September 27, 1982
Page 8
Daily Nebraskan
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JnLiiskers deteatedl in tmal seconds
By Cindy Gardner
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - A come-from-behind victory
was snatched away from Nebraska Saturday when Penn
State tight end Kirk Bowman snagged a 2-yard pass in
the end zone with only four seconds remaining. The
catch gave the Nittany Lions a 27-24 win in the nationally
televised footfall cliffhanger at Beaver Stadium.
"It was a great football game," Penn State Coach Joe
Paterno said. "It was a shame for either team to lose."
With just 1:18 left in the game, it appeared the Huskers
had successfully overcome a 14-point deficit to claim a
24-21 victory. Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill went
over the top from the 1-yard line to give Nebraska its
first and only lead of the game. But 1:18 was plenty of
time for the PSU passing machine, aided by a 15-yard
penalty against against Nebraska to engineer a final
scoring drive.
Penn State began the winning drive from its own 35
after a personal foul called against Nebraska added 15
yards to the touchback. Quarterback Todd Blackledge
then marched the Nittany Lions downfield to set up the
game-winning touchdown pass.
"I felt somehwat relieved at the end there with a
minute and something left, but I wasn't really that com
fortable because I knew they (Penn State) had the capabi
lity to go the length of the field," Nebraska Coach Tom
Osborne said. "It looked like the time would help us.
Of course, the penalty gave them good field position.
That 15 yards of field position was really critical.
Penn State's final drive was nearly thwarted at Nebras
ka's 34-yard line. On a fourth-and-1 1 situation, Paterno
opted not to try for a game-tying field goal. Kicking
specialist Massino Manca had failed on three earlier
attempts.
Lions try for first down
Paterno's fourth down decision was a pass from Black
ledge to flanker Kenny Jackson that gave the Lions the
first down conversion by only inches. Three plays later,
the 10-play, 65-yard drive ended in fitting fashion with
the touchdown pass from Blackledge to Bowman.
Police had trouble retaining the Beaver Stadium
record crowd of 85,304 after the winning score. Penn
State fans made quick work of the goal posts when time
ran out after a 21 -yard kickoff return by Nebraska I
back Mike Rozier.
"Obviously, it was a great football game, especially
from the spectators' standpoint," Osborne said.
Osborne described Nebraska's earlier offensive game
as sporadic. The Huskers lost two fumbles and had trouble
escaping the plague of inconsistencies until the final
drive of the first half.
"It's really depressing for me," quarterback Turner
Gill said after the loss. "1 didn't play well the first half.
You've got to play, well four quarters, and I didn't."
Huskers score
Nebraska's only score of the first half came on an
8-yard drive that was capped by a 30-yard pass from
Gill to wingback Irving Fryar. The touchdown left Ne
braska just seven points behind at the midway break,
14-7.
While the Huskers were having trouble untracking
their offensive game, Blackledge set out to earn his
arm a place beside Matt Bahr's foot in Penn State foot
ball history.
The junior from North Canton, Ohio, was able to
md his receivers even while being dragged down by the
Husker-Lion Statistics
Nebraska 0 7 7 10-24
!enn State 7 7 7 6-27
PS - Bowman 14 pass from Blackledge (Manca kick)
PS - Warner 2 run (Manca kick)
NU - Fryar 30 pass from Gill (Seibel kick)
PS - Jackson 18 pass from Blackledge (Manca kick)
NU - Rozier 2 pass from Gill (Seibel kick)
NU - FG Seibel 37
NU - Gill 1 run (Seibel kick)
PS - Bowman 2 pass from Blackledge (kick failed)
Attendance 85.304
NU PSU
First downs 23 30
Rushet-yard 38-233 41-210
Passing yards 239 295
Return yards 0 13
Passes 16-34-1 23-39-1
Punts 3-39 2-38
Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-2
Penalties-yards 4-35 2-10
Time of Possession 30:13 29 47
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Nebraska. Rosier 1936. Gll 12 52 Fryar
145. Ptnn State. Warner 13-78. Williams 10-65, N.rhois
7 32
PASSING - Nebraska. Gill 16-34-239-1. Ptnn State.
Blackledqe 23-39 295 1.
RECEIVING - Nebraska. Fryar 7 112. Brown 3-60.
Simmons 2-28. Ptnn State. Garrity 5-75. Jackson 5-73.
McCioskey 48.
Blackshirt pass rush. Blackledge completed 23 of 39
aasses for 295 yards in the game.
"Penn State's offense really surprised me," Husker
lefensive end Tony Felici said. "Their strong point was
:heir pass protection. They were pretty quick, and that is
probably one of the reasons they've thrown the ball
is much as they have."
