NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 7 Nebraska borrowed some defensive tactics from the Miami Hurricanes to shut down No. 8 Oklahoma 7-3 Saturday for the Big Eight championship and an Orange Bowl berth.
Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said the Cornhuskers have been working 'on Mondays and on open dates' since August on a variation of a defense used successfully by Miami, which has beaten Oklahoma in their last three meetings.
'It's a 4-3 defense with the help of a linebacker,' Osborne said. 'We tried to use it against Colorado but it didn't work. It did today.'
The victory gave Nebraska the Big Eight championship. The Cornhuskers will meet No. 3 Miami in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2. Oklahoma will face No. 15 Clemson in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
The low-scoring game was partially the result of weather conditions. The temperature was 35 degrees and the wind chill 9 degrees at kickoff and a light rain fell during most of the first half.
'I think this kind of weather favors the team that's most dedicated, and our players were the most dedicated today,' Osborne said.
Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor, who scored the only touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run in the first period, also blamed the weather, saying, 'I think we could have put more points on the board if we'd had better weather conditions.
'Our game plan was to mix it up and not be predictable. When we took the opening drive in for a touchdown, we knew for sure we could move the ball on them.'
Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer said he was surprised by the low-scoring game.
'If anyone had told me before the game we would hold Nebraska to seven points, I would have said we would win the game,' Switzer said. 'On the other hand, if anyone had told me we would score only three points, I would have said they would beat the hell out of us.'
The Cornhuskers finished the regular-season 11-1 overall and 7-0 in the conference. Oklahoma closed out at 9-2 and 6-1.
Switzer said Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, injured on the Sooners' final offensive play of the game, suffered a broken bone in his right leg.
'It was tragic,' Switzer said of the injury. 'He (Thompson) played extremely well, though our offense didn't play as well as our defense.'
Taylor scored on a 1-yard run less 4:00 into the game to give Nebraska its first triumph over Oklahoma since 1983.
The Sooners' only points came on a 29-yard field goal by R.D. Lashar at 1:50 of the third period, his longest kick of the season.
Nebraska scored on the game's first possession, driving 80 yards in nine plays. The march included a 33-yard run by Ken Clark and a 21-yard pass from Taylor to Richard Bell.
Oklahoma's first drive was marred by fumbles on the opening two plays, setting the tone for the Sooners.
Clark carried 24 times for 167 of Nebraska's 265 rushing yards. Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, who was helped off the field with a knee injury with 1:02 to play, was limited to 31 yards in 16 carries. The miserable conditions and the Nebraska defense limited the normally potent Oklahoma ground game to 98 rushing yards.
Taylor completed only 2 of 17 passes for 48 yards and Thompson threw just nine passes, completing three for 39 yards.
Nebraska's other major threat came midway through the second quarter, but Taylor's pass intended for Dana Brinson was intercepted by Scott Garl in the end zone.
Garl intercepted another Taylor pass with :40 seconds left in the period, but the half ended with the Sooners at the Nebraska 33.
Oklahoma's best scoring chance came in the third period when the Sooners drove inside the Nebraska 30. Lorenzo Hicks intercepted a Thompson pass at the Nebraska 2, but Clark fumbled after a big gain on the next play to give the Sooners the ball back at the Cornhuskers' 30. The Sooners gained 19 yards on six plays before settling for Lashar's field goal.
