Monday, September 23, 1985
Daily Nebraskan
Page 9
rl
Buskers capitalize on Mini turnovers
Victory boosts Nebraska's confidence
S0
By Mike Reilley
Senior Reporter
Two weeks ago, the Nebraska foot
ball team learned how turnovers and
mental errors can stymie an offense
when it lost to Florida State, 17-13.
Illinois got the same lesson Saturday
when it lost the ball seven times and
was defeated by the Cornhuskers 52-25
at Memorial Stadium.
The Fighting Illini coughed up four
fumbles, three of which were lost. And
quarterback Jack Trudeau threw four
interceptions, three of which led to
scores.
Nebraska, on the other hand, had
only one interception and two fumbles.
The Huskers amassed 566 yards total
offense, with 456 yards on the ground.
"We played aggressively and ran the
option well," Coach Tom Osborne said.
"Our players played with a lot more
poise this week. Against Florida State,,
they were more tentative, but today
they came out and played with more
confidence."
Two of the interceptions were return
ed for touchdowns and another set up a
35-yard field goal by Craig Schnitzler.
Nebraska took the opening kickoff
and drove to the Illini 1-yard line,
where I-back Doug DuBose plunged
over the middle untouched for his first
three touchdowns during the day..
DuBose, a junior from Uncasyille, Conn,
set a personal single-game rushing record
by compiling 191 yards on 26 carries.
That figure surpassed his old mark of
162 that he set against Missouri last
year.
Illinois interceptions
The Illini took the ensuing kickoff
and drove to midfield, where Trudeau ,
tossed his first interception of the
game. He fired a pass over the middle
that was tipped by wide receiver David
Williams and landed in the hands of
Husker safety Chris Carr at the Nebraska
44-yard line.
Carr took off for the right sideline
and outraced two Illini defenders to
the end zone. Carr said he thought the
"big, fat linemen" were going to catch
him. He said his teammates gave him
some ribbing on the sidelines about
the return.
"They said about the 15-yard line it
looked like a piano fell on my back," he
said. "I'm not a sprinter by any means."
Schnitzler's extra point gave the
Huskers a 14-0 lead.
Nebraska's second interception prov
ed to be the most controversial play of
the game. Trudeau had moved the Illini
from their own 11-yard line to the
Nebraska 44. He again threw to Willi
ams, who was covered by defensive end
Brad Smith.
Wiliams and Smith jumped simul
taneously for the ball and Williams
caught it. But when they crashed to the
ground, Smith had posession of the
ball.
argued it should have been ruled a
completion, but officials ruled it an'
interception.
"I twisted it away from him on the
way down," Smith said. "It was an
interception."
Nebraska defense
Smith, who also recovered a Trudeau
fumble in the third quarter, credited
Nebraska's defensive line for pressur
ing Trudeau.
"We have some unbelievable pass
rushers," he said. "I don't know if
anyone can stop our front three. They
really know how to rush the ball."
Middle guard Danny Noonan sacked
Trudeau three times, which cost Illinois
22 yards. Right tackle Jim Skow also
sacked Trudeau for a 5-yard loss.
Skow said the reason the Huskers
could pressure Trudeau was that Illi
nois rarely had any running backs in
the backfield to help with pass protec
tion. "When they started to run those
stunts with the backs there was no one
there to block," he said. "That gave
(Trudeau) the jitters."
Illinois scored for the first time
when Chris White booted a field goal
with 11:44 remaining in the half.
The Illini closed to 17-10 when Tru
deau threw his first touchdown pass to
tight end Casper "Cap" Boso with 1:25
left in the half.
Illinois coach Mike White and his The Huskers got more breathing
assistants argued the call. They said room before intermission when they
Smith wrestled the ball away from Wil- took the ensuing kickoff and drove 80
liams after they had hit the turf. They yards for a touchdown. On the first play
from scrimmage, quarterback McCa
thorn Clayton hit split end Robb
Schnitzler on the right sideline for a
64-yard gain. Six plays later, DuBose
dove over from 1 yard ouf to give the
Huskers a 24-10 advantage heading
into the lockerroom.
Confidence booster
DuBose picked up where he left off
when he took a pitch from Clayton,
broke two tackles, avoided another and
scampered 49 yards for a touchdown on
Nebraska's first offensive play of the
second half.
"It was a 41-pitch play," DuBose
said. "It was a well-blocked play. I
jumped over my tight end's head and
made a cut, then cut across the grain
and scored."
Nebraska managed to keep the Illini
pinned deep in their own territory for
most of the third quarter. The Huskers'
average field position was their own
42-yard line, while Illinois' was its own
16.
The Huskers capitalized on the field
position by adding two more touch
downs late in the quarter to stretch
their lead to 45-10. The first score was
set up by Smith's recovery of Trudeau's
fumble at the Illinois 18-yard line. Von
Sheppard scored four plays later on a
12-yard reverse. Sheppard said he had
little trouble getting into the end zone
after taking the handoff from quarter
back Travis Turner.
"When I went around the corner, all
I saw was one defensive back, and he
was being blocked," Sheppard said. "It
just worked beautifully."
The Huskers other touchdown came
with 28 seconds left in the quarter,
when Turner hit Robb Schnitzler with a
9-yard scoring strike.
