Sports
Osborne predicts
plenty of passing
from the Tigers
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Reporter
At the Memorial Stadium on Sat
urday, Nebraska fans will finally see
all that passing they have been de
manding, Coach Tom Osborne said.
No, Osborne hasn’t given in. The
Comhuskers still think run first, pass
second. But Missouri, Nebraska’s
opponent, will pass, pass and pass
some more.
Missouri’s offense is averaging 397
yards of total offense per game, with
295 of those yards through the air.
Missouri quarterback Kent Kiefer
is first in the Big Eight and eighth in
the nation in both passing efficiency
and total offense, with 141.7 rating
points and 267.6 yards a game.
They go deep quite a bit, Osborne
said. “They’re not just a team that’s
going to try to pick at you for five
yards a down.”
Last weekend the Tigers lost to
Colorado, 33-31, when the Buffaloes
scored a touchdown on a fifth down,
the final play of the game.
Colorado coach Bill McCartney
said that Missouri’s Faurot Field on a
bright, sunny day was slick and un
playable.
Osborne found some humor in
McCartney’s comments.
“I would say that in view of the
whole thing we may occasionally need
five downs and we may need to do
some things to the field,” he said.
“We’re thinking about using Vase
line or something to help our situ
ation.”
The Tigers arc not a team to be
intimidated by the Huskers’ high
national ranking. The week before
the Colorado game, Missouri upset a
top-20 team, Arizona State, 30-9.
“They’ve certainly got to feel they
played Colorado on even terms and
probably could have or should have
won the game,” he said. “They proba
bly won’t have any great trepidation
about coming up here and playing
US.”
The Huskers, who lead the Big
Eight and are second in the nation in
passing defense after allowing 412
passing yards in the first five games,
have not played a team of Missouri’s
strength in the offensive line, Osborne
said.
“Of the teams we’ve played so far
they have the best pass protection,”
he said, and joked, “We may have to
go with some of our onside-kick team
in there because they may be the only
guys that can get between their big
guys. We have to get somebody to get
through the holes.”
Who may some of those players
be?
“Right now we have Kenny Walker,
who is probably as good as we have
ever had,” Osborne said. “Pat Engelbert
is certainly better than most middle
guards. He’s very quick. Joe Sims is a
powerful pass rusher; he’s capable of
getting there. Then you’ve got guys
like Mike Croel and Travis Hill who
have great quickness.
“There’s none of the first five that
can’t put heat on you.”
Mickey Joseph will start as quar
terback for Nebraska. Mike Grant was
the starter the past two games.
“The overall picture favors Mickey
right now,” Osbome said. “It’s nice to
have two.”
Last year Nebraska crushed Mis
souri 50-7, holding the Tigers to 265
yards of total offense. But, Osbome
said, coach Bob Stull was in his first
season, so Missouri was in transition.
“I can’t say they’ve changed a
whole lot offensively,”he said. “They
did all that last year, they’re just doing
it better.
“It’s just a matter of learning the
system.”
Missouri’s Kiefer
says NU pass rush
won’t be the best
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
Missouri quarterback Kent Kiefer
said he believes he Already has seen
the best pass rush he’ll face all sea
son.
While Kiefer said he believes
Nebraska has the best overall defense
he will see, he does not think the
Comhuskers’ pass rush can match
Colorado’s. The Buffaloes defeated
Missouri 33-31 Saturday.
“Last week, with Kanavis McGhee
and Alfred
Williams com
ing at me, it
was like hav
ing two Law
rence Taylors
staring you in
the face,”
Kiefer said.
rvicici saiu .
the loss to Kiefer
Colorado, which came on a last-play,
fifth-down touchdown, was the most
emotional game he has ever played.
Even on the fifth down, Kiefer said, it
looked as if the Tiger defense kept the
Colorado quarterback from crossing
the goal line. He said the official’s
delayed touchdown call was devas
tating.
