Daily Nebraskan file photo
Colorado coach Bill McCartney will be pointing towards a winning season in 1987. The Buffaloes opened their season
with a 10-7 loss to Oregon.
Accidents iiy ur e team’s starters
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter _
I he 1986 edition of the Colorado
Buffaloes accomplished something
that no other team from Boulder,
Colo., was able to do in 18 years.
Colorado posted its first win
against Nebraska since 1967 as the
Buffaloes used an aggressive defense
to shut down the Husker offense in a
20-10 win.
But Colorado coach Bill McCart
ney isn’t about to compare his team
with the Buskers on an everyday ba
sis.
“Nebraska is one of the top three or
four programs in the country, and
we’re not up there yet,” McCartney
said. “Nebraska is stronger and has
more talent than we have. But on any
given day,anything can happen. But il
wc had to play Nebraska 11 times a
year, wc wouldn't be ready.”
This season Colorado returns 16
starters from last year’s 6-6 team. But
the Buffaloes couldn’t elude injuries
as three starters suffered off-season
accidents.
Fullback Anthony Weatherspoon
is out for the season because of a
motorcycle accident he suffered last
spring. Weatherspoon suffered cuts
and bruises when he dislocated his hip
and punctured his abdomen.
Two other Buffaloes were hurt in
automobile accidents last spring. Don
DcLu/io, who w as struck by a hit-and
run driver during a spring-break trip,
saw action in Colorado’s opening
game against Oregon.
Middle guard Curt Koch, who w as
struck with DcLu/io, had knee sur
gery but also saw action during
Colorado’s 10-7 loss to the Oregon
Ducks.
Leading the Buffalo offense will he
quarterback Mark Hatcher. Hatcher
rushed for 552 yards while running the
wishbone last season. He also threw
for 403 yards.
Also returning to the Colorado
offense is last year’s leading rusher,
O.C. Oliver. Oliver gained 668 yards
in 1986.
Defensively, McCartney said, the
Buffaloes will again give opponents
fits. All-America candidate Mickey
Pruitt returns to the safely position
where he made 106 tackles last year.
And with the return of DcLuzio and
Koch, the defense will be strong,
McCartney said.
“If we stay healthy our defense will
be one ol the gtxxl ones,” McCartney
said. “We have good size, strength,
maturity, depth and speed.”
Colorado will end its season Nov.
2X in Boulder against Nebraska. The
game originally was slated for Sept.
14 but was moved back for television
purposes. McCartney said he was in
favor of pushing the game back two
weeks.
“I have always wanted to play
Nebraska last because they arc the
team we most want to beat,” McCart
ney said.
Even though the game against
Nebraska will bring the Nebraska
Oklahoma year-ending game id a
temporary end, McCartney said he
was “glad to see it come to an end. I
know we can’t replace Oklahoma as
Nebraska’s rivalry, but we certainly
want our own rivalry with Nebraska.”
Huskers play Purdue
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
Tradition will be a key factor when
the Nebraska volleyball team travels
to West Lafayette, Ind. to compete in
the Purdue Invitational this weekend.
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry
Pettit said playing on the road has
never been a problem for the Corn
huskcrs because they have established
themselves as a stroi^visitin^Jlcam.
But Pettit said
the Huskers will
lace a good road
test Friday when
they take their 7-0
record into a 9
pm. match
against Purdue. Pettit
"It should be a
good test for us,” Pettit sa»d. "Playing
on the road allows us to concentrate
more than if we were playing at
home.”
Pettit said the two remaining teams
in the four-team tournament should
also give the Huskers a strong test. The
teams include Pittsburgh and Louisi
ana Slate.
“Pitt has a good team and so doc>
LSU,” he said.
Purdue lakes a 3-4 record into the
tournament. Three of the Boilermakci
losses were to teams ranked in the Top
20 including Brigham Young, Colo
rado State, and Arizona State.
Purdue coach Carol Dewey said the
losses could be beneficial for the Boil
ermakers.
“We’re improving a lot,” Dewey
said. “Against Colorado State last
week, I think we started to realize our
potential.”
The Boilermakers return six start
ers from last year’s 19-16 team, but
Dewey said Purdue needs to work on
consistency.
“All of our players have played well
but at different points of the year,”
Dewey said. “We need to play well
together as a team. Consistency is our
biggest problem.”
LSU cot eh Scott Luster said the
Tigers have been consistent through
out their 5-0 start.
