Sports
Friday, October 21,1994 Page 8
NU defense hopes to cage Tigers’ passing
1
By Mitch Sharman
Senior Reporter
Two weeks ago, the Nebraska de
fense had taken enough heat.
Following Wyoming’s 32-point
outburst, the Blackshirts were sur
rounded by question marks and un
sat isfactwy reviews.
The Huskcrs surrendered 344
yards passing to a freshman quarter
back, and the defense’s pride had
been bruised.
“You can only take so much criti
cism,” All-Big Eight corncrback
Barron Miles said. “1 think our de
fense had enough, and we were out
to prove everybody wrong.”
Since the Wyoming game,
Nebraska’s defense has allowed only
nine points and 382 yards in two
games, including only 33 yards rush
ing.
On paper. Saturday’s 1:08 p.m.
kickoff at Faurot Field in Columbia,
Mo., against 2-4 (1-1 in the Big
Eight) Missouri, is a matchup of two
defenses playing on different levels.
No. 3 Nebraska, 7-0 overall and
2-0 in conference play, ranks first or
second in the Big Eight in every de
fensive category, while Missouri is
seventh or eighth on each chart.
But Miles, named the national
defensive player of the week by
Athlon Sports for his efforts against
Kansas State, said he wasn't worried
about about how the Huskers stacked
up to the Tigers' defensive attack.
He’s concerning himself with
Missouri’s receivers.
At 5-feet-8-inches and 165
pounds. Miles, an All-Big Eight se
lection a year ago, does not have a
height advantage over too many re
ceivers. But he is able to make up for
that with his athletic ability, shown
by his school-record six pass break
ups against Kansas State last week.
Before this year, the school record
for pass breakups in a season was six.
Miles has nine this season.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
the Huskers would have to once again
rely on Miles, along with the rest of
the secondary, to stop Missouri’s
passing game, which is averaging
199.2 yards per game this year.
“Jeff Handy is a really good auar
terback,” Osborne said. “I think he
throws well, and I think they’ve tried
to develop a tougher running game
than what they’ve had in the past.”
Osborne said he was impressed
with the way Missouri played against
No. 2 Colorado on Oct. 8. The Ti
gers lost 38-23 in Columbia, but
Osborne said Missouri had shown
quite a bit of improvement since the
beginning of the year.
“They are certainly a much better
football team than they were four,
five, six weeks ago,” Osborne said.
“Colorado got off to a two-touchdown
lead early in the game and then after
that, it was an even ballgame.
Osborne said the improvement
was a credit to first-year coach Larry
Smith, who took over for Bob Stull
in the spring.
“There is always an adjustment
period when you have a new coach
ing staff come in,” he said.
Things also have fallen into place
for the Nebraska defense during con
ference play, Osborne said. And one
person partially responsible is true
freshman Grant Wistrom.
Wistrom, one of only three Husk
ers from Missouri, has played about
half of Nebraska’s snaps, backing up
outside linebacker Donta Jones.
See TIGERS on 9
Tigers’ QB is more than meets the eye
By Mitch firman
Senior Reporter
Jeff Handy is not as well known as Kordell
Stewart.
He’s not as recognizable as Tommie Frazier
or Chad May.
He hasn’t graced the cover of national
magazines, and he hasn’t been mentioned in
the same sentence as Heisman Trophy or first
round draft pick.
But quietly. Missouri's senior quarterback
is creating a list of accomplishments that will
be remembered just as long as the marks of
the Big Eight’s other premiere quarterbacks.
The 6-foot-3-inch. 202-pound Handy, a
three-year starter from Blue Springs. Mo , burst
onto the scene as a sophomore in 1992. In
Handy’s first start, he completed 43 of 73
passes for 480 yards against Oklahoma State.
He followed that performance with a record
setting day against Nebraska, in which he
threw for 424 yards against the Cornhuskers
in a 34-24 loss.
That was the last time Nebraska played in
Columbia, Mo.
Until Saturday.
Handy said he would like to have just as
good a passing day on Saturday, but more im
portantly, he would like the Tigers to register
a victory over Nebraska — something they
haven’t done since 1978.
“Every team we play, we get up for,” Handy
said. “But when you go up against a team like
Nebraska, it’s a little different."
Handy didn’t perform as well against Ne
braska the second time around last year in Lin
coln. but he said he was confident the Tiger
offense would be able to move the ball Satur
day.
In Missouri’s last two games. Handy said
the Tigers may have turned the comer after a
dismal start. The Tigers stayed within 15 points
of No. 2 Colorado two weeks ago and beat
Oklahoma State 24-15 on the road last Satur
day.
