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Nebraska kicking game dismantles 1 lgers
By Darran Fowler
Senior Reporter
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Ne
braska football team kicked the Ti
gers’ tails.
An improved kicking game dis
mantled Big Eight menace Missouri,
and gave Nebraska motivation in its
second road game of the season.
Nebraska, which is now 6-0 and 2
0 in conference play, defeated Mis
souri 50-7 Saturday before 55,620
fans at Faurot Field. That audience
was the stadium’s largest crowd in
four seasons.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said the Huskers' kicking game may
have had its best performance to date.
“Overall I think the kicking game
was really good,’’ Osborne said. “I
think this is the most dramatic turn
around we’ve had in the kicking
game. We went from very bad last
week to probably as good as we have
this week.’’
“Good’’ was evidenced by Ne
braska placekicker Chris Drennan
booting field goals of 48 and 42 yards
in the first half, and the Huskers’
returning three kickoffs for 69 yards.
Senior Richard Bell had 45 of those
yards on the opening kickoff, which
set up the first score.
Nebraska also blocked two punts
by Missouri sophomore Mark
Plunkett in the first quarter, and re
turned seven for a total of 166 yards,
including a 59-yardcr by Tyrone
Hughes.
The blocked punts both resulted in
scores, as outside linebackers Mike
Croel and Travis Hill were credited
with stuffing the Tigers’ punter.
With Nebraska leading 7-0, Croel
blocked Plunkett’s first attempt
which resulted in a safety to make the
score 9-0.
After a 24-yard return by Leodis
Flowers on the free kick, Nebraska
increased the score to 16-0 two plays
later.
On the first play, Nebraska run
ning back Ken Clark faked a reverse
for a carry of 28 yards, which moved
the 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior
ahead of former Husker running back
Keith Jones to third on the Huskers’
all-time rushing list.
Clark finished the game with 125
yards on 17 carries. Tne senior from
Omaha now has 2,589 yards in his
career, which trails the 2,814 yards
amassed by I.M. Hipp and 4,708
compiled by Mike Rozicr.
Following Clark’s run, Nebraska
quarterback Gerry Gdowski optioned
left and scampered 34 yards for the
score.
Hill blocked Plunkett’s second
punung attempt which was recovered
in the end zone by strong safety
Reggie Cooper, making the score 23
0.
Osborne said Missouri’s previous
opponents also were successful
against the Tigers’ punting team.
‘‘They had a couple blocked early
so it looked like their punter wasn t
real fast and I think they had a little
trouble protecting him,” he said.
‘‘We decided to come after a couple
of them and see if we couldn’t rattle
him a bit.
After Bell’s 45-yard return to start
the game, Nebraska, behind the run
ning and throwing of Gdowski,
scored on a nine-play, 55-yard drive.
Gdowski, who optioned carries of
eight and 17 yards, capped the drive
with a limed 19-yard pass to split end
Morgan Gregory, wb" cut to his left
and made a diving catch in the front
comer of the end zone.
‘‘They came with a blitz up the
middle and left Morgan one-on-one
and we limed it pretty good,” Gdow
ski said. ‘4 Morgan made a great catch
for the touchdown.”
Last year, Missouri used an effec
tive blitz that limited Nebraska to one
first down and 17 total yards in the
first half.
This year, Missouri gambled with
the blitz on the Huskcrs’ first drive.
But after the early big plays by the
Huskcr punt team, the Tigers were
forced to play conservative defense,
Gdowski said.
“I think it really, really helped
that the defense got some big plays,”
he said. ‘‘By that lime the score was
so wide I don’t think they really
wanted to risk getting blown out real
bad, which would have happened if
they kept blitzing.”
Nebraska expected a lough con
lest going in, out tne punt team put me
game in the Huskers’ favor, he said.
“Any time you get points from
some place other than your offense
it’s a big boost to the whole team,”
Gdowski said. “I think we got lucky
early and got some big plays on punts
and punt returns and I think that was
probably the big difference in the
game.”
Gdowski, who also trotted across
the goal line from two yards out to
give the Huskers a 36-0 lead at
halftime, rushed 12 limes for 125
yards, his highest rushing perform
ance this season. He connected on
3 of 4 passes for 41 yards.
