Pacific coach expects to compete, not win
By Milch Sherman
Senior Editor
Pacific football coach Chuck Shelton is not
worried about winning this weekend.
Asking his players to defeat the No. 2 team
in the nation, Shelton said, would be unrealis
tic.
“They absolutely are
committed to playing, he
said. “We hold them re
sponsible for being ready
to play. It’s a challenge.
And certainly I think die
kids will accept the chal
lenge.
it l noia tnem accouni
_ able for beating Nebraska,
eu then we may not see good
Sneiton results. But if I hold them
responsible for being prepared and playing as
well as they can, this can be a good game for
us.”
Pacific, 1-2, is coming into Lincoln off a
56-24 loss to Fresno State, a game in which the
Tigers were not prepared to play.
“Fresno State is a good team,” Shelton said.
“They are probably a better team than Pacific.
But we were self-destructive. We didn’t play a
good football game, and we beat ourselves in
many ways.”
One week before the Tigers’ poor showing
against Fresno State, Pacific defeated Oregon
State 23-10, the school’s first win over a Pac
10 opponent in more than 12 years.
“It was a huge win,” Shelton said, “huge
because it was local. We played almost mis
take-free football and beat a Pac-10 team. That
makes it big right there, because we are a Big
West team.”
Shelton, who coached Utah State from 1986
91, has brought four teams to Lincoln in the
last decade. Including last year’s Pacific squad
that lost to the Comhuskers 70-21, his teams
have been defeated by an average score of 62
18.
Despite the Tigers’ apparent lack of com
petitiveness, Shelton said he wouldn’t pull the
Nebraska game from the Pacific schedule if he
were presented with the opportunity.
“We are playing as class a program as there
is in the U.S.,” Shelton said. “In my opinion,
they are the best program in the nation. Their
program and the atmosphere there is some
thing that you wouldn’t be able to duplicate
anywhere, and I’d like my players to be a part
of it.”
Shelton said he had watched film of
Nebraska’s three offensive outbursts this sea
son, drawing the conclusion that no defense
could completely shut down the Husker attack.
Nebraska has averaged 63 points and more
than 650 yards a game in three wins.
“They are awesome,” he saich “I think they
have taken college offense to another level.
They do what they do so well that there is no
answer for it.”
After last week’s 77-28 win over Arizona
State, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne was ac
cused of running up the score by Sun Devil
coach Bruce Snyder. Shelton said that issue
had become the “topic of the year.” But the
Pacific coach said he wasn’t worried about
Osborne exploiting Pacific.
“My stance on it is this: I cannot dictate to
a coach what he needs to do,” Shelton said. “I
think there are some situations where coaches
have intentionally run up the score. But in
games against Tom Osborne, I certainly don’t
think that has been the case.
“In fact, they may have hurt themselves just
trying not to do that. I don’t think Nebraska got
a whole lot out of that game against us last
year.”
Soccer team resists losses, weather
By Todd Walkenhorst _
Staff Reporter
It’s too early for a must-win situ
ation, but then again, it’s much too
early for snow as well.
The Nebraska soccer team may
face both this weekend as it prepares
to battle Kansas and Wyoming at the
Ethel S. Abbott Soccer Park Com
plex.
On Wednesday, the Comhuskers
practiced in less than ideal condi
tions, Coach John Walker said.
“It was raining, snowing and hail
ing,” Walker said. “Sometimes these
type of practices are fun and build
morale.”
Nebraska is coming off the Adidas
Invitational last weekend, where they
dropped a pair of games to ranked
opponents.
This weekend the Huskers will
play host to two first-year programs.
“I think they are must-win games,”
Walker said. “Both Kansas and Wyo
ming will be competitive, and I don’t
expect easy games.
“Wyoming has not won yet, but
every game they have played has
been close.”
The Huskers first have to play
Kansas tonight at 5, moved up from 7
because of the weather. The Jayhawks
are in their first year, which gives the
Big Eight three schools with soccer
as a varsity sport. Next year, the new
Big 12 Conference will have seven
schools with soccer programs.
“The conference will be good for
all of the schools,” Walker said.
“There’s plans for a postseason tour
ney, and it will set up some of die
natural rivalries you see in other
sports.”
Despite losing four of their first
five games, the Huskers still are gain
ing confidence, Walker said.
Nebraska has never lost three
games in a row, and it had Qnly four
losses all of last year.
“They’re still playing hard and
battling; that’s important,” Walker
said. “We just have to rectify the
wrongs, keep up the morale, and make
sure there are no cracks in the ar
mor.”
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Picks from tlie
Hicks
staffers pick
the winners of 10 major college
football games this weekend,
with winners in italic:
Texas A&M at Colorado
UNLV at Iowa St.
Akron aX Kansas St
Oklahoma St. at Wyoming
Houston at Kansas
Northeast Louisiana at Missouri
North Texas at Oklahoma
Texas at Notre Dame
Southern Cal at Arizona
Pick the score
Pacific 16 at Nebraska 76
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