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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1978)
page 10 daily nebraskan monday, november 20, 1978 sports Tiger win has chilling effect on Husker heat wave By Ed McClymont It was a dark, chilling, overcast day. The wind chill in dex put the temperature below zero. The wind was whist ling through Memorial Stadium. All factors added up to an ominous afternoon for Nebraska backers. And after the final second had ticked off the scoreboard, the Missouri Tigers had claimed another one of their killer upsets, a 35-31 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Led by a rampaging sophomore, James Wilder, and the passing combination of Phil Bradley and Kellen Winslow, the Tigers carved the Husker defense into mince meat as they racked up 476 total yards. Very seldom did the Tigers make less than five yards on first down, and sub sequently had the Blackshirt defense guessing the entire game. MU offense good "They had a very good offense, the best we faced ex cept Oklahoma," Head Cocah Tom Osborne said. "It was a combination of them controlling the line of scrimmage and our poor tackling that let them outplay us (on offense). Some of our poor tackling was because they had excellent backs. They ran hard and broke a lot of tackles." The focal point of the Tiger ground game was Wilder. The sophomore who failed to gain a vote in the All-Big Eight balloting, rushed for 181 yards on 28 carries. Os borne, who uses superlatives sparingly, called Wilder a great back and said the entire Tiger backfield was the most physical the Huskers had faced all year. Passing ability Quarterback Phil Bradley showed his passing ability by throwing for 187 yards on 10 or 21 completions with no interceptions. He also rushed for 39 yards. Most of his passes were directed toward All-Big Eight tight end Kellen Winslow. The burly senior grabbed six passes for 132 yards and one touchdown. "Offensively, I've never had a better game," Winslow said. "I missed a couple (passes) I should have had early, but I think 1 made up for them." The premier performance of the game, however, was turned in by Husker Rick Berns. Overshadowed by UNL's loss, the All-Big Eight back carried the ball 36 times for 255 yards, breaking I.M. Hipp's single game rushing record of 254 yards set against Indiana last year. Berns appeared to care less about the record following the game as his eyes filled with tears while talking about the game. Winning priority "My number one priority is to win and we fell short of it," Berns said. "All our goals we made at the beginning of the season were still there before today. We just let them go by. It was a tough way to go, it would have been a lot sweeter to have won it." It was Berns who set the stage for what eventually be came a track meet. On the first play following the open ing kickoff, Berns took a pitch around left end and carried the ball 82 yards for a touchdown. Berns didn't think the quick six made the Huskers take on a passive attitude for the game. "We've had too many close games to be over confident," Berns said. "I don't care how far ahead you are, you've got to keep playing hard in this league." Powers not surprised The Missouri offense showed they weren't intimidated in the least by the Huskers, as they covered 79 yards in 13 plays to tie the score on their first possession and tie the game 7-7. Wilder gave the UNL defense a preview of things to come as he accounted for 40 of Missouri's yards on the drive. The Tiger's offense was not a surprise to Head Coach Warren Powers. "Nobody has stopped us this year, we've stopped our selves," Powers said. "Today we were coming off the ball and showing some offense." Nebraska appeared to take some control of the game as they took a 17-7 lead on a Tom Sorley to Junior Miller pass from two yards, and a 24-yard field goal by Billy Todd. But Missouri came back. Futile defense Going 73 yards in 1 5 plays the Tigers put themselves back into the game 17-14 on a Bradley to Winslow pass from 14 yards out. This drive typified the Huskers' inability to control Missouri, as they converted on three third down plays, and one fourth down play. Cornerback Andy Means described the Huskers' futility on defense. "We kept saying to each other 'We can stop them, we can stop them', and then they would march 70 yards on us," Means said. Fellow secondary member Jim Pillen also felt the frus tration. "They cut us up everywhere. They have great backs and some great players. Winslow is an excellent player. But the thing that beat us was their running game. They came at us straight off the ball. Continued on Page 1 1 ' ? a ,
