paga 10
v daily ndbrsskan
monday, September 15, 1975
fVJ fit" f-
Top left: Clinton Bur
rell (31) knocks the
ball away from Hus
ker Bobby Thomas
(8) in- the end zone
during the third
quarter Saturday.
Top right: Bob Martin
(87) stops Robert
Dow's (13) run.
Bottom right: Tony
Davis (25) led all
rushers Saturday
with 76 yards in 16
carries. i
Bottom left: Steve
Lindquist (68) separ
ates LSU's Carl
TVS nrtftlA ( " fnm 0
crucial punt late in t
the fourth quarter.
Photos by Ted Kirk
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Anaiytis by Larry Stunkd
With 49 seconds left in the third quarter
of UNL'i 10-7 football win over Louisiana
Stats University (LSU) Saturday, Husker
coach Tom Osborne said he thought he wai
reliving a nightmare.
Pat Lyons, LSU quarterback, had just
scored on a six -yard run and it looked as if
the Tigers were' gaining momentum.
"Last year's Missouri game was going
through my mind," Osbome said. i told
the offense we couldn't relax. We had to
hang on to the ball for a while.
"It looked so similar," Monte Kiffin, de
fensive coordinator, said. "Just like Mis
' souri, We were leading 7-0 at halftime. We
had taken a 1C0 lead, then they started
scoring."
Missouri scored twice' more to win that
came 21-10. LSU, although r.ot as lucky,
kept the 76,259 Memorial Stadium fans in
doubt until the last minute. That was when
Husker split end Chuck Malito recovered a
fumbled LSU punt caused by sophomore
guard Steve Lindquist's shattering tackle of
the Tiger receiver.
"I was expecting them to try a run back
with so little time left," Lindquist said.
"Nobody blocked me and ! knew if that
guy didn't raise his hand. , ."
Fumbles
Fumbles were one of the games major
factors. LSU lost four of its fiva fumbles
uunng uie game, inciuutng one in trie
second quarter on the Husker 36-yard line,
the only other time the Tigers crossed the
50-yard line all day. , ,
Tiger coach Charles McClendon said the
difference in the first half was the kicking
game, which gave the Huskers good field
position while keeping LSU deep in its own
territory. .
The field position had to be a factor,
since the game was statistically even. LSU
had 189 yards total offense compared to
Nebraska's 203-yard total. The Huskers'
had 122 yards in return yardage, LSU had
zero.
Kkkrcfcssj . -
One of the reasons for the kick receiving
team's success was the Johnny Rodgers
type running style of junior split end
Bobby Thomas, .
Thomas, the game's top offensive player, '
almost returned two punts for touchdowns.
His first return to the LSU six was called
back by a clipping penalty. The other, t
57-yard return to the Tiger 14-yard line,
came as the first half ended.
Junfor cornerback Dave Buiterfield re
turned a short LSU punt 33 yards to the
Tiger 34-yard line in the second quarter to'
set up the Huskers only touchdown.
It was Thomas who scored Nebraska's
touchdown on a 4-yard pass from quarter
JbackTerryLuck, , .
"After I caught my first pass i had con
fidence," Thomas said, 'The touchdown
was an out pattern, where I take three
, steps to the right, cut to the outside, then
cut back in. It was tho only time I ran it
all day."
Thomas's 54-yard punt return was little
short of spectacular, as the Huskers rushed
ten men on the punter, leaving 'Thomas to
face a wave of LSU defenders alone.
"I don't know how I got It back,"
Thomas said, "they were coming pretty
fast. I side-stepped the first man, then cut
back to the middle and it was open."
Field pesitioa
Despite good Husker field position dur
ing most of the game, the offense just
couldnt siem to score. ,
Chalk up some of it to the fact that five
Interior offensive linemen were starting for
the first time.
"We all knew our jobs, offensive tackle
Bob Lingenfelte: said, "it was just a matter
of getting the job done. There were some
mix-ups, and the inconsistency we just
have to get out of our systems."
LSU's defense sacked Luck five times
during the game.
, "It was partly Terry's problem," Os
borne said. ''He took a lot of time to set
up. We could start doing everything a little .
faster."- . . ,. . . , . ... . ...
4,i was nervous, I guess," Luck said. "It
was a different type of feeling. You want
to complete passes so bad you try aiming
it. That's when you start letting up and
underthrowina instead of just rearing back
and throwing.
' ' ' , Missing pkycra
"Having seven key players out has got
to effect your team," Osborne said. "But
we feel LSU had as good as defensive line
as well face all season."
"Thfy were tough," said Lingcnfelter.
The lower we'd block, the lower it
seemed they were fixing out."
But LSU wasn't the only team with a
tough defensive line. By McClendon's own
admission, the Husker defensive line made
the biggest difference in the game.
McClendon said this year's line was
better than the one that defeated the
Tigers 17-12 in the 1971 Orange Bowl to
win the first of two national titles.
i. .veraJ1 Kiffin ald he was pleased with
the line and the llnebacking corps, one of
.?nccmi durlnK pre season workouts,
v-irn re young and oin8 to Ket better,"
KlfUn said. "Our backficld gave up some '
passes, but that's because we had two inex-'
perienced sophomore cornerbacks. But
they didn't give up the cheap touchdown- '
toe long bomb. That's all we asked them to
do,"
