Sports
Tuesday, October 4, 1994 Page 5
Berringer handled adversity well, coach says
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
Since joining the Nebraska football pro
gram in the fall of 1991, Nebraska quarterback
Brook Berringer had attempted only 46 passes
in his career before Saturday.
Yet when the 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior
from Goodland, Kan., was thrown intothe fire,
down 14-0 against Wyoming on Saturday, he
didn’t feel the pressure.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Berringer said. ‘‘I treated
it like I had been there for four years."
And after being hospitalized with a partially
collapsed lung, Berringer will probably be
cleared to start the next two weeks, said Ne
braska assistant coach Ron Brown at the Extra
Point Club luncheon Monday.
Brown said doctors had indicated that
Berringer would be able to return to practice by
Tuesday or Wednesday. Until then, sophomore
walk-on Matt Turman will run the first-team
offense.
“If Brook could not play (Saturday against
Oklahoma State), we would want to start Matt
Turman but have Tony Veland waiting in the
wings,” he said.
Brown said Veland, the Huskers’ starting
free safety, would continue to take a few snaps
at quarterback each day in practice.
The Nebraska coaching staff is eyeing the
Huskers’ game at Missouri Oct. 22 as a target
date for the return of No. I quarterback Tommie
Frazier.
Although he didn’t rule Frazier out of the
Kansas State game on Oct. 15, Brown said the
Huskers would not rush the junior back into
action. Frazier, a three-year starter, is recover
ing from a blood clot behind his right knee.
“We don’t want to do anything with him
until the soreness is gone,” Brown said. “When
he begins to practice, of course, there will be no
7 wasn't nervous. I treated it
like 1 had been there for four
years. ”
m
BROOK BERRINQER
Nebraska quarterback
contact.”
Brown said he was pleased with the way the
team—especially Berringer—handled adver
sity against Wyoming. Nebraska trailed 14-Oat
the end of the first quarter and 21-7 until just
before halftime.
“To see him respond the way he did on
Saturday,” Brown said, “that was a proud mo
ment for me, for the rest of our staff and our
football team.”
Brown said the entire team’s confidence in
Berringer grew as the Wyoming game grew
closer.
“The great thing that came out of this game
was that Brook Berringer experienced every
thing he experienced,” Brown said.
He said Nebraska’s eight-play, 64-yard dri ve
at the end of the first half, in which Berringer
completed seven consecutive passes for 59
yards, was crucial. Berringer’s 5-yard run
capped the drive and cut the Wyoming lead to
21-14 with 12 seconds to go in the first half.
“That was a great piece of execution by
Brook Berringer,” Brown said. “A lot of that
has to go to that young man’s confidence and
his poise underpressure. That was probably the
biggest series we’ve had all season. Ifwe hadn’t
gotten that ball in the end zone, it could have
been a very long day with Wyoming getting the
ball in the second half.”
Jon Wallar/DN
Nebraska’s Billie Wlnsett blocks a Duko splko during the
Huskers’ win Saturday night. Wlnsett and the Huskers are
looking to regain the Big Eight title this season.
Lady Huskers hope
to regain Big 8 title
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
For the first time in 17 years, the
Nebraska volleyball team is in an
awkward position.
The Comhuskers are trying to
regain the Big Eight title.
Last season, Colorado won both
the Big Eight regular season title
and Big Eight tournament. Colo
rado also won the 1992 Big Eight
Tournament.
The second- and third-ranked
Huskers had won the Big Eight
those past 17 seasons, but this year
Colorado is the team defending the
title.
However, the Huskers have put
themselves in a good position to
dethrone the No. 19 Buffaloes.
Nebraska is off to its best start
since 1989 at 14-0. That start ties
the school record from 1987 and
1989.
The 1989 team went to the
NCAA championship match be
fore losing to Long Beach State.
The Huskers have lost only two
games — Arizona State and New
Mexico — in 14 matches this sea
son.
Husker outside hitter Billie
Winsett said the quick start would
benefit Nebraska.
‘‘I didn’t know we tied a record
(after beat i ng Duke),” W i nsett said.
“I knew we won al I of them, but we
don’t dwell on past games.”
Nebraska started out conference
play 1-0 with a 15-1, 15-4, 15-9
victory over Missouri.
Now after competing against a
rugged nonconference schedule,
the Huskers play 11 of the next 13
matches against conference oppo
nents.
The Huskers will play four
straight road matches at Oklahoma,
Kansas State, Iowa State and Kan
sas.
The Sooners defeated the Husk
ers 15-10, 9-15, 15-9, 15-8 last
season in Norman.
Winsett said conference play
would present a new challenge for
the Huskers.
“We know we are going to see
teams more than two times.”
Winsett said. “Players from last
year have also seen us, too.”
The return of blocker Jen
McFadden should also give Ne
braska a boost.
Coach Terry Pettit saidthe Husk
ers had done well in her absence.
“We’re playing top 20 teams
without an All-American player,
and that’s a tough thing to do,”
Pettit said.
Winsett said with the injuries,
other players had been getting ex
perience, which made Nebraska
even stronger.
“We focus on the game at hand
first, but we’re always thinking a
little ahead,” Winsett said. “Hope
fully we can take the Big Eight.”