A major reason for the team's turnaround,
Handy said, has been the players’ acceptance
of the new system installed by first-year coach
Larry Smith, who took over for Bob Stull last
Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field
Columbia, Mo.
Saturday, 1:08 p.m.
Missouri
QB 18 Brook Berringer 6-4 210
FB 40 Cory Schlesinaer 6-0 230
IB 1 Lawrence Phillips 6-0 200
SE 7 Reggie Baul 5-8 170
WB 27 Abdul Muhammad 5-9 160
RT 72 Zach Wiegert 6-5 300
LT 56 Rob Zatechka 6-5 315
RG 55 Brenden Stai 6-4 300
LG 76 Joel Wilks 6-3 280
C 54 Aaron Graham 6-3 280
TE 85 Matt Shaw 6-3 235
PK 6 Darin Erstad 6-2 195
QB 11 Jeff Handy 6-3 202
RB 1 Joe Freeman 5-1 180
AB 24 Greg Smith 0 211
WR 7 Brian Sallee 6-0 195
WR 2 Rahsetnu Jenkins 6-3 170
RT 85 Bill Lingerfelt 6-2 240
LT 71 Chris Buck 6-4 305
RG 75 Trey O'Neil 6-6 290
LG 74 Rate Parsons 6-5 320
C 77 Matt Dowil 6-6 272
TE 50 Russ Appel 6-3 246
PK 19 Kyle Pooler 6-0 193
LOLB 86 Dwayne Harris 6-2 225
DT 55 Christian Peter 6-2 285
NT 99 Terry Conneafy 6-5 275
ROLB 84 Donta Jones 6-2 220
SAM 4 Troy Dumas 6-4 220
MIKE 48 DougColman 6-3 240
WILL 32 Ed Stewart 6-1 215
LCB 14 Barron Miles 5-8 165
RCB 8 Tyrone Williams 6-0 165
ROV 29 KareemMoss 5-10190
FS 9 Tony Veland 6-2 200
P 6 Dann Erstad 6-2 195
LT 8 Detrick Wells 6-0 226
DE 98 Steve Martin 6-5 284
RT 87 Matt Murray 6-5 284
DE 92 Damon Simon 6-5 250
SI LB 47 Chris Singletary 6-2 205
WILB 43 Darryl Chatman 6-1 226
MLB 39 Travis McDonald 6-2 225
LCB 9 Percell Gaskins 6-1 215
RCB 26 Clayton Baker 5-10174
SS 4 Bo Adams 6-0 201
FS 21 Andre White 6-1 194
P 19 Kyle Pooler 6-0 193
spring.
“Everybody is now starting to get used to
it,” he said. “When he came in, there were
some changes. Coach Smith runs a system
where if you don’t give 110 percent, there’s
going to be another guy right there to replace
you.
Now that Smith, who has coached at Tulanc,
Arizona and USC, has been on the sidelines
DN graphic
for almost two months. Handy said the Tigers
were starting to enjoy the games more.
Handy, Missouri’s career and single-season
passing-yardage record holder, can pass Cale
Gundy to become the Big Eight’s fifth all-time
leading passer if he throws for 184 yards on
Saturday.
“It helps eveiybody’s confidence if we play
well against Nebraska,” he said.
Cyclones aim
to get revenge
against Huskers
Py Clay Phtt
Staff Reporter
Last Saturday, Iowa State won one
game from 18-0 Nebraska.
This Saturday, the Cyclones are aim
ing for more.
The Cyclones are hoping for a little
revenge on the Comhuskers’ home court,
the NU Coliseum, in a 7:30 p.m. volley
ball match Saturday.
Iowa State is 1S-S overall and 4-2 in
the Big Eight, with one of those losses •
coming against the Huskers.
But Cyclone coach Jackie Nunez said
a win at Nebraska would be a tough task.
“When you play a team like Nebraska,
everybody has to show up to play; not
everybody did (last Saturday),” Cyclone
coach Jackie Nunez said. “Some of them
did play very well, but a couple of our
important positions didn’t show.”
Iowa State is third in the Big Eight,
behind Colorado and Nebraska. A win
this weekend would put the Cyclones in
the Big Eight title hunt.
However, the Cyclones could be walk
ing into an ambush this weekend. Not
only are the Huskers 18-0, but they also
have won their last 33 matches in the
Coliseum, dating back to their 1992
home opener against New Mexico.
“Nebraska draws a very impressive
crowd for every match at home,” Nunez
said. “The atmosphere isn’t hostile, but
it is definitely a challenge to go into their
homecourt and give them their first loss
of the year.
“Hopefully we will play up to it.”
Nunez is not counting her team out
of the Big Eight race, but she admitted
See CYCLONES on 9
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