Kansas State coach down, but not out
By Cory Golden
Suff Reporter
Last Monday, Kansas State’s athletic de
partment was marketing videos of its football
team's come-from-behind win last week that
broke a 30-game winless and 16-game losing
streak.
Saturday, the team was throttled 58-7 by
Nebraska. . „
*’We got whipped every way you can get
whipped/ first-year coach Bill Snyder said
aftefthe game.
Snyder had an explanation as to why the
Cqrnhoskess moved the ball without problems,
including440 yards of total offense m the first
half alone.
“The reason Nebraska moved the football
as well as diey did - and at will - was number
one, Nebraska’s a great offensive football team
with great talent, and number two, because wo
made &n awful lot of mistakes," Snyder said.
Snyder said that while it would take a
couple of hours" to explain an die problems
Kansas Suue'sdcfense had, it wodki he impor
tant for his team to examine the game films
anyway. •
"I told oar football team just a few minutes
ago as much as you’d like to say, ‘Get this one
behind you right now. Forget about it, it's ever.
It's a bad dream. It's a nightmare,' you still
have to ap back and find out why," Snyder
said. "Why does it happen?"
"We've got to understand what we could
have done to prevent some ofthethings that did
happen. We made thekind of mistakes that will
not only get you beat by Nebraska, but by any
' football team in the United States."
Throne thing Snyder arid theWildcats had
on their side was r positive attitude.
"We're not a good enough team to heat
Nebraska, but w^<SdnrtbeKevt that," he said.
/
"I don't think our players for a moment
doubted that we could come up here and win
this football game, and to me, that's a real
compliment to these kids."
Snyder said the team's reaction to the loss
could lead die team in only two directions. He
said he thought the team would regroup and go
OIL
*'‘If this is a football team tint truly believes
all the things we’ve been talking about-about
not giving up, about learning bow to play hard,
about not mating mistakes -dien the true test
is right here/* Snyder said.
Kansas State offensive lineman Chad
Faulkner said having inexperienced people,
including freshmen, on the field because of
injuries also hurt the Wildcats.
"Not to make excuses, but we had some
people that bed never played against a team of
Nebraska's caliber before," Faulkner said.
"They kind of came into the same wide-eved
like that’s going to happen if he hits me/ and
this and that/*
Erik Harper, a three-year letterman for
Kansas State, was hardly wide-eyed, tail said
he didn’t want to take anything away from the
Huskers' performance.
*’You have to give them a lot of credit They
came out and they played ball today,” he said.
Michael Smith, one of the heroes of Kansas
State’s 20-17 victory over North Texas, sat in
the comer answering questions quietly with a
face that showed no emotion at alh
Smith, who wits chosen as the Big Eight’s
offensive Player of the Week after he caught
four passes on the game-winning drive for the
Wildcats, said he was disappointed not only
with his own performance, but with the game in •
general.
, “We came in here believing we could
win/’ Smith said. “Now we have to take this
loss and see if we can learn from it.”
Promotion makes NU basketball program go to the dogs
fluuthe tin will i
sales, whicti ffcw
cline.
Bus, Nee wants the courtskJe area
id be anything but lifeless.
The purpose is to get students to
bark, bite, scratch, snarl, howl ahd
growl at “strays” that wander into
the Bob Devaney Sports Center -
now the home of the Nebraska Pit
Bulls.
Nee wants opposing teams to
come into the sports center tenier
fied.
Ticket applications for 13 games
continue to be sold this week on a
first-come, first-served basit, with T
sfcirte bearing the “Dead Dog Alley”
logo given to thorn who apply.
So all you animals oufmere, buy
now. Don’t be left out DooH worry,
b*ra^f^^iciCr4^Ssof pS
giree - printed they have been vac
cinates for rabies.
As a precautionary measure to
protect the opposition’s' players, a
system has been set up similar to the
one used to combat last spring’s
measles outbreak.
Lists erf students who have applied
for tickets and are not known to be
adequately vaccinated will
on billboards n
hydrants.
Free *hr*
personal visits throughout the cam-,
pus, increasing student awareness of
the spirit behind “Dead Deg Alley.”
And Nee can promote with confi~.
dence.
Nebraska has talent this year and
should be good. Following last year’s
It’s an excuse to get ouL Get crazy.
Get rowdy. Get wild. Get a T-fchtrt.
