Sports
NU awaits tough shootout with Cowboys
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
isn’t thrilled about his trip to Stillwa
ter, Okla., on Saturday. He knows
what’s waiting for his No. 4-rankcd
Comhuskers when they get there.
“Of the teams we’ve played to
date, Oklahoma State is probably the
best,’’ he said. “We’re going to need
to play well to get the job done.’’
The shootout with the Cowboys,
scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Lewis
Stadium, will give the Huskers a look
at “probably the best quarterback in
the Big Eight’’ in Mike Gundy.
Gundy, a senior from Midwt st
City, Okla., has completed 65 of 136
passes for 816 yards and four touch
downs this season, and has been inter
ceptcd four limes.
“He has a world of experience,”
Osborne said. “Nobody in our con
ference is as experienced as he is.”
Osborne said that while Gundy has
taken criticism from fans and the
media in Oklahoma for not meeting
some expectations, judgment of
quarterbacks “depends on a lot of
factors.”
“The evaluation of quarterbacks
is often unfair,” he said. “He gets the
credit when his team moves the ball,
and takes the blame when the team
loses. Thai’s just because he handles
the ball on every play.”
Despite the criticism, Osborne
said, Gundy is one of the best players
in the conference.
“He has a great arm and is fairly
mobile,” Osborne said. “He’ll give
us a lot of trouble if we’re not ready.”
Gundy wasn’t ready against Kan
sas Stale last weekend, as he sat out
the first half with a knee injury. But
late in the fourth quarter, he came off
the bench and directed the game’s
winning drive when he tossed a
touchdown pass to give the Cowboys
a 17-13 victory against the Wildcats.
Gundy’s efforts against Kansas
State were praised by Oklahoma
State coach Pat Jones.
“Mike is the leader of this football
team,” Jones said. “If anybody'
thinks I am, they arc crazy. Mike
Gundy is.”
Oklahoma State has posted a 2-4
record this season, defeating Wyo
ming and Kansas State. But the poor
showing through the first half of the
season shouldn’t be considered in
Saturday’s game, Osborne said.
“Defensively, they’ve switched
to a Miami-slylc 4-3, and they’ve
become more acclimated to it,” he
said. “On offense, I’m sure they’ll
run a balanced attack at us.”
Osborne said the problems suf
fered by the Cowboys arc due primar
ily to heavy graduation losses of last
year’s starters.
Oklahoma State’s problems will
be compounded by the loss of starting
tailback Gerald Hudson, who is ex
> peeled to miss the game with a knee
injury. Hudson has rushed for 547
yards and one touchdown on 95 car
ries.
“You can’t lose a Heisman Tro
phy winner (tailback Barry Sanders),
(wide receiver) Hart Lee Dykes and
two or three other guys who went to
L--<-_H l
Al Schaben Daily Nebraskan Al Schaben Daily Nebraskan
huci. ‘crurtcn MicKey josepn Nebraska quarterback Mike Grant
Battle for quarterback to continue
A battle that will not be settled
until next fall is in full-blown prog
ress.
Nebraska reserve quarterbacks
Mickey Joseph and Mike Grant are
in q u/ar th.it va/ill nnl onH until
Comhusker coach Tom Osborne
begins peace negotiations next fall.
The battle erupted last spring, tempo
rarily silenced, then heated back up
again when Grant was un-redshirted.
At the beginning of the season, it
appeared peace would last through
out the year as Grant announced he
would redshirt. He stuck to that deci
sion through Nebraska’s season
opening contest against Northern Illi
nois, then turned down a chance to
play against Utah.
Grant stood firm on his decision to
redshiri. Firm, that is, until Nebraska
faced Minnesota Sept. 23.
That was the day that Osborne
made what has been one of the most
controversial decisions in his 16-year
coaching career. Yes, that was the
day Osborne ordered Grant on to the
field late in the Huskcrs’ 48-0 win
against the Golden Gophers.
Osborne’s reasoning behind his
decision was sound, even if his tim
ing was not. He said he doubted if
starting quarterback Gerry Gdowski
could stay healthy all season and if he
could continue to nlav as well as he
had been.
Grant, Osborne said, could be the
difference in a big game. With his
exceptional scrambling ability and
his rocket arm, Osborne said, Grant
could be the man that could lead
Nebraska.
Osborne was obviously thinking
about the Colorado match-up on Nov.
4, as it docs not make any difference
who leads the Comhuskers until then.
That’s how bad this year’s schedule
is.
In addition to facing Northern Illi
nois, Utah and Minnesota, Nebraska
has laced Oregon Slate, Kansas Stale
and Missouri this season. The Husk
ers will square off against Oklahoma
Slate Saturday, and will face Iowa
Stale before matching up against
Colorado.