"I went running out on the field
like a crazy man, Kiefer recalled.
“And then the ref signaled a touch
down for them, Vvc never gone from
one extreme td tnc other so quick.”
The Tigers have gone from one
extreme to the other as a team. Two
weeks before the Colorado loss, Mis
souri lost 58-7 to Indiana. The next
week, the Tigers defeated nationally
ranked Arizona State 30-9.
“We’ve been to the bottom, be
lieve me,” Kiefer said. “Things are
only going to get better.”
Missouri’s game at Nebraska Sat
urday will be theTigers’ third straight
against a ranked team.
A large part of Missouri’s success
against Colorado was the team’s
improved passing. The Tigers’ 326
passing yards against the Buffaloes
ranks as the fifth-best total in Mis
souri’s history. Kiefer leads the Big
Eight in total offense, averaging 268
yards a game.
“I’m really happy that I’m doing
that well,” Kiefer said. “It’s a reflec
tion on how much the team and I have
improved.”
Kiefer said his on-field decision
making has improved this season
because of experience.
wnen i look at last year s mms, t
can’t believe how confused 1 looked
on the field,” Kiefer said. “It seems
like I’ve got my head in the game a lot
more this year.”
Last year, Missouri struggled to a
2-9 record arid lost to Nebraska 50-7
in Columbia, Mo. Kiefer said the
team and coach Bob Stull, who is in
his second season, appear to be turn
ing things around.
“This program is on the upswing,”
Kiefer said. “We’re just going out
and playing relaxed football.”
A key to Saturday’s game, Kiefer
said, will be not forcing passes to
covered receivers.
“Nebraska will put their best people
on you say ‘Take your best shot,’” he
said. “I ’ ve just got to be smartvnough
to throw it away when there’s nobody
there.”
Kiefer said the Tigers plan to use
the pass to open up Ihc run. Big plays
also arc part of the plan, he said.
“I might gel sacked on one play,”
he said. “But our goal is to surprise
them on the next one.”
Stull sidelines CU game,
motivates team for NU
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
Missouri coach Bob Stull isn’t one
for sour grapes.
After losing to Colorado 33-31
Saturday on a disputed fifth down,
Stull took his team to the locker room,
and told his players to put the loss
behind them.
Saturday, Stull faces perhaps a more
difficult task than, swallowing last
weekend’s loss: getting his 2-3 Tigers
motivated to face No. 7 Nebraska at
Memorial Stadium
Stull said his team would be ready.
“It’s no different than any other
week,” he said. “We’ve just got to
come up there and play good foot
ball.”
Slull said he doesn’t think his team
would be affected by last weekend’s
controversy. Instead, he said, the Tigers
would have another opportunity to
knock off a top-rated team.
“Each week is a new opportunity,
another crack at gelling an upset,”
Stull said. ‘‘There’s no doubt that last
weekend is behind us now.”
After losing to Texas Christian
University, beating Utah State and
losing to Indiana, Missouri shocked
nationally-ranked Arizona State 30
9. Then came the narrow loss to Colo
rado.
Slull said the reason for the turn
around was simple.
“We’ve been hanging on to the
hall,” he said. “In our first couple of
losses, we were dropping the ball,
getting punts blocked. We’ve turned
that around.”
Last season, Nebraska used turn
overs and a solid kicking game to
blitz Missouri 50-7 in Columbia, Mo.
The Huskcrs blocked two first-quar
ter punts and led 26-0 after one pe
riod.
Stull promised a better effort from
Missouri Saturday.
“We can’t go out and give them a
bunch of mistakes like we did last
year,” he said. “We found out the
hard way that you can’t do that with a
team like Nebraska.”
Missouri is led by senior quarter
back Kent Kiefer, who is completing
64 percent of his passes. Stull said
Kiefer would have to pass well for
Missouri to defeat Nebraska.
“We have to get the ball out to our
wide receivers, he said. “That’ll be
the key to the game.
