Sports
Florida State quarterback has last laugh
Seminoles’Willis bombs
Comhusker secondary
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
TEMPE, Ariz. — Florida Slate
quarterback Peter Tom Willis showed
up the Sunkist-Fiesta Bowl’s offi
cials and Nebraska’s defense in the
process.
Willis said after Florida Stale’s
41-17 victory in the New Year’s Day
contest at Arizona State’s Sun Devil
Stadium that he fell frustrated when
the Scminoles were called for three
consecutive holding penalties in the
second quarter.
Those frustrations were short-lived,
as Willis overcame a first-and40 situ
ation cnroute to setting three Sunkist
Fiesta Bowl records and leading Flor
ida State to a nationally televised rout
of the Comhuskcrs.
Willis said he had to prove the
officials wrong when Florida State
was called for the consecutive penal
ties. He accomplished it by complet
ing a 30-yard pass to fullback Edgar
Bennett, then throwing a 10-yard
touchdown strike to tailback Dexter
Carter.
“We took it in and scored,” Wil
lis said. “We stuck it in their face.”
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
wiins toucnaown pass hurt the
Huskers because it gave Florida State
a 21-10 halftime lead. He said a mental
lapse by free safety Marvin Sanders
led to the reception.
“We thought we were in the right
coverage,” Osborne said. “The guy
just went to sleep a little bit.”
Osborne said mistakes hurt Ne
braska throughout the contest. He said
Nebraska also was hurt by Willis,
who set individual Sunkist-Fiesta Bowl
records for total offense (414), yards
passing (422) and touchdown passes
(5).
“I think Willis played very well,
Osborne said. “At times we got some
heat on him but by and large we
couldn’t gel to him.
“He’s a great player.”
Willis said his performance was
not one of his best. He said his effort
was aided by the Florida State receiv
ers, who repealedly burned the Husker
defense for big chunks of yardage.
“I didn’t feel like I threw the ball
that well,” Willis said. “The receiv
ers just made some great catches.”
Osborne said Florida State’s catches
were a combination of skill and luck.
“A couple times they made great
catches,” he said. “Acoupletimcs.it
was jump balls and they came up with
it.”
Osborne said Florida Slate’s pass
ing game hurt Nebraska because it
put the Huskers in a deep hole. After
surrendering a 9-yard touchdown pass
to split end Morgan Gregory, the third
ranked Scminolcs outscorcd Nebraska
41-3 to raise their record to 10-2.
Nebraska, which finished 11th and
12th in the polls, also finished with a
10-2 mark. The rankings marked the
first time in Osborne’s 18-year Husker
coaching career that Nebraska has
not finished among the lop 10 teams
in either of the wire service polls.
Osborne said Nebraska could not
change its run-oriented offense to a
passing attack when it fell behind.
“We’re not a team that’s going to
make a living throwing the ball,”
usoorne saia, ana as we got lurtncr
behind, we couldn’t run the ball.”
Florida State noseguard Odell
Haggins said the Seminoles used their
speed to stuff Nebraska’s ground game.
The Huskprs finished with 115 yards
rushing on 46 attempts.
‘‘We just out-quickcd them.”
Haggins said. ‘ ‘There’s no doubt our
quickness helped out.”
Osborne said Nebraska also helped
Florida Slate by committing five
fumbles, three of which were lost.
“The big factor was the turnovers,”
he said. “I suppose that five turn
overs is worth 21-28 points.”
Osborne said he was embarrassed
..muni |
Al Schaben/Daity Nebraskan
neorasKa aeiensive DacK Marvin Sanders clings to Florida State tailback Dexter Carter as
outside linebacker Mike Croel moves in.
by the game s outcome.
“We thought we were capable of
winning,” he said. “Obviously, we
got pretty close to getting blown out.”
Florida State coach Bobby Bow
den said he was never worried about
the game’s outcome. He said he wasn’t
even concerned when the Seminoles
blotched their first two scoring op
portunities.
Florida State failed to score on its
first possession when Seminole
placekickcr Bill Mason missed a 37
yard field goal. Nebraska then halted
Florida Stale’s next possession at the
Seminoles’ 3.
Bowden said Florida Slate started
scoring when il scrapped its running
attack.
“We just said, ‘Heck, let’s throw
the ball,’” he said.
Bowden said Florida State’s of
fense clicked throughout the contest
as Willis completed 25 of his 40 passes
while being sacked once. He said he
would not trade the Scminolcs’ of
fense for any in the country.
“We could be dull, dull, dull and
all of the sudden bam, bam, bam,”
Bowden said. “That’s the way our
offense is.”
Bowden said he was proud of his
team.
“We played real good,” he said.
i tnougnt wc played aoout as gooa
as wc can.”
Nebraska linebacker Pat Tyrance
said the Huskers played about as bad
as they could. He said Nebraska made
, too many mistakes to defeat Florida
State.
“It was just one of those things, ”
Tyrance said. * ‘J don’t think wc gave
ourselves a chance.”
