Osborne may reach
milestone Saturday
When a UCLA football team last
defeated Nebraska, Richard Nixon
was still in the White House, U.S.
troops were in Vietnam, Elvis was
alive and Mark Harmon played quar
terback instead of a doctor on St.
Elsewhere.
Iran and the United States were
still buddies. Ga> was cheap. Fast
food restaurants survived without
drive-thru windows and salad bars.
That was 1972, when Efrcn Her
rera booted a 30-yard field goal with
22 seconds left to give UCLA a 20-17
win against Nebraska at the Rose
Bowl. Harmon played quarterback
that year for the Bruins, who broke
Nebraska’s 23-gamc winning streak
with the victory.
UCLA fans didn’t know it at the
time, but that would be the last day a
Bruin team could boast about a win
over Nebraska.
The next 15 years would be frus
trating ones for the Brums. Nebraska
would go on to win the next four
games by a combined score of 166-59
and take a 4-3 series lead.
But 5th-ranked UCLA will have a
chance to even the score on Saturday
night, when the No. 2 Huskers visit
the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game
will be televised by ABC (Lincoln’s
Channel 7).
After the loss in 1972, which was
Bob Dcvancy’s last year as the Husk
ers’ coach, Nebraska rebounded the
following season with a 40-13 win in
Lincoln.
That game was a memorable one
for Nebraska coach Tom Osborne. It
was the first of 149 career wins for
Osborne, who reflected on the game
Tuesday at his weekly press confer
ence in the South Stadium lounge.
“I remember it rained in the late
afternoon and then started to clear
up,” he said. “They were favored by
eight or lOpointscoming in. I remem
ber Tony Davis had a good game ...
that was quite an exciting game for
me.”
I ron ica 11 y, Osbome al so I andcd h i s
l(X)ih career win against the Bruins, a
42 - * victory at Pus.uk im in 1984. He
could reach another milestone — win
No. 150 — against the Bruins on
Saturday night. UCLA coach Terry
Donahue will shoot for won No. 100.
Just as he has done for 15 years,
Osborne downplayed the milestones
on Tuesday. Instead, he focused on
the Bruins, particularly on quarter
back Troy Aikman.
In a country where change takes
place everyday, it’s nice to know that
some things never change. Osborne
takes a low-key approach to the game
and the wins against UCLA keep roll
ing in.
But you never know what will
happen in Pasadena this weekend.
Just think, in 15 years, a sports writer
just might start a column like this:
When a Nebraska football team
last defeated UCLA, Ronald Reagan
was still president, Guns and Roses
rocked the top 40 charts and the
microwave milkshake was America’s
favorite late-night snack ...
News, notes and nonsense
• Aikman says the pre-season me
dia hype about his bid for the Hcisman
Trophy has made his job a little
tougher.
“I’*e picked up a couple maga
zines and it’s flattering that all that
stuff’s going on,” Aikman said in a
teleconference Monday from Los
Angeles. “But it’s a situation that I
don’t feel real comfortable with. I’m
not used to all that attention.”
Reilley is a senior news-editorial major
and is the Daily Nebraskan editorial page and
supplements editor.
uoug oarron uaiiy NeorasKan
Nebraska’s Val Novak (1) and Virginia Stahr (14) block a spike attempt during the FirsTier Invitational Saturday in the NU
Coliseum.
NU defense wins volleyball invite
By Jeff Apel
Senior Reporter
It didn’t take Pacific coach John
Dunning long to discover the differ
ence between this year’s Nebraska
volleyball team and the Comhusker
squad that suffered a devastating loss
to the Tigers in 1986.
Dunning said Nebraska avenged a
straight-set loss to Pacific in the title
match of the NCAA Final Four two
years ago and won theFirsTier Invita
tional by defeating the Tigers 16-14,
15-12, 15-11. He said the Huskers,
who defeated Florida 15-4, 15-8, 15
9 and Purdue 15-12,15-4,15-8, are a
much better defensive team than they
were in 1986.
Dunning said Nebraska’s defense
was evident throughout the three-set
match holding Pacific’s powerful
offense in check. He said the Huskers
also used their defense to exploit the
Tigers early problems in the middle.
In the tournament’s remaining
matches, Pacific beat Purdue 13-15,
15-7, 15-8, 15-12 and Florida 15-6,
15-8, 15-11, and Purdue defeated
Florida 15-9, 15-2,9-15, 16-14.
“I hate to lose,” Dunning said.
“(But) that was a hell of a match. All
three games were contested. That’s
very good volleyball for this time of
the year.”
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry
Pettit said he didn’t use Nebraska’s
national championship loss to Pacific
as a motivational tool entering the
match. He said Nebraska’s previous
setback to the Tigers “never occurred
to him or anyone else” on the Husker
roster.
“This isn’t the Final Four,” Pettit
said. “This is a regular-season
match.”
