monday, november 24, 1975
page 10
-daily nebraskar)
nebroskon si
n
Analysis by Larry Stunkel
Norman, Okla. - That ol' holiday giving
spirit may be in the air, and the UNL foot
ball team must have had a whiff Saturday
of that which characterizes Christmas. The
Huskers' gifts to the Oklahoma University
(OU) Sooners included four fumbles, two
interceptions, an Orange bowl trip and a
35-10 win.
It wasn't as if Oklahoma didn't feel
charitable the Sooners exemplified the
giving spirit all season and gave the Huskers
three fumbles, two in the first quarter. But
OU found it more blessed to receive, and
capitalized on each of Nebraska's fumbles
for touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Sooner defense refused
to let the Huskers benefit from miscues.
The Huskers managed only one first
quarter field goal despite good field
position throughout the first half.
"Naturally we're tremendously dis
apoointed," said head coach Tom Osborne.
"But I told the players when they came in
not to be ashamed. This group of players
has played as close to their potential as
they could. But I don't think they did
today. However, it was not a matter of
being ready.
Turning points
'There were a couple of turning
points," he continued. 'The first one came
when we fumbled leading 10-7. We lost the
ball and they went in to score. The turn
overs from that point on-especia!ly the
fumbled punt (by Jim Burrow on the UNL
12-yard line when OU scored to make the
score 21-10 in the fourth quarter)-caused
our downfall, and that's one thing we.
haven't done much of this year. We
emphasized it would be one important part
of the ball game
The Huskers started as if they would
blow OU out of the stadium, driving 67
yards in 14 plays to the Sooner 13-yard
line. On fourth-undone, Osborne elected
to go for the field goal, but Mike Coyle's
kick was wide to the left.
"We just wanted to get on the score
board," Osborne said. "It was a gamble
that could've gone either way. We feel if
you can get something on that first drive
then you've accomplished one objective."
The Husker blackshirts were able to
hold the Sooners on their side of the 50
yard line for part of the game, but couldn't
keep them from scoring once they crossed
into Nebraska territory.
Davis gave fits
"As long as we were hanging onto the
ball our defense was playing very well,"
Osborne said. "When we had turnovers it
takes something out of the defense. In the
second half it was field position and
turnovers."
As in the last three UNL-OU meetings,
it was Sooner quarterback Steve Davis who
gave the Huskers fits. Davis rushed for 130
yards and two touchdowns, the first after
the blackshirts held OU for three downs on
the one-yard line.
But, vaunted Oklahoma back Joe
Washington managed only 35 yards.
"We had the pitch man very well
played," Osborne said. "But we had some
missed tackles at times (against Davis)."
Osborne priased the Oklahoma coaches
saying, "They had a good game plan. They
gambled well defensively and at some key
times."
It was the gambles, especially linebacker
and safety blitzes, that caused two of
Nebraska's fumbles and contributed to the
Huskers' failure to score on the last play of
the first half from the one-yard line.
Fai-ed to score
With seven seconds left in the half, UNL
got the ball on the Sooner one-yard line
after a pass interference call in the end
zone. One running play to Monte Anthony
failed to get the ball in the end zone and
the Huskers didn't have any time-outs
to stop the clock.
Nebraska had used its time-outs earlier
in the quarter when Vince Ferragamo had
to discuss the changing OU secondary with
Osborne.
'It was real disappointing not to score
at the end of the first half," Osborne said.
"If I had it to do over again I'd probably
throw the ball in that situation. We might
have won if it hadn't been for that and a
few turnovers.
"But football is that way," he added.
"Sometimes it bounces your way, some
times it doesn't. It's been bouncing pretty
good for us this year, but today (Saturday)
it didn't."
Huskers grab Fiesta bid
Cactus flowers in Arizona instead of
orange blossoms in Florida characterize the
UNL football team's bowl plans after a 35
10 loss Saturday to Oklahoma University
(OU) in Norman, Okla.
Reconsidering last Monday's refusal of a
Fiesta Bowl bid Sunday morning, the
Huskers voted overwhelmingly to accept
the bid and play the Western Athletic Con
ference champion (either Arizona or Ari
zona State) in Tempe, Ariz., Dec. 26.
Although the Huskers tied with OU for
the Big 8 title, the Orange Bowl had
announced a week ago that the winner of
the UNL-OU clash would go to Miami.
Acceptance of the Fiesta bid cannot
become official until approved by the NU
Board of Regents, but the regents are
expected to approve the bid.
"I'm really pleased that the players
felt they wanted to play in the Fiesta
Bowl," Osborne said. "We're also very
happy that the Fiesta Bowl held open their
offer" after we voted not to go before the
Oklahoma game."
The game will mark the Huskers'
seventh consecutive bowl appearance. Ne
braska can become the first team in history
to win seven straight postseason bowls. The
team is now tied with Georgia Tech with
six straight wins.
The Fiesta Bowl will be televised
nationally by the CBS television network.
Kickoff wfll be 2 p jn. CST, Dec. 26.
Vargas pockets billiards
crown two years in a row
Volleyball players earn
spot in national tourney
Richard Vargas topped UNL competitors
in a pocket billiards tournament earning
him the right to represent the university in
the regional tournament.
Vargas will travel taSpringfield,Mo.,in
February to compete in the International
(ACUI) regional tourney. If he wins, he
may compete in the national champion
ships at Milwaukee, Wis., in March.
Rollie Hughes, Nebraska Union recrea
tion manager, reported that Vargas beat
10 pool players.
