Sports
Missouri tops Nebraska, breaks records
David Hansen/Daily Nebraskan
Missouri guard Anthony Peeler drives by Nebraska's Keith Moody.
A couple weeks ago, the 1990s
started. Unfortunately, the Comhusker
football program is still stuck in the
’70s.
And it looks like it will stay there
well into the decade.
Chuck
Green
Nebraska’s 41-17 loss to Florida
State on New Year’s Day inthcSunk
ist Fiesta Bowl was just the latest
rung on a tall ladder of losses to top
20 teams with superior talent and
even more superior programs.
It’s getting old. Real old. And the
ladder will get much higher before
it’s over.
Since Tom Osborne took over the
coaching position at Nebraska in 1973,
the Huskcrs have blown chance after
chance at the mythical national title.
Why? Within several deep-rooted
problems embedded in the Nebraska
football program lies the answer.
Osborne and his staff refuse to
revamp an outdated offense that has
become as predictable to opponents
as it is to the fans. And passing eight
or nine more times a game, like the
Huskers did much of this season, isn’t
the answer.
Nebraska’s offense is reminiscent
of a car that runs fine all summer and
fall, but sputters in winter, when good
performance is essential.
Before the Orange Bowl this sea
son, Notre Dame coach Lou Holt/,
told his players that No. 1-ranked
Colorado had been “living a lie all
season.’’ The same could be said of
the Huskers this year, and just about
any other season since 1973.
Beating teams like Oregon State,
Northern Illinois and Utah docs not a
national title make. Nebraska played
two top-20 teams this season, and lost
both games.
Osborne is the winningest active
college football coach, sporting an
.811 winning percentage. That fig
ures out to about two losses a season
- the average number of ranked teams
the Huskers have played in recent
years.
Against top-20 teams (ranked when
they played Nebraska), Osborne owns
a 39-27 record. Thai’s a sparkling
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter____
The men’s basketball game between Ne
braska and Missouri Saturday at the Bob Deva
ney Sports Center was a record-breaking per
formance.
Unfortunately for the Comhuskers, none of
the records fell in their favor.
The No. 5-ranked Tigers beat Nebraska
111 -95, racking up the most points ever scored
on the road by a Missouri team.
It also was the most points ever scored
against Nebraska at the Sports Center.
The Tigers’ 62 second-half points tied the
Sports Center record for most points scored by
one team in a half, set earlier this season by the
Huskers in their 117-79 win against Harvard in
the Amcritas Classic.
Missouri’s offensive success was due mostly
to four starters, who each scored more than 20
points — another first for Tiger basketball.
Doug Smith led all scorers with 31 points,
while Anthony Peeler added 29. Nathan Buntin
and Lee Coward both pumped in 21 more for
the 15-1 Tigers.
When the game mercifully ended for the
Huskers, Nebraska coach Danny Nee was left
shaking his head.
“I’m really impressed with the overall
execution of Missouri,” Nee said. “They never
let us or the crowd get into the game. They’ve
done this consistently all year.
“I don’t think there’s anything that’s going
to stop Missouri this year. They’re for real.”
“I’m proud of the way our guys hung in
there today,” Nee praised. “We didn’t give up,
and we played tough, just like we did against
Kansas (last Monday, which the No. 1 -ranked
Jayhawks won 98-93).”
Nebraska forward Ray Richardson, who
scored 18 points, agreed with his coach.
“Even though we have two losses to start
the conference season, I’m happy with the way
we played,” Richardson said. That might
sound strange, but if anyone would have told us
we would have played Kansas and Missouri
that tough, we would have had a hard time
believing it.”
Missouri led by as much as 16 midway
through the first half, but the Huskers shaved
the Tigers’ lead on a 20-6 scoring run in the
next 4 1/2 minutes.
Nebraska center Rich King brought the
Huskers to within two, 42-40, on a dunk with
1:43 remaining in the first half, but the Tigers
took a49-45 lead to the locker room at halftime.
Richardson said the Huskers “felt comfort
able” being down by four points to start the
second half.
“Against Kansas, we were ahead at halftime,
and we came into the locker room like we had
the game won,” he said. ‘ ‘Today, we came in
facing reality.”
But reality set in hard for the Huskers during
the second half, as Missouri outscored Ne
braska 62-50. The Tigers shot 75 percent from
the field and Smith scored 17 of his 31 points in
the game’s final 20 minutes.
Carl Hayes led Nebraska with 20 points.
Guard Clifford Scales added 19, and center
Rich King scored 15.
Hayes said Missouri’s success against Ne
braska should be attributed to their loose style
of offense.
“They play a lot of street ball,” he said.
“Where Kansas was a set-up offense -- they’d
pass the ball around a lot and try to set some
thing up — Missouri would have one or two
passes and the ball was going up.
“You can’t compare the two teams, be
cause they play totally different styles of ball.
