Aggies play better, coach says
By Todd Cooper
Senior Reporter
Utah State Coach Chuck Shelton
lost his voice and a game Saturday.
But the mere fact that he lost his
voice probably meant he was finally
in a game against Nebraska. The Aggies
lost 59-28, despite their highest of
fensive output at Memorial Stadium.
“Utah State’s a better football team
than it’s ever been,” Shelton said, his
voice cracking. “This is the best team
we’ve brought in here and this is the
best we’ve ever played them.”
Utah Slate twice cut Nebraska’s
lead to within two touchdowns, with
5:16 left in the second quarter, and
again just five minutes into the third
quarter.
Then came the rain. Heavy rains
started with seven and a half minutes
left in the third quarter, when the
Aggies were trailing 31-20. Light
ning then forced play to be delayed
with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
“I knew it was going to offset us a
little,” Aggie quarterback Ron Lopez
said. “I thought we might have to run
more, but we pretty much kept throw
ing.”
Lopez threw and threw and threw.
The 6-foot-5 senior had a career
high 373 yards -— the third highest
total ever given up by Nebraska—on
23 for 41 passing. In their opener
against Utah, Lopez completed seven
of 24 passes for just 93 yards.
Rod Moore, who caught 12 passes
for 220 yards and three touchdowns,
said he didn’t see much difference
between Utah’s and Nebraska’s de
fensive backfields.
“They were about the same,” Moore
said. “Nebraska has better athletes
but there were a lot of holes over the
middle.”
Lopez said there was no compari
son between Nebraska’s and Utah’s
backfields.
“Nebraska’s was far better,” he
said. “The coaches just had a perfect
game plan for us this week.”
But the Aggies’ defense, which
gave up 787 yards and an NCAA
record 44 first downs to Nebraska,
was far from perfect, Shelton said.
“We knew we couldn’t stop them
(after the first half)*” Shelton said.
“But we thought we might be able to
make them work a little harder for
what they got.”
Utah State soon will have more
work cut out for them. The Aggies
have a week off before they travel to
Norman, Okla., to play the ninth
ranked Sooners.
Lopez said his performance Satur
day should carry over into that Sept.
21 match-up.
“We started to put it together to
day,” Lopez said. “We feel like we
can use this as momentum going into
Oklahoma.”
But Shelton said the Aggies aren’t
closing the gap on teams like Ne
braska and Oklahoma.
“I feel like we’ve moved up a
level,” he said. “But this is Nebraska
here.
“That’s a lot of levels above us.”
NU loses ‘Husker Bob’
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska athletic depart
ment and fans lost a good friend
Saturday as Robert L. Rowe, bet
ter known as “Husker Bob,” died
from a heart attack suffered during
the Nebraska football game.
Rowe had been a fixture at
Comhusker sporting events over
the past 13 years, carrying signs
and leading cheers to rally fans at
games.
Rowe also suffered a heart at
tack shortly after a game in 1987,
and said at the time that he might
slow down a little, but his love of
Nebraska athletics proved too strong
to keep him from roaming the
stands.
It is probably safe to say that
Rowe died happy, as he was doing
what he loved to do — leading
cheers in Memorial Stadium.
Goodbye, Bob. Football games
won’t be the same without you.
Opener
Continued from Page 6
pleased with the way his team per
formed in its first game, the Huskcrs
have a lot of improvements to make.
“It was a typical first game,” he
said. “We were lucky that we didn’t
make enough mistakes to lose.”
One thing that wasn’t typical,
Osborne said, was Nebraska’s pass
ing. The Huskcrs threw 21 limes against
Utah State.
“We’re throwing the heck out of
it,” he joked.
GAME STATISTICS
Ami* DaFraln/Daily Nabraakan
TOP LEFT: l-back Scott Baldwin slides into the end zone for the
first Cornhusker touchdown of the game and of the year. Baldwin
sprained his ankle on the play and is expected to miss next week's
game against Colorado State.
LEFT: Utah State linebacker Willie Jackson gets a grip on Ne
braska freshman Corey Dixon during a kick return.
ABOVE: Cornhusker split end Tyrone Hughes runs around Utah
State lineman Brook Phillips.
Photos by Michelle Psulman/Dsily Nebraskan