Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1988)
Sports Beautiful win not necessary to make Coach Darlington a happy man By iviarK uerowiiscn Senior Reporter If Nebraska’s football team would have competed in gymnastics Satur day, the Cornhuskers probably wouldn’t have received many perfect scores during its 26-18 win against Missouri. Nebraska secondary coach George Darlington, speaking at the Extra Point luncheon Monday at Dillards, said the Cornhuskers didn ’ t grade out as a perfect 10 against the Tigers. “You know we have a fantastic gymnastics program and the fans in the state have really learned that the important thing is what kind of points you get for a performance,” Darling ton said. “And that feeling has perme ntrsrl >Ka fane in MrkkrnoLa Irv iktnL ikn* aivv* Miv 1 III Aiwiu^nM iv umm UIUI a win is not really good enough. It has to be a beautiful win — you have to have a rating of 9.7,9.8 or 9.85.” Darlington said he doesn’t care what kind of performance the Husk ers give, as long as they come out on top. “If we win the next four games, and (the fans) are not really happy about it, lough luck,” Darlington said. “If you don’t like how it was done or it wasn’t beautiful, that’s the breaks of the game. We are not a gymnastics team — football’s a different game I was very, very pleased to beat Mis souri.” Darlington said the Huskers, 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight, had a difficult time matching up against Missouri. The Tigers shut down the Huskers’ offense in the first half and led 6-0 at halftime. The Tigers limited Nebraska to 116 yards rushing on 52 attempts for the game. “Missouri was a very, very strong and physical football team on both sides of the ball,” Darlington said. “They matched up with us extremely well. They were horrible on pass defense. They had a very good rush ing defense.” ‘If we win the next four games and (the fans) are not really happy about it, tough luck.’ — Darlington The Tigers blitzed about 70 per cent of the time, Darlington said. Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor completed 3 of 9 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. But Taylor was held to minus-38 yards rushing on 13 carries. “The only chance to win was to take a lot of chances on their blitz game,” Darlington said. “They did an excellent job with it for part of the game. The problem is, the game is 60 minutes long, not 30 or 35. You’re going to be shutdown playing a team that blitzes. But suddenly, someone runs down an open field with the ball.” Although the offense struggled against the Tigers, the Nebraska de fense played outstanding, Darlington said. Nebraska held the Tigers to 97 yards passing and 253 yards of total offense. “As a defensive coach, I was pleased with the way the defense played,” Darlington said. “I think the defense controlled the line of scrim mage very well.” NOTES: • The only change on the depth chart this week was at right outside linebacker, where sophomore Mike Croel moved up and is now sharing first-team with Jeff Mills. Croel, from Sudbury, Mass., made one tackle and blocked a punt late in the second half against the Tigers. Mills was in on five tackles against the Tigers. • Only one Huskcr was seriously injured Saturday. Reserve fullback Brian Harchclroad sprained his right knee and will not play against Iowa State Saturday in Ames, Iowa. Nebraska l-back Tyreese Knox gives the Cornhuskers their first lead of the game with a 1 -yard, third-quarter touchdown run Saturday against Missouri at Memorial Stadium. Ne braska was held to 116 yards rushing on 52 carries during the Huskers’ 26-18 win. Glasnost Bowl a possibility for Comhuskers It sounded like a bad ioke at first. The Glasnost Bowl, what’s next — the Kremlin Classic? The battle for the little brown jug of vodka? But don’t scoff at the Glasnost Bowl. Raycom Communications will televise the Glasnost Bowl from Moscow on Sept. 2,1989. Participat ing teams haven’t been selected yet. But what if the good folk at Raycom realize that the Vladimirs of the East might pay top ruble to see the Big Red of the West? It’s possible. Nebraska is a sure bet to be competitive each year. In a Lincoln Star article last week, Tom Osborne seemed less-than-cn thused about the possibility of play ing in the game. Osborne said those beforc-the scason, invitation-only games make for short summers. But better to have a short summer than to have a long, dull fall for play ers who openly admit that it’s tough to get motivated for patsies. Accepting an invitation to play in Moscow would be a perfect opportu nity to make good on an otherwise embarrassing non-conference sched ule. * * * * * No offense, Jerry Dunlap. But get that jersey off your back. Dunlap, a reserve quarterback from California, wears No. 12. He should go back to the equipment room and shop for another jersey. Any jer sey — but not No. 12. 1 '1 That goes for all Huskers. The number worn by Turner Gill — Nebraska’s finest quarterback — should have been retired five years ago. College quarterbacks — at least the great ones—need to run, pass and lead. Gill did it all, running a flawless option and rarely throwing into traf fic. Gill was a prince, one of Osborne’s favorites. He earned the respect of Mike Rozier, Irving Fryar and big name offensive lineman. Let’s put No. 12 in a trophy case. Better late than never. * * * * * “Top-ranked UCLA has fallen to Washington State.” Those words came from an ESPN sportscaster Saturday afternoon. And tney made my day. Probably my semester. It wasn’t long ago that I was sitting in the Rose Bowl. Nebraska was trail ing UCLA 38-7. An unprovoked Bruin fan turned to me, my friend and a bunch of subdued Nebraska fans and said: “Hey farm ers, go warm up your mobile homes and drive back to the drought.” I cringed. It hurt like ketchup in a canker sore. So here’s a belated reply to the smart aleck and the other 51,000 fair weather Bruin fans who filled half of the Rose Bowl Saturday and watched UCLA go down in