Sports
Huskers up against experience in opener
Utes have edge
with 18 starters
returning to play
By Nick Hytrek
Senior Reporter *
Don’t expect a typical Nebraska
football season opener this year.
At least that’s what Nebraska coach
Tom Osborne said regarding
Saturday’s game against Utah.
In past season openers, Nebraska
has trounced opponents by such scores
as 59-28,48-17 and 56-12.
Osborne said the score should be
different against the Utes.
-a-—
We’ve been battling
and hitting each other
around and we don’t
want to do that any
more. We’re tired of
knocking each other
around.
— Grant
NU quarterback
- II -
“I believe (Utah) has some opti
mism this year,” Osborne said. “I
think they’re going to be a very fine
football team.
“I look for a fairly close game.”
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Memorial
Stadium.
Starting quarterback Mike Grant
said the No. 11 Comhuskers were
ready to get the season under way.
“We’ve been battling and hitting
each other around and we don’t want
to do that anymore,” Grant said.
“We’re tired of knocking each other
around. We’re ready to play someone
else.”
Because the game is the first of the
year for both teams, experience will
be a factor, Osborne said.
“Of course the first game is always
an uncertain time,” Osborne said.
“There’s always going to be quite a
few players that haven’t played much
before- that are going to be in key
roles; and I would say right now we’re
probably a little bit better in that
respect than normally.”
Six starters return on offense and
seven are back on defense for the
Huskers. Those numbers look better
when adding in people who played a
lot last year but didn’t start, Osborne
said.
“A lot of the guys who are so
called new starters are people who
have got considerable experience,”
Osborne said.
Some of those players include of
fensive performers Tyrone Hughes,
Calvin Jones, Vincent Hawkins and
Zach Wiegert.
Butwilh 18 starters returning, Utah
will have the advantage in experi
ence, Osborne said.
“In contrast, Utah is probably still
a more experienced football team,”
he said. “I think it’s one of the more
experienced teams we’ve ever seen.”
Osborne pointed out that the Utes
will be dangerous on offense, where
10 starters return. Among those lOare
quarterback Frank Dolce, who threw
for 2,444 yards and 16 touchdowns
lasts season, running back Keith Wil
liams, who had 1,076 yards rushing,
and wide receiver Bryan Rowley, who
caught 60 passes for 1,011 yards.
The only common opponent of the
two teams last year was Arizona State.
Nebraska beat the Sun Devils 18-9.
Utah lost to Arizona State 21-15.
“Arizona State beat them in a very
close game down in Tempe,” Osborne
said. “You know they’re capable of
playing well against good people.”
Notes:
• Under Osborne, the Huskers are
14-4-1 in openers and 17-2 in home
openers. The last time Nebraska lost
its opening game was in 1985 when
Florida State beat the Huskers 17-13.
• The Huskers will ,be playing
their first game on the new artificial
surface in Memorial Stadium. The
new artificial turf was installed shortly
after spring practice ended. This
summer’s Nebraska Shrine Bowl was
the first game on the new turf.
Kiley Timperley/DN
Nebraska senior quarterback Joel Cornwell is tackled by linebacker Mike Anderson during a
scrimmage last Saturday. Cornwell will back Mike Grant in this Saturday’s opener against Utah.
Utes eager to match wits
with Huskers, coach says
By Nick Hytrek
Senior Reporter
Utah football coach Ron McBride
might want to reconsider where he
watches Saturday’s game with Ne
braska.
McBride conceded that his team
might be a little overmatched against
the No. 11 Comhuskers.
“It’s an honor — a privilege — to
come back and play against (Ne
braska),” McBride said. “It might be
better to be a spectator than a player,
but we ’ 11 come in and see what we can
do.”
and were contenders for a bowl bid.
Ten starters on offense and seven on
defense return this year. .
That experience will help this
year’s Utah team, McBride said.
“The strength of this team is that
it’s just a solid football team,”
Me Bride said. “We’re not overly out
standing. We’re just a solid football
team,”
But at the same time, McBride said
it was hard to tell where the strengths
of his team lie.
On offense, Utah is led by Frank
Dolce, the team’s 1991 Most Valu
able Offensive Player. Last season
Dolce completed 177 of 314 passes
for 2,444 yards and 16 touchdowns
before a broken ankle sidelined him
for (he final game.
