Sports
Cornhuskers’ bacon
saved by strong defense
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
Nebraska defeated Baylor 13-0
Saturday in the Comhuskers’ football
season opener at Memorial Stadium.
That was no surprise. Nor was the
play of the Nebraska defense, which
held the Bears to 164 yards of total
offense.
But the game wasn’t a 70-0 rout to
calm the Huskcr fans and guarantee
another nine or 10 wins in 1990.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
the Huskers are better off this way.
“We gained more by playing this
game than a game that had been re
ally easy,” Osborne said.
The team also gained questions:
How good is the offense? Is the middle
of the defense soft? Did the Huskers
beat an average team or an underrated
team?
The other Huskcr questions will
have to be resolved in the rest of the
season, but in asking ‘‘ How good w as
the win?” the early answer is, “A lot
better than a loss.”
One missed tackle or tripping de
fender could have provided that loss,
for the first 59 minutes 38 seconds
Nebraska’s offense threatened and
sputtered and provided only six points.
Nebraska starting quarterback Mike
Grant took a helmet to the left knee
with 2:03 left in the first quarter and
had to leave the game. Mickey Jo
seph, who w'as scheduled to play in
the second quarter, made an early
entry to replace Grant.
In the second quarter, Gregg Bar
rios kicked a 37-yard field goal. The
key play in the drive was a 14-yard
gain and 15-yard personal foul when
Joseph sprinted to the left and was hit
after running out of bounds.
Baylor’s strongest chal lenge came
at the start of the fourth-quarter. The
Bears marched from their 31-yard
line to the Nebraska 5, with many of
the yards coming on draw plays up
the middle. Running back Eldwin
Raphel finished with 76 yards on 18
carries.
The game turned on a pair of plays,
one from the defense and one from
the offense.
On second-and-goal from the 5,
Baylor’s Frankie Smith took the ball
up the middle and linebacker Pat
Tyrance took the ball away. Travis
Hill recovered the fumble caused by
Tyrancc’s hit at the 3.
The Huskcr offense came in and
gained three yards on two plays. Then
came the second big play, a 23-yard
pass from Grant to Jon Bostick for a
first down at the 29.
Second-string I-back Scott Bald
win, who led the team with 92 yards
on 14 carries, followed with a 53
yard run up the middle aided by full
back Lance Lewis, who blocked a
Baylor defender downfield into a
backward somersault.
Grant completed 5 of 6 passes for
86 yards in the game. Joseph threw
one incompletion and one intercep
tion. The Huskcrs didn't throw more,
Osborne said, out of respect for Bay
lor’s defensive backs.
Nebraska totaled 335 yards against
the Baylor defense, which Osborne
predicted would be as tough as the
Huskcrs will face.
But the Nebraska defense was
stronger. Baylor quarterback Steve
Needham, playing in place of in jured
three-year starter Brad Goebel, com
pleted two of eight passes for 28 yards
and one interception.
“The defense has got to be the
strong point of our football team,
particularly early,” Osborne said, “and
they saved our bacon tonight.”
Osborne attributes low score
to Baylor’s keep-away strategy
«< i m — r li *
By Vicki Burge
Staff Reporter
Not since the 1989 Orange Bowl
against Miami had the Nebraska foot
ball team scored fewer than the 13
points the Comhuskcrs managed Sat
urday against Baylor.
At his press conference Tuesday,
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
the Bears were playing keep-away.
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iviusi ui vmi |;iuuiuin iiui auir
ing and not gelling many yards were
that we didn’t have the ball that much,’ ’
Osborne said.
Baylor had the ball 33 minutes, 3
seconds, compared to Nebraska’s
26:57. The Bears ran 64 plays to the
Huskers’ 57 and held a 36-24 play
advantage over Nebraska in the sec
ond half.
See OSBORNE on 12
-i
Nebraska's depth chart
SE Jon Bostick 6-2 185 Jr LOLB Travis Hill 6-2 225 So.
Mark Dowse 6-0 180 Jr. David White 6-2 225 So
Dan Pleasant 5-9 175 Jr Dan Svehla 6-0 230 Sr.
LT Tom Punt 6-8 285 Sr. LT Joe Sims 6-3 280 Sr.
Terry Eyman 6-6 265 Sr. Le Andre Anderson 6-4 260 Sr.
Brent Pick 6-5 265 Sr. Paul Brungardt 6-7 270 Sr.
LG JimWanek 6-1 245 Sr. MG Pat Engelbert 6-2 250 Jr.
Jett Chaney 6-2 250 Jr Greg Koellner 6-3 280 Jr.
Scott Pedersen 6-4 245 So Mike Jefferson 6-2 280 Fr.
C David Edeal 6-2 260 Sr. RT Kenny Walker 6-4 240 Sr.
Bill Ziegel baum 6-5 240 Jr. Brian Brown 6-6 260 Jr.
Terris Chomey 6-1 250 So. David Noonan 6-3 265 Fr.
RG Erik Wiegert 6-4 270 Jr. ROLB Mike Croel 6-3 225 Sr.
Will Shields 6-2 260 So Dan Svehla 6 0 230 Sr.
Chris Zyzda 6-2 255 So. RickWendland 6-1 215 Sr.
RT Brian Boerboom 6-7 285 Jr. SLB Mike Petko 6-2 230 Jr.
Steve Engstrom 6-3 290 Sr. Matt Penland 6-0 220 So.
Ray Riefenrath 6-5 290 Jr. Troy Branch 6 2 220 Fr.
TE Chris Garrett 6-3 240 Jr. WLB Pat Tyrance 6-2 240 Sr.
William Mike Anderson 6-1 230 Fr.
Washington 6-2 245 So. PaulWightman 6-1 220 So.
Daryl Leise 6-2 230 Jr. LCB Bruce Pickens 5-11 190 Sr
QB Mike Grant 6-2 210 Jr. Jon Crippen 5 10 170 Sr.
Mickey Joseph 5-11 180 Jr. Robert Hicks 5-10 185 Sr.
Tom Haase 6-0 180 Jr. RCB Tahaun Lewis 5-11 170 Sr.
FB Omar Soto 5-11 220 Jr Tyrone Logette 5-9 180 Jr,
Lance Lewis 6-0 225 So Eric Anderson 5 8 175 Sr.
TimJohnk 5-10 215 Jr SS Reggie Cooper 6 3 210 Sr
;B Leodis Flowers 5-11 200 Jr. Curtis Cotton 6-1 210 Jr,
Scott Baldwin 6 1 200 So Brian Pollard 5 10 190 So
Derek Brown 5-10 175 Fr FS Tyrone Byrd 5-11 165 So.
WB Tyrone Hughes 5 9 175 So. Steve Carmer 6-1 205 So
Brad Devall 5-9 180 Sr. „ Will Thomas 6-0 175 Jr.
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