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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1989)
Nel?raskan Monday, November 20,1989 Osborne says score beyond his dreams i).. m i. ... . _ VIIUVIV VII VCII Senior Reporter A college football coach knows he s had a tough day when his team’s fourth-leading rusher against Ne braska is an offensive lineman. Unfortunately for Oklahoma coach Gary Gibbs, the 22 yards on two carries by Sooner guard Mike Sawatzky weren’t enough, as the Comhuskers rolled to a 42-25 win. It was the most points scored against Oklahoma by a Nebraska team since 1969, when the Huskcrs • won 44-14. “I didn’t, in my wildest dreams, think we’d be able to score 42 points on them,” Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said. “Oklahoma still has a great football team.” Nebraska rolled up 461 yards of total offense - 236 rushing, 225 pass ing — to beat Oklahoma for the sec ond year in a row. The Sooncrs gener ated 363 yards of offense, including 140 yards on 22 carries by freshman lanoacK ucwell Brewer. Husker quarterback Gerry Gdow ski made the most of his final home game. The senior from Fremont completed 12 of 15 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns -- a career high. He added 35 yards and another touchdown rushing. It was the third game this season in which Gdowski passed for three or more touchdowns. “I’m really surprised we moved the ball and scored that well on them,” Gdowski said. “After watch ing them on film, we thought they were the best defense we would play all year.” Osborne had nothing but praise for his senior signal caller. “(Gdowski) has played as well as any quarterback I’ve ever been asso ciated with here,” he said. “He docs an outstanding job of managing the football team, and he deserves any honors he receives.” Nebraska center Jake Young agreed. “Everything he docs is right,” Young said. “He may not have been a great thrower when he came here, but now he docs it as well as anyone in the country. “I’d say for our offense and the way he runs it, there isn’t a better quarterback in the country.” The Huskers wasted no time in taking charge of unranked Okla homa. On the second play from scrimmage, freshman quarterback Steve Collins was hit by Nebraska free safety Tyrone Byrd and fumbled the ball. Tahaun Lewis recovered for Nebraska at the Oklahoma 34-yard line. Four plays later, Gdowski bolted eight yards around the left end for a touchdown. Gregg Barrios’ extra point gave the Huskers a 7-0 lead with 12:56 left in first quarter. The Sooncrs answered on their next possession. Collins connected with split end Arthur Guess on third and-12 for an 82-yard touchdown which tied the game. Bui Gdowski then reeled off touchdown strikes to wingback Rich ard Bell and tightend ChrisGarrett to extend Nebraska’s lead. The pass to Bell, which covered 31 yards, almost was overthrown, Bell said. “The wind took the ball, and I had to dive to get to it,” he said. “As I looked up, I focused on the ball. Ear lier in the week, (Nebraska receivers) coach (Ron) Brown told us to leave our feet if we had to. “On that play, I had to.” After Bell’s diving catch in the back of the end zone, the snap for Barrios’ extra point attempt was bobbled. Reserve quarterback Jerry Dunlap, the holder, pioj^xl up the ball and rolled to his right, looking for a receiver to pass to. He turned back to his left and lobbed the ball to a wide open Bryan Carpenter, who made the catch for the two-point conversion. “I didn’t even know what hap pened,” Osborne said of the play. “I looked up and we had two points.” The Huskers had seven more points moments later, when Gdowski fired a 24-yard pass to Garrett, who was covered by two Oklahoma defen sive backs. This lime, Barrios added the extra points to put Nebraska ahead 22-7 with 3:33 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma fullback Leon Perry cut the Huskers’ lead to 22-13 on a 1 - yard run early in the second quarter. Collins added a two-point conversion to bring the Sooners within seven, but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the game. The touchdown was set up by a 16 yard carry by Sawatzky on a “Fum blcrooski” play, in which Collins took the snap from the center and laid the ball on the ground. Sawatzky, who was pulling to the right, then picked up the ball and headed for the end zone. He was knocked out of bounds by Nebraska comerback Bruce Pickens at the 1. See HUSKERS on 6 OUcoach: Gdowski, inexperience hurt team ny jen Apel Senior Editor As a crowd outside Schulte Field house yelled “OU sucks,” Okla homa coach Gary Gibbs pointed to one person as being the difference in Saturday’s game. Gibbs said after Oklahoma’s 42 25 loss to Nebraska at Memorial Sta dium that Comhusker quarterback Gerry Gdowski was the deciding factor. He said Gdowski maintained his poise and provided steady leader ship throughout the contest. ‘ ‘Gdowski played an outstanding game,” Gibbs said. Gibbs said Gdowski hurt Okla homa when he passed. Gdowski threw four touchdown passes while completing 12 of his 15 aerials. Gibbs said Nebraska’s passing attack was aided by a young Okla NU’s Nee pleased with improvement of Comhuskers By Cory Golden Staff Reporter Nebraska center Rich King didn’t put himself in position for any Acad emy Award nominations during the Comhuskers’ game against the Ath letes in Action. Nebraska coach Danny Nee said King was overacting when he crashed to the floor with 4:30 left in the first half. King silenced the crowd of 7,549 by groping at his leg and then limping off the court to the locker room. Nebraska won the exhibition 104 90 Friday night at the Bob Dcvaney Sports Center. Nee said he was not pleased by King’s antics. “He’s very dramatic,” Nee said. “If he’s hurt, he’s hurt -- he’ll get up faster next time if he wants to start the second half.” But Nee said King did some “great stuff” during the second half. The junior from Omaha missed the