Gdowski’s backups -- Mickey
Joseph and Mike Grant — each saw
equal playing time. Joseph gained 23
yards on nine carries and scored
Nebraska’s final touchdown with a 1
yard run in the fourth quarter. Grant
rushed for 58 yards on nine carries
and completed one pass in three at
tempts for 15 yards.
“I don’t know if it was my best
game or not, but I felt I ran the ball
pretty good,” Gdowski said. “Any
lime you can rush over 100 yards it
means a little something. But a lot of
that is the blocking up front and the
receivers downficld.”
Osborne said Gdowski is having a
good season. He said there is no doubt
that he is the Huskers’ No. 1 quarter
back.
He s me nest, ne said.
“There’s no question right now. I
think he played very well (against
Missouri) and he’s a very, very valu
able football player to us right now.”
After Clark scored from five yards
out in the Huskers’ opening drive of
the third quarter to make the score43
0, Missouri tailback Michael Jones
dove over the top from a yard out for
the Tigers’ first touchdown in 13
quarters.
The Tigers used the same play on
a fourth and goal from the one in the
second quarter, but that time Jones
was stopped in mid-flight by Husker
linebacker Pat Tyrance.
Nebraska finished the game with
473 total yards and 26 first downs.
Missouri ended with 265 yards - 117
rushing and 148 passing-and 17 first
downs. Both teams lost two turn
overs, but the Huskers were penal
ized 13 times for 106 yards, while
Missouri was penalized seven times
for 71 yards.
Osborne said he was pleased with
the Huskers’ showing in the first half
but not the second.
“We played a very good first half
of football,” he said. “The second
half we substituted and got kind of
erratic which was a little displeasing
because we thought we got some
second-unit guys that can play pretty
well. But we just seemed like we
weren’t coordinated.”
Nee: Midnight scrimmage i
was for fun and the fans
By Cory Golden
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska basketball team
tipped off its season at 12:10 a.m.
Sunday with its first official scrim
mage before a droopy-eyed crowd of
2,318 at the Bob Dcvancy Sports
Center.
Coach Danny Nee’s Huskcrs had
the event for the second year in a row.
This year’s event operated under the
guise of “Midnight Madness” as a
way to lure fans, Nee said.
The 30-minutc, intra-squad, red/
gray scrimmage was won 69-59 by
the red team, which included Rich
King, Richard van Poclgccsl, and
Clifford Scales, all of whom arc re
turn ing starters from last year’s 17-16
team.
In the halftime slam dunk contest,
new Huskcr Tony Farmer edged out
sophomore Daprcis Owens.
Farmer, in his first year with Ne
braska after transferring from San
Jose State, led the grays with 11
points while Owens and 5-foot-10
junior Keith Moody each added 10 in
a losing effort.
Sophomore Chris Crcsswcll, who
sat out last year after transferring
from Cal-Irvinc, lopped the winning
red squad with 14 points, including
three baskets from outside the threc
poi arch.
Senior Ray Richardson, who is
slated to start at forward this season,
added 13 and van Poclgccsl and
Scales Finished with 12 and 10 points,
respec lively.
Nee said lhal while he was pleased
with how the team looked, he did not
look at the scrimmage from a coach
ing standpoint
“I did not evaluate this,” Nee
said. “It was just for fun. It was
entertainment to let our fans meet our
team and get our booster club in
volved.
“There were more people here
than lasf year. It’s growing. I feel
good about it.
“We were just trying to gel some
publicity and some exposure for our
team. I thought we had a really solid
crowd and I thought the kids enjoyed
themselves and played well.”
Nee and his assistants have been
working hard to bring fan support to
the team and they’re hoping for more,
he said.
“We still think it’s really impor
tant that the student body gets in
volved,” he said. “It’s very, very
important lhal we get (he home-court
advantage.”
It’s important, in part, because of
the youth of this year’s team, which
includes three freshmen and two sen
iors, Nee said.
“Each year I feel we’re bringing
better, stronger basketball players
into the program,” he said. “We’re
moving in the right direction.