Keeping Nebraska’s defense away
from Kiefer also will be important,
Stull said.
“Our pass protection has really
improved over the last two games, ’
Stull said. “We’ll need to keep that up
against Nebraska.’’
Stull said that Nebraska’s defense
would be the best the Tigers would
see this season. He praised Husker
defensive tackle Kenny Walker and
comerback Bruce Pickens.
“Kenny Walker is an outstanding
pass rusher, mainly because of his ..
. speed,” Stull said. “And Pickens is
the best coverage man in the Big
Eight.”
Stull is concerned about playing in
front of a sellout crowd at Memorial
Stadium. Stull said the crowd at Indi
ana was the major factor in the Ti
gers’ 58-7 loss to the Hoosicrs.
“We’re learning more and more
See TIGERSon 8
/'I
Nebraska Missouri
October 13,1:30 p.m. Memorial Stadium/Homecoming
Nebraska leads: 48-32-3
Last meeting: 1989 records:
1989 Nebraska 10-2-0
Nebraska. 50-7 Missouri 2-9
Nebraska 13 Baylor 0
Nebraska 31 Northern Illinois 14
Nebraska 45 Minnesota 0
Nebraska 31 Oregon St. 7
Nebraska 45 Kansas St. 8
Missouri 19 TCU 20
Missouri 45 Utah St. 10
Missouri 7 Indiana 58
Missouri 30 Arizona St. 9
Missouri 31 Colorado 33
AROUND THE
BIG 8
Iowa St. (2-2-1) at Colorado
(4-1-1);
Oklahoma St. (2-3) at
Kansas St. (3-2|;
Oklahoma (5-0) vs. Texas
(at Dallas) (2-1);
Kansas (1 -3-1) at Miami
(3-1) ~
Nebraska baseball alumni
will round the bases again
By Todd Cooper
Staff Reporter
Nebraska baseball coach John
Sanders hopes the inaugural alumni
baseball game Saturday will add to
the history of the former Comhuskcrs.
‘‘We hope to make it memorable
for the players and fans,” Sanders
said. “This is the first time ever, and
we have over 50 playing and another
20 in attendance ... so we really are
excited.”
Sanders said fans should be equally
thrilled with the 5 p.m. game at Buck
Bcltzer Field. The alumni played at
Nebraska from the 1920s to last year.
“We think it’ll be a real good bridge
from the past to the present,” Sanders
said. “Wc have quite a few players
who arc active in the pros combined
with the non-actives.”
The most notable professional in
attendance will be pitcher Tim Bui kc
from the Montreal Expos. Minor leagu
ers Bill McGwire and Kip Gross arc
among the other pros.
They’ll collaborate with players
See ALUMNI on 8
Replacement
tight ends
fill vacancies
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Reporter
Injuries to the lop two light ends,
Chris Garrett and William Washing
ton, have left the Comhuskcrs in a
familiar situation — starting a third
string player.
Earlier in the season injuries to
Leodis Flowers and Scott Baldwin
forced Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
to start No. 3 1-back Derek Brown
against Northern Illinois.
I his weekend Daryl Leise and
Johnny Mitchell will have to pick up
where Brown and his backup George
Achola left off.
“I guess we’re lucky in that was
probably,other than 1-back, thedeep
est spot on our football team,” Osborne
said. “We’re hurting a little bit there,
but it’s not like we’re just flat out of
players.”
The injuries at tight end, however,
pose a slightly larger problem be
cause the Huskers tun two tight ends
in more than a third of their plays,
Osborne said.
“We felt, going into this season,
that we had two very good, experi
enced tight ends,” Osborne said. “Plus
Daryl Leise, who was a good player
getting better. And then Johnny Mitch
ell who was a potentially good player.
“Now the potential’s got to be out
of there and Daryl’s got to be good.”
Since Garrett broke his ankle two
weeks ago against Oregon State and
Washington went down on the third
play of the Kansas Slate game with a
See ENDS on 8