final minutes of the first half while getting his ankle taped, but came out in the second half and scored 20 of his game-high 24 points. “We got him the ball in positions where he could score down on the box,” Nee said, “and he just took the ball to the hole and made his free throws. “That’s a good sign - we need that.” Nee said he thought King and for ward Richard van Poclgecst “were very rugged on the boards.” King and van Poclgecst combined for 21 rebounds. See PLEASED onB noma secondary. He said the Soon ers’ secondary, which starts three sophomores and a senior, was out manned against Nebraska’s passing attack. “Inexperience hurt. The inexperi ence in the secondary really showed itself,” Gibbs said. “They haven’t seen this type of attack.” Oklahoma senior defensive back Kevin Thompson said the Nebraska passing attack was not showing any thing new against the Sooncrs. “They did today what we saw all week,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t new.” Oklahoma did show two new plays against Nebraska, as it ran the infamous guard-around play twice and also used the tight end reverse. The plays netted 36 yards. Gibbs said Oklahoma went to the trick plays because it thought they would work. The firsl guard-around play did work, as Sooner guard Mike Sawatzky rambled 16 yards to set up his team’s second touchdown of the day. “We just felt those were things that could be successful,” Gibbs said, “and obviously they were.” Sawatzky said his only disap pointment with the guard-around plays was he did not score. Nebraska comerback Bruce Pickens prevented Sawatzky from scoring on the first guard-around play by knocking the junior from Weatherford, Okla., out at the 1-yard line. “I came pretty close,” Sawatzky said, “about as close as you can.” Gibbs said he also was disap pointed that Sawatzky did not score. He said Sawatzky needs to change his running style if he plans on scoring in the future. Nebraska’s Carl Hayes shoots over the Athletes in Action’s Gib Hinz. ‘ ‘ He giggled when he should have gaggled,” Gibbs said, “and he got slopped at the 1-loot line.” Gibbs and Sawal/ky said the guard around was part of an Okla homa offense that came close to per fection against Nebraska. Sawal/.ky said he was impressed by Oklahoma’s offense. ‘ ‘ 1 thought as an offensive unit we moved the ball well,” he said. “They have a great defense.” Oklahoma tailback Dcwell Brewer agreed with Sawai/ky’s as sessment. He described Nebraska’s defense in one word -- physical. “Nebraska’s defense is the most physical I played against,” Brewer said. “Regardless of what the score was, they were the most physical.” Brewer said he was surprised by the game’s high score. “I came in expecting it was going to be a close game,” he said. ‘‘I didn’t expect that many points to be scored.” Gibbs said big plays accounted for the high scoring. Oklahoma opened its scoring by using an 82-yard pass from quarterback Steve Collins to split end Artie Guess, while Nebraska retaliated by using a 31-yard touch down pass from Gdowski to wing back Richard Bell. Gibbs said Nebraska got the best of the big plays. In addition to the catch by Bell, the Huskers used a pair of touchdown catches by light end Chris Garrett and a scoring strike by split end Morgan Gregory to pull away. “There was some big plays throughout the game that hurt our football team,” Gibbs said. “Obvi ously, we were fooled loo many Limes.” JN U needs to block pain, concentrate on Final Four The Nebraska volleyball team needs a wake-up call. This is not the most opportune time of the season to be playing unin spired, almost slothful, volleyball. Though such a mental stale is under standable, it is not going to get a team to the Final Four. The season has been long. The rigors of daily two-lo-lhrcc hour practices can lake their toll. The coaches’ constant preaching of the same techniques and fundamentals seem repetitions and aggravating. In addition, playing the type of competition that five of the six teams in the Big Eight provide makes sell - motivation and concentration more difficult. Teams have to play well to win, but it’s also the point of the season when durability and intensity take over. A lot of teams arc feeling burn-out and fatigue at this time, but the ones which block out the aches and pains of a long season and raise their inten sity level to optimum proportions survive in the end. Yet, maintaining peak levels of emotion is difficult, especially when there is no incentive in beating Mis souri, Kansas State, Iowa State and Kansas. Sure, now would be a great time for a break. J ust get away .Come back two weeks later feeling rested, fresh and ready to lake on any team that even dares to step onto the court. But it doesn’t work that way. The regular season is over. Hon olulu, the site of this year’s Final Four, is a month away. The first round of NCAA tournament play is in two weeks with subsequent regional play following. Let’s not forget the Big Eight tour nament next weekend, which more than likely will give up-and-coming Colorado a third shot this season at humbling the Huskers. Indeed, it’s blood-and-guls lime. Now, it isn’t that Nebraska has not been Uying or playing terribly lately. The Huskers have just been unin spired and unemotional when com pared to the opposition. A businesslike approach is nice, but that isn’t what rallied the Huskers when they pounded top-ranked Ha waii — the only team to do so -- in October. Instead, it was a tenacious block and a scrambling, body-sacrificing effort that spelled the difference in that one. The Huskers were hungry in their second chance at the Rainbow Wahincs. Hopefully, Nebraska isn’t taking its talents and fortunes for granted. That could spell doom. Great plays won’i come easily the rest of the season. The mediocre teams have been weeded out. Nebraska played at Missouri and Kansas State this weekend and may have restored what it once had in See WAKE UP on 8