Taylor struggles against Sooners' defense

His final pass — a Hail Mary that wouldn't have made a difference — was dropped by a receiver, just shy of the end zone. And with that, the Nebraska quarterback walked slowly off the field.

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"Disappointing," he said. "Tough."

Oklahoma's 21-7 win in the Big 12 championship game came at the expense of Taylor, who finished battered and bruised.

The senior from Norman completed 23 of 50 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown. But harassed all night, he threw three interceptions.

He'll remember the second for a long while. Midway through the fourth quarter, Taylor had receiver Nate Swift open, racing alone toward the end zone. But a sure touchdown was derailed when OU safety Nic Harris streaked across the field and made a diving interception.

"We thought that play was gonna be open, and it was," Taylor said. "For whatever reason, I just lofted the ball instead of gunning it in there. Nate was open. (Harris) just read my eyes and went over there and made a play.

"That's one I'd like to have back. We had an opportunity, and I just didn't put enough mustard on the ball."

That pick ended Nebraska's last realistic chance to rally. And it came when the Sooners were defending exclusively against the pass.

The Huskers hadn't planned to throw that much. But when the Sooners stuffed the run — and grabbed the lead — they forced Nebraska to pass.

That made for a lot of third-and-long situations. It made for a tough night, physically, for Taylor. He was sacked three times, but hit many more times.

Still, the Huskers offense moved the ball. But other than a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, they couldn't find the end zone.

"We kept getting that feeling we were going to bust a big play, that something was going to go our way," Taylor said. "It didn't. You feel bad, because you're watching your defense make play after play after play.

"Eventually, they're gonna give something up. It's tough. Offensively, we thought we'd make a play."

Afterward, as Taylor walked off the field, OU coach Bob Stoops stopped him.

"Great game, great season," Stoops told the quarterback.

"There's a lot of respect there," Taylor said. "It maybe made me feel a little better."