Sports
Monday, December 12,1994 Page 10
I
12-0 season will inspire Huskers in Miami
By Mitch Shf man
Senior Reporter
It has been five years since Nebraska played
a team ranked lower than No. 3 Miami in a
bowl game.
And it’s been six years since the Hurricanes
played a team ranked as high as No. 1 Ne
braska on Jan. 1.
But as evidenced by prior
games in the scries between
Nebraska and Miami, na
tional rankings don't mean
a whole lot when these two
teams meet.
It's been 11 years since
the No. 1 Cornhuskers met
the No. 5 Hurricanes in the
Orange Bowl following
Nebraska's 12-0 season.
After 60 minutes of what
many still consider the greatest bowl game ever
played, Miami prevailed 31-30.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said he re
members that night well, but said it has been
too long for that contest to sen e as inspiration
for this year’s 12-0, top-ranked Huskers.
“You can think about the revenge part,”
Osborne said, “but I don't think it’s going to
motivate a lot of these guys.”
But, Osborne said, Nebraska doesn’t need
motivation from the past. This season has been
cnougn.
“It would be awful nice to win for lots of
reasons,” he said. “The main reason we want
to win is simply because it’s the last game and
we’re undefeated. And it’s probably for the
national championship.”
For Osborne, a national championship
would be a first. The nation's most winning
active coach has been at the helm of Nebraska
since 1973, two years after the Huskcrs last
won college football's most sought-after prize.
But if it's to happen this season. Osborne
said, the Huskcrs will have to penetrate
Miami’s defense, which ranks first in the na
tion, allowing only IX1 yards per game.
Osborne could not say much else about the
Miami defense, anchored by Lombardi and
defensive player of the year award-winner
Warren Sapp.
Miami ranks seventh in the nation against
the run, first against the pass, and is allowing
10.8 points per game, also first in the nation.
“I guess the thing that impresses me is that
you don’t see many big plays against them,”
said Osborne, who hasn't won a bowl game
JonWaller/DN
Nebraska’s Ed Stewart tackles Wyoming’s Ryan Chrlstopherson, forcing a fumble. Stewart and the Nebraska
defense will try to stop Miami on Jan. 1 In the Orange Bowl.
since Jan. 1, 1987. “They make you work your
way down the field. It’s important that you play
error-free football.”
Nebraska’s offense has been nearly as im
pressive as the Hurricane defense this season.
The Huskers average a nation-leading 340
yards per game on the ground. Nebraska ranks
fifth in the nation in total offense and sixth in
scoring offense.
But since a blood clot sidelined Heisman
Trophy candidate Tommie Frazier in early
October, the Huskers have relied heavily on
their defense, which leads the Big Eight and
ranks in the nation’s top ten in every major
category.
Frazier has been healthy since the Husk
ers’ 13-3 victory over Oklahoma, a game in
which he did not play. Osborne said he had
not yet made a decision on whether Frazier or
Brook Berringer would start on Jan. 1.
What he did know is that it will be impor
tant for the Nebraska defense to guard the run
well. The ‘Canes, who, over the past decade,
have been known as one of the nation’s most
prolific passing teams, arc averaging 179 yards
per game on the ground this year.
“I think their offensive line is probably a
little more solid,” Osborne said. “When they
had (Gino) Torretta and Alabama beat them
in the Sugar Bowl, they had to rely almost ex
clusively on the pass.”
In the 34-13 Alabama victory Osborne was
referring to, the Hurricanes ran the ball 18
times for a total of 48 yards.
In the past, Nebraska had made the trip af
ter Christmas. Last year, the Huskers arrived
in Miami on Dec. 22. This year’s date of ar
rival is Dec. 23.
“We'll do about the same thing as last year,”
Osborne said. “With the weather pattern we
have here, I think it’s important to have some
lime to acclimate to the humidity.”
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska volleyball team's
first loss of the 1994 season was also
its only loss of the 1994 season and
its final loss of the 1994 season.
The No. 1 Cornhuskers fell to
fifth-ranked Penn State 12-15,15-11,
15-9, 15-8 Saturday night before an
NU Coliseum crowd of 4,248.
Playing in the final match of the
Mideast region with a berth in the
Final Four at stake, Nebraska, 31-1,
was outhit, outblocked and outplay ed
by the 31-3 Nittany Lions.
“Penn State played a great match,”
Nebraska coach Terry Pettit said.
“They did a couple of filings that in
dicated their experience. They played
well in the first game and lost. And
they still had the energy to come back.
I commend them for that”.
Early in the first game, Nebraska
looked as if it was going to extend its
home-winning streak to 44 matches.
The Huskers jumped to an immedi
ate 3-0 lead. But Penn State roared
back, eventually taking a 7-6 lead on
one of Nebraska’s 33 hitting errors.
The Lions increased their lead to
11-8, but Nebraska used a 7-1 run to
take the first game 15-12. With set
ter Christy Johnson serving, outside
hitter Billie Winsett slammed home
the final kill. . „
Nebraska continued to play well
v
in the second game, overcoming a 5
1 deficit to take a 10-6 lead. It was at
that point that the roof began to cave
in on Nebraska.
“We had an opportunity to take
control in the second game,” Pettit
said. “For one reason or another, we
didn’t do it.”
Behind the play of freshman Terri
Zemaitis, the Lions scored nine of the
next 10 points to win the second game
15-11 to even the match at one game
apiece.
“I think the better team won to
night,” Pettit said. “Penn State was a
better team than we were tonight.
They hit .310, and there was no way
we were going to beat them if they
hit .310.”
Nebraska hit .224, exactly .100
lower than its nation-leading average
of. 324. The Huskers were led by
Allison Weston’s 32 kills, but the jun
ior All-American candidate hit only
.299.
As a team, Nebraska was
outblocked 10-3, and the Lions fin
ished with six players registering
double-figure kill totals.
Nebraska opened a 4-2 lead in the
third game, but Penn State rolled off
eight consecutive points to momen
tarily take the crowd out of the match.
The Huskers scored the next four
points before the Lions rolled off an
other streak, this time a 5-1 run to
win game three 15-9.
™ zsazamp. - o. m lIMBMIi _J
Jay Caldaron/DN
Nabraska outslda hlttar Blllla Winsatt comas up short an a dig In Nabraska’s lass ta Pann
Stata Saturday night.
“I’m pleased with the effort we
gave,” Pettit said. “It’s been a won
derful season for us.”
Pettit said he was particularly
happy for seniors Kelly Aspcgren and
Peggy Meyer, who played the final
matches of their collegiate careers
Saturday night.
“They both had great senior
years,” he said.
With a victory in the fourth game,
Nebraska had a chance to send the
match to a rally-scoring fifth game,
but Penn State erased all hope by
opening a 7-0 lead behind the serv
ing of Claudette Otero.
Nebraska closed to 7-4 before the
Lions scored another four points to
take an 114 lead. A final rally by the
Huskers fell short with the score 14
8, and Penn State outside hitler
Zeynep Ton pounded the last ball.
“As an athlete, you never want to
feel like it's slipping away,” Winsett
said, “because if you do, it will. If I
had a feeling, I just blocked it out.
We looked at each other and said,' We
can take this away from them. They
are not going to take this away from
us in our gym.’”
