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