Berringer
may be out
Saturday
By Clay Short__
Staff Reporter
Walk-on quarterback Matt Turman
may start against Oklahoma State
Saturday, Nebraska coach Tom
Osbome said Monday.
No. 1 quarterback Tommie Frazier
and his backup. Brook Berringer, both
missed practice Monday.
Osbome said a decision wouldn't
be made on whether Berringer would
start until this afternoon.
“Brook has a doctor’s appointment
scheduled for 11 Tuesday morning,”
Osbome said, “and the doctors should
know then if he can play.
Berringer suffered a partially col
lapsed lung during Saturday’s victory
over Wyoming.
“Brook had no pain Saturday,”
Osbome said. “He just took a freak hit
in the right spot.”
Osbome said Berringer’s left lung
was 30-40 percent collapsed, but doc
tors were able to insert a tube to rein
flate the lung.
Berringer attended practice Mon
day, as did Frazier, but both were not
allowed to take any contact.
If Berringer can’t play Saturday,
Osbome said he was confident with
Turman leading the team, even though
he had thrown just five passes and had
only run the ball seven times as a
Comhusker.
Also gone from Monday’s prac
tice was safety Tony Veland, who
was out with an illness.
Both gerbil and quarterback relationshipsprove wacky
I tell you, my vast readership, from
experience that gerbils can be so petty.
Just yesterday, mygerbil, Mookie,
and I were busting a few moves and
grooving to the timeless Juice New
ton classic ‘‘Angel of the Morning.”
For those of you who don’t know
me, I do some of my best thinking
while shaking my booty. I also can do
some substantial pondering while bak
ing.
However 1 digest, er I mean, di
gress. Anyway, Mook and I were
cookin’ and chillin’ when I just blurted
out, “Hey, I bet if Tommie Frazier
played basketball, he could cover the
whole court."
Of course my hypersensitive and
fuzzy buddy misheard me as saying,
“Hey, Commie, gerbils can’t boogie;
their legs are too short.”
Well, imagine my surprise when
Mook stormed out of the room (1
mean as much as a 2 1/2 inch rodent
can “storm”). Mook has subsequently
moved his running wheel out of the
house and refused to appear in future
columns.
‘ Mookie also now threatens that
he’s going to move in with Danny
Nee. but I know this to be but idle
banter from the hairy, little freak.
The last time Mookie tried that
‘‘I’m going to move in with coach
Nee” crap, Danny attempted to start
him at point guard. Actually, I think
Mookie does look a bit like ex-Husker
Andre Woolridge, especially from the
neck up.
But Mook ain’t no court general.
He’s not leaving, either.
I guess I’ll have to just suck up to
the squirrelly punk fora little while.
This is my point: relationships are
compromises, babies. Ya gotta give a
little to, you know, get a little. And
what am I getting? A pint-sized rat to
hangout with.
I tell you, if Mookie weren’t my
second-best friend. I'd sell him.
Relationships are wacky things,
and Nebraska’s relationship with
Tommie Frazier is something else.
Three or four weeks ago, 1 stated
that it was premature to be handing
the Heisman Trophy to Tommie
Beau
Finley
“Dairy Queen" Frazier after only play
ing three games.
People thought I was getting down
on Tommie. Nothing could be further
from the truth, baby. Frazier is like a
brother to me. Well, I mean, like a
brother that I’ve never met before,
that I don’t have any common rela
tives with, and whom I’d never really
heard of until he wore a Comhugger
jersey.
OK—maybe Tommie is more like
a distant third cousin to me, but I still
dig the guy.
Anyway, I hadn’t missed him more
than I did on Saturday against the
Wyoming Cowboys. Without “DQ,”
our team looked lethargic, lazy, lucky
and longitudinal. I don’t even know
what “longitudinal'’ means, but I re
ally needed an “L” word.
This lackluster performance —
hey, there’s an “L” word. I guess I
didn’t have to use that “longitudinal"
word after all —translated intoa slim
42-32 victory over perennial power
house Wyoming.
The Blowboys, er I mean Cow
boys, racked up something like seven
billion yards in total offense in the
loss.
Now, I seriously attribute this not
to poor play, but to a loss of security
that theComfluffers had because their
best player was on the sidelines.
I like to call this phenomenon the
“Tommie-Mommy complex.”
Much like a child without his binky,
the ‘skers ran around confused and
listless.
Could this have been because
Wyoming was such a comparable
team to Nebraska? I don’t think so.
The truth is that without Tommie,
the Comdumpsters look like a minia
ture (a child if you will) of the Husker
team we’ve become accustomed to
seeing this year.
Now, I know people will try to
interpret what I’m saying as a criti
cism of Brook Berringer. For those
people, I will give you the immortal
words of one famous social commen
tator: uh, huh, huh, uh, huh, huh —
you’re stupid.
Brook played well. The problem
was no specific player. The problem
was the mind-set. Emotionally, I just
don't think the Huckfinnsters played
the way they do with Tommie.
Do I think that without Tommie
they’ll continue to play this way? I
don’t friggin’ know. I know they can
play well without him. I mean, with or
without Frazier, they’re still one of
the most talented teams in the coun
try.
I just hope that the Homhonkers
can “grow” to know this.
Nebraska Women’s Golf Update:
The Husker Hackers still rule.
Kiltiry la a arcond-year law atudrnt and a
Dally Nrbraakan a porta columnlat.