Wide receiver Bryan Rowley is
Ulah ’s all-time career leader in recep
tion yards with 2,303. Last season he
caught 60 passes for 1,011 yards and
11 touchdowns.
McBride said that on defense, the
Utes wouldn’t stop Nebraska’s run
ning game, but he hoped they could
make it lough for the Huskers to run.
“It‘s like a guy hitting .400 in
baseball,” McBride said. “He’s prob
ably going to get his hits against you
no matter what you do.
“So we’ll try to slow them down,
but we won’t slop them.”
10 175 Sr. LOLB 93 Travis Hill 6-2 240 Sr.
Wm 92 John Parretta 6-5 290 Sr.
LG 62 NG 73 David Noonan 6-3 275 Jr
Sf. RT 70 Jamie Liewer 6-4 270 Sr
Sr ROLB 34 Trev Alberts 6 4 230 Jr
SLB 48 Mike Anderson 6 2 235 Jr.
TE 89 WLB 32 Ed Stewart 6-0 205 So.
QB 1 LCB 19 Kenny Wilhite 5-8 175 Sr
FB 26 RCB 6 John Reece 6-0 200 Jr.
IB 6-2 210 Sr.
I MMLfB 6-0 180 Sr.
*K 18 6-2 190 Sr.
TE 86 Scott Murry 6 4 220 Sr
LT 61 Mike Dehoog 6-4 284 Sr
LG 52 Roy MaAfala
C 56 Lance Scott
RG 60 Tom McNitt 6-4
RT 63 Russ Dailey 6 5
QB 12 Frank Dolce Sr
T8 20 Ket*wmmm mk
IB 32 Jamal Anderson 6 1
WR 19 Bryan Rowley 5-10
WR 2 Greg Hooks 6 2
SB me Greg Holman :*i
Scotl Maurer/OK
Husker volleyball team set tor tough tourney competition
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska volleyball team
won’t be opening its regular season
this weekend by playing easier com
petition for some early victories.
Instead, the Comhuskers will be
battling some of the nation ’ s lop team s
tonight and Saturday in the FirsTier
Invitational at the NU Coliseum.
Nebraska plays its first match of
the tournament at 7:30 p.m. tonight
against New Mexico, then plays a
doublcheadcr Saturday, playing at 11
a.m. against Pittsburgh and at 7:30
p m. against Pacific.
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry
Pettit said he was looking forward to
playing the quality teams coming into
the Coliseum this weekend.
“I don’t think we could have any
better competition this early in the
season,” Pettit said.
All four teams in this tourney have
received preseason Top 20 accolades.
Nebraska is ranked No. 3 in “Volley
ball Monthly’s” prescason ratings,
while the Pacific Tigers arc ranked
fifth by the magazine.
New Mexico is ranked No. 12 by
the magazine, and Pittsburgh was
among the other teams receiving votes.
Pettit said that just because this
was the first tournament of the year,
the Huskers couldn’t take anything
for granted.
“A win or loss now is as significant
now as it is in November,” he said.
“Thai’s what the game is about —
trying to win.”
Last season at this lime, Nebraska
was 1-2 against its opponents. The
Huskers split matches with Pacific in
Stockton,Calif., while being upselby
New Mexico in last year’s BYU/
Mizuno Invite in Provo, Utah.
Pettit said revenge wouldn’t be on
the minds of the Huskers in the tour
ney.
“If we operated from a revenge
motive, we’d be worn out by Sept.
15,” Pettit said. “The only thing I
could see revenge in is war, and if you
lose there you’re out; revenge is for
other things and not for volleyball.”
Nebraska sophomore outside hit
ter Kim Tonniges said the Huskers
wanted to send a message to the Lo
bos and Tigers.
“We don’t talk about revenge, but
inside wei know when we played them
before we didn’t play well,'so we do
want to revenge our play from last
year,” Tonnigcs^aid. --:
4.
Nebraska tuned up for the FirsTier
Invitational with an exhibition match
Tuesday night against a squad of Ne
braska alumnae. The Huskers swept
all Five games from the alumnae, win
ning 15-1F, 15-0,15-4,15-13 and 15
11.
'Tonnigcs said Nebraska’s victory
Tuesday night showed the Huskers
were ready to compete against the
nation’s top teams.
“The way we played last night
(against the alumnae)—as a team we
were together,” Tonnigcs said. “Our
team is really close and on the court
we feaHy pusheaeh other.” -