"I think we would have had more par
ticipants," Hughes said, "but many people
who play just don't have confidence in
themselves."
The pocket billiards game played in the
UNL tournament was called "14.1," in
which players attempt to call shots for any
of the six pockets and sink 14 balls. A
player has three options to sink the
After racking the 14 balls shot from the
previous series, players may sink the 15th
ball in a "safe" call, sink the 15th ball
while breaking the racked balls or calling
and shooting one of the 14 racked balls in
a pocket, Hughes said.
But players may shoot only when they
have successfully called and sunk a shot,
Hughes said, earning points for each ball
they sink.
"If you let your opponent get a run,
there's no way to stop him," Hughes said.
In winning the tournament, Vargas drew
a bye for the first round because of his
previous championship, beat Rick Plooster
75-17 in the quarter-finals and John Bates
75-1 1 in the semi-finals. He then beat Bob
Gebler in the finals with a score of 75-33.
UNL's women's volleyball team
qualified for the national tournament by
placing second in the Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
(AIAW) tournament in Columbia, Mo.,
Saturday.
UNL, along with first-place Southwest
Missouri State, will represent Region 6
at the national tournament in Princeton,
NX, Dec. 10 to 13.
The team won seven of eight matches
in the three-day event that featured 12
teams.
UNL lost in the finals to Southwest
Missouri, 15-12, 15-7, after defeating
Augsberg College of Minnesota 15-8,
15-12 and Missouri 15-5, 10-15 and 15-10
to gain a berth in the finals.
UNL coach Pat Sullivan told the
Lincoln Journal that a tough semifinal ,
match with Missouri took a lot out of the
team. 'They were a tough fine defensive
unit, and we had to do a lot of coming
from behind to win," Sullivan said.
According to the Journal, UNL Womens
Sports Information Director Jay Davis
cited seniors Jan Zink and Laury Harmon,
junior Janice Kruger and sophomores
Paula Waiberg and Nancy Hamilton for fine
play.
"Our goal for the season was to go to
nationals and we reached that goal,"
Sullivan told the Journal. "I couldn't
be any prouder of them than if they had
won It."
Big 10 foes to test cagers
shorts
The all-university finals for the men's
intramural volleyball championships
between Alpha Tau Omega and the Space
Kadets are at 6 pjn., today, in the Men's
Physical Education Bldg.
UNL's wrestling team dropped it's
opening dual to the Air Force Academy
22-20 Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The team's next meet is the Oklahoma
Open, Friday and Saturday.
- The Midwest Open in Chicago, 111.
Friday and Saturday, marks the next
competition for UNL's gymnastics team.
By Jim Hunt
Games with two Big 10 conference
schools will open UNL's 1975-76 basket
ball season this weekend.
The Huskers will host Illinois Friday
night and Northwestern Saturday. Tipoff
is at 7:35 both nights in the Coliseum.
"The Big 10 has always had good teams
and players." said UNL head coach Joe
Cipriano. "One of the reasons they de
cided to play us was because they thought
the new fieldhouse would be finished."
Cipriano said probably starters for UNL
would be Jerry Fort and Steve Willis at
guard, Larry Cox at center, and Bob Siegel
with Rickey Harris, Curt Hedberg or Alan
Holder at forward.
All-Big 8
Fort averaged 20.2 points a game last
year as a junior and was named to the all
Big 8 team for the second consecutive year.
Willis, also a senior, averaged 10J points a
game his first year at UNL after transfer
ring from North Idaho College in Couer
d'Alene.
Cox, a 6 ft. 6 in. center, averaged 10.2
points a game last season. He led the Big 8
in field goal percentage, hitting at .589.
Siegel, a 6 ft. 7 in. forward, led Big 8
forwards in rebounds with 8.7 a game. He
averaged 10.3 points a game. Harris, a 6 ft.
7 in. junior, played in all 26 of the
Huskers games last year and averaged 4 J
points a game. .
Hedberg played in 17 games last year as
a freshman. Holder, a 6 ft. 3 In. junior, is
in his first year at UNL after transferring
from Seminole Junior Coilegs in Seminole,
Okla.
Cipriano said he will know more about
how his team reacts in a game situation
after the Red-White intersquad scrimmage
in Grand Island tonight.
New coach
Illinois, 8-18 last year, enters the sea
son under a new coach, Lou Henson. Hen
son coached at New Mexico State for nine
years before he replaced Gene Bartow, now
head coach at UCLA.
Top returnees for the Mini, who fin
ished with Northwestern in a tie for ninth
place last year in the Big 10, are Otho
Tucker, Nate Williams and Mike Washing
ton. Tucker, a 6 ft. 6 in. guard, averaged
1 1.8 points a game last year. Williams, a 6
ft. 4 in. guard, averaged 10.7 points a game.
Washington, a 6 ft. 7 in. forward center,
averaged 7.9.
Illinois leads the series between the two
schools 5-2.
Northwestern, coached by former
Kansas State coach Tex Winter, returns
nine lettermen from last years 6-20 team,
including Bill McKinney, Tim Teasley and
Jim Wallace.
McKinney, a 6-foot guard, averaged
18.2 points a game last season as a sopho
more. Teasley, a 6 ft. 1 in. guard, averaged
6.6 points a game, Wallace, 6 ft. 10 in. cen
ter, averaged eight points a game last
season.
Cipriano said the Big 10 allows its
schools three Intersquad games, which, he
said, could tee an advantage to them.
' 'Si --ia)" 1
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Jerry Fort, senior guard from
Chicago, 01.. is the
ieaaing scorer and twice
Big 8.
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