INebraska sweeps past Cyclones, prepares for OU
By Tim Hartmann
Senior Reporter
Nebraska’s 42-3 win against Iowa
State Saturday at Memorial Stadium
was about what most of the 76,001
fans on hand expected.
So were a lot of other things.
Before the game, Iowa State coach
Jim Walden said he thought the Cy
clones would try some trick plays,
which they did. Iowa State attempted
three fake punts; two were successful.
Walden also said he thought
Nebraska’s offense would be difficult
to stop. The Comhuskers finished
with 666 total yards, 604 of which
came on the ground.
Husker I-back Keith Jones led all
rushers with 240 yards on 15 carries,
the fifth best single-game rushing
performance in Nebraska history.
Tyrcesc Knox rushed for 118 yards
and quarterback Steve Taylor added
96 yards rushing and 37 yards passing
for Nebraska.
Despite ihe large victory margin,
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
there were still some areas of concern.
The Huskers committed five fumbles,
three which were recovered by Iowa
State, and threw one interception.
“I really was not too pleased with
some of the execution out there,”
Osborne said. “At times we played
sloppy football and at times didn’t
I --
play very intelligent football.”
The win raised No. 2-ranked
Nebraska’s record to 9-0 and dropped
Iowa State to 2-7.
Nebraska scored on its first posses
sion, driving 80 yards on 10 consecu
tive running plays. A 9-yard run by
Taylor finished the drive and gave the
Huskers a 7-0 lead.
Iowa State took the ensuing kick
off and drove to the Nebraska 3-yard
line. The Huskers held the Cyclones
for no gain on the first and second
downs, and a fumble by Cyclone
quarterback Brett Sadek on third
down was recovered by Nebraska
linebacker Randall Jobman.
“I thought our defense, after the
first drive or so, settled down and
played pretty good football,” Osborne
said. “It looked a little scary when it
was 7-0 and they just knocked it down
the field on us for about 50 or 60 yards,
and we didn’t slow them down.”
Nebraska took over at its own 1
yard line and drove 99 yards for its
second touchdown. Fullback Micah
Hcibcl capped the drive, which in
cluded a 64-yard run by Jones, with a
3-yard burst to make the score 14-0
with 2:04 left in the first quarter.
Jones’ 240 yards was 45 yards
short of the all-time Nebraska single
game rushing record of 285, held by
former Husker I-back Mike Rozier,
now with the Houston Oilers.
Jones said he wasn’t thinking
about the record.
“We weren’t going to go out and
try to set a record today,” Jones said.
“We just wanted to come out and have
a good performance and get ready for
the next football game ”
Jones now has 890 yards rushing
this season and 2,146 in his three-year
career. He is the 11th player in Ne
braska football history to rush for
more than 2,000 career yards.
Nebraska scored twice in the sec
ond quarter to increase its lead to 28
0. Knox had a 6-yard touchdown run
and Jones added a 27-yard touchdown
run. Jones then opened the scoring in
the second half with a 69-yard touch
down run to give the Huskers a 35-0
lead.
Against Arizona State earlier this
season, a fatigued Jones was caught
from behind on a long run. He said
there was no chance of that happening
against Iowa State..
“I had flashbacks of that Phoenix
game and I said, ‘I can’t let nobody
catch me from behind, because all the
guys are going to be talking about
that,”’ he said.
Iowa State’s only score came on a
44-yard field goal by Jeff Shudak. It
was Shudak’s 15th field goal this
season, which tics an Iowa State sea
son record.
Nebraska finished its scoring with
a 3-yard run by quarterback Gerry
Gdowski with 5:15 left in the fourth
quarter.
The Husker defense held the Cy
clones to 66 yards rushing, the sixth
consecutive game it’s held its oppo
nent to less than 1 (X) yards rushing.
Linebacker Steve Forch led Ne
braska with eight tackles, middle
guard Mike Murray had seven tackles,
and defensive end Jon Marco had six
tackles and a fumble recovery.
Nebraska defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride said he was pleased
with the play of the second-team de
fensive line. He said depth will be
important in the Huskers’ remaining
games against Oklahoma and Colo
rado.
“I thought Lee Jones and Mike
Murray came in and really showed
they could play,” McBride said.
“Mike Murray isa good player against
option teams. He’s probably going to
see a lot of action against Oklahoma.”
Linebacker LeRoy Etienne, who
recorded only one tackle, sat out the
first quarter for disciplinary reasons,
Osborne said.
Nebraska will have next week off,
and then will face No. 1 -ranked Okla
homa Nov. 21 in Lincoln. The Soon
ers possess the nation’s top-ranked
rushing offense, while Nebraska leads
the country in slopping the run.
Nebraska defensive end Broderick
Thomas said the Huskers will be
ready for the Sooners’ rushing attack.
“Our defense is going to prepare to
stop the run regardless of who’s in
there,” Thomas said. “They can bring
some old guys back. We don’t care.
We’re just going to prepare to stop the
wishbone.”
Oklahoma quarterback Jamelle
Holieway and fullback Lydell Carr
both suffered season-ending knee
injuries during the Sooners’ 29-10
victory over Oklahoma Saturday.
