Wednesday, august 26, 1981
daily nebraskan
page 13
Bowden says Seminoles face rigorous schedule
vAtnr Note: this fa the wnml i. .
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Nebraska's 1981 football opponents. The stories wOl run
in the order that Nebraska plays the teams this fall.
By Scott Ahlstrand
The Florida State Seminoles will be hard pressed to
equal last year's 10-2 record, according to Coach Bobby
Bowden.
Bowden's troops have gone 21-3 the last two years
but many experts feel that the Seminoles have the tough'
est schedule in college football.
"We have a killer schedule this year, Bowden said.
"We have five games in a row on the road against Nebra
ska, Oliio State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and LSU. How
well we do in that portion of our schedule will either
make or break our season. If we come through it well, we
could have a very fine season.
Of Florida State's 11 foes, Bowden believes Nebraska
will be one of the toughest.
"I've told the players that there are two teams on our
schedule that will be very tough to beat. Nebraska is one
them," Bowden said. "We have to play the t'ornhuskers in
Lincoln and anyone who saw us beat them last year
knows that their defense pretty much manhandled us phy
sically. Our offense consisted of turnovers and field goals.
Although the Seminoles have gone through their spring
practices and are currently in their fall drills, Bowden
hasn't got a feeling about this year's team yet.
"We're in a rebuilding year, but we have a lot of
talent," Bowden said. "I'm just unsure about how well
well do. I cant get a feel or a sense for how well they'll
perform
Mason ready to battle for No. 1 spot
By Pat Beecham
A the battle for the No. 1 quarterback continues,
Nate Mason continues to look on the situation with a
bright attitude.
"Right now I'm just trying to be the best quarterback 1
can be," Mason said.
The 6-0. 190-pound junior from Greenville, Texas, has
been alternating with Mark Mauer on the No. 1 unit,
but even if he doesnt get the nod as the starting quarter
back, Mason said it wont be the end of the world.
"Itll be pretty tough to go through a whole season
with just one quarterback," Mason said. I want to be
able to come in and help if I'm not the number one quar
terback." Mason said Mauer has been a little more consistent and
has an extra year under his belt, but he still expects the
competition for the quarterbacking job to be intense
right up to the Huskers' first game.
"It 11 be a dogfight right up to the Iowa game," Mason
said. "We could even be alternating during the Iowa
game."
"One of the bad points is the team needs to know
who's going to lead them in a game," Mason said. "One of
the good points is that it brings out the best in the quar
terbacks." Even though they are battling for the same position,
Mason said he and Mauer still help each other out.
"Me and Mark are good friends," Mason said. "We
were both on the second team last year and we spent a lot
of time around each other. If I don't understand some
thing hell explain it to me or if he needs help with some
thing, 111 help him out."
Mason said all the attention that has been focused on
the quarterback situation this year hasnt bothered him
that much.
"Quarterback is an important position," Mason said.
"When you have a good quarterback leave, a lot of peo
ple are going to look at that position to see who the next
quarterback is going to be."
Mason said he continued his workouts during the sum
mer, working on his passing and trying to put on a little
weight.
"I worked out at home and came back here about mid
July," Mason said. "I did a lot of throwing and lifting to
get a little bigger."
sps)7fe shorts
The Nebraska soccer club began practice Monday and
is practicing daily at the field behind Mabel Lee Hall. Stu
dents interested in becoming a member of the club are
encouraged to attend.
Tryouts for the UNL baseball team will be held
Monday at 3 p.m. at Buck Beltzer Field. Students intere
sted in walking on should attend. A permission slip from
a doctor is required.
Sports Illustrated has released it's college football top
20. The magazine's picks are: 1. Michigan, 2. Texas, 3.
USC, 4. Oklahoma, 5. Notre Dame, 6. Penn State, 7. Ne
braska 8. Alabama, 9. UCLA, 10. North Ouolina, 11.
Georgia, 12. Pittsburgh, 13. Florida, 14,' Ohio State, 15.
Washington, 16. Mississippi State, 17. Stanford, 18. BYU,
19. LSU, 20. Baylor.
Student football tickets for new students and those
who did not purchase them in the spring are on sale
through Friday at the outside windows of the Athletic
Ticket Office, South Stadium 117.
Anyone interested in being the student manager for
the women's swimming and diving team should contact
Coach Ray Huppert at 472-6466. s
Mason said he is pleased with his play in practice so far
this year but added there are still some things he knows he
has to work on.
"I ran well and had a pretty good scrimmage Satur
day " Mason said. "But I've got to work on staying more
in the pocket and looking at all three of my receivers."
Although there was a lot of talk about Mason transfer
ring this summer he said that is all behind him now.
"Part of the reason I went home this summer was to
find out what I wanted to do," Mason said. "I did a lot of
thinking and now I know what I want to do."
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One of the strengths for Florida State is the return of
senior quarterback Kick Stockstill. Stockstill started every
game for the Seminoles last season, completing 60 percent
of his passes for l ,377 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Punter Ron Stark will also contribute heavily to the
Seminoles chances. Stark, an all-around athlete who fin
ished eighth in the decathlon in the NCAA Track
Championships, was Florida State's only All-American last
year, lie finished the season with a 45.1 yard average aim
was named to several pre-season Ail-American teams.
Other seniors who' should aid the offense are: fullback
Mike Whiting, tight end Sam Childers and tackle Tom
Brannon.
The defense was hard hit by graduation, as only three
starters fromlast year remain. Bowden expects all three of
them to be leaders. They are end Jarvis Coursey, tackle
Garry Futch and cornerback James Harris.
Florida State's schedule and inexperience appear to be
its greatest difficulities.
"We have a lot of inexperience on this year's team,"
Bowden said. "There's no doubt about it, we are not the
same team as we were last year. WeVe lost eight starter
on defense and six on offense. The inexperience could
really show during our five-game road trip. All of those
teams are really physical. It could kill us to have to take
that physical pounding Saturday after Saturday."
This summer some of Florida State's players ran into
trouble both academically and with the law. Absent from
the team will be big play wide receiver Hardis Johnson
and safety Gary Henry. Johnson, a sophomore, caught
24 passes last season, nine of them for touchdowns. While
Henry, a three year letterman, was expected to start this
year.
WeVe had more than our share of trouble with the
law," Bowden said. "It's an embarrassment to the univer
sity and those involved have been diplined. WeVe put it
behind us, but we're going to miss those bodies. I don't
think it will affect our team's morale. WeVe got a very
positive group of players."
The Seminoles were predicted to finish in the top 15
by most of the national polls, but Bowden puts little faith
in those predictions.
"There's a lot of speculation involved in the polls,"
Bowden said. "Sometimes they're pretty accurate, but if
you ask ten polls to name the number one team you can
get ten different answers. I'd just as soon put my faith in
our players."
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