Maybe even get some media and/
or national exposure bccau«* nf
group’s oddity. So,
proud. DonH pass up
maybe be on television or be
frontpage of the newspaper.
“Dead Dm Alley”
the Huskers, plus give stuik
ing they have a role on the
And as for future ginun
not make it ajea
psychological?
Leta ncri'Ski
randomly evw
^ - ■_i_._- -_'
Nebraska junior varsity quarterback
proves his worth in Air Force match
Mh
went down with a leg injury.
“It was JefFs him to go in."
Thorell said. “It was a situation
where-we were in a hurry-up offense
and Jeff is a very capable quarter
back." . .
Lindquist said fee put all the pres-,
suresof a lack of experience behind
turn when he entered the game in the
third quarter. That strategy paid off.
as he completed all seven of his pass
attempts while leading a Nebraska
rally mat fell Short when the Huskers
failed to convert their second on-side
kick of the game.
Lindquist admitted the loss was
disappointing. He said the setback
was a result of mental breakdowns in
the third quarter, in which Air Force
outscored Nebraska 144).
“Wc played pretty good, except
for the thsrd quarter,’' Lindquist said.
* * We had a good fourth quarter, but it
was pretty disappointing to almost
Lindqui st and Tborcll said Ne
bnaka’s rally was fueled by a hurry
up offense which confuted the Air
Force defense They odd the hurry
up offense, which preserves time by
not using a huddle, left the Hosker
receivers wide open.
“The hurry-up offense did hurt
Air Force." Thotell said. “They
didn’t have time to make defensive
changes. SO some of our receivers
We open."
Lindauift spotted the free receiv
er;, as he drilled a 51-yard touch
down pass to wmgbock Brian Moore
that cut Air Force s advantage to four
points with 10 seconds left That play
was set ap when Nebraska linebacker
Matt Penland recovered an > co-side
kick at the Air Force 49.
But that was as close as the Husk
ers could got. as their ensuiwgdn-shte
tvj was recovered by the Falcons’
Dun Johnson.
Thorell said time proved to be
Nebraska’s biggest enemy.
"If we would have had another
five minutes,*’ he said, "I think we
could have won it"
Nebraska had taken a 7-0 lead
with 10:55 remaining in the first
quarter when Cornwell scored on al
yard ran. The Huskers increased their
lead when Calliea scored on a 9-yard
ran, but Air Force used an 18-yfed
touchdown catch from wide receiver
Clarence Hopkins, a touclidown by
quarterback Rob Perez and a scoring
jaunt by lineman Chris Cozzi to take
a 24-14 lead early in die third quarter.
Cozzi’s touchdown was set up
when the Falcons used a trick play
that was developed by Nebraska. The
play - which is tended the "fum
bferuski" - requires the lineman to
pick up an intendenai fumble and
ramble toward the end zone.
The play was used by the Huskers
in the 1984 Orange Bowl, when of
fensive lineiuan Dean Steinkuhler
picked up the loose ball and scored. It
also was employed in 1979, when
offensive lineman Randy Schle
usener ran it against Oklahoma and
gained 15 yards.
Thorell said the fumbieruski set
off a tough set of series for the Ne
braska defense. . The play occurred
with 2:33 remaining in the first half,
and Air Force scored on i pair of
drives in the third quarter.
Thorell said his team’s defensive
problems were the result of break
downs. He said Air Force burned
Nebraska by having its bnOkfield ran
post patterns which gained big
chunks of yardage.
"That hurt us," Thorell said.
Thorell said Nebraska tried to
recover from its diird-quwter woes
and touchdowns by Hopkins and
quarterback Derrick Bapdrs, but ran
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Hwld.
out or time. The Huskers used a pair*
of touchdown runs by fullbeck Brian
Diudavy and Lindquist's peas to
Moore to pull within four.
Thoifell also said the loss was dis
appointing. The setback dropped
Nebraska to 1-1-1, while Air race
improved to 2-1 1.
“It was disappointing in that we
were a good enough team to win,’’ ,
ThuiT.il said, “but we gave up too
many big plays defensively.
Nebraska's next game is Oct. 20,
when the Huakers face lows Central .
junior ceUtfe of Fort Dodge, Iowa, cl
Memorial Stadium.
Thorell and Lindquist said they
aren't worried about any type of let* .
down against the Tritons.
“That game is • long ways off/’
Lindquist said, “so we should be
ready/*
