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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1994)
Sports Weekend Friday, October 7, 1994 Page 9 No. 2 Huskers face Oklahoma State By Mitch Sftnmm Senior Reporter In Pat Jones’ coaching career at Oklahoma State, his Cowboy teams have played Nebraska 10 times. Ten times Oklahoma State has lost. On the surface, it appears to be a lopsided series, but as Nebraska coach Tom Osborne is quick to point out, the Cowboys’ lack of success is not a result of poor effort. “We have had some close ones,” Osborne said. “And they have always had excellent athletes.” Jones will try again to notch his first win against the Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at I p.m. Last season, Oklahoma State led the Huskers 13-6 at halftime before Nebraska scored 21 unanswered sec ond-half points. The Huskers escaped Stillwater with a 27-13 victory. Osborne, who owns a 20-0-1 record against Oklahoma State, said he expected another battle from the Cowboys. “They play hard,” he said. “Over all, Oklahoma State has pretty good team speed. Defensively they move around well and have been fairly im pressive in terms of the people they have.” The Cowboys, 3-1 this season, are emerging from one of the most un successful periods in Oklahoma State football history. After two consecu tive 10-win seasons in 1987 and 1988, the Cowboys fell to 4-7 in 1989 and 1990. In 1991, they hit rock bottom, go ing 0-10-1 and suffering badly from the effects of NCAA probation. Since then, the Cowboys have gradually begun to move forward. A 4-6-1 sea son in 1992 was followed by a 3-8 season a year ago. “I really think they are starting to come out of their effects from the pro bation,” Osborne said. The Cowboys rallied for their third win of the season last week. Place kicker Lawson Vaughn drilled a last second 43-yard field goal to defeat Division 1-AA North Texas 36-34 last week in Stillwater. Nebraska beat North Texas 76-14 last year in Lin coln. But Osborne dismissed the com parison between Nebraska and Okla homa State just because both teams played the same opponent. “In that game, I think it was a case of North Texas being excited to play Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma State probably not being quite ready for North Texas,” Osborne said. “It came down to the wire, and it was an in teresting ballgame.” Osborne said he expected a better showing this week from the Cowboys, who also have wins over Northern Illinois and Tulsa. A key to Nebraska’s success Sat urday, he said, will be the Huskers’ ability to contain Cowboy quarter back Tone Jones. Jones, who took over the starting job four games into his true freshman season in 1993, has averaged 154.5 yards of total offense per game this year. “He seems to be a very good player,” Osborne said. “He has good quickness, and he has a little more maturity now.” Nebraska’s quarterback situation, Osborne said, is not quite as stable. Despite still feeling soreness in his chest. Brook Berringer will make his second career start for the Huskers. See OSU on 8 Michalto Paulman/DN Nebraska’s Reggie Baul breaks up a pass play to Wyoming’s Greg Van Leer during the Comhuskers’ 42-32 win over the Cowboys last Saturday. Cowboy coach hopes to lasso Huskers By Trevor Parte Staff Reporter Last season’s 27-13 loss to Nebraska should give Oklahoma State confidence going into Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium, Cow boy coach Pat Jones said. Jones said his team started six freshmen in last year’s game, which helped his young ball club. “Because of that we realize if we play well, we know we have a chance to win,” Jones said. “As young as we are, I wouldn’t say we’re over confident”__ *Because of that we realize if we play well, we know we have a chance to win. ” ' ■ PAT JONES OSU football coach However, the last time Oklahoma State vis ited Lincoln ended in a 55-0 victory for the Comhuskers in 1992. But Jones said the Cowboys were missing three starters, including flanker Rafael Denson, in that game. This season the Cowboys are in the same situation they were when they played host to the Huskers last year. Oklahoma State was 3-1 heading into the Nebraska game, and after losing to the Husk ers, they lost six in a