——
Sports
Thursday, August 24, 1995 Page 12
Trevor Parks
Dinner offer
starts dreams
of higher office
When I woke up Monday morn
ing, I was expecting a boring first
day of classes.
I knew I was assigned to write a
story about “Sports Byline USA”
host Ron Barr, who was doing his
show live from the governor’s
mansion Monday night.
I wasn’t expecting dinner with
the governor.
But when the invitation came
Monday afternoon, I couldn’t pass
it up.
When I arrived at the mansion
at 7 p.m. for dinner, I figured I’d sit
with members of the media, and
we’d talk about Nebraska sports
during our meal.
Wrong.
Since I was officially working,
I was asked to join Gov. Ben
Nelson, Barr, former Nebraska
Secretary of State Allen Beermann
and Lincoln Journal-Star sports
writer Ken Hambleton at their
table.
I accepted, knowing that I would
be in for an interesting evening.
I wasn’t disappointed.
During the meal, I basically
hoped to avoid spilling or drop
ping anything and survive without
embarrassing myself.
I’m happy to report I survived
without incident and enjoyed lis
tening to stories swapped by these
veterans of their business.
I wasn’t overwhelmed, but it
did help my ego some sitting with
these well-known people, and I
wasn’t excluded from the conver
sation.
There I was, chatting with the
governor, when he asked me how
involved people on campus were
in politics and the voting process.
That shocked me. As a sports
reporter, my idea of a political
issue is the debate about the Husk
ers’ starting quarterback.
But I tried to answer. I told him
a lot of studentSVeren’t involved
because there wasn’t a voice in
office to represent them.
Barr backed me up, saying that
people ages 25-50 are represented
much more than students.
Then Nelson asked me if we
should appoint people on campus
to become more active.
I said I couldn’t answer that
question, since I live off campus.
A typical sports reporter’s answer.
The night went on and topics
from Micron to Nelson’s plans the
night of the Nebraska-Oklahoma
State football game were discussed.
Nelson talked of visiting Ban
on a business trip this fall in San
Francisco and playing golf up the
road at Pebble Beach. ?
l was tmnking, uee, mayoe 1
should run for governor someday.”
I’m not much for dinner con
versation, but I made it through
dinner without sticking my foot in
my mouth, at least not too many
times.
It just goes to show you that
when you wake up in the morning,
you never know where your feet
might take you.
Parks Is a sealor aews-edltorlal raqjor
aad a Dally Nebraskaa sealor reporter
aadcoiaraalst
Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier hands off to fullback Jeff Makovicka during the scrimmage Wednesday. Frazier corseted0**
seven of eight passes for 125 yards.
I
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Editor
Today is the big day.
The scores are in. The results have
been tallied. Only the question re
mains.
Who is Nebraska’s starting quar
terback?
Nebraska football coach Tom
Osborne said Wednesday after the
Comhuskers’ third and final pre
season scrimmage that either Tommie
Frazier or Brook Berringer would be
chosen today as the starter for next
Thursday’s game against Oklahoma
State.
“We will grade the film and we’ll
decide,” Osborne said.
Practices from last spring and this
fall will be factored into the decision,
Osborne said.
Earlier this month, Osborne said
Frazier tested slightly better than
Berringer during spring drills.
This fall, the seniors’ statistics
have been nearly identical. Frazier
and Berringer both have completed
15 passes; Berringer in five fewer
attempts. Frazier has thrown for 33
more yards and three more touch
downs. Both have thrown for one
interception.
The Husker defense has kept both
quarterbacks in check on the ground.
Frazier has lost 18 yards on eight
carries, and Berringer has gained 16
yards on seven carries.
“I don’t know how much things
will change,” Osborne said, “but we ’ll
take a look at it and see where the
numbers lie, and however it comes
out, that’s the way we will go.”
Regardless of the starting quarter
back, both Frazier and Berringer will
see significant playing time against
the Cowboys next week in Stillwater,
Okla.
The battle for the top spot appar
ently has brought out the best in the
quarterbacks.
Frazier — who started 23 con
secutive games dating back to his
freshman year before missing seven
games a year ago because of a blood
clot in his right leg — completed
seven of eight passes Wednesday for
125 yards and one touchdown.
Berringer hit six of eight passes for
118 yards and a touchdown.
“I think both quarterbacks had
some good plays, and both had some
bad ones,” Osborne said.
Once before, Frazier and Berringer
have dueled for the top quarterback
spot Last December, Osborne chose
Judgment
Day
Player Oamp-Att/% Yards hits, TB's
Brook Berringer 15-21/71% 211 1 2
Passing Statistics from Nebraska's three preseason scrimmages
Source: Nebraksa Sports Information Department DN staff chart
Frazier to start the Orange Bowl
against Miami after Frazier outper
formed Berringer in scrimmages lead
ing up to the game.
Frazier started the game, but was
replaced midway through the first
half by Berringer, who led Nebraska
to its first touchdown. Frazier was
reinserted during the fourth quarter
with the Huskcrs trailing 17-7.
The Bradenton, Fla., native di
rected Nebraska to two touchdowns
in the game’s final minutes, securing
Nebraska’s first national title in 23
years.
Offense explodes in final scrimmage
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Editor
Depending on who you ask,
Wednesday’s two-hour and 15-minute
Nebraska football scrimmage was ei
ther a smashing success or a step in
the wrong direction.
The offense, sparked by the sharp
play of true freshman Ahman Green,
dominated the Comhusker defense in
Nebraska’s third and final scrimmage
before its season opener against Okla
homa State next Thursday.
Green, a highly touted I-back from
Omaha Central High School ham
pered the last two weeks by tired legs
from two-a-days, broke free from the
pack Wednesday, running for 105
yards and a touchdown on 10 carries
in Nebraska’s third and final pre
season scrimmage.
Listed fourth on the first depth
chart of the fall, Green was the lead
ing rusher in a scrimmage dominated
by the Huskers’ offense. No. 11-back
Lawrence Phillips gained 95 yards
and scored a touchdown cm six car
ries.
The scrimmage, which pitted the
top units against the scout teams nearly
75 percent of the time, was conducted
with a running scoreboard and clock
to simulate game conditions.
“It was about as close as we could
make it (to a game),” Coach Tom
Osborne said. “The only thing that is
tough is to get a scout team to ap
proximate what Oklahoma State
would look like. Obviously, you can’t
“Every day in practice, we are hitting hard, and
we are preparing real well. There’s a lot ofpressure
on our shoulders, and we want to play well. ”
JEFF MAKOVICKA
Nebraska fullback
do that very well.”
The Huskers did not pit the first
team defense against the top offense.
-- “We went ones against twos and
twos against ones,” Osborne said.
“The thing that we are doing there is
we are playing our defense against
our offense, so we are not preparing
anything. Of course, we don’t really
know what Oklahoma State is going
to do anyway. So, I don’t know if it
makes any difference.”
The offense pummeled the defense
for much of the workout, rushing for
350 yards and passing for 405 yards.
Osborne said the running backs
See SCRIMMAGE on 14
