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Page 16
Thursday, October 21, 1982
Daily Nebraskan
Gibler expects a passing game
By Cindy Gardner
Missouri will be without the services of its No. 1
receiver in Saturday's regionally televised clash with
Nebraska. But the Tigers' talented No. 2 man said that
won't stop the Mizzou pass attack.
"We might try to pass a little more this week," tight
end Andy Gibler said Tuesday. "To win a football game
you have to run and pass, but we'll test their (the Hus
kers') defensive backs."
Gibler, Missouri's second leading receiver, will com
bine with split end Craig White as two of the Tigers'
favorite targets Saturday. White will start in place of
Curtland Thomas, who lead Mizzou receivers with 17
catches before breaking his leg last week in a 17-17
draw with Iowa State.
The absence of Thomas should not change the Ti
gers' offensive strategy, Gibler said.
"Craig White is a good receiver. He caught two pas
ses last week, too. We'll still just look for the open man,"
'he said.
Record approached
Gibler himself should be in on a fair number of catches
against Nebraska. The senior nabbed 27 passes for 233
jyards during his junior season and is on his way to be
coming Missouri's all-time leading receiver. At the start
of the season, he needed just 15 catches to surpass the
school record of 90 career receptions set by Joe Stewart
between 1974 and 1977. Thirteen catches so far this
season have brought Gibler within two of the record,
which he is likely to break Saturday.
Gibler, however, said his eye is not on the record but
on improving his performance each week. The entire
Mizzou offense is hoping for such an improved perfor
mance this week, he said.
"I'm optimistic," he said. "If we can get our offense
together, we should have a pretty good chance against
Nebraska. We've been just a little bit away."
Missouri's offense, hampered by injuries, has spent
the first half of the season searching for the right com
bination of healthy personnel. For example, the Tigers
currently are employing their third starting center of
the season, Phil Greenfield. Greenfield faces the task
of filling the shoes left empty by the graduation of
all-American Brad Edelman.
Offense shuffled
The offensive shuffling has made it more difficult to
pull the offense together, but Gibler said he hopes the
unity and timing will be there on Saturday.
"It's a big game. We haven't been playing all that
well. We hope we can put it all together this week."
While the Tiger offense by no means has had an
easy row to hoe in preparing for Nebraska, Gibler
said the Tigers do have a mental advantage that was
absent last year when the Huskers beat Missouri 6-0 at
Columbia, Mo.
"Last year at his time, we'd just gotten blown away
by Iowa State," he said. "We were kind of stunned."
Iowa State handed Missouri its first loss of the 1981
season with a 34-13 victory in Ames, Iowa. The loss
dropped the Tigers out of the top 10. Even though the
Cyclones came back to tie Missouri last week, he said,
"we have a better attitude than we did last year."
Gibler has been a starter since the sixth game of his
freshman season, so he's well aware of the intensity of
Missouri-Nebraska match ups. Yet, the second-team all
Big Eight selection said he is not sure he would label the
Huskers as the Tigers' "rival."
"We want to beat all the teams every week, but Ne
braska is always on top," he said. "I wouldn't say they're
our rival, but they're somebody to prove yourself against.
If you beat Nebraska, you know you've beaten the best."
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Tigers hope to leave rut behind
Missouri football Coach Warren Powers said his 3-1-2
Tigers hope to break out of the rut they're in with a good
performance at Nebraska Saturday.
Missouri has tied its last two games, against Kansas
State and Iowa State, and Powers said the team's confi
dence has been lagging.
"I think we'll bounce back from that, though," he
said. "This will be the toughest game of the year, and
we'll be up for it."
Powers said the Tigers will have to throw more than
they have so far this year to stay in the game Saturday.
The Missouri passing attack, however, will be hurt by the
loss of split end Curtland Thomas, who broke a leg in
the fourth quarter of last week's game against ISU and
is out for the season.
"We lost a great receiver in Curtland Thomas," Powers
said. "That's our biggest problem right now." Thomas
had caught 17 passes, four for touchdowns.
Missouri's quarterback situation is somewhat shaky.
Both Brad Perry, a junior, and sophomore Marlon Adler
have started. Perry quarterbacked the Tigers to their
19-14 win against Oklahoma last year. He is expected to
start against the Huskers Saturday.
Adler is recovering from a bruised left knee, but could
play Saturday. Adler also punts for the Tigers, and has
had only one of 22 punts returned - for 4 yards.
Center Tom Hornof, who sprained an ankle last week,
is probably out of the Husker game, Powers said.
Kevin Potter, Missouri's all-conference safety, will
be back after missing the Iowa State game with an ankle
injury.
The Tiger defense is ranked sixth nationally in total
defense, giving up 232.5 yards per game. It is 19th in
rushing defense (108.8 yards per game).
Photo courtesy Missouri Sports Information
Missouri tight end Andy Gibler
Big 8 increases travel limit
The Big Eight Conference has increased the 55-man
travel limit for conference games to 60 this year, and
Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said he welcomes the
change.
