We're counting down the top ten games to take place at Memorial Stadium. Today is No. 7, against Oklahoma in 1959, where the Huskers won 25-21.

Hype

Hype? What hype? The Huskers had lost 16 in a row to the Sooners and there were no signs 1959 would be any different. Oklahoma rode a conference unbeaten streak of 74 games. Nebraska came into the game with a 2-4 record, loser of three straight, hardly a team that seemed on the brink of something special.

Atmosphere

A crowd of 32,765 showed up for Homecoming that Halloween day. The noise grew as the upset neared. Sooner players left for the locker room with seconds still showing on the clock. Steel goal posts, set in concrete, were pulled down and paraded across campus.

Game quality

This one was entertaining, complete with big plays, a game-saving interception and some oddball strategies. At one point in the second half, the Huskers punted on second down, only to have the Sooners punt it right back on first down. Victory was not secured until the final minute, when Ron Meade intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Legacy

Truly one of the great upsets in Husker history. Even though Oklahoma came in ranked No. 19 with two losses, to Northwestern and Texas, the Sooners carried an air of invincibility within the conference. Any time Monday classes are canceled to celebrate a football win, as they were at NU, consider it a pretty big deal.

Looking back

The win was Coach Bill Jennings’ one great triumph in a Husker career that will otherwise be remembered as unremarkable. Just 15-34-1 while coaching from 1957-61, Jennings was an OU grad and former assistant under Sooner coach Bud Wilkinson.

Players and fans carried Jennings off the field. Though not on great terms with Jennings, Wilkinson followed the crowd, waiting to shake his hand when they finally set him down. Nebraska lost 18-6 the next week at Iowa State.

— Brian Christopherson