Nebraska free safely Tyrone Byrd
said the Huskers were victimized by
mental breakdowns. Willis took ad
vantage of those breakdowns, as he
threw touchdown passes to wide rc
See FIESTA on 8
College presidents’ reforms include unworkable rules
I’ll just get right to the point: The
NCAA causes more problems than
it solves.
The biggest problem is that the
Institution’s ineptitude, ignorance and
existence in Fantasyland continues to
be tolerated by college coaches,
administrators and athletes.
Chuck
Green
In many cases, even supported and
encouraged.
During the past week, college
presidents have met, argued and re
formed in Dallas. The omniscient
a _
Presidents Commission on Tuesday
decided, among other things, to shave
three games from the college basket
ball season.
The group’s legislation reduced
from 28 to 25 the number of games
allowed per season in Division I and
Division II, effective in 1992. In
addition, prescason basketball work
outs cannot begin until Nov. 1 (they
could start on Oct. 15 previously),
and the season will not start until Dec.
1. It used to begin on the fourth Friday
of November.
Each program is allowed an ex
emption every four years, to play an
extra game in Alaska, Hawaii, the
preseason National Invitation Tour
nament, or against a foreign or club
team.
The reduction of the number of
games probably won’t affect large
schools, or perennial basketball pow
ers like Georgetown. But it will cause
financial crunches on smaller schools,
like Creighton, and for less nation
ally-recognized programs, like Ne
braska.
Fewer games means less revenue.
It’s that simple.
Unfortunately, most of the voting
presidents couldn’t sec the forest
through the bees. Of course, four or
five years down the road, when prof
its at their respective schools drop,
they’ll come to the annual January
convention with (laming tongues and
briefcases full of excuses, complaints
and demands.
But that gem of a reform isn’t the
only one decided at this year’s brain
storming orgy.
■m. t ^
Spring football practice lor Divi
sion 1 and I-AA programs will be
chopped from 20 days to 15, and pads
may be worn for only 10 of those
days.
Originally, the Presidents Com
mission proposed that spring practice
be cut in half, to 10 days, with no
contact allowed.
Gee, what a great idea. There
wouldn’t be any injuries - until the
first game of the season, when the
players hadn’t hit or been hit for nearly
a year. Because they were rusty,
because they didn’t know the proper
hitting techniques, whatever ... the
injury rates would soar.
Then what? A proposal to abolish
contact football?
Another problem with the new rule
is the wording. It limits spring prac
11 L
ucc to i j aays — noi id practices.
1 can almost hear the coaches now:
“What? My player has to go to class
during these two weeks?! No can do.
.. we have three practices a day now,
ya know.”
Coaches will have two-a-days in
March, players will skip classes to
work out and the NCAA will have a
fresh new problem on its grubby, idle
little hands.
It seems like the NCAA creates its
own problems, then tries to reform
them. I guess even presidents gel bored
during semester break.
The only good legislation to come
out of the Dallas vacation . . . er,
convention ... is the new rule requir
ing the more than 500 Division I and
See NCAA on 10
__^ _ r __*
mPOlfeRfsi__
NU loses one player, gains another
The Nebraska men’s basketball team lost one player and gained
another during the semester break. '
The Comhuskers lost forward Lewis Geter, who transferred to Ohio
University. Geter, a 6-foot-6 forward, said he leftthe Nebraska program
because he was homesick The sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, who
sat out last season as a Proposition 48 victim, scored a career-high 16
points during the Huskers’ season-opening win against Missouri
j Kansas City.
Geter was averaging 8.6 points and 3.9 assists per game.
Nebraska offset Geter’s loss by activating forward Beau Reid, a
junior who missed the first half of the season after tearing the anterior
cruciate ligament in his right knee during the summer.
lNee says ^omnusKers ran oui ui
in last half of game against Jay hawks
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska men’s basketball
team picked up a win and a loss
during the semester break, but Com
husker coach Danny Nee said the
team easily could have had two wins.
The Huskcrs defeated Sam Hous
ton State 99-91 Saturday at the Bob
Dcvancy Sports Center, then dropped
a 98-93 decision to No. 1-ranked
Kansas Monday night before 13,416
fans at the Sports Center.
Nee said he thought the Huskcrs
could have beaten Kansas with fewer
turnovers and a few more good shots
at the end of the game.
Nebraska led the Jayhawks 52-42
at halftime, and the Huskers extended
their lead to 13 points with a jump
shot by renter Kelly Lively with 16:42
left in the game.
But the Jayhawks followed the goal
with a 10-0 run, cutting Nebraska’s
lead to three points. Kansas forward
Jeff Gucldncr gave his team the lead
with 5:16 remaining when he scored
on a layup off a fast break, and the
Jayhawks held on from there.
. Nee was pleased with the way his
team played against Kansas.
"I'm really proud ol our guys,
he said after the game. ‘ ‘ We played as
best we could; but when the game
was on thclinc.wcjusldidn’texecutc
the way we should have. You could
tell throughout the night that Kansas
was always ready to explode.”
Mainly, Nee said, the Huskers just
“ran out of gas.”
“You could see that Kansas had
the superior talent tonight,” he said.
“We just didn’t have enough at the
end.”
Forward Ray Richardson led Nc
See J AYHAWKS on 10