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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 1994)
-Travis Haylns/DN Nebraska quarterback Brook Borrlngor trios to elude a Kansas tackier. Borrlngor throw for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Nebraska fullback Brian Schuster carries the ball on Saturday. ‘Air’ Berringer over KU’s head By Mitch thwnwi _ Senior Reporter The transformation is complete. Six games after taking over for injured quarterback Tommie Frazier, Brook Berringer has taken the Cornhuskcr option game and turned it into a dangerous, balanced attack. The junior from Goodland, Kan., who has completed 64 percent of his passes this season, directed the Ne braska offense to 336 yards rushing and an unheard-of 267 yards passing in a 45-17 win over Kansas at Me morial Stadium on Saturday. Not since the days of Dave Humm and Vince Ferragamo have Nebraska fans seen a quarterback throw like Berringer did Saturday. In front of a 201st straight sellout crowd of 75,543, Berringer turned in the seventh best passing day in Ne braska history and finished only 30 yards short of Humm’s record total of 297 yards set in 1973. The Husker defense played a key role in the early success of the offense, intercepting Jayhawk quarterback Asheiki Preston's first two passes. “I think the turnovers set the tone for the game,” Berringer said. Preston’s first pass, picked off by Tony \fcland at the Kansas 18-yard line, led to a career-long 35-yard field goal by Tom Seiler to give Nebraska a 3-0 lead. On the ensuing Kansas possession, Tyrone Williams inter cepted Preston at the Nebraska 30 yard line. Two plays later, Berringer hit split end Reggie Baul for a 51 -yard touch down pass to give Nebraska a 10-0 lead with 10:19 to play in the first quarter “It’s always a confidence factor,” Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said. “If somebody comes in here and gets down 14 points early, it’s a little tou * er to come back.” e Jayhawks were forced to punt on their next possession, but Karccm Moss’ fumble on the return was re covered by Don Davis and taken to the Husker 24-yard line. Kansas went nowhere, and Jeff McCord hit a 41 yard field goal to trim Nebraska's lead to 10-3. The Huskcrs wasted no time scor ing again, going 80 yards in five plays, with all but three yards com ing through the air. Nebraska I-back Lawrence Phillips, who scored the Huskers' second touchdown, was held to 35 yards in the first haifbut finished the game with 153 yards on 23 carries, his 10th straight game with more than 100 yards. After another Kansas punt, Ne braska went 58 yards in three plays, scoring on Cory Schlcsingcr’s 40 yard run to take a 24-3 lead with 2:24 to go in the first quarter. Kansas again could not move the ball, and Nebraska responded with another quick strike. A shovel pass from Berringer to Damon Benning that went for 37 yards highlighted the 60-yard drive, and the Husker lead rose to 31-3. The early lead may have affected the defense. Osborne said. “It’s always hard,” Osborne said, “once you get ahead three or four touchdowns, to maintain your defen sive intensity. 1 think that happened a little bit today.” The Husker defense, which had not allowed more than seven points in a conference game, allowed the Jayhawks into the end /one on a 6 yard run by June Henley with 3:41 to go in the first half. Berringer came right back, driv ing the Huskers 80 yards and con necting with Clestcr Johnson for a 64 yard touchdown pass to end the first half with Nebraska ahead 38-10. A 249-yard first-half passing per formance was complimented by the Huskers’ 201 yards rushing in the second half. Phillips, who ran for 118 yards on 10 carries in the third quar ter, did most of the damage. Kansas added a touchdown with seven minutes left in the game to end the scoring. Berringer said the Huskers weren't worried about a letdown after a big win over Colorado, and they wouldn't experience a letdown this week against Iowa State. “We are on a mission,” he said, “and we arc going to get it done no matter what it takes. Every game is a national championship for us.” Nebraska 45 Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Kansas 17 Nebraska 24 14 7 0 Kansas 3 7 0 7 Neb- Sieler 35 yd. Field Goal Neb- Baul 51 yd. pass from Berringer (Sieler Kick) KU- McCord 41 yd. Field Goal Neb- Phillips 4 yd. run (Sieler kick) Neb- Schlesinger 40 yd. run (Sieler kick) Neb- Makovicka 8 yd. run (Sieler kick) KU- Henley 6 yd. run (McCord) Neb- Johnson 64 yd. pass from Berringer (Sieler kick) Neb- Phillips 22 yd. run (Sieler kick) KU- Levme 1 yd. run (McCord kick) Rushing Phillips Benning Schlesinger Childs r 7 Phillips Baul 3 n 1 ! 3.1 Breakdown Neb Kansas First Downs 24 12 Rushes-yards 49-336 45-141 Passing 267 129 Return Yards 39 26 Comp-Att-lnt 13-18-0 8-23-2 Punts-avg. 3-49 6-39.5 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-0 Penalties-Yards 4-26 2-11 Time of Possession 28:44 31:16 DN graphic Nebraska llnaback* gama at Nabraaka.