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Oklahoma remembers cool Taylor
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor remembers Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander for all the wrong reasons.
Last year in the Sooners' 31-24 victory in Lincoln, Alexander hounded Taylor all day. He recorded three sacks, one-third of his career total in 37 games, as OU buried Taylor nine times in all.
Turns out, Alexander remembers Taylor, too, but not in the way you might imagine.
"He's got a grasp of the offense, knows all the checks to make," Alexander said. "He knows who he's looking at on defense. That's a mature quarterback, with another year under his belt and another year in the system. That's a credit to him. That's a credit to their coaching staff.
"They've brought him along in a great way."
Alexander, Oklahoma's senior defensive leader, and OU coach Bob Stoops praised Taylor and the improved NU offense on Monday in discussing their Big 12 title game with the Huskers, set for 7 p.m. on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
Taylor, the senior Nebraska captain, drew little recruiting interest from the Sooners five years out of Norman (Okla.) High School.
He's got their attention now.
"He's been outstanding," Stoops said, "from very few turnovers to all the touchdowns, the way he directs every play when he gets out there. He's been an excellent player for them. I'd say one of the better, for sure, offensive players in the league, without question."
A frontrunner for All-Big 12 quarterback honors and the league's offensive player of the year, Taylor has accumulated an NU-record 2,789 yards and 24 touchdown passes this year while throwing just four interceptions and completing 62.2 percent of his passes.
Under Taylor's direction, Nebraska ranks ninth nationally in scoring (33.9 points per game), and he sits ninth in pass-efficiency rating.
Oklahoma harassed Taylor repeatedly a year ago, but he still helped bring the Huskers back from a 24-3 deficit in the third quarter to trail by just seven points with the ball in the final three minutes.
Taylor was sacked twice on Nebraska's final drive as NU turned the ball over on downs.
Still, Alexander recalls more of what Taylor did well in completing 25 of 45 passes for 245 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
"He understands the system," Alexander said. "He moves guys everywhere. Like every snap, he's moving guys. He's got to know where everybody's at.
"He does a great job of just managing the game, not throwing anything that's going to get him beat. He's out there making a ton of plays throwing the ball - something that you don't normally see out of Nebraska."
Oklahoma remembers cool Taylor
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor remembers Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander for all the wrong reasons.
Last year in the Sooners' 31-24 victory in Lincoln, Alexander hounded Taylor all day. He recorded three sacks, one-third of his career total in 37 games, as OU buried Taylor nine times in all.
Turns out, Alexander remembers Taylor, too, but not in the way you might imagine.
"He's got a grasp of the offense, knows all the checks to make," Alexander said. "He knows who he's looking at on defense. That's a mature quarterback, with another year under his belt and another year in the system. That's a credit to him. That's a credit to their coaching staff.
"They've brought him along in a great way."
Alexander, Oklahoma's senior defensive leader, and OU coach Bob Stoops praised Taylor and the improved NU offense on Monday in discussing their Big 12 title game with the Huskers, set for 7 p.m. on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
Taylor, the senior Nebraska captain, drew little recruiting interest from the Sooners five years out of Norman (Okla.) High School.
He's got their attention now.
"He's been outstanding," Stoops said, "from very few turnovers to all the touchdowns, the way he directs every play when he gets out there. He's been an excellent player for them. I'd say one of the better, for sure, offensive players in the league, without question."
A frontrunner for All-Big 12 quarterback honors and the league's offensive player of the year, Taylor has accumulated an NU-record 2,789 yards and 24 touchdown passes this year while throwing just four interceptions and completing 62.2 percent of his passes.
Under Taylor's direction, Nebraska ranks ninth nationally in scoring (33.9 points per game), and he sits ninth in pass-efficiency rating.
Oklahoma harassed Taylor repeatedly a year ago, but he still helped bring the Huskers back from a 24-3 deficit in the third quarter to trail by just seven points with the ball in the final three minutes.
Taylor was sacked twice on Nebraska's final drive as NU turned the ball over on downs.
Still, Alexander recalls more of what Taylor did well in completing 25 of 45 passes for 245 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
"He understands the system," Alexander said. "He moves guys everywhere. Like every snap, he's moving guys. He's got to know where everybody's at.
"He does a great job of just managing the game, not throwing anything that's going to get him beat. He's out there making a ton of plays throwing the ball - something that you don't normally see out of Nebraska."
