monday, September 12 1977
page 10
: .daily nebraskan
D
owers 'drained' M ter
WW Victory
iV '. i.-. -. . . , . 1 . v, nom-hun tnurhHnwn nsssfts from
By Mike McCarthy . ; Speaking in the. Cougars: locker room alter tne game, . nang wu u ... &w -- ThVfirVr
y sSmEdiSr y . Powers.sipped a soft drink and inhaled long draws from. . .quarterback Jack Thompson. Jhe first a 1 9-y arder, came
"I'm numb, I'm just numb." That.was the reaction by his cigarette. Nebraska friends slapped the WSU coach on. . ..-.in the first quarter. He ran the same route, a post pattern,
Washington State University (WSU) Coach Warren Powers
tollowmg Saturday s season opener.
That statement quite possibly reflected the feelings of
Big Red Fans.
Fans watched the Cougars upset the Huskers
before a packed house of 75,922 at Memorial Stadium.
Powers said the 19-10 upset left him emotionally drained.
Powers' visit to Lincoln marked a victory over and a
reunion with Nebraska. Powers was the Huskers' defensive
back coach until January when he left to head WSU's pro-,
gram.
the back and shook his hand; . . ' , past Husker aeienaer uunaucym
. "Our kids never gave up,"Powers said.. 'This is a big a 2U-yard score. . , - .
shot in the arm for us: But we ..have to keep getting Although the Huskers praised Kelly, he returned the
better. Although we won,. we did a lot of bad;things favor. -v ' '
today"- ... ... "Nebraska has more, class than any. team I ve ever
Powers said the win could start football fever back at . . played against," Kelly said.-. '.'They have a lot of character
WSU in Pullman, Wash. . ; ' and I consider it a'pleasure just to play against them. .
. "Pullman fans are a lot like the avid fans in Lincoln," . . Rich Glover,: an All-American at UNL. five years ago
Powers said, "The fans in Pullman are hungry, for some
thing, they want something to hang onto." : .
: One Cougar, flanker : Brian Kelly, had something to
it I! m "-; is v
and now a Cougar assistant coach, said he still has a soft
spot for the Huskers. . ; ; - .
: I U always oe cneenngiui pig icu, ne stuu. , ui i a
nice beating your old school."
"Coach Powers said we can enjoy the. win until
r ready for Michigan State (University), our next game."
Powers said the Cougar's win did not make Husker
Coach l orn usoorne sjod any easier.
"He has a tough job at Nebraska," Powers said. "Fans
expect a lot out of him." .
"Nebraska has a good football team," he added. "And
I'm interested in how they do. But I'm at Washington
aiaie now,
Photos by ted Kirk & Bob Pearson
Irvf
W1
Osborne hopes fans stay faithful
By Kevin Schnepf
Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said he figures he didn't
make any friends this week since the Huskers lost to the.
Washington State Cougars. But he added that he hopes
Big Red fans aren't giving up on the team.
"I guess this makes you find out what coaching is all
about," Osborne said Saturday in a noiseless Husker
locker room. "I just hope the fans react'by expecting to
see a better team next week."
Osborne praised the debut coaching job of his former
assistant, Warren Powers.
"Both coaches and players deserve credit," Osborne
said, "They have skilled players on their team who hung
in there and won the game."
One of WSU's "skilled players" was quarterback Jack
Thompson, a pre-season All-American choice who threw
two touchdown passes and completed 18 of 30 tosses
for 174 yards. Cougar' receiver Brian Kelly caught both
touchdown passes, catching eight for 102 yards.
While WSU made no turnovers, the Huskers lost four
fumbles-I-Bf M. Hipp fumbled on the WSU 5 yard
line, split ei. rnsnk Lockett fumbled on WSU's 25
and quarterback Randy Garcia fumbled on the Cougar's
2 yard line, preventing a second Husker score.
"They (WSU) played error-free football and we
dropped the ball in three key situations," Osborne said.
."Thompson was great and their receivers were good."
Husker safety Larry Valasek, who had to keep an eye
on Cougar receivers said WSU's passing game was well
executed.-
"The thing that threw me off was Thompson looked
me off," Valasek saR "He'd look one way and throw
the other with his quick release. He kept on picking at us ..
and didn't fold."
"Ever since I've been here at Nebraska, the first games
have always been a jinx," Valasek said referring to last
year's 6-6 tie to LSU.
The Huskers did win the statistics game, with 470
total yards compared to WSU's 294. UNL ran the ball for
247 yards with 153 yards coming from Rich Berns.
Quarterbacks Randy Garcia and Tom Sorley passed for
223 yards.
Garcia and Sorley, who are both "bumped up" moved
the ball and called some good audibles, Osborne said.
Osborne said Garcia was shaken up and Sorley injured
his right shoulder, Fullback Dodie Donnell sustained a
strained neck injury on the opening kick-off and did not
play the rest of the game.
Osborne said the Huskers must bounce back for Sat
urday's game with the University of Alabama at Memorial
Stadium.
"Alabama will be a great football team," Osborne said.
"But we have a better idea of how these inexperienced
players look in a game. I saw some good things out there
today such as moving the ball well."
"I think we can be a better team because of what we
learned today," Osborne said.
WSU plays Michigan St. Saturday at East Lansing, Mich.
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