Nebraska Gets Defensive in Defense of Title : Big Eight: Cornhuskers shut out Oklahoma, 37-0, to set up shot at second national championship in a row.

With its Heisman Trophy candidate struggling and its potent offense stifled, No. 1 Nebraska turned to its defense to beat Oklahoma and wrap up a trip to the Fiesta Bowl for a shot at a second consecutive national championship.

The Cornhuskers, 11-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Eight, needed two defensive touchdowns to spark a 37-0 victory Friday as quarterback Tommie Frazier had a very average day. Frazier, locked in a tight Heisman Trophy race with Ohio State tailback Eddie George, completed 12 of 25 passes for 128 yards with one interception. He ran for 35 yards and threw a 38-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t think I played a bad game,” said Frazier, who improved to 32-3 as a starter. “I did everything I normally do. It’s just that things didn’t fall into the right places for me today.”

It was a lot worse for Oklahoma (5-5-1, 2-5). Of its 14 possessions, 10 ended in punts, two in interceptions, one in a fumble and the other on downs. Oklahoma managed only 51 rushing yards, 162 below its average.

The teams combined for seven fumbles, 12 penalties and 14 punts in Nebraska’s first shutout of Oklahoma since a 7-0 victory in 1942. The victory ended Nebraska’s third consecutive undefeated regular season.

“It was a solid performance, maybe not inspired or spectacular, but solid,” Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said. “I think the real measure and the real focus now is the whole ball of wax.”

Fiesta Bowl officials said a bid can’t be issued until Dec. 3, but they told Osborne and the players to expect an invitation to the Jan. 2 game at Tempe, Ariz.

Nebraska, which led the nation in scoring (54 points) and rushing (413 yards), finished with 271 rushing yards against the nation’s 12th-ranked defense, led by 73 yards from Lawrence Phillips. While the offense sputtered, Nebraska’s defense scored two touchdowns, forced three turnovers and gave up only 3.8 yards per play.

Oklahoma, which averaged 2.6 turnovers per game, also had nine penalties for 97 yards in the final game between two Big Eight Conference teams.

“Our football team played giveaway throughout the year and that was the story today,” Oklahoma Coach Howard Schnellenberger said.

“They were doing some things that caught us off guard,” Frazier said. “They were shifting around up front a lot.”

The Sooners’ offense, however, couldn’t do much. Senior Garrick McGee, who replaced freshman Eric Moore after Oklahoma’s third possession, completed half of his 30 passes for 159 yards, with one interception.

“I think our offense is just predictable,” Sooner tailback Jerald Moore said. “Everybody knows we had to come out and run the ball to be successful. It wasn’t a secret at all. They knew what they had to do and they stopped us.”