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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1994)
No. 1 Huskers face Pacific UCLA’s Shannon Shah baraly aludas Saturday’s gaaaa aft Mamortal Stadium, ranking against Pacific. I CH£»Wat|Of iff fl If, *' f* jvtt Haner/uN hands off Nabraska llnabackar Donta Jonas In and tha Huskar dafansa will dafsnd Its No. 1 Tigers coach hopes to improve By Tfvor Parks Staff Reporter Pacific coach Chuck Shelton has a word of warning for people who think the Nebraska football team will walk over his Tigers Saturday at Memorial Sta chum. “I think any body who feels that way has never really competed against any one,” Shelton said. “I call that Shelton a civilian men tality that they have, but I consider myself a warrior.” That warrior-like mentality of Shelton may be a major factor in how well his team can perform against the Comhuskers. The Tigers are off to their best start since 1986, when they started out 3 I. However, Shelton said, there is room for improvement. “I’m a little disappointed so far,” Shelton said. “We’re 2-1 now, and obviously we would like to be 3-0. We haven’t beaten anybody yet.” Pacific has defeated two Division l-AA opponents — Califomia-Davis and Southwest Texas State. The only Division I opponent the Tigers have faced this season is Minnesota. The Gophers beat Pacific 33-7 at Minnesota. And Shelton is not sure his team is ready for Nebraska, despite its 2-1 record. “This may not be the best team that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Shelton said. “We’re still not as ma ture as I hoped we would be.” Although the Tigers have had a light schedule this season, Shelton said playing two No. I teams in the last three years was no accident. “All that’s good to get a high pro file,” Shelton said. “We want to play against the classiest programs we could, and this one is definitely one of the classiest in all my experiences.” Shelton coached at Utah State be fore he joined Pacific in 1992, and his Aggies lost to Nebraska 56-12 in 1987, 63-13 in 1988 and 59-28 in 1991. Although Shelton hasn't had much success coaching against Ne braska, he said he hoped his team wouldn’t be intimidated by the atmo sphere. “I don’t think we will be physi cally intimidated,” Shelton said. “We might be in awe, but I hope not for too long.” Another problem Shelton will face Saturday is Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier. “He may be the best quarterback in the country,” Shelton said. “He is a young man who has a good shot at the Heisman.” Shelton said he knows things will be stacked against his team in its battle with the No. I Huskers. “I think Nebraska is really the No. I team in the country,” Shelton said. “They are as awesome as I have ever Osborne guarantees fight from Pacific By PtrK Suwon Senior Reporter If there is one guarantee from Ne braska coach Tom Osborne about Saturday’s game with Pacific, it is that the Tigers will be prepared. Osborne said he knew Pacific coach Chuck Shelton too well to ex pect the Tigers to lay down and die after the opening kickoff. “I’ve always had a great deal of respect for Chuck Shelton,” Osborne said. “Over at Drake, I thought he did a great job. I remember them beating Iowa State a couple times when ob viously they were outmanned and outpersonelled. “We played him when he was at Utah State, and I thought he got the most out of his players. ” Well-coached or not, this is still Pacific — a team whose longest run from scrimmage this season was a 17 yard scramble by quarterback Craig Whelihan. But Osborne said, other than Whelihan, the strong point of the Ti gers’ team isn’t its offense. “Defensively, I think they’re an experienced football team,” Osborne “I'm sure we’ll be heavily favored, but there are always those times when your opponent plays great and you don’t play well." ■ TOM OSBORNE Nebraska coach said. “Their four secondary players are all three-year starters that have some quickness and are very sound.” The 2-1 Tigers .have wins over California-Davis