4 downs plenty for NU vs. Missouri g
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By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
Before a play during Nebraska’s
69-21 rout over Missouri on
Saturday, the Missouri assistant
coaches in the press box screamed
frantically for someone to call a
timeout. The Tigers had only
nine defenders on the field.
That could cause the 76,317 spectators who
saw the game at Memorial Stadium to ask,
‘‘Didn’t Missouri use only nine defenders on
every down?”
The Tigers didn’t, but it often looked that
way.
Nebraska, 6-0 and in position to climb in
both national polls, had 622 of the game’s
1,004 combined total yards. The Tigers’ of
fense couldn’t keep up with the Comhuskcrs.
To borrow from another sport, Missouri
forgot to bring sprinters to the track meet. The
shot-putter types on the Missouri defensive
line kept the Huskcrs from running up the
middle, so Nebraska blazed a track around the
outside.
ivncKcy Josepn, starting at quarterback lor
Nebraska, sparked the rout with his speed and
option decisions. Joseph ran for 95 yards and
four touchdowns,
I-back Leodis Flow ers gained 111 yards, his
fourth straight game over the 100-yard mark. I
back Scott Baldwin gained 79 yards, and Derek
Brown gained 77 yards.
“We didn’t expect a game like that,” Joseph
said.
The Huskers took the opening kickoff and
marched 76 yards for a touchdown. Flowers
gained 56 yards on the drive.
The first possession for Missouri’s impos
ing passing attack ended in a fumble by quar
lerback Kent Kiefer.
Husker middle guard Pal Engelbert recov
ered at the Missouri 21-yard line. Flowers ran
for 11 yards, then Joseph found split end Jon
Bostick open in the back of the end zone for a
10-yard touchdown pass.
“(Bostick) did a good job getting open,”
Joseph said. “He didn’t have much room to
work with.”
The Huskers got a great jump at the crack of
the starter’s pistol, and the Tigers were acung
as if the gun had been loaded and pointed at
them.
Nebraska’s offense played short-handed due
to injuries — a concern to Husker coach Tom
Osborne. In addition to the expected absences
ol light ends Chris Garrett and William Wash
ington, both of whom suffered from ankle
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injuries, guard Erik Wiegert did not play be
cause of a jammed neck and starting tackle
Tom Punt missed the game with the flu.
‘‘It was like we were without three or four
starters, and we functioned really well,” Osborne
said.
Osborne said he was pleased with the play of
backup light ends Daryl Leise and Johnny
Mitchell. Mitchell a freshman from Chicago,
caught two passes for 51 yards, including a
diving touchdown on a pass thrown by Mike
Grant.
Kiefer, who completed 16 of 31 passes for
202 yards before leaving in the third quarter,
led Missouri on an 80-yard drive to make the
score 14-7.
Nebraska, though,came back with two more
touchdowns before the quarter ended.
The domination continued throughout the
game; the Huskcrs never used punter Mike
Sligge.
Osborne said he didn’t think the Nebraska
offense answered any doubts, since he didn’t
think there should have been any doubt in the
first place.
u s gcuing a nine unng, usoomc said.
“We were leading the conference in rushing
offense, leading in total offense, leading in
scoring offense, leading the conference and
maybe the nation in kickoff returns, and yet is
was like we’re a bad offensive team.”
Kiefer and company had some success against
the best defense statistically in the nation. The
three Missouri touchdowns were two more
than Nebraska had given up in any previous
game.
Missouri had 223 total yards at the half, 198
of them from Kiefer’s passing, and Nebraska
had only one sack.
In the first three Tiger possessions of the
second half, though, Missouri managed one
first down, and Nebraska got sacks two and
three. After those scries, Kiefer gave way to
reserves Mark Ramstack and Phil Johnson.
Of the Tigers’ 383 total yards, 135 came in
the fourth quarter, when Nebraska was going
with backups to backups. Some of them, De
fensive Coordinator Charlie McBride admit
ted, played positions they had never played
before.
McBride had freedom to tinker since the
game was such a rout. Nebraska’s coaches said
thoy didn’t expect such an easy win any more
than they expected Missouri to go with nine
defenders.
“We played better than I thought we would
today,” Osborne said. “I’m kind of surprised
the way things went.”
£
Butch lr«tand/Daily Nebraskan
Score by qiuurters source.
Missouri 1 7| 7| 0I7I21I J^f3'"1
Nebraska 28 17 10 14 69
Nebraska Flowers 1 run (Barrios kick)
Nebraska Bostick 10 pass from Joseph (Barrios kick)
Missouri Jones 10 pass from Kiefer (Jacke kick)
Nebraska Joseph 15 run (Barrios kick)
Nebraska Joseph 5 run (Barrios kick)
Nebraska Joseph 2 run (Barrios kick)
Missouri Jones 4 pass from Kiefer (Jacke kick)
Nebraska FG Barrios 31
Nebraska Joseph 3 run (Barrios kick)
Nebraska FG Barrios 38
Nebraska Brown 23 run (Barrios kick)
Nebraska Mitchell 15 pass from Grant (Lang kick)
Nebraska Haase 6 run (Lang kick)
Missouri Bailey 11 pass from Johnson (Jacke kick)
A 76,317
First downs 19 33 ~
Rushes-yards 27-57 £5-500
Passing 32$ " 122
Return Yards 40 47
Comp-Att-Int 25-47-5 9-162
Pu nts 537™ ~"W~ :
- Fumbles-Lost _j23T 0-0’
Penalties-Yards 5-55 5-15
Time of Possession 25:50 _3450
John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan
Clockwise from upper-left: Nebraska quarterback Mickey Joseph runs into the
end zone in the first quarter against Missouri. Joseph rushed for four touchdowns
and passed for another in the Cornhuskers’ 69-21 victory over the Tigers.
Nebraska’s Johnny Mitchell catches a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell kneels and bows his head after catching his touchdown pass.
Nebraska’s Steve Carmer crunches Missouri quarterback Mark Ramstack.
Al Schaben Daily Nebraskan