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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1971)
Mizzou defense no The correct mental attitude for a football team is to think it can win, but be afraid it will lose. For the last six months, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have been told they were going to win the Big Eight Conference. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Missouri Tigers have lived with the word that they don't stand a chance to win the conference title. Non-conference results have made these two predictions appear accurate. The Cornhuskers sport a 4-0 record and Missouri stands 1-3. But those first four games don't count in the league standings. The real season starts Saturday for the Cornhuskers when they visit Columbia, Mo., for the Big Eight opener against the Tigers. Nebraska is confident it can win. Missouri simply doesn't have the offense to match Nebraska's powerful attack. But the Cornhuskers are also leary about the Tigers. The seniors on the Nebraska team remember their last visit to Missouri's Memorial Stadium. It was in 1969 when the Tigers took a 17-7 win. Since that game, the Huskers haven't lost in 23 outings. Quarterback Jerry Tagge still has nightmares about Missouri. The 1969 game against High-ranked Big 8 fights at top The Oklahoma Sooners used last year's game against Texas as an experiment. But Saturday, when the two teams meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the Sooners won't be experimenting. Oklahoma will be trying to prove the success of its experiment. It was in the 1970 game against the Longhorns that the Sooners first used their now devastating Wishbone-T offense. And you can bet that Saturday's clash won't be a repeat of Texas' 41-9 mismatch win in 1970. It will be the Longhorns who will be trying to match Oklahoma's success with the Wishbone-T. The Sooners, with a 3-0 record this year, are second in the nation in rushing offense with a 425.3 yard average. Texas, long known for its Wishbone-T attack, is fourth with a 349.3 average on the ground. The Sooners are coming off their most impressive win of the season- 33-20 triumph over Southern California. In that game, Oklahoma rushed for 516 net yards and didn't complete a pass. Leading the Sooner attack was halfback Greg Pnaitt with 205 yards rushing in 1 6 carries. Texas also stands 3-0 on the season following a 34-7 win over Oregon last Saturday. The Longhorns are rated third in the Associated Press poll while the Sooners hold down the number eight spot. Although intra-league rivalries are included in this week's Big Light schedule, the Texas-Okkhma clash is the one the nation will be watching. If the Sooners win this one and get by Colorado the following week, that Thanksgiving date with Nebraska really could be for the national championship. The biggest rivalry on the conference schedule will be at Lawrence, Kan.. Saturday where Kansas State and Kansas battle ia the Jayhawks homecoming. Kansas, after starting the season with two wins, has lost its last two outings and may PAGE 8 Missouri is the only game Tagge has started for the Cornhuskers and lost. John Brown, who will be starting for the Tigers Saturday, forced Tagge to fumble on the 16-yard-line just before halftime. Terry McMillian's eight-yard scoring pass to end Tom Shryock sent Missouri to the locker room with a 14-0 cushion. "We were never really in that game," says Nebraska coach Bob Devaney. Tagge also remembers the 1970 game at Lincoln against Missouri. Tagge lost his starting job to Van Brownson as the Huskers needed 14 points in the fourth quarter before winning 21-7. Tagge, who will be the starting quarterback for the Huskers Saturday, won't have it easy this year either. The Tigers return sevea defensive starters off last year's, imit. Included in that list of returnees are senior defensive ends John Brown and Dan Borgard. "There's one thing you can always count on Missouri doing is rushing those defensive ends," says Devaney. "Missouri will definitely be the biggest test for our pass protection and they also make it difficult to run wide." Although losing three of its first four outings. Missouri's fall to a 2-3 record alter the game with the Wildcats. Kansas State led Colorado in the third quarter last week before losing 31-21. But more impressive was that the Wildcats limited the Colorado triple option offense to only 97 yards rushing. K-State leads the nation in defense against the rush with a stingy 56.3 yards average. Kansas' offense hasn't been very impressive. The Jayhawks are sixth in the Big Eight in total offense with a 301 yards average. Colorado travels to Ames, Iowa, for a date with the Iowa State Cyclones in another Big Eight game. The Buffaloes, who are rated fifth in the nation by the Associated Press, will be trying for a repeat of last year's 61-10 win over the Cyclones. But that shouldn't happen. Iowa State, with a 3-0 record is a much improved team from last year. The Cyclones will probably go to the air after noting the success both Ohio State and Ulr V J XmJ- """lii,,,,, niiMlir jf Huskers face Mizzou in track , too Nebraska's cross country team travels to Columbia, Mo., Saturday for a meet with defending Big Eight champion Missouri. The Tigers surprised Illinois last weekend with a 23-33 victory. Nebraska lost its first start to Kansas State. From first indications. pushover defense has still been strong. The Tigers are giving up just 121 yards average on the ground. The problem with the Tigers has been