“We’re reasonably happy consider
ing we lost five starters from last sea
son,” Luster said. “We’re progressing
pretty well and I think that we will
eventually be as good as we were last
season.”
Last year, the Timers posted 35-9
record ana advanced to the South re
gional finals before losing to Texas.
Luster said he was looking forward
to facing Nebraska.
“They’re just as good as they usu
ally are but they have some new people
in the lineup,” Luster said. “I’m
pleased that we’re playing them on a
neutral court because obviously
they’re the team to beat.”
The Tigers lone returning starter is
middle blocker Lisa Smith. Smith was
an all-SCC performer last season and
is an All-America candidate this sea
son.
Pittsburgh returns five starters from
last year’s 28-13 team. The Panthers
lost to the Huskers in the first round of
the NCAA tournament last season
The Huskers improved their road
record to 3-0 Tuesday night when they
defeated Kansas 15-2, 15-6, 15-4 in
Lawrence, Kan.
Kathi DeBoer led the Husker attack
with 16 kills, while Virginia Stahr
added 11.
Columbia nears
‘'patsie’ record
by tne Associated Press
NEW YORK — This could
be the worst season of mile
stones for thcColumbia football
leant - ones it could do without.
Its 31-game losing streak is
already the second longest in
major college history, and on
Saturday the Lions play Har
vard, a team that beat them 34
0 in last season’s opener.
Only losses to Harvard,
Lafayette, Pennsylvania and
Princeton stand between Co
lumbia and the record No. 35,
which would surpass
Northwestern’s mark set from
1979 to 1982.
But coach Larry McElreavy
thinks his team has improved
“light years” since last season
and said confidently this sum
mer, “Wc will not break the
record.”
“Don’t ask me which game
will do it, but I know we’ll win
before that,” he said.
j Smith
featured
in SI
By Kent Endicott
Staff Reporter
Rod Smith made it again.
This week’s edition of
Sports Illustrated features
Smith sprawled out over two
pages catching a touchdown
pass over UCLA defensive back
Darryl Henly.
marked the sec
ond time in three
weeks his pic
ture has made it
into the pages of
the nation’s
leading sports
magazine.
Surprising,
considering
Smith plays Smith
wide receiver at
Nebraska, traditionally a run
ning team. But Smith said it
didn’t just happen — he earned
II.
“You have to pay your dues
around here before you achieve
any kind of success,” said the
six-foot, 190-pound senior from
Thornton, Colo. “It’s not some
thing I walked into. I’ve worked
hard.”
After redshirting in 1984,
Smith found himself playing
behind Jason Gamble as a so
phomore. Gamble, a high
school A11-America, is no
longer on the team. Smith said
he began working harder to get
more playing time.
“When Jason Gamble was
here and so forth, it was a harder
road for me to make it to where
I am today,” he said. “But after
all is said and done, I think it
made me a belter athlete and a
better person by having to work
hard like l had to.”
Smith spent his summers in
Lincoln, working out in the
I weight room and practicing
running pass patterns. It began
to pay off.
“I made thatoneol my things
I would never miss. 1 set my
perspectives,” he said.
Last year, he walked into the
punt returning job after Von
Sheppard suffered a broken leg.
He ended up leading the nation
in punt returns w ith an 18.9 yard
average.
This year, he’s off to a quick
start. In Nebraska's season
opener against Utah State,
Smith returned a punt for a
touchdown.
/AgUIIIM UtLrt IJM WUtK, lit
broke open thegame in the third
quarter by catching a Steve
Taylor pass over two defenders
and then racing into the end/one
to complete the play, which
covered 48 yards.
It was a big game, national
television, pressure. Smith said
that play alone almost made it
all worth it.
Nebraska receivers Coach
Ron Brown said he sees more
big games in Smith’s future
after this season — in the Na
tional Football League.
Brown said Smith, who runs
the 40-yard dash in an electroni
cally-timed 4.6 seconds and can
bench press 290 pounds, runs
goods routes, has great quick
ness and great hands.
During the summer. Smith
graduated with a degree in busi
ness administration. He said
that although he's now taking
graduate classes, his focus is
football, and a shot at playing in
the NFL.
But for now, Smith said, he’s
happy just getting his picture in
Sports Illustrated.
"It’s kind of weird," Smith
said. “When I started getting
recruited and stuff and had the
chance to come to Nebraska, I
just kind of said to myself one
day it’d be kind of nice to have
a picture in there. And low and
behold, you open it up...it’s just
a neat feeling."