row to finish 3-8. Jones said he hoped that same scenario didn’t happen again this season. “If we lose a bunch of people to injuries like we did last year, we’ll start losing,” he said. This season it is Nebraska that has been hit by injuries, with the biggest hit to quarterback Tommie Frazier, who may be sidelined for the rest of the season. But Jones isn’t expecting the Husker offense to have a letdown with Brook Berringer at the helm. Pntin nOll WQ4 Memorial Stadium UdlllG LrdV Lincoln, Nebraska * Saturdayl ’p.m. g\ NebraskjjWflf _ QB 18 Brook Berringer 6-4 210 QB 9 Tone'Jones 5-11190 FB 40 Cory Schlesinger 6-0 230 RB 28 David Thompson 5-9 175 IB 1 Lawrence Phillips 6-0 200 FB 4 Joe Jefferson 5-9 205 SE 7 Reggie Baul 5-8 170 FL 22 Rafael Denson 5-8 180 WB 27 Abdul Muhammad 5-9 160 SE 80 Kris Lofton 6-1 185 RT 72 Zach Wiegert 6-5 300 RT 67 Scott Waterbury 6-5 298 LT 56 Rob Zatechka 6-5 315 LT 64 Derek Leinen 6-4 292 RG 55 Brenden Stai 6-4 300 RG 59 Alan Orts 6-2 294 LG 76 Joel Wilks 6-3 280 LG 62 Josh Henson 6-2 250 C 54 Aaron Graham 6-3 280 C 56 Bryan Hope 6-4 270 TE 85 Matt Shaw 6-3 235 TE 88 Derek Jones 6-2 266 PK 12 Tom Sieler 6-5 205 PK 13 Lawson Vaughn 6-0 180 LOLB 86 Dwayne Harris 6-2 225 LT 98 Lorenzo Green 6-2 270 DT 55 Christian Peter 6-2 285 LE 58 Jevon Langford 6-5 260 NT 99 Terry Connealy 6-5 275 RT 95 Tyler Williams 6-2 253 ROLB 84 Donta Jones 6-2 220 RE 47 Demetrius Crowder 6-3 262 SAM 4 Troy Dumas 6-4 220 SILB 57 Line Harden 6-3 225 MIKE 48 DougCotman 6-3 240 WILB 40 Jame Elliott 5-11245 WILL 32 Ed Stewart 6-1 215 MLB 42 Eric Hobbs 5-11235 LCB 14 Barron Miles 5-8 165 LCB 3 Johnny Jones 5-9 165 RCB 8 Tyrone Williams 6-0 165 RCB 8 Cleavon Williams 5-10180 ROV 29 KareemMoss 5-10 190 SS 26 Jitu Criddle 6-1 185 FS 9 TonyVeland 6-2 200 FS 2 Louis Adams 6-1 217 P 6 Darin Erstad 6-2 195 P 7 Greg Ivy 6-0 190 DN araohtc “If he was a guy who hasn’t played much, that would be a lot different,” Jones said. “They won’t run anything different.” But Jones said there would be a slight dif ference. “If they have got to make a great play on just individual talent, that might hurt,” he said. Otherwise, Jones said, there won’t be any major discrepancies with the Husker offense, especially on the offensive line. “They are big and strong, a lot like typical Nebraska,” he said. This season the Cowboys have victories over Northern Illinois and Tulsa and a 36-34 win over North Texas last Saturday. The lone loss was a 14-10 game at Baylor in the second week of the season. Jones said he was happy to open the con ference season at No. 2 Nebraska. “Any time the league race begins, it adds a little luster,” Jones said. “It’s not televised this year like it has been in the past, but it’s not like any other ballgame, because it adds some thing special.” Frazier may get his eligibility extended to 96 By Todd Wilkenhoft Staff Reporter Nebraska junior quarterback Tommie Frazier underwent surgery on Thursday morning as part of continuing treatment for a blood clot that was discovered on Sept. 25. Dr. Deepak Gangahar performed a surgical procedure that tied off a vein with a smaller clot that was suspected of causing the recurring clot. Gangahar said Frazier should remain in the hospital for a week to 10 days. Frazier still is likely to miss the rest of this season, because he will be on blood thinners for a substantial amount of time, said Dr. Lonnie Albers, the di rector of athletic medicine for Nebraska. “The need to be on blood thinners for a long period of time,” Albers said, “will keep Frazier from contact sports for what appears to be the rest of the season.” Albers said that playing contact sports while on blood thinners would be dan gerous because of the risk of internal bleeding if hit * Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said he had not given up hope that Frazier would return this year. “The doctors have indicated he won’t play,” Osborne said, “but you never say never in athletics. I wouldn’t hold out that hope to anybody. The main concern now is down the road, to get him healthy.” Because Frazier's injury occurred early in the season, Nebraska officials are looking into applying to the NCAA eli gibility committee for a medical hard ship. If the request is approved, Frazier See FRAZIER on 8