See LOSS on 8
Game eases Tiger coach’s pain
uy jen Apei
Senior Editor
Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart
was ailing but still managed to smile after his
team’s game against Nebraska Saturday.
Stewart said after the Tigers’ 111-95 win
against the Comhuskcrs at the Bob Dcvancy
Sports Center that his squad’s performance
cased the stuffiness he was feeling from a head
cold. He said Missouri also cased his woes by
using a balanced scoring attack to record the
victory.
The Tigers finished the contest with four
players scoring in double figures. Forward Doug
Smith led all scorers with 31 points, while
guard Anthony Peeler had 29. Forward Nathan
Buntin and guard Lee Coward scored 21.
‘‘1 thought it was a heck of a win,” Stewart
said. “We played a whale of a ballgame.”
Stewart, who missed part of last season
because of colon cancer and bleeding ulcers,
said his current illness nearly caused him to
miss the contest. He said he did not arrive in
Lincoln until noon Saturday for the game that
started just after 1 p.m. He said he wouldn’t
have made the trip from Columbia, Mo., if he
had had a fever Saturday morning.
After arriving, Stewart watched Missouri
race out to a 14-pointlcad with 7:18 remaining
in the first half, then looked on as the Tigers
clung to their lead in the second half before
pulling away in the end.
Peeler said the Tigers were fortunate be
cause no single player carried the team. He said
he was not surprised by the Tigers’ attack.
“Anybody can score on this team,’’ he said.
“You can try and stop one (person),and the
other four will score.’’
Stewart said Smith tallied his game-high 31
points by taking advantage of Nebraska’s inte
rior defense. The Huskers countered the 6
foot-10 Smith with 7-2 center Rich King, who
fouled out after tallying 15 points.
“We were able to get the ball in at times,’’
Stewart said. “We had some good ball move
ment.”
Comhuskers often overrated because of weak schedule
.609 winning percentage against half
way-dcccnt programs.
Against top-10 teams, however,
Osborne is 14-24 as Nebraska’s coach,
including a 7-15 mark through the
’80s.
In other words, when picking on
someone their own size, the Huskers
lose more often than not.
Have you ever wondered why
Oklahoma used to beat Nebraska year
in and year out through the ’70s, and
through half of the ’80s? The answer
is simple: While the Sooners were
playing teams like Southern Cal, Texas
and Ohio Stale, the Huskers were
pounding out tough wins against Texas
Christian, Utah Slate, Wisconsin and
other pansies.
When ‘4 the big one’ ’ rolled around
every November, Osborne and his
staff were confident that their offense
was ready, and that the Blackshirts
were equipped to handle the Sooner
halfbacks.
“After all, Kansas and Iowa Stale
couldn’t run on us, so why should
Oklahoma, right?’’
Uh-huh.
And mentioning Nebraska’s de
fensive woes, particularly in the sec
ondary, is getting trite. Saying a team
will pass against the Husker defen
sive backfield is like saying the sun
will come up tomorrow.
Defensive coordinator Charlie
McBride should be fired. I suggested
that in a column two years ago, but no
one listened, so why would anyone
listen now? ‘Nuff said.
The simple fact of the matter is
that Nebraska’s winning percentage
over the past 20 years or so has been
beefed up by playing nobodics before
the conference season, then netting
the guaranteed five or six wins in the
Big Fight each year.
Osborne doesn’t want to fix a watch
that works. If the fullback trap or the
option to the near side of the field
works against Northern Illinois, then
it will work against Colorado and
Florida Stale, huh, Tom?
Thalkindof thinking willgct noth
ing but second-place finishes for eter
nity.
Yes, a 10-2 record is something to
be proud of. Just like a B-plus on a
final exam. But they get pretty old
after a while. If one goes through life
being proud of B-pluscs and “Best of
the Rest” tags, pride dwindles.
At least it should.
It’s comical. I once saw a bumper
slicker lhal said: “Welcome to Ne
braska. Don’t forget to set your clock
back 20 years.”
Twenty years, indeed. Next year,
it will be 21 years, and the year after
it will be 22 ...
If Osborne isn’t ready to embrace
reality ~ and the ’90s style of college
football -- he should resign.
If Nebraska football fans ever want
a national championship, they need
to open their eyes and smell the real
world. The same can be said for
Osborne and the rest of Nebraska’s
athletic department.
Nebraska’s 1991 non-conference
schedule, which was determined years
ago, originally had the Huskers play
ing Texas, Arkansas, Washington and
Arizona State. But Nebraska officials
decided that schedule would be too
taxing.
As a result, Texas and Arkansas
were dropped from the schedule a
few seasons ago in favor of U tah S tale
and Colorado Stale.
That should beef up Nebraska’s
offensive statistics. It also will fur
ther the myth that the Huskers are one
of the nation’s finest teams.
See HUSKERS on 8