LINCOLN, Neb. — The Orange Bowl wasn’t at stake and there wasn’t a Big 12 Conference frontrunner to be seen at Memorial Stadium Saturday.

But Oklahoma and Nebraska still managed to play another classic in their storied series. The Sooners grabbed an early lead and hung on for dear life, eventually prevailing 31-24 over the Huskers.

“It’s fun to compete in environments like this and complements to (Nebraska coach Bill) Callahan, his staff and team,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “It was a really well-played game, hard-fought game and fortunately we made enough plays to win it.”

The Sooners won their third straight game to improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12 Conference. Adrian Peterson’s return to the lineup helped make it happen.

The sophomore had carried the ball just eight times the last three games due to a slow-to-recover high-ankle sprain, but rushed for 143 yards on 24 carries and staked OU to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter with two touchdown runs.

“It was great having him back,” Stoops said. “Everyone talks about how talented he is and to me he is just so tough … To have him out there, I think everyone feeds off him, too.”

The Sooners outrushed the Huskers 180 to 16.

But it wasn’t a one-man show.

Sooner quarterback Rhett Bomar threw for 157 yards and completed 14-of-28 attempts. None went for touchdowns, but none fell into Huskers’ hands either.

It was the type of performance OU needed in front of hostile crowd 77,438.

“It’s a tough place to play and we played well,” Bomar said. “We know about the tradition between these two and we wanted to win.”

Former Norman High quarterback Zac Taylor guided the Huskers (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) through a first-quarter storm that started with five straight possessions without a first down.

He heated up as the game went on and threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns, though it wasn’t enough to bring the Huskers back from behind.

The Sooners sacked Taylor nine times with three belonging to linebacker Rufus Alexander and two credited to defensive end Calvin Thibodeaux. Clint Ingram, Zach Latimer, Dusty Dvoracek and Alan Davis each got Taylor once.

“They brought some blitzes, but it wasn’t anything special that we hadn’t prepared for,” Taylor said. “My offensive line did a great job. We all made mistakes, and there were a lot of things I could have helped them on.”

Jordan Congdon connected on a 40-yard field goal with 9:21 remaining to cut OU’s lead to 14-3.

But Taylor’s only major mistake turned out to be the difference in the game.

With a minute left in the first half, OU cornerback Chijioke Onyenegecha swiped a Taylor pass and raced 63 yards for a touchdown.

It gave the Sooners a 21-3 halftime lead and the game the appearance it might turn into a runaway.

That notion picked up more credence when OU linebacker Zach Latimer tipped a Taylor pass seven plays into the second half that fell into Dusty Dvoracek’s hands.

Four plays later, Garrett Hartley nailed a 50-yard field goal to give the Sooners a three-touchdown lead.

Nebraska rallied.

Taylor hit Terrence Nunn for a 3-yard touchdown 6 minutes later to make it a 14-point game and brought the Huskers within a touchdown with a 25-yard scoring connection to Nate Swift on the first play of the fourth quarter.

OU was reeling, gained just 5 yards in the third quarter. But the Sooners woke up in time to stage a memorable drive.

Bomar hit Travis Wilson on a third-and-10 from the OU 25 to keep the drive alive. Five plays later, OU faked a 40-yard field goal and Hartley raced six yards to the Husker 17.

Kejuan Jones, took care of the rest with a 17-yard run to put OU up 31-17.

“That drive was key for us,” Bomar said. “We really needed that drive after we let Nebraska back in the game.”

It took the Huskers just four plays to answer. Tailback Cory Ross hit Swift for 18-yard touchdown with 5:16 left.

The Huskers got the ball back with 2:37 left and a chance to tie, but couldn’t advance past their win 38. They gave up ball when Thibodeaux sacked Taylor on a fourth-and-26 with 56 seconds to play.

It was a fitting end to OU’s biggest win of the season and first at Memorial Stadium since Barry Switzer roamed the sidelines.

“Everybody will label it whatever they want because it just depends on how you want to spin it, but for us, it is big,” Stoops said.

John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com