— Huskers alert for tougher Jayhawk team By Todd Cooper Senior Reporter Nebraska’s football team will be entertaining more than visions of Oklahoma Sooncrs dressed in crim son when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for a 1 p.m. game against Kan sas on Saturday. — 44 They’ve got guys talking in the papers that they can beat us. So they’ll be ready. We expect them to play tough. — Mike Petko Nebraska linebacker -99 ~ With the Jayhawks 5-3 and hungry for success, and Nebraska in com mand of the Big Eight race for the first time in two years, the Com huskers can’t afford to overlook Kansas, according to wingback Nate Turner. “They’ve got guys talking in the papers that they can beat us,” he said. “So they’ll be ready. We expect them to play tough.” Linebacker Mike Petko agreed. “In all sincerity, Kansas is a tough team,” Petko said. “They’re going to come out and they’re going to do what they can to beat us. They don’t expect to lose to us anymore.” And that improves both sides’ outlook from a year ago, Petko said. “It was easy in the past years to just run a couple of defenses or go 75 percent and win in glorious fashion,” he said. “But with this year’s Kansas team, and even last year’s, you can’t do that.” Kansas returns 10 starters from an offensive unit that racked up 420 yards against Nebraska last year. The Jay hawks average 7.6 yards per play in the 41-9 Nebraska win. “All we have to do to get ready for this week is look at last year,” Petko said. “We came out flat and we could have gotten beat last year, if we didn’t wake up.” But, Petko said, the Huskers are alert this season as they attempt to win the Big Eight title for the first time in three years. “We just have to go out and play now,” he said. “It’s either win three games or we don’t go (to the Orange Bowl).” Petko said the Huskers feel “a lot better” about their defense heading into the final stretch this year. Ne braska gave up three touchdowns to Colorado last week, compared to the four they gave up in the fourth quarter of last year’s 27-12 loss to the Buffa loes. In addition, defensive linemen Kevin Ramaekers and John Parrella, See HUSKERS on 8 Jeff Haller/DN Nebraska defensive tackle Bruce Moore smothers Missouri’s Jerome Madison (40) as he re covers quarterback Phil Johnson’s third-quarter fumble during the Oct. 26 Cornhusker win over the Tigers. Kansas (5-3) Nebraska (6-1 -1) Jim New WR 6-0 188 Sr. Jon Bostick SE 6-2 190 Sr. Dwayne Chandler TE 6-2 230 So. Lance Lundberg LT 6-4 305 So. Chris Perez LT 6-5 280 Sr. ns Erik Wiegert LG 6-5 300 Sr. Hessley Hempstead LG 6-1 290 Fr. Bill Ziegelbein C 6-4 275 Sr. Dan Schmidt C 6-1 260 So. y Wifi Shields RG 6-1 295 Jr. Scott Imwalle RG 6-2 265 Jr. Brian Boerboom RT 6-7 310 Sr. Keith Loneker RT 6-3 305 Jr. fr Wm. Washington TE 6-2 260 Jr. Kenny Drayton WR 6-0 175 Sr. UL, Keithen McCant QB 6*2 200 Sr. Roger Robben FB 50 215 Sr. Q Lance Lewis FB 6-0 225 Jr. Chip Hilleary QB 6-1 185 Jr. Derek Brown IB 5-9 180 So. Tony Sands TB 5-6 170 Sr. Nate Turner WB 6-2 220 Sr. Dan Eichloff P 6-1 215 So. MikeStigge P 6-2 190 Jr. Don Davis OLB 6-2 200 Fr. Travis Hill LOL 6-2 235 Jr. Kyi© Moore LE 6-3 250 Jr. Jamie Liewer LT 6-4 270 Jr. Gilbert Brown LT 6-2 305 Jr. t|| Pat Engelbert MG 6-2 265 Sr. Dana Stubblefield RT 6-4 285 Jr. JohnParrella RT 6-5 290 Jr. Brian Christian RE 6-4 260 $0. David White BOL 0-2 240 Jr. Hassan Bailey OLB 5-11 200 Jr. MikePetko SSL 6-3 230 Sr. Steve Harvey ILB 6-4 230 Fr. M1 Mike Anderson WSL 6-2 230 So. Robert Vaughn CB 5-11 190 So. Curtis Cotton LC 6-1 210 Sr. Doug Terry FS 5-11 185 Sr. JSJ Tyrone Legette RC 5-10160 Sr. Paul Friday SS 6-3 190 Sr. Q Steve Carmer SS 6-2 210 Jr. Tim Hill CB 5-6 170 Sr. Tyrone Byrd FS 6-0 175 Jr. DanEichloff PK 6-1 215 So. Byron Bennett PK 6-1 185 So. . .. . .. Scott Maurar/DN Kansas coach optimistic about clash with Huskers By Chuck Green Senior Editor Glen Mason likes to dream big. Mason, in his third year as Kansas’ football coach, is off to a 5-3 start — his best as a coach — and is trying to give the Jayhawks’ program its first winning season in 10 years. Mason thinks his team has what it takes. “We have a team of mature young men here this year,” he said. “They know what it takes to be winners, and they’ve liked the taste of winning they’ve had so far this season. “They want to keep it going.” But Mason will be the first to admit that this weekend’s game against 11 th ranked Nebraska doesn’t make it any easier on the Kansas players or coaches. Neither will the game next weekend at Boulder, Colo., against