• Video: Postgame press conference:




ARLINGTON, Texas — Well, ain't that a kick through the uprights.

One minute you're screaming and hugging and stampeding the field looking for the Big 12 championship trophy. The next minute, er, second, you're on your knees in pain looking for the clock keeper at Cowboys Stadium.

Texas found a new way to beat Nebraska. And this one took the cake, not to mention the Big 12 championship.

This time it was one second. One lousy second.

That was the difference between Bo Pelini and the Huskers hoisting a Big 12 trophy in year two and Mack Brown and Colt McCoy getting a reprieve to go do BCS things that they may or may not have earned Saturday night.

The Longhorns were given new life — by both Nebraska miscues and game officials who restored a mysterious missing tick of the game clock. It was just enough time for Hunter Lawrence to make sure a 46-yard field goal sneaked inside the left upright for a 13-12 victory and a breathless finish that nobody who witnessed will forget — though Husker fans will try.

Now they head to the Holiday Bowl, which will seem like a letdown, since the Huskers had their hands on a Big 12 trophy and one foot in Glendale, Ariz., for the Fiesta Bowl.

Meanwhile, Texas is off to play Alabama for the BCS national championship on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., though the way the Longhorns played — and the way they almost messed it up — will no doubt open discussions about whether the right team is playing the Tide.

On a night when the Blackshirts looked like the best defense in the Big 12, and Ndamukong Suh looked like the best player in the nation, the Huskers almost made a mess of the BCS.

They hung in there with a great defense and a sluggish offense, and somehow took a 12-10 lead on Alex Henery's 42-yard field goal with 1:44 left.

Game over? Nope. A bizarre finish was commencing.

It started with a shocker. Adi Kunalic, Nebraska's kickoff specialist and Mr. Automatic when it comes to booting into the end zone, squibbed one out of bounds, setting up Texas at its 40-yard line.

Then a horse-collar penalty on Larry Asante that, combined with a 19-yard pass to Jordan Shipley, put Texas at the Nebraska 26.

If the Huskers want to blame anyone for this heartbreak, they should point the thumb at those plays and not the finger at the referees.

And still, Texas almost blew the gifts.

The Horns had one timeout left and third down when McCoy took the snap with eight seconds left. Would Texas really run another play?

Yes. Texas' Brown said he was trying to call a timeout but the officials — and McCoy — didn't hear him. McCoy took the snap and rolled to his left and threw of all things, a floater out of bounds. He released it with four seconds left.

It hit the ground with one second left. But Texas never got to call a timeout. The clock ran down to 0:00 and the Huskers' sideline exploded, running out on the field in celebration.

Brown asked for the review because he said he knew there was one second left.

He was right. After the ball hit the turf, I looked up at the clock and it read :01. Another second ran off and it reminded me of how basketball timekeepers sometimes let the clock run for the home team. I thought the Huskers may have actually caught a bit of a break.

I'm sure Nebraskans were growling about “home cooking'' for Texas here in metro Dallas — and Bo Pelini gave a gruff “no comment'' when asked about that. But I thought it was the right call.

Now, would anyone else but Texas get that review? You would hope so. But let your conspiracy theories run wild.

There will be bitter memories of this one. But the Huskers and their fans should always look back on this night as a time when the Big Red made time stand still.

This was almost 1999 all over again, the last time the Huskers were kings of the Big 12 and headed for the desert and a BCS bowl.

They were so close. How close? One second. And a competent offense. If the Huskers get any offense at all, this is the best team in the Big 12. And this is one very dangerous team, one that need not be shy in taking on Alabama, Florida, TCU or anyone else in BCS land.

But the offense took a step back last night, understandably so against Texas' stout defense. The Huskers tried to pound it up the middle and couldn't. They couldn't run outside. They took a few shots downfield and that didn't work. They dropped passes. Zac Lee got lifted for a series. It was a flashback to midseason.

The defense carried the Huskers home. Almost. Man, what a defense. If nothing else, remember that front four, and that secondary and Phillip Dillard. Dejon Gomes took a ball away from a Texas receiver for an interception, a play the Horns used to make on NU. The front four was crazy. Suh was possessed.

He stole the Heisman stage from Colt, who played more like Mr. Ed. If Suh isn't invited to New York for the ceremony, it's a crime.

There was some 1993 in this one, too. Remember the Orange Bowl to end that season, with Tommie Frazier outplaying Charlie Ward and the game nearly over and the officials bringing everyone back on the field for one last kick. That one didn't go Nebraska's way, either.

But that was the beginning of a wonderful, historic run. That was a night Nebraska found out a lot about itself, in awful, painful defeat. After that game, coach Tom Osborne felt a certain pride. Pelini should feel the same way today.

“I told them I'm proud of them,'' Pelini said. “They're champions. I'm proud of the way they put Nebraska back on the map.''

“Nebraska's back,'' Brown said.

Not quite. Close. One game and one second short.

Contact the writer:

444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com

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