Alamodome on Saturday knowing that Texas is beatable, that fumbles are still deadly, that they are the Big 12 champions for the second time in four years and they could have been a whole lot more.
Despite a 22-6 victory Saturday over Cotton Bowl-bound Texas that could have been twice that margin, No. 3 Nebraska will probably remain just that, No. 3. Barring BCS computer hacking or malfunction, the Cornhuskers will play in the Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee on Jan. 2, then watch Virginia Tech play Florida State for the national title on Jan. 4.
Nebraska (11-1, 7-1) put together an effort Saturday that will have Big Red fans talking confidently at water coolers that their team should be traveling to New Orleans to ring in the millennium at the Nokia Sugar Bowl.
"In my opinion, we're very capable of playing in that game," said Nebraska safety Mike Brown. "There's not a team on our schedule that we didn't beat."
"Virginia Tech played one team - Boston College - that ended up in the top 25 at the end of the year," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "And that makes you think, 'Well, maybe we do deserve to be in the national championship game.' But we understand how hard it is to go through a season undefeated. We'll live with whatever the system gives us."
After four years of having to live with three straight losses to Texas (9-4, 6-2), the Cornhuskers put an end to UT's streak in punishing fashion.
"I didn't want to leave here without beating Texas, and we got 'em," said Mike Brown, a senior. "I can die now."
The red shirts on offense pounded paths through a resistant Texas defense, racking up 234 yards on the ground despite losing leading rusher Dan Alexander in the first quarter to a hand injury that required stitches.
But it was the Blackshirts on defense who simply gutted the conference's top-rated offense, forcing four turnovers and limiting Texas to a school-record low in rushing yards (9) and season lows in points (6) and total offense (173 yards).
UT quarterback Major Applewhite, who regained the 12 pounds this week that he lost from a stomach virus before the Texas A&M game, said he felt fine physically except for the seven times he was sacked Saturday.
"We just didn't execute," Applewhite said. "We didn't run the ball well or throw the ball well. End of discussion."
Nebraska's defense said it had extra resolve Saturday because of a Sports Illustrated interview after the teams' first meeting on Oct. 23 that quoted Applewhite as saying the Husker defense was simple.
"That probably served as bulletin board material," Mike Brown said. "Our defense is not simple. We throw a lot of different looks at people."
"Major Applewhite didn't know who was coming from where," said Nebraska cornerback Ralph Brown, who picked off an errant Applewhite pass in the third quarter.
Texas coach Mack Brown said any talk of schemes going awry, miscommunication between Applewhite and receivers or an ankle sprain that sidelined Hodges Mitchell in the second half were not even worth discussing.
"They whipped us," Mack Brown said. "We didn't block them, and their defense dominated the line of scrimmage. We couldn't run it or pass it. It didn't matter what play was called. When you can't block them, scheme goes out the window."
UT did plenty to hurt itself. There were dropped passes, including one by Ricky Brown on a two-point conversion that hit him right in the hands. Two first-half drives started with false start penalties. Applewhite threw two passes without pressure that were intercepted, including one that came right after Longhorns free safety Greg Brown picked off a pass at the Texas 10.
If not for one of two Nebraska fumbles on the day - raising its nation-leading total to 25 fumbles lost - Texas would not have scored. UT cornerback Ahmad Brooks picked up a loose ball stripped from running back Dahrran Diedrick, then ran 20 yards for the Longhorns' only touchdown with 13:26 remaining.
The Texas offense crossed midfield only three times. The Longhorns' average starting field position was their own 21, thanks in large part to punter Dan Hadenfeldt, who repeatedly pinned them deep.
The height of Texas' futility, however, came with 7:26 left in the first half, when center Matt Anderson snapped a ball high and wide right of Applewhite into the UT end zone. Ricky Brown was reduced to pushing it out of bounds for a safety and a 15-0 Nebraska lead at halftime.
Nebraska's average starting field position was its own 42. After a 42-yard field goal by Josh Brown, Eric Crouch ducked into the UT line, cut right and was gone for a 31-yard touchdown run that put the Huskers up, 10-0, with 2:56 left in the first quarter. After a 21-yard field goal by Josh Brown and the safety, Crouch scored Nebraska's final touchdown on a 4-yard run with 10:12 left in the third quarter.
Mack Brown said despite the loss, he was pleased with his team's effort, especially on defense. He said the Longhorns' progress from the beginning of the year was remarkable and that a Cotton Bowl matchup, most likely against Arkansas 30 years after "The Game of the Century," is a welcome reward for the season.
"I told our players not many teams win 10 games in a season," Mack Brown said. "But that's our goal."
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