Nebraska middle blocker Virginia
Stahr said the Huskers spent a major
ity of the off-season focusing on
Pacific. She said it was the Tigers’
talent, not the 1986 loss, which
caused Nebraska to place Pacific in
the spotlight.
“I think it was just Pacific. They’re
a great team,” Stahr said. “1 thought
about (the loss), but these are two
totally different teams. It’s hard to
even compare them.”
Pettit said the key to Nebraska’s
title run was the team’s ability to
improve during the tournament.
“Some of that’s luck. Some of
that’s effort,” Pettit said. “I wouldn’t
call that a wipeout. I wouldn’t call it
.dominating cither.”
Nebraska raced out to a 4-2 lead in
the first set against Pacific, then ex
panded its lead to 11-6 on a kill by
sophomore outside hitter Sue Hcsch.
Pacific then outscorcd Nebraska
8-1 to take a 14-12 lead, but the
Huskcrs used a spike by Linda
Bareness, a Tiger hitting error, a block
by Carla Baker and a block by fresh
man Janet Kruse to post the victory.
Pettit said he was concerned enter
ing the 2nd set because Stahr suffered
an injury to her left knee. The injury
was later diagnosed as a strain.
Pettit said he guarded against fur
ther injury by frequently substituting
for Stahr in the 2nd and 3rd sets.
“She’s so lough,” Pettit said.
“Virginia is the type of player that her
knee could be hanging by cartilage
and ligaments and she would still
play.”
Stahr said her injury isn’t anything
to be concerned about.
“It’s just a dumb, little thing,”
Stahr said.
Pacific jumped out to a 6-2 lead in
the second set, but Nebraska tied the
score 9-9 on a kill by Barsness. The
Huskers, 3-0, then scored four
straight points and used a tip by Stahr
and a tip out by Pacific’s Brooke
Herrington to post the victory.
Dunning said he knew Pacific was
in trouble when it dropped the first
two sets to Nebraska.
“It’s really hard loeome back from
2-0,” he said.
Nebraska wrapped up us straight
set victory and claimed the
tournament’s title by jumping out to a
14-10 lead in the 3rd set, using a kill
by Barsness to post the victory.
Pettit said he thinks Nebraska will
continue to improve this season.
“God, 1 hope so,” Pettit said. “If
not, we might as well just go buy
Christmas presents.”
Nebraska’s next action is on
Thursday, when the Huskers travel to
Fullerton, Calif., to compete in the
three-day Cal. State-Fullcrton Titan
Invitational.
Coach denies saying NU uses drugs
By Mark Perowitsch
Senior Reporter
UCLA football coach Terry Do
nahue denied Tuesday he was alleg
ing that Nebraska players were using
steroids during the 1983 and 1984
seasons.
Donahue said Monday during a
teleconference that the Nebraska’s
1983 team was not a “normal” team.
He said the Huskers “were not typical
college players” that season.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
during his weekly press luncheon that
he spoke with Donahue early Tuesday
morning and Donahue denied allega
tions that he was referring to steroid
usage.
“He told me to tell (the media) that
he simply meant that in ’83 and ’84,
he didn’t feel that his team was com
petitive with Nebraska and he felt it
was now,” Osborne said. “He felt that
last year and this year it was very
competitive, and that they had a lot
better athletes and a better team.”
In 1983, Nebraska posted a 42-10
win over the Bruins, and the Huskers
won42-3 in Pasadena, Calif., in 1984.
Last season, the Huskers defeated
UCLA 42-33 in Lincoln.
‘I’m not saying
that nobody ever
used them here,
because I don’t
know.'
— Osborne
..•> > "-V
Osborne said he thought the media
was concerned that Donahue’s re
marks were veiled accusations of
steroid usage. But Donahue told
Osborne that he wasn’t talking about
steroids.
“He didn’t say that and he indi
cated that all he wanted said was that
he just didn’t feel that his team wasn’t
competitive those years,” Osborne
said.
Osborne said Nebraska has tested
its players for steroid use since 1984.
Since the tests have started, only two
players have tested positively. NCAA
rules prohibit steroid use in college
athletics.
“In 1984, we had no positive tests
for steroids,” Osborne said. “It was so
expensive that wecouldn’ttcstall 130
players. I think we picked out the
biggest, strongest that showed the
most weight gain and we tested them.
It was unannounced and we didn’t
have anybody who tested positive.
“I’m not saying that nobody ever
used them here because I don’t know.
It’s possible that somebody could
have taken them during the summer
or sometime when (steroids were) not
detected.”
Osborne said the two players who
tested positive since 1984 were not
starters and didn’t play against
UCLA.
Nebraska players also have never
tested positive for illegal drugsduring
an NCAA investigation, Osborne
said. Since 1986, the NCAA has
administered drug tests to each team
invited to play in post-season bowl
games.
“Wc were tested both years,”
Osborne said. “Some teams were
never tested because the NCAA
didn’t get to them. I’d* say we’ve
tested for steroids on four or five
occasions every year since 1984.”
Osborne said Nebraska’s drug
tests are analyzed by one of the best
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