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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1977)
thursday, november 3, 1977 page 10 daily nebraskan j 3 i Lee to protect high hurdle title By Jim Hunt Husker split end Jeff Lee silenced a few rumors Tuesday, when he announced he would participate in track this year. Lee, a junior from Racine, Wis., is the defending NCAA 60-yard high hurdle champion". Lee, hampered throughout football season with injuries, said his injuries will influence his participation in track. "If I'm not healthy before the first track meet I'll just sit out that meet," Lee said. "I won't run until I'm healthy. My legs mean a lot to me and I don't want to hurt them anymore." Lee pulled the hamstring muscle in his right leg during a practice earlier this fall. "The early part of the season I felt great," Lee said. "Then the weather got cold on us and my hamstring snapped." Lee said he has been disappointed with his perform ance so far this season. Lee has caught one pass for six yards and this week's game against the University of Missouri will be the first road trip he has made this season, he said. "I don't think my time has come in ball yet," Lee said. "It will come though. I just haven't had enough time on the field." However, Lee said, he will not split his time between spring football and track this year. "I will stick with track for the outdoor season and come back to football in the fall," Lee said. "I haven't talked it over with Coach Osborne this year. Last year he said if I came out for spring ball and worked at my po sition, it would be okay to go out for track." Lee said splitting time between track and football last spring hurt him more in track than in football because it threw off his timing in the hurdles. Lee said he has dreams of capturing three indoor hurdles titles. "I'll be there to defend my championship," Lee said. "I'll give everyone a chance at me." Even though Lee has thoughts of winning three titles, track is mot the most important thing to him right now. "Football and Missouri come first," Lee said. "I won't even have time to think about track until the start of the new year." hf.'&J'- UV -!' "ic Photo by Bob Pearson Husker split end Jeff Lee hauls in his only reception this season-a six yard grab against the University of Ala bama. Lee said Tuesday he will not go out for spring football practice and will instead concentrate on defending his NCAA 60-yard high hurdle championship. Terry Miller's chances for Heisman aren't good Although it's hard to root for a Husker opponent, it was gratifying to see Oklahoma State's Terry Miller get his customary 100 yards rushing last Saturday and keep alive his bid for the Heisman Trophy. But, although Miller is the first real Big 8 threat for the award since Johnny Rodgers won it in 1972, his chances aren't good. Traditionally, the Heisman winner has come from a highly rated team. In the last five years, for example, the winner's team has finished no lower than fifth in the final Associated Press (AP) poll. On the other hand, Oklahoma State has only a 44 record and will be lucky to win one of its remaining three games, (against Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa State). r 1 rlonnfc rnnar m w v I II 1 1 w wiiiiv.ii f f 4th and 20 Thus, barring a string of 200-yard games by Miller, a much more plausible Heisman winner is Earl Campbell, who is leading the country with a 145 -yard rushing aver age (compared to a 144.9-yard average for Miller) and, more importantly, plays for Texas, the No. 1 team in the polls with a 7-0 record. The United Press International (UPI) football poll, in which voting is done by coaches, discarded a foolish tradition in 1975 when it began releasing its final poll after the bowl games. Before then, the final poll had come out at the end of the regular season, as if the bowls were mere sandlot games that had no bearing on deter mining who were the best teams in the country. But .another equally ridiculous UPI tradition is still alive' and healthy. By agreement with the American Football Coaches Assn.teams on probation by the NCAA are ineligible for consideration in the UPI top 20 voting. Although this rule make little difference when the teams involved are patsies such as Redlands (Calif.) and Western State (Colo.), it has had a bearing this year in the case of Kentucky. The Wildcats have posted a 7-1 record (including wins over Penn State andLSU) and are ranked seventh in the AP poll, while the UPI poll refuses to acknowledge their existence. The same situation occurred in 1974 when Oklahoma had the only undefeated team in the country and sat atop the AP poll, only to be entirely ignored by UPI pollsters. There appears to be no other reason for the rule than added punishment for recruiting violations, similar to denying teams on probation the right to play on TV or in bowl games. But that reason appears feeble at best. Kentucky players are denied the right to see their names in the spotlight, so to speak, because of violations which they probably had nothing to do with. And it is unlikely that the rule deters future illegal recruiting. Husker fans used to look down their noses with disdain at the "boring" rushing offenses of schools such as Okla homa. One running play after another was no match for the exciting, diversified Husker attack. But it seems as if Nebraska has joined the club. After finishing seventh in the Big 8 rushing offense last year, the Huskers have made a complete turnaround and now rank sixth in the country with a school record clip of 298 rushing yards a game. Six Huskers have season totals of more than 100 yards, led by I.M. Hipp who broke the 1 ,000-yard barrier last week. Hipp now stands fifth in the country with 128.6 yards a game, and his average of seven yards a carry is best among the national leaders. Conversely, the Husker passing attack has nosedived. Tops in the Big 8 last year, Nebraska is now averaging just 115 passing yards a game, only fourth best in the league, and the lowest Husker average in more than a decade. But Husker fans have hardly noticed; they don't even cringe When Coach Tom Osborne says he has to establish the running game. It seems even "boring" of fenses are all right as long as the Big Red comes out on top. Top-ranked intramural football team overturned in last play by Abel 2A sports short: The UNL Sports Complex tennis courts will be open from 1 to 5 pjn. Saturday and 10 ajn. to 10 p.iru Sunday. Students and faculty members can sign up for court reservations 9 ajn. to noon, Monday through Friday at the Sports Complex, room 125. Court posts are $2 an hour for students and $4 an hour for faculty. For more information, contact Ray Huppert at 472-1147. It definitely wasn't Memorial Stadium on a "Big Red" Saturday , but the 11 spectators who lined the Gather field saw a whale of a football game Thursday night. Abel 5 A entered the game ranked as the top residence hall team and fourth in this week's intramural top 10 but was upset by Abel 2A in a game that was decided on the last play of the game. Abel 2 A scored all its points in the first half but hung on to the win after giving up touchdowns on the last play of the third quarter and the last play of the game. Abel 5 A was not able to convert either extra point and lost the game by one point. It was the first loss for Abel 5A, whose record dropped to 4-1 entering the playoffs. Abel 2A has a record of 3-2. Competition among the Abel Residence Hall teams "have been good, Ken Hajek, captain of Abel 5A said. "Abel 2, 4 and 5 are all evenly matched, Hajek said, ' "We lost to Abel 2 by one point and beat Abel 4 by one point." Even though Abel 5 A finished second in the all university standings last season it is almost an entirely different team this season, Hajek said. Gottula and Mark Bennett are the only team returners, but five other players played on last year's Abel 5B squad, Hajek said. Brad Gottula, a sophomore team member from Table Rock holds a state record with 29 touchdowns in a sea son and seven in one game, Hajek said. Even with a 4-1 record Abel 5A will have to play well in the playoffs, Hajek said. "Everyone in the dorms plays their guts out during a game," Hajek said. "I think whoever wins the dorm play, off will have a good chance in the all-university playoffs." This week's top 10 compiled-by Gale Wiedow, UNL Director of Intramural Athletics, on Nov. I. 1. Thunderchickens 5-0 2. Sigma Chi A 4-0 3. Phi Delta Theta A 4-0 4. Abel 5A 4.0 5. Cr. Riders 6-0 6. Burr 2 Sodbusters 6-0 7. Sigma Nu A ' 4-0 8. Plaque Patrol S-0 9. Aeros $4 10. Sigma Phi Epsilon B 5-0