Illinois fought back in the fourth
quarter by scoring two quick touch
downs. Trudeau hit Boso from four
yards out with 12:56 remaining in the
game. He hit wide receiver Stephen
Pierce on another 4-yard pass play to
pull within 20, 45-25.
"You have to give Illinois credit,"
Osborne said. "They never gave up. We
were down to the point where one more
mistake or turnover could have made it
a very interesting ball game."
But the Illini failed to score again.
The Husker left tackle, Chris Spach
man, sealed the win when he inter
cepted a Trudeau pass and raced 38
yards to score with 3:48 left to play.
Smith said the win gave the Huskers
some much-needed confidence.
"We didn't play well in the first
game," he said. "As a result, in the
back of some of our minds, there may
have been some doubt that we were
going to be as powerful as usual.
"It was real important to get the
feeling of winning back on our team.
We know now that we are still a
national contender. We needed to play
well in this game to give us a start for
the rest of the non-conference and get
us into the Big Eight games."
Alumni: Huskers have
'come a long ways'
By Joseph Dejka
Staff Reporter
Nebraska's Orange Bowl traditions
began when the Bowery Boys were star
ring at the State Theater, the Lincoln
Star cost 5 cents and the nation licked
the wounds of the Korean War.
Friday, 30 years after the 1955 Orange
Bowl game, the former Cornhusker
teammates, some with bulging waists
and graying temples, gathered in Lin
coln for a weekend of recalling memo
ries, reviving friendships and, as one
alumnus put it, "swapping lies."
The 65 former teammates met at
South Stadium among the glass-encased
trophies, plaques and retired jerseys of
former players. Some alumni traveled
from California, Arizona, Wyoming and
Colorado.
They arrived slowly at first, looking
reserved but greeting one another with
loud greetings like "Long time no see"
and "Whatever happened to...?"
The group toured the Nebraska
weightlifting room, and NU strength
coach Boyd Epley told the former play:
ers about changes in conditioning philo
sophies. Their eyes opened wide at the
extensive room stuffed with weight
racks and bars.
"The players of our day played well
for what they had," said Don Comstock,
halfback for the 1955 Husker team. The
equipment is "so much nicer" today,
he said.
Max Kitzelman, former Husker tackle
who is now a physical education teacher
in Fremont, echoed the thoughts of his
former teammate.
Nebraska football has "come a long
way," Kitzelman said. '
Don Kampe, guard for the 1955
Orange Bowl team, now lives in Omaha.
Kampe said that when he sits in the
stands today, he gets "a different feel
ing inside." The east and west ends of
Memorial Stadium had only bleachers
then.
But the fans are still the same, he
said. They have "always been good."
A
J:"''
Dan OulaneyDally Nebraskan
Dean Lux of North Bend tests the weights in the Cornhusker weight room Friday evening during
an alumni tour for about 25 members of the Cornhusker football teams of 1S52 through 1956.
Lux played in 195S. In the 1950s the weight room was a motor pool room.
amg Hltai 'fffadl a way to selff-destmd;
By Jeff Apel
Staff Reporter
A season of bad breaks and costly mistakes
may have climaxed for the Illinois football team
in its 52-25 loss to Nebraska Saturday at Memor
ial Stadium.
Illini coach Mike White said his team, victim
ized by turnovers and poor execution through its
first two games this season, "never really got
things going." The loss dropped the Illini to 1-2.
"We dropped passes, we missed tackles. We
just find a way to self-destruct," White said. "We
failed about as convincingly as a team as you
could. Nebraska just iG !! apart."
Senior quarterback Jack Trudeau had four of
his passes intercepted.
White, said he was at a loss as to the problems
Trudeau has had so far this season.
"All last year, Jacft (Trudeau) only threw 10
interceptions and today he threw four alone,
which already puts him at 11 for the season,"
White said. "He's not sharp; he's rushing things."
Trudeau threw for 292 yards on 29 of 51 pass
ing, including two touchdown passes. He blamed
a staunch Nebraska pass rush for his performance.
"Every time I dropped back, it seemed like
there was always someone there," said Trudeau,
who was sacked four times for 19 yards. "Every
thing that can go bad is going bad. We just gotta
start executing."
Wide reciever David Williams, a 1984 Al!
American, credited the Husker secondary wilth
sealing the fate of the hard-luck Fighting Illini.
"They did a lot of different things, which is
what we wanted, but we just weren't scoring any
points," Wiliams said. "They weren't doing any
thing special to try and stop me, but they did mix
up their coverages pretty well."
Williams, who admitted to feeling embar
rassed about Illinois' 1-2 record, said he person
ally isn't feeling down about Illinois' tough start.
"We didn't play ready today, we're sometimes
playing terrible ball now,", he said. "I don't feel
personally down or responsible for our team's
performance, though, because I thought I played
a good game.
For now, the Fighting Illini will take a three
day rest before beginning preparations Wednes
day for the opening of their Big-Ten conference
play on Oct. 5 against Ohio State.
Although White said he wishes he could forget
about Illinois' first three games, he said it would
definitely remain in his mind.
"We better start facing it, it hasn't been a nice
preseason. I'm sure as hell not going to forget
about it," he said. "We seem to be having a good
time playing these teams. Loses don't seem to
have an impact. I hope we can find an answer,
soon." "