offense. There's no Joe Moore, James Harrison or Mel Gray wearing a Tiger uniform this year. Missouri is last in the Big Eight in total offense with a . dismal 242 average. The leading Missouri rusher is tailback Jack Bastable. And he's gained only 1 00 net yards in four games. The quarterback position, which was supposed to be a Missouri strong point, has been plagued with injuries. Mike Farmer had a knee operation last spring and suffered a smashed hand in the opener against Stanford and hasn't seen action in the last three games. Chuck Roper underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder in the spring and his passing hasn't been up to par yet this year. Roper has completed 39 of 78 passes for 425 yards, but has also had five passes intercepted. A record 63,000 fans are expected to jam Memorial Stadium to watch Nebraska and Missouri clash fot the 65th time. The Cornhuskers hold a 33-28 edge with three games tied. Kansas State had against the Colorado defensive backfield. Iowa State quarterback Dean Carlson is a talented passer and trails only Nebraska's Jerry Tagge in passing yardage this season. Carlson has completed 37 of 78 attempts for 501 yards. His leading receiver is Ike Harris who has caught 12 passes for 135 yards. The Cyclones are second in the conference in passing. Colorado better not catch itself looking forward to next week's date at Norman, Ok la. Oklahoma State, after taking a break last Saturday, visits Texas Christian in an effort to extend its non-conference record to 3-1. If you compare scores against a same opponent, the Cowboys should be favored to win. Oklahoma State lost a 31-10 decision to Arkansas while TCI) dropped a 49-15 game to the same opponent last week. Nebraska's game at Missouri rounds out the Big Eight schedule. Sebratka at Missouri Oklahoma at Texas (Dalian) Colorado at Iowa Stale Kansas Stalest Kansas Oklahoma State at Texas Christian Missouri might be even stronger than last year. Not only did team captain Kerry Hogan cover the Tigers' home course in his best career time of 19:50, but freshman Brian Walsh placed third. Last year the Tigers defeated Nebraska 24-31 at Lincoln. THE DAILY NEBRASKAN NFRRASKA 28 Missouri touchdown unless they pick off an easy pass. IOWA STATE 28, Colorado 24...Would you call this an upset? OKLAHOMA 28, Texas 21. ..It hurts a predictor's percentage to go against the Sooners this year. KANSAS STATE 21 Kansas 7...The Jayhawks could finish in last place this season. OKLAHOMA STATE 27, TCU 21. ..The Cowboys will take advantage of an extra week's practice. What about George? Now that super sophomore Jerry Moses is healthy, what will Iowa State coach Johnny Majors do with George Amundson? Amundsen, who alternated with Dean Carlson at quarterback last year, was switched to tailback this season when Moses broke his foot in pre-season practice. Amundson has been surprisihgly impressive and leads the Big Eight in tandem offense (combination of rushing and pass receiving). The senior from Aberdeen, S. Dak., has a 145-yard tandem offense average. Amundson rushed for 196 yards against New Mexico. Moses, who had an impressive freshman season, should be ready for action against Colorado Saturday. Will he step in front of Amundson. "There's no way I'll start someone without him proving himself first," Majors said. "As far as I'm concerned Amundson is our No. 1 tailback." Majors denied a report that Moses might be moved to flanker when he returns. It seems that having two first-team tailbacks is becoming a habit with Big Eight teams. Scantlebury dropped Bob Bass, coach of the ABA Miami Florid ians, said former Nebraska basketball player Tom Scantlebury was dropped from the Florid ians' roster because his ball handling was weak. "His offense wasn't very smooth," said Bass. "We just felt that we had guards who were stronger than Tom. His ball handling was weak and his outside shooting wasn't very impressive." Scantlebury, who left Nebraska following the 1 969-70 season, tried out with the Milwaukee Bucks before being invited to the Miami rookie camp last year. Buffs can pass With the way Colorado and Oklahoma were running over their first opponents, it was wondered if the two teams had forgotten about the forward pass. Colorado, however, showed that it still knows about the pass. While Kansas State limited Colorado's powerful triple option to only 97 rushing yards last week, sophomore quarterback Ken Johnson passed for 276 yards ( a new Colorado record). The Buffs had thrown for just 1 79 yards in their first three games. But Oklahoma has still kept the forward pass on the shelf in its first three games. The Sooners, who are second in the nation in rushing offense, are last in the Big Eight in passing with just 1 67 yards in three games. Against Southern California last week, the Sooners passed just one time and that was incomplete. Oklahoma has thrown just 18 passes this season. What happens if someone discovers how to stop the Wishbone-T running game. Can the Sooners' passing cany the load then? "WOKDEKFULLY LVHATIC! WILD AMD WITTY! A tmn krmmk mitmmtimnm. mil ml Hkmm rrmzmly nitmmmt. 4iH mmima iniii m kit ml mtt re m Mae amy i Am niiewcwflf mmm Vii Mix,i wpirfr.rr.' DeM, mtmam, mm mm I li rf mmcmtt- Tmmm m mta dmm ml wmtwmt mmmmdmm mrmmm hmm tmm CtV-tiri,! I mV,tmmmr! t I mm I l.tB yf -t' 0 I W fcW, ... Ci12aL. mmm.mm. Itmmmmtmmim Matinees only RATED R-BUT. AS USUAL, NO ONE UNOEK IB li JHR 3...The Tigers won't score a M. 1HIW1M MBS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1971