Penn State ran the ball three times on its first pos
session but cranked up its passing game the second time
it had the ball. This second possession ended in a 50
yard field goal atterhpt by Manca that was wide to the
'eft.
When the Lions got the ball back again, Blackledge
threw nothing but completions. A 14-yard touchdown
?ass to Bowman culminated the 83-yard drive and put
3enn State on the Scoreboard, 7-0.
Curt Warner, the Lion tailback who has been PSU's
best offensive weapon in seasons past, got his first rushing
touchdown of the fall in the second quarter. The senior
Heisman Trophy contender ran for 50 of the 71 yards
covered on the drive, which made the score 14-0.
The game took on a new intensity in the third quarter.
Bad snap thwarts field goal
Nebraska took its first possession of the second half
the length of the field, but failed to score after a bad
map on a 35-yard field -goal attempt.
Penn State then took over the ball and mounted an
33-yard drive that ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass
from Blackledge to Jackson.
With the Nittany Lions leading 21-7, Nebraska threw
i touchdown pass of its own. A 2-yard toss from Gill
to Rozier and Kevin Seibel's extra point brought the
Huskers within seven.
Quick turnovers by each team opened the final
Nebraska linebacker Steve Damkioger recovered a Skeeter
Nichols fumble at the Nebraska 44 just one play after
Penn State's All Harris intercepted a Gill pass.
The recovered fumble started a Nebraska drive to
the Penn State 20 where Seibel hit a 37-yard field goal.
This brought the Huskers withint four, 21-17.
Penn State came right back with a 60-yard drive that
ended when Husker cornerback Neil Harris intercepted
a 21 -yard Blackledge pass in the end zone. The intercep
tion set up Nebraska's go-ahead touchdown.
Harris said that from the time he intecepted the pass
until the Huskers scored with 1:18 remaining, he "just
sat on the bench and prayed that hopefully things would
work out."
"I don't think we played a good game for 60 minutes,"
Harris said. "The defense has to give the offense field
position but we didn't do that."
While Nebraska had trouble shutting Penn State down,
Osborne was not totally dissatisfied with the Blackshirt
pass coverage.
"We feel that our team played pretty well, parti
cularly in the second half," he said. "We just never did
stop Penn State. I think that's a credit to their great
offense."
"We played a great football team. They are a class
outfit," Paterno said. "There was enough glory on the
field for both teams."
! r- 1
I 1i - " " j- i '" " 'Ttrr i1" -"T '-
Photo by Daniel Samani
Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill (12) plunges over the goal line with 1:18 left in Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska
game at State CoUlege, Pa., to give the Huskers their first lead of the game. The Nittany Lions came back and
scored with four seconds left, however, to score a 27-24 upset win.
Fans disappointed, but sun still rises
Considering the high expectations Nebraska had for
its 1982 football team, one had to wonder if the sun
would come up in Lincoln Sunday morning after Satur
day's 27-24 loss to Penn State in University Park, Pa.
It did, and now it's time to put the game in perspec
tive. Nebraskans found out Saturday that this team is
J Larry Sparks
only human, just like past learns, and that it is not
"unstoppable" as many were saying. But, we're going
to find out even more about the team this week.
Nebraska has made a habit of bouncing back from
a loss with a big win during the years, but those wins
usually have been against a Kansas State or a Colorado.
This week is different. The opponent is undefeated
Auburn, and the game is in an unfriendly stadium, on
naiural lurf and in the deep South, where Nebraska has
never won a regular-season game. If ever a Nebraska team
needed to forget the past, this is it.
It's time to take the Penn State loss for what i! is
worth proof that when two top-notch teams meet, one
good team is going to come away a loser.
It is unfortunate Nebraska had to be that team but
coming out on the short end of the score shouldn't dis
tract from the quality of the game.
It was a classic in every sense of the word. Everything
was there - two highly ranked teams, two very respected
programs, two top coaches, a sell-out crowd and plenty
of exciting plays. This is what college football is all about,
not 68-0 wins against New Mexico State.
It's just too bad the NcbraskaPenn State series has
to end after this year. It's been one of the finest rivalries
in the country. The two teams have had great respect
for each other, and showed it on the field, and no mat
cr which team came out on top. the real winners were
thcfans who were treated to top-rate football every
tohLSrf' gaT ,,kC ,hh d? haVC ,hcir Advantage.
Nebraska s hopes for winning that elusvie national crown
in 1982 were likely left cm the playing field in University
Park Saturday, but the Huskers did gam the experience of
playing a classy fooiball team in front of 85.000 fans
who appreciate good football, no maiter sshich team is
playing It. That has to count for something.
Goodbye to a rivalry ,a, ,as been f,NH to both
universities Now bring on Auburn.