"It is a more workable number and certainly better
than what we had," Osborne said. Last year, the non
conference travel limit was 60, but 55 for conference
games.
Osborne said it was difficult to cut back to 55 players
when conference play began after using 60 for non
conference away games. Added travel costs for the five
added players amounts -to about $150 a trip, he said.
Prentice Gautt, assistant commissioner of the Big
Eight Conference, echoed Osborne's reasoning for the
change.
"Coaches were saying 'Hey, we have to make two
different kinds of plans,' " Gautt said.
Mike Gilleran of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association said his organization has not set travel limits.
"We leave that up to the conference to decide," he
said.
Osborne said the five extra spots add depth to the
team for conference away games.
"We can almost be three deep at all positions," Os
borne said.
The 60-player limit is "fairly comparable" to other
conferences, Osborne said. Other conferences have a 60
to 65-player limit, except independents. Osborne noted
that Penn State, which is not under the restraint of a
player limit, has come to Nebraska with up to almost
75 players.
Sooners, cheerleaders blacken the eyes of Texas
The Big Fry
From Rice's winless start (and middle) to Texas'
thrashing by underdog Oklahoma to the Dallas Cowboys
cheerleaders' subpar performance at a Fresno State
game, it's been a bleak year for the Longhorn State.
; So bleak that the theme of this week's Bottom 10
'is "The Eyes of Texas Are Black and Blue!" - with an
5. Houston (2-3-1)
6. Texas ASM (3-3)
7. Texas Tech (3-3)
8. Iowa (3-3)
9. Houston (NFL) (1-1)
10. Texas (3-1)
Arkansas
Rice
Washington
Minnesota
7
SMU
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Steve Harvey
all-state group of weaklings holding down Nos. 1-10.
Eee-yah!
Meanwhile, Northwestern (2-5) followers found
consolation in the fact that the Mildcats, despite two
wins this season, still have a 45-game losing streak in
tact on the road.
. And who says Ohio State Coach Earle Bruce gives
boring pep talks at halftime? Why, the Buckeyes actually
Jwent out and scored a touchdown in the third quarter
Saturday - their first points all season in that period.
The Rankings
jTEAM, RECORD NEXT LOSS
1. Rice (0-6) " Texas ASM
t2.UTEP(I-6) Air Force
3. TCU(24) Baylor
4. Baylor (2-3-1) TCU
II. Virginia (0-6); 12. Memphis St. (0-6); 13. Cornell
(0 5); 14. Oregon (0-6); 15. Oregon St. (0-5-1); 16.
Kentucky (0-5-1); 17. Michigan St. (0-6); 18. North
western (2-5); 19. Washington St. (14-1); 20. (tie) NFC
East All-Stars (1-0), and AFC East All-Stars (0-1).
Coach Hay den Fry was born in Odessa, Texas.
Crummy Game of the Week: Texas of El Intercepted
Paso ( I -6) vs. Air Force (34).
Rout of the Week: Washington (6 0) vs. Texas Tech
(33).
Returning Letter-man: Reader Bob Perry wrote the
Portland Oregonian: "This is the third year I have written
to state my objection to The Bottom 10 column . . . That
column should be put on waivers."
The Small Fry
Three weeks ago, a hypnotist named Dave Pappas
began working with Eastern Michigan's hapless foot
ball team. Pappas has achieved remarkable results.
None of the players smoke anymore.
However, they keep losing - they are now at 25
straight floggings. Next, the Hurons (0-6) attempt to
roll under lowly touted Northern Illinois (1-5) in their
determined quest for The Little Bottom 10 trophy
(so little it can't be seen with the naked eye).
Meanwhile, Pacific (Calif.) (1-5) checked in at No.
9 after losing in the final seconds to Utah State on a
trick play, the old long-pass-from-twin-brother-to-twin-brother
(Doug to James Samuels).
The Rankings
TEAM RECORD NEXT LOSS
1 . Eastern Mich. (0-6) Northern 111.
2. Cal Poly (Pomona) (0-6) Santa Clara
3. Claremont-Mudd (0-5) Redlands
4. Kent St. (0-6) Central Mich.
5. Texas Southern (0-6-1 ) Miss. Valley
6. Richmond (0-6) VMI
7. Portland St. (0-6) puget Sound
8. Redlands (1-5) Claremont-Mudd
?nFM,r,C.,) c , Arizona
10. New Mexico St. (1-6) New Mexico
Not a rock group.
,thnr Tcx" tcams reiving votes: Lubbock Christian
(0-5), Prairie View (0-5).
Crummy Game of the Week: Redlands (1-5) vs. Claremont-Mudd
(0-5).
End of an Era: Lebanon Valley College (Pa.), appa
rently despondent after being overlooked by Bottom 10
selectors though it had been shut out 0-113 in its first
four games, went out and beat Muhlenberg 10-7. A
shame.
(c) 1S32 Univtrul Press Syndicate