and Southwest Texas State, but their 33-7 loss to Minnesota told Osborne the most about this team. “I guess the game that I look at this year is Minnesota,” he said. “They played at Minnesota, and Min See OSBORNE on 10 Game Pay '94 Nebraska |jiiawKi QB 15 Tommie Frazier 6-2 205 QB 5 FB 40 Cory Schlesinger 6-0 230 TB 33 IB 1 Lawrence Phiftps 6-0 200 FB 26 SE 7 Reggie Baul 5-8 170 WR 16 WB27 Abdul Muhammad 5-9 160 WR 13 RT 72 ZachWiegert 6-5 300 RT 71 LT 56 RobZatechka 6-5 315 LT 74 RG 66 Brenden Stai 6-4 300 RG 56 LG 76 JoelWHks 6-3 280 LG 62 C 54 Aaron Graham 6-3 280 C 61 TE 85 Matt Shaw 6-3 235 TE 17 PK 12 Tom Sieter 6-5 205 PK 15 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska Saturday, 1 p.m. Pacific Craig Whelihan 6-5 215 Joe Abdullah 6-0 206 Kerry Blakney 5-11 233 Damon Bowers 5-9 183 Kerry Brown 6-4 193 Hormaz Jangi 6-3 263 Matt McGinn 6-4 277 Justin Wterth 6-2 281 Bryan Chiu 6-2 284 Aaron McClellan 6-3 262 Mike Morales 6-1 208 Roger Fleenor 6-1 177 LOLB 86 Dwayne Harris DT 55 Christian Peter NT 99 Terry Connealy ROLB 84 Donta Jones SAM 4 Troy Dumas 48 Doug Colman 32 Ed Stewart 14 Barron Miles MIKE WILL LCB RCB ROV FS P 6-2 225 LT 97 Charles Miller 6-2 285 NT 54 Brad Stammer 6-5 275 RT 58 Jason Evans 6-2 220OLB 50 EdTatola 64 220SLB 10 Bill Denny 63 240WLB92 Vince Bruno 61 215 OLB 7 Jami Anderson ..... 68 165 LCB 28 Darius Cunnigan 29 Tyrone Williams 60 165 RC8 42 Duane Thomas 29 Kareem Moss 610190 SS 12 Jeff Russell 9 TonyVeland 62 200 FS 2 Nathan Young 6 Dann Erstad 62 195 P 15 Roger Fleenor 62 259 61 265 61 267 611245 61 224 62 226 60 218 69 180 611183 60 190 62 212 61 177 DN graphic Pacific quarterback says win wouldn’t take a miracle By Dtrtfc toioB. Senior Reporter Pacific quarterback Craig Whelihan be lieves in miracles — but beating Nebraska would not qualify as one. “Anything is possible,” Whelihan said. “Much greater miracles have happened. “So far, this season is going great. At 2-1, I’m pretty happy with what’s been going on.” Miracle or not, Whelihan and the rest of the 2-1 Tigers will have to play a flawless game to upset No. I Nebraska. “If we play well, that will be great,” Whelihan said. “If we don’t play well, it will be a reality check and put some things into perspective for us.” Whelihan almost helped pull off a minor miracle last year when Pacific traveled to Tuc son, Ariz., to play the I3th-ranked Wildcats. Whelihan completed 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards, but Arizona prevailed with a 16-13 vic tory. Pacific also played then-No. I Washington in 1992 and lost 31-7. “I don’t know how many times teams get a chance to play the No. I team in the country,” Whelihan said. “This is the second time that we’ve played a No. I since rve been here. So WiMiHian we've played teams like that (Nebraska) before. “We’ve played the Arizonas, Arizona States and Washingtons. We won’t be intimidated. This is a game that every kid dreams about playing in.” The 6-foot-5-inch, 215-pound senior said the Tigers were in a no-lose situation by play ing this game. “They give the University of Pacific $400,000 to play, and that’s great for our foot ball program," he said. “If we play well, it will show people that we can play football here at Pacific. It shows that if we play well against Nebraska, we can play well against anyone." Whelihan, who has passed for 710 yards and five touchdowns in the Tigers’ first three games, knows he will see a different defense from Nebraska compared to the Tigers’ first three opponents — Califomia-Davis, Minne sota and Southwest Texas State. “They (Nebraska) are big and strong, and their team speed is very, very fast," Whelihan said. “They do a lot of their recruiting for team speed. But Nebraska prepares us for our league “We’veplayed the Arizonas, Arizona States and Washingtons. We won’t he intimidated. This is a game that every kid dreams about playing in. ” ■ CRAIG WHEUHAN Pacific quarterback schedule. This is the top competition that we’ll face all year. They are No. I, and they have the top athletes.”