“We’ve golalotof youth bulif we
channel it and develop it, we’ll be
OK.”
William Lauar/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Kelly Lively (in background) battles Rich King for
a rebound.
NU volleyball team
breaks records,
corrals Colorado
By Cory Golden
Staff Reporter
Nebraska’s volleyball learn mci
Colorado for the second time this
season, and created the same result.
The No. 4-rankcd Comhuskcrs
defeated the 14ih-rankcd Lady Buffs
15-7, 10-15, 15-6, 17-15 Saturday
before a crowd of 2,023 at the NU
Coliseum. The win improved Ne
braska’s record to 5-0 in the Big Eight
and 14-0 overall.
In the first meeting of the two
teams, in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 30,
Nebraska defeated the Lady Buffs
15-13,15-4,15-10.
It took some record-breaking per
formances for the Huskers to win
Saturday.
Junior setter Val Novak broke
Nebraska’sail-lime individual match
record for set assists in four games
with 78, lopping Lori Endicott’s rec
ord of 74 set last year.
As a squad, the Huskers broke
team records in set assists with 83 and
kills with 91. Those marks topped
previous highs of 81 and 87 set
against Indiana in 1988.
In the first game, Colorado
jumped to a 6-4 lead, but after a scries
of seven side-outs, Nebraska rallied
first to lie and eventually win behind
the serving of Janet Kruse and Chris
Hall. An ace block by senior Carla
Baker ended the game 15-7.
See BUFFS on 8
NU golf team travels south to compete in tournaments
By Darran Fowler
Senior Reporter
With the first competition of the season out
of the way, Nebraska men’s golf coach Larry
Romjue expects competitive experience to
lead to better performances in Georgia this
week.
After watching his team play poorly in its
first cpmpetition this season, Romjue said he
thinks he will see improvement when the Com
huskers journey south to compete in two tour
naments.
Last week, Nebraska finished in a three-way
tie for 12th place in the 17-team Hillman
Robbins Memorial Intercollegiate in Mem
phis, Tenn. The Huskers’ highest individual
finish was compiled by Mike Troy, who shot
235 and tied for 39lh place.
Romjue said his players had been out of
competition for quite a while prior to going into
that tournament against teams who already had
seen competition this season.
Now, he said, his players are prepared and
should be more competitive.
“I think the experience of the tournament is
the big thing,” he said. “We’ll be a little more
ready.
“We’ll be a good team. The talent’s there.
It’s still early in the season.”
Nebraska will spend the entire week in
Georgia competing in separate tournaments.
The Huskers began competition today in
Georgia State’s two-day, 10-tcam Mizuno
Peach State Invitational at the Port Armor Club
on Lake Oconee near Atlanta, Ga.
In addition to Nebraska and Georgia State,
teams participating include Hunington College
(Ala.), Coastal Carolina College (N.C.), Cen
tenary College (La.), Davidson College (N.C.),
Appalachian State (N.C.), Southeastern Lou
isiana, Valdosta State College (Ga.) and Mer
cer University (Ga.).
Beginning Friday and continuing through
Sunday, the Huskcrs will compete in Colum
bus College’s 21 st-annual Dixie Intercolle
giate tournament at the Bull Creek golf course
in Columbus, Ga.
Columbus College is the defending national
champion in Division II.
‘‘They’ve got an excellent program,”
Romjue said.
Also competing in the invitational is de
fending tournament champion Illinois.
In addition, Mississippi State, Mississippi.
Memphis State, Florida Southern, Florida At
lantic, Bryant College (R.I.), Rollins College
(Fla.), South Alabama, South Florida, South
eastern Louisiana, Southern Mississippi, Stet
son University (Fla.), Tampa University, Val
dosta State College and Vanderbilt round out
the 18-tcam field.
Romjue said he expects both tournaments to
be competitive. This is the first year Nebraska
has competed in these tournaments, he said.
“We’ll see some teams equal to or belter
than the ones we saw (at the Hillman Robbins
Memorial tournament),’’ he said. “It’ll be
different teams, which is one of the reasons we
play around in different areas. Plus, the differ
ent areas give you better experience and pre
pare you for all kinds of situations.”