No. 14 Colorado. “These will be two tough weeks for us,” Mason said. “But Kansas State almost beat Nebraska, and we had them and let them off the ropes. Anything can happen in this day and age.” Most of Mason’s optimism cen ters on the Jayhawks’ defense, which has allowed fewer total yards during its first eight games than any Kansas team since 1981. That season, Kansas defenders gave up 282.9 yards per game. This year, that average is 284.1. On the other side of the ball, Kan sas’ offense is led by tailback Tony Sands, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in six games this season. Sands’ 886 yards this season has made him the Kansas career rusher leader. In last week’s 31-0 Kansas win against Oklahoma State, Sands car ried 30 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. “His leadership and dependability is important for our offensive suc cess,” Mason said. “His running sets up our passing, and vice versa.” Mason said he knows the Huskers will be ready for the game, especially given the Jayhawks quick start this season. “This is a typical Nebraska team: big, strong, fast and able to kill you a dozen different ways,” he said. “We have to play our best game of the year to stay with them through four quar ters.” But Mason remains optimistic. “If we can still be in it in the end, look out,” he said. “Our kids have grown to like winning.” Pettit: Cyclone incentive means danger •r By John Adkisson Staff Reporter When Iowa Slate’s volleyball team comes to Lincoln Saturday, the Cyclones will be trying to lake a big step to prolong their season. For Nebraska, postseason play is not a mat ter of “if,” but rather “for how long.” TheComhuskcrs, 19-3 and ranked in the lop 10 of all three major volleyball polls, will try to win their 13lh consecutive match when they host 13-9 Iowa State on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. match at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. With a conference record of 5-4, Iowa Slate is battling with Oklahoma and Kansas for the last two spots in the four-team conference tournament. Nebraska and Colorado have all but clinched the top two spots. Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit said the incen tive for postseason play makes Iowa State dangerous. “They’re a good team,’’ Pettit said. “Since they’re in a race to get into the Big Eight tournament, I’m sure that every match, every game will be important for them.” Earlier this season, Nebraska beat Iowa Stale in Ames, Iowa, 15-6,15-6, 15-9. The win was the Huskers’ 37th straight over the Cyclones in a scries which dates back to 1975. Since that matchup, Iowa State is 4-3, in cluding home wins last weekend over both Kansas and Kansas Slate. The Cyclones are led by outside hitter Tracy Graham, who has 236 kills on the year and a 3 kill-per-gamc average. Senior setter Lisa Burke is fourth on the team in hitting and is also averaging nine set assists per game. Nebraska is in its best groove of the season following a straight-game shellacking pf eighth ranked Texas last weekend in Austin. Since a loss to New Mexico on Sept. 28, the Huskers have dropped only two games in 12 matches. Now Peltit and the Huskcrs arc looking toward the Big Eight Tournament and a two match scries with national power Pacific in two weeks. Pettit said that in the month remaining until the NCAA Tournament, the Huskcrs will be looking for a stable effort in every match. “What we’re working toward is consistency,” Pettit said. “We’re going to try and not concern ourselves with the other side of the net as much as we are making our own adjustments.” Some of those adjustments, Peltit said, will include grooming players for specific roles. “In some situations, we might pul in a player to prepare her for a similar role in a critical match,” he said. And Nebraska’s next three matches — the Iowa State match and two at home next week end against 6-18 Missouri and 13-13 Okla homa — may allow Peltit to experiment with using particular players in particular roles. Swim teams to compete By Thomas Clouse Staff Reporter The Nebraska men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will travel to Lawrence, Kan., today to face Kansas in dual competition. Men’s coach Cal Bent/ said Nebraska, 1-1, should match up well against the Jayhawks, who finished second to the Comhuskcrs in the Big Eight last season. “We can’t get a feel for what Kansas will do. We need to make things hap pen,” he said. “If we don’t, then we’ll have to make late adjustments to win the meet.” See SWIMMING on 8