The schedule is what makes
Osborne’s decision to un-redshirt
Grant so difficult to accept. None of
the teams Nebraska has faced this
season arc football powerhouses, and
asking an athlete to forfeit an entire
year for one game is too much.
Osborne un-redshirted a second
piayer mis season, dui nis summon
was understandable. Split end Jon
Bostick was pulled out of a redshirt
season earlier this year after two
Husker reserves, Chip Bahc and Tim
McCoy, were slowed by injuries.
Nebraska’s top split end, Morgan
Gregory, is notorious for dropping
the football, so Osborne had no
choice but to pull Bostick out of his
redshirt season.
Redshirt or not, Osborne’s deci
sion to play Grant has set off a furious
battle between the sophomore from
Valrico, Fla., and Joseph. Neither
player has a significant advantage
over the other, as the two quarter
backs have compiled similar statis
tics while seeing equal playing time.
Grant does have a slight advan
tage, as his stats are slightly better.
That’s a good sign for Nebraska fans,
who watched and dreamed about the
future as Grant guided last year’s
junior varsity to an undefeated sea
son.
Grant’s most impressive statistic
is his 7.2 yards-pcr-carry rushing
average. He also has completed more
man oj percent 01 ms passes while
throwing for 98 yards.
Joseph, meanwhile, has gained
1()9 yards rushing and thrown for 69.
He has thrown two touchdown passes
- the same number as Grant - and
scored once rushing, which is one
more than his counterpart has tallied.
But forget all of those stats. This
war, which erupted because of inex
perience, will not be settled until next
fall when an experienced quarterback
is named.
Apcl is a senior news-editorial major and is
the Daily Nebraskan sports editor.
the pros ana not nave an impact,
Osborne said. “It docs make a differ
ence.”
One thing that hasn’t made a dif
ference to Oklahoma State’s pro
gram, Osborne said, is the NCAA
sanctions placed on them last year for
recruiting violations. The sanctions
will keep the Cowboys off TV for this
season and next.
“I don’t think the probation has
made an impact on them or Okla
homa yet,” he said. “That usually
takes a couple of years, when you
start getting low in numbers because
of recruiting.”
Much of Oklahoma State’s suc
cess this season, as in past seasons,
has come through the air. The Cow
See OSBORNE on 8
Tempo vital for
NU-Hawaii game
By Darran Fowler
Senior Reporter
Tempo will be the key element in
this weekend’s volleyball matches
between top-ranked Hawaii and
fourth-ranked Nebraska.
Nebraska setter Val Novak, who
calls the signals for the Cornhuskers’
offensive attack and is responsible
for establishing the tempo of every
game, said she intends to set both
matches against the Rainbow
Wahines at a quick pace.
“If we control the tempo of the
match we have a great chance of
winning,” Novak said.
Nebraska’s first chance at the
Rainbow Wahines is tonight at 7:30
at the NU Coliseum. That game will
be broadcast by KRNU (90.3 FM).
A second match is slated for an 8
p.m. start Saturday and will be tele
vised live by NETV.
Nebraska, which puts a 13-mutch
home winning streak on the line, and
Hawaii, which has the nation’s long
est winning streak of 31 matches, arc
the only remaining undefeated teams
in Division I volleyball. Nebraska is
14-0 and Hawaii 16-0.
The matches arc free for Univer
sity of Ncbraska-Lincoln students
who show their student IDs.
In trying to maintain the tempo,
Novak said Nebraska still will em
ploy the same offensive strategics
that it has utilized through 14
matches.
After playing* 51 games, Novak
has 740 assists and leads the team in
service aces with 33, including H
consecutive matches with at least one
ace.
Novak’s average of 14.51 assists
per game leads the nation. Hawaii
setter Chcri Boyer is second, averag
ing 13.98 a game.
“Novak has a big role in every
match,’ ’ Nebraska coach Terry Pettit
said. “She always plays an important
role.”
Novak’s efforts contribute to
Nebraska’s leading the country in
kills, averaging 17.98 a game. Ha
waii is second with a 17.70 mark.
Nebraska senior middle blocker
Virginia Stahr leads the country in
hitting percentage with a .503 aver
age and Hawaii outside hitter Tccc
Williams-Sanders leads the country
with a 5.62 kill-pcr-game average.
Pettit said serving and defensive
specialist Becky Bolli alsocould play
a big role this weekend.
4 41 think Becky Bolli needs to have
a good weekend to offset Hawaii’s
depth on their bench,” he said.
At practices this week the Huskcrs
See QUICK on 8