flames: “Hey coastal clods: Go warm up your BMWs. Drive to that drug store near the fault line and buy a tube of lipstick. Then pucker up and kiss your national championship goodbye — again.” * * * * * Nebraska coaches have taken heat in past seasons for recruiting lesser athletes to play in the defensive sec ondary. The argument ran: Nebraska’s inept secondary is a mess of pint sized, slow boys whose biggest ac complishment was being named Homecoming king at a Class C high school. But if coaches deserved criticism then, they deserve praise now. Reggie Cooper, Charles Fryar, Tim Jackson and Lorenzo Hicks are outstanding athletes. They come from New Orleans, Burlington City, N.J., Dallas and Kansas City, Mo. Jackson plays mistake-free foot ball. Cooper is destined to be on Bob Hope’s All-America show someday. And Charles Fryar plays with a mean streak. He’d blindside his grandma if she told him to eat his peas and carrots. It’s time to get off the backs of the guys who chase the fleet afoot each Saturday. They play the game’s toughest position. And they’re playing real well. Thomas is a senior news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan sports columnist. Swim coaches happy with season opener By Lori Griffin Suff Reporter Though the Nebraska women’s swimming team didn’t defeat Kansas this weekend at the Big Eight Invita tional, Comhusker coach Ray Hup pert said he was satisfied with his team’s performance, Huppert said the Huskers per formed well, finishing second to Kansas in their first meet of the sea son, held Friday and Saturday at Iowa Stale's Beyer Hall. “We feel that we are right on track and that’s important right now,” Huppert said. “With the exception of not beating Kansas, we did the things that we need to do.” Kansas tallied 548 points and Nebraska had 433. Iowa State fin ked 3rd with 280 and Missouri 4th with 97. Nebraska got individual lifetime bests from Laurel Hill and •Kathy Barrigan. Hill, a sophomore jlrom Omaha, had her best perform ances in the 200 and 500 freestyle events. Barragan, a junior from Laguna Hills, Calif., swam personal bests in the 100 and 50 freestyle events, Huppert said. Huppert said he was also pleased with the performance of sophomore Jcnell Garcia, who won the 200 but terfly in 2:09.20. Garcia, from Boul der, Colo., also finishod 5th in the 500 freestyle in 5:15.16. The Huskers took 1st place fin ishes from senior Julie May in the three-meter diving competition and sophomore Amy Aarsen in one-meter diving. Nebraska sophomore Kristen Neuenfeldt finished 2nd in the 200 breaststroke behind Jenny Adams of Iowa State. Nucunfcldt also finished 4th in the 200 freestyle. Sophomore Mindy Methcny fin ished /.nd in the 50 freestyle and4th in the 100 freestyle. Huppert said the Huskers need to improve on their swimming tech nique, including starts, turns and breathing patterns. “There were some things that I saw that were problems, but they were things that I expected at this point in the season,” Huppert said. “I think we need to work on our lifting. We were what I would cal! leg-sore.” On the men’s side, Nebraskacoach Cal Bentz also said he was pleased with the Huskers, who won the meet with 453 points. Nebraska was followed by Kan sas’ 385 points, Iowa State's 302 points, and Missouri’s 120 points. Bentz gave the credit to the Husker assistant coaches for their prepara tion. “The assistant coaches work hard to get the guys prepared for the vari ous events,” Bentz said. “I think that’s a credit to them because that’s a lough job.” Bentz said the Huskers are in much belter physical condition and will now be able to focus on the dual meet season. Nebraska received a 1 st-place fin ish from senior Lewis Meyers in the one-meter diving competition. Mey ers also finished 2nd in three-meter diving behind Lee-Jay Strifler of Iowa State. Husker senior Mike Irvin won two events — the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 16:06.30 and the 400 individ ual medley in 4:06.14. Irvin also fin ished 2nd in the 200 backstroke. Nebraska’s Mike Niewenhuis got a 1st place in the 200 freestyle with a lime of 1:43.84. Sophomore Peter Williams won the 50 freestyle in 20.74. Nebraska’s 400 freestyle relay team came in first with a lime of 3:06.17. Other 1 st-place finishes for the Huskcrs included Jaco Kruger in the 500 freestyle, RhcltTalbert in the 200 butterfly and Sean Frampton in the 200 breaststroke. Huskers take championship By Stave Sipple Senior Editor .— ----— The Nebraska women’s cross country team, which placed three runners among the top 10, captured the champion ship Saturday ?X the Biz Eight Goss Country meet at Stillwa ter, Okla. The Comhuskers, who also won the conference meet title in 1985, were led by senior Sam mie Resh, who placed 4th with a time of 17 minutes, 3.82 sec onds over 54300 metres on the Oklahoma State Goss Country Course. The Huskers Yvonne van der Ko!k finished 5th in 17:08.48 and Juliet Prowse was 8th in 17:25.74. Nebraska’s women totaled 41 points to outdistance Okla homa State (6i) and towa State (77). Kansas State finished 4th with 83 points; Missouri was 5th with 112; Colorado was 6th with 120; Oklahoma was 7th with 225 and Kansas State fin ished last with 230. The Husker men’s team placed third at the meet behind 1st place Iowa State and run nenip Colorado. Nebraska coach Jay Dirksen, who coaches both the Musker men and women, said he was pleased with how well the top live runners on his women’s team performed. Oklahoma State’s Sonia Barry, a freshman from New Zealand, won the race in 16:19.11 — a Big Eight Fecord for 5,000 meters. I ii.i_n. . •__N nKuuuM s iiicis a ic-a'il was plagued by injuries, Dirksen said. The Huskers placed just one runner in the top 10 — Jacques van Rensburg, who ran a 30:42.35 and finished 5th on the 10v000-meter course. Iowa State allied 34 points, Colorado h&d 7t and Nebraska finished with 101. Oklahoma State finished 4th with ill points followed by . Kansas Stk$ (113), Kansas (129), Oklahoma (149) and Missouri (170).