Sports
Buffaloes anticipate romp with Huskers
By Tim Hartmann
Senior Reporter
Although Colorado will enter
Saturday's game against Nebraska
with a 7-3 record, the Buffaloes did
not receive a howl bid.
At least four bowl-bound teams
have winning percentages lower than
Colorado’s. Arizona State, 6-4, is
going to the Freedom Bowl, 6-4 Flor
ida is going to the Aloha Bowl, 6-5
West Virginia is going to the Sun
Bowl, and 6-5 Tulanc is headed to the
Independence Bowd.
Colorado coach bill McCartney
said his team is angry about being
shunned by the bowls.
But he said he is still happy to be
playing 9-1 Nebraska at Folsom Field
in Boulder, Colo. The game will be
televised by ESPN beginning at 3:08
p.m.
“A lot of the players arc disap
pointed, but 1 like the idea of playing
Nebraska at home on national TV,”
Fiesta Bowl tickets available Dec. 1
Full-time students may pur
chase Fiesta Bowl tickets Dee. 1 -3
at the Athletic Ticket Office, 117
South Stadium. Each qualified
student may purchase one ticket.
Students can buy a second ticket
for a spouse if they show a mar
riage certificate. Current full-time
IDs are required.
Groups will be limited to six
seats. Students wishing to sit to
gether must all be present at the
time of purchase.
Tickets cost $30. Each
student’s personal check should be
made payable to the University of
Nebraska and show a Lincoln
address. Cash payments must be
for the proper amount.
The student allotment will be
divided equally each day and will
be sold from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until
each day’s supply is exhausted.
Met artney said. “It satisfies me.”
The Ncbraska-Colorado game was
originally scheduled for Nov. 14, but
was moved to Nov. 28 for television.
McCartney, who has designated Ne
braska as Colorado’s official rival,
said he likes ending the season against
Nebraska.
“I would prefer to play them last
every year,” McCartney said. “I real
ize that Oklahoma has a monopoly on
that every year, and rightfully so. But
il l had my druthers, I’d play them last
every year.”
The Sooners arc scheduled to be
Nebraska’s last opponent through
1994. Schedules for 1995 and beyond
haven’t been determined yet by the
Big Eight.
McCartney said he doesn’t think
Nebraska’s 17-7 loss to Oklahoma on
Saturday will take any luster off
Colorado’s game against the Huskers.
He said he was impressed with the
play of Oklahoma and Nebraska.
“Basically that was two great
teams that played, and Oklahoma
came up with the big plays,” McCart
ney said.
‘‘Nebraska iscapableof making the
big play, but it wasn’t in the cards.”
McCartney said Colorado was able
to capitalize on big plays last season as
the Buffaloes used a 39-yard reverse
by Jeff Campbell, a 57-yard field goal
by Dave DcLinc and a 52-yard half
back pass from O.C. Oliver to Lance
Carl to post a 20-10 victory over
Nebraska.
McCartney said the victory, which
was Colorado’s first over Nebraska in
19 years, was important to the Buffa
loes.
“It meant a lot to the people of our
state,” McCartney said. “We realize
that it was just one game, but it pro
vided a great source of energy for our
program.”
Colorado has won four of its last
five games, losing only to Oklahoma
24-6. McCartney said Colorado has
improved the last five weeks while
playing with a great deal of intensity.
McCartney said Colorado may
have to face Nebraska without sopho
more quarterback Sal Aunese.
Auncse, who has completed 23 of 51
passes for 522 yards while rushing for
612 yards and 6 touchdowns this sea
son, separated his shoulder during the
Buffaloes’ 41-0 victory over Kansas
State last week.
“He’s real sore,” McCartney said.
“Hischanccof playing Saturday is not
real good.”
Rodgers remains optimistic after setbacks
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
While most of Nebraska’sredshirts
arc busy impersonating the Colorado
Buffaloes, Cornhusker running back
Terry Rodgers said he won’t be prac
ticing against the Huskers’ top defen
sive unit.
Rodgers suffered a knee injury in
fall practice and won’t return until
spring.
“If my knee’s not 100 percent, then
there’s no reason for me to practice,”
Rodgers said. “Since it’s not healed all
the way, I want to let the healing
process run its course.”
Rodgers said he wasn’t sure when
he’d return, but said he should be
ready for the Huskers’ winter condi
tioning program.
“I’d like to get a little bigger and
stronger,” Rodgers said. “There arc
plenty of things to do.”
Rodgers said he didn’t think he
would spend a year as a redshirt be
cause he was challenging for playing
time last season as a freshman. Rodg
ers finished with 135 yards rushing
and one touchdown as the Huskers’
No. 3 running back last year.
“I went into last year challenging
for playing time,” Rodgers said. “No
one really established himself as the
No. 21-back last spring so I knew there
would be a lot of opportunity to play.
Because of that, I hadn’t considered
redshirting. But those things happen.”
Rodgers said although he hasn’t
played this season, he expects to be
considered for the starting I-back job
next year.
“I came in last year as a freshman
and worked my way up to No. 2 until
I made some mistakes and dropped
down,” Rodgers said. “I have the abil
ity to start but things have to go right.
I’ll go into the spring intending to win
the No. 1 job since Keith (Jones) will
be gone.”
Nebraska running backs coach
Frank Solich said Rodgers has a
chance to earn the starting job.