“1 hope they have all their players,
I hope we have all ours and we’ll see
who’s the best,” Osborne said.
Osborne said he expects a strong
performance from the Huskers when
they face Oklahoma.
“1 think we’ll play well,” Osborne
said. “I think we can play with any
body in the country. We might win
big, they might win big. I don’t know
what’s going to happen, but I don’t
feel it’s a deal where we have to go out
and play the best game we’ve ever
played in of our lives to win it.”
Now that Nebraska’s “pre-Okla
homa” portion of the schedule is over,
the Huskers say they’re looking for
ward to playing the Sooners.
“To be honest, I wish tomorrow
was (Nov.) 21 st,” Thomas said. “That
would make me happy.”
Eric Gregory/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska l-back George Achola stiff-arms Waldorf’s Shawn Stewart during the Cornhusker
freshman team’s 42-35 loss Friday.
Eric Qregory/Dally Nebraskan
Waldorf quarterback Pat Jackson eludes a Nebraska defender.
Losing season a first
for freshman squad
By Kyle Schurman
and Steve Sipple
Staff Reporters
Fans who attended Friday’s
Nebraska freshman football game
may have gotten a preview of the
Comhuskers’ quarterback of the
future.
However, Nebraska will have to
offer him a scholarship and get him
to transfer first.
Waldorf Junior College quar
terback Pat Jackson rushed for 149
yards and scored five touchdowns,
threw for 55 yards and one touch
down, and ran in a two-point con
version to lead the Warriors to a42
35 win against the Nebraska fresh
men.
Jackson, a freshman who could
not play Division I football this
season because of Proposition 48,
dealing with academic require
ments', said he attended Waldorf
because the Nebraska and Minne
sota junior varsity teams were on
the Warriors’ schedule. He said he
hoped he could impress those
teams enough that they would offer
him a scholarship.
Jackson said he is also an Okla
homa fan because his 5-foot-9,
168-pound frame resembles
Sooner quarterback Jamelle
Holicway’s build.
“Don’t get me wrong, though,”
Jackson said. “I want to come here.
I wouldn’t turn down a scholarship
here.”
Nebraska freshman coach
Shane Thorell said the Comhusker
coaches knew Jackson was good.
”Wc told the guys the quarter
back was fast and to stay low and
play his cutbacks,” Thorell said.
Waldorf coach Dave Bolstorff
said Jackson didn’t start until
Waldorf’s fifth game because he
needed time to adjust to the Warri
ors’ wishbone attack. However,
Bolstorff said, Jackson has been
playing very well since he became
the starter.
Jackson’s performance over
shadowed two Nebraska come
backs, George Achola and quarter
back Tom Haase.
Achola ran for 184 yards on 27
carries and one touchdown, and
Haase scored two rushing touch
downs and threw for 217 yards and
two more touchdowns.
Nebraska also overcame one
21-point Waldorf lead and nearly
overcame a second one.
Jackson led Waldorf, now 7-3,
to a 21 -0 first-quarter lead on scor
ing runs of 3, $5 and 30 yards.
But Nebraska came back in the
final 4:09 of the first half when it
scored on runs of 7 and 22 yards by
Haase and on a 25-yard pass from
Haase to running back Steve
Mitchell to tie the score 21-21 at
halftime.
“1 thought at halftime we had a
chance to win the game ,” Thorell
said. “We shut down their option in
the second quarter and we thought
we could do it in the second half,
but we didn’t.”
Waldorf scored 21 more unan
swered points in the third and
fourth quarters on scoring runs of 3
and 2 yards by Jackson, and on a
39-yard pass from Jackson to full
back Billy Williams.
But Nebraska again came back,
as Achola scored on a 71 -yard run
and Haase threw a 29-yard touch
down pass to Tom Lammcl to pull
the Huskers to within seven points.
Nebraska had one last drive, but
Haase threw a fourth-down inter
ception with 1:20 left in the game.
With the loss, Nebraska ended
its season at 2-3. It was the first
time the Husker freshmen have lost
three games in a season. It was the
first losing season for the team
since 1957.
Thorell said this year’s Husker
freshmen had a good team even
though three players redshirted and
another three played with the var
sity.
“Wc thought wc could bounce
back after those two losses (to Air
Force and Coffeyville),” Thorell
said. “It’s tough on the kids.
They’re young kids. Hopefully
they’ve learned it’s not much fun to
lose.”
Nebraska gained 464 yards to
Waldorf’s 381. However, Waldorf
converted on 14 of 19 third-downs.
Bolstorff said Waldorf’s offense
has been that consistent all year.
Thorell said Waldorf’s quick
snaps confused the Husker de
fense. The Warriors, who do not
use a snap count, line up, hesitate
and then snap the ball.
“Defensively it was hard to
know what to do,” Thorell said.
“What made it hard was that they
sprint to the line. Half the time it’s
illegal procedure, but we only got
one (called).”
Bolstorff said it was great to
beat Nebraska.
“Whenever the kids come down
here they pul on their best perform
ance,” Bolstorff said. “To me this
is the classiest act in college foot
ball. When we beat them, there’s
no feeling like it.”