“He’ll be starling off in the spring
like everyone else,” Solich said.
“Since the starting job isopen, he’ll be
trying to earn it.”
Rodgers, the son of former Hcis
man Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers,
said he didn’t come to Nebraska to
follow his father’s footsteps.
“I fully intend to make my own
footsteps here,” Rodgers said. “I can’t
live in somebody clse’s shoes forever.
“I don’t think I’ve made a name for
myself just yet. But by the lime I leave,
hopefully it will be the other way
around; that I’ll be known as Terry
Rodgers, not Johnny Rodgers’ son.”
Rodgers said even though he hasn ’t
played much yet he isn’t disappointed
about coming to Nebraska.
Doug Carroll/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska running back Terry Rodgers (No. 20) performs during the Cornhuskers’ spring game.
Coach Osborne should update his recruiting philosophy
There has been a lot of talk
about the talent discrepan
cies in the Big Eight, and
unless things are changed sometime in
the near future, it appears it could get
worse.
The Big Eight, which once pro
claimed itself to be the premier con
ference for college football, has been
the brunt of a scries of claims that it is
a two-team conference dominated by
Nebraska and Oklahoma.
_ £_
But the Sooners’ 17-7 victory over
Nebraska Saturday shows that things
arc different.
Not only did Oklahoma humiliate
the Cornhuskcrs before Memorial
Stadium’s largcstcrowd ever, but I hey
also showed that the Nebraska coach
ing staff needs to change its recruiting
philosophy if it is going to continue to
be successful on the national level.
The Huskcrs, who have prided
themselves on the fact that they arc
able to sell athletes on their program
by emphasizing its superior weight
room and winning tradition, need to
catch up with the new recruiting tac
tics that arc sweeping through even
the country’s most conservative
coaches.
Nebraska football coach Tom
Osborne, when asked what he thought
were the differences between him and
Oklahoma coach Barry Swii/cr, re
sponded by saying lliat Sw itzer enjoys
more social activities while he prefers
to do more things by himself.
Osborne’s philosophy is fine, ex
cept that it ignores the latest trend
among college coaches — that is, the
trend for them to st(X)p to the athletes’
level.
Switzer has done this lime and time
again by doing such simple tasks as
handing Nebraska athletic director
Bob Devancy a sack of tacos during a
prediction show. He also has been
known to appear on television with
professional wrestler Steve “Dr.
Death” Williams and allow college
age women to appear as special guests
on his weekly TV show.
While all of these feats may seem
meaningless, think of the impact they
have on the athletes. A college coach
who sells his program on national
championships earned through hard
work and fun, is bound to be more
successful than one who is known as a
strict disciplinarian who never walks
away from the straight and narrow.
Proof of this can be found in the
Oklahoma-Nebraska scries, in which
Switzer’s Sooners have compiled a
12-3 record against Osborne-coached
Husker teams. Oklahoma also has
won three national championships
compared to none for Nebraska during
the last 14 seasons, and Switzer has
compiled a 148-25-4 record com
pared to Osborne’s 146-33-2 mark.
Further evidence of this can be
found in the two school’s recruiting
lists, which appear to be about as
similar as night and day.
Oklahoma, which prides itself on
recruiting small, slick athletes who
tend to get lost behind an enormous
offensive line, traditionally raids
Texas and the rest of the country in
pursuit of the nation’s top prep play
ers.
If a player isn’t immediately sold
on the Sooner program, Switzer or one
of his assistants makes a recruiting
visit and reminds the athletes that fur
coats and gold earrings really are all
right in Norman.
All of these tactics, in addition to
the fact that Switzer regularly makes
public appearances that may seem a
little bit out of the norm, help the
Sooncrs to regularly compile a list of
recruits that reads more like a blue
chip list.
Nebraska, meanwhile, immedi
ately places itself at an instant disad
vantage by not participating in any of
these sometimes outrageous activi
ties. Although the Huskersdo manage
to sign some high school All
America’s each year, it’s obvious that
the Sooncrs are at the top of the peak
in the Big Eight.
Before the talent problems become
worse, Osborne and the conference’s
six other coaches should all consider
changing their recruiting philoso
phies in order to close the talent gap.
Granted, Kansas State coach Stan
Parrish and whoever coaches the
Kansas football program now that
Bob Valcscnte has been fired, will
have trouble winning regardless of
what they say or do.
But Colorado coach Bill McCart
ney, Iowa State’s Jim Walden, Okla
homa State’s Pat Jones, and
Missouri’s Woody Widenhofer all
should realize the potential impact of
such a move.
It’s nice to see that some of the Big
Eight conference’s basketball teams
already have turned to such measures
in an effort to compete with the big
name schools of the East Coast.
Kansas coach Larry Brown has
built a program supposedly locked in
a Midwest disadvantage into a na
tional powerhouse by holding an
annual “Late Night With Larry” and
camping out with students waiting to
buy season tickets.
Even Missouri coach Norm Ste
wart, who for years has been lagged as
a strict disciplinarian who doesn’t
know the meaning of the word fun, has
gotten into the act. Stewart, whose
Tigers also are mentioned promi
nently in every pre-season poll,
played the role of Dracula in a produc
tion that also starred Missouri forward
Derrick Chevious.
All of these things, no matter how
big or small they may seem, have an
impact on athletes. And it’s an impact
college coaches throughout the coun
try should enjoy.
