Sports
Tuesday, October 24, 1995 Page 7
Mitch Sherman
Sooner coach
blowing smoke
in Oklahoma
Gary Gibbs is sitting in a room
somewhere with a little smile on his
face.
Not because the Oklahoma foot
ball team is struggling. Not because
Howard Schnellenberger hasn’t
lived up to expectations. Gibbs is
smiling because he knows the fans
of Oklahoma were wrong.
It has taken us all of 50 days to
learn that Schnellenberger is not
what the blind folks of the Sooner
state had hoped. Schnellenberger is
not success in a package. Coaches
do not magically turn teams from 6
6 to 12-0. Coaches do not change
teams. Players change teams.
The Sooners, who were man
handled by Kansas Saturday at
Norman, have looked no better than
any Gibbs-coached team in the past
month. The major problem with
Gibbs, Sooner fans screamed last
year, was that he could not beat
Colorado, Texas and Nebraska.
Nobody said anything about
Kansas.
False expectations were built
after Oklahoma drubbed San Di
ego State, Southern Methodist and
North Texas to open the season.
Those expectations were shattered
on Sept. 30 when Colorado trashed
Oklahoma 38-17.
“Overall our football team has
pleased me very greatly,”
Schnellcnberger said of the 4-2-1
Sooners on Monday. “We have
made some individual errors that
have been a problem. It is discon
certing that we have a veteran team
with the exception of the quarter
back position, and we still have
these inconsistencies.”
Gibbs, who coached Oklahoma
through the six most miserable years
of Sooner football in the past 40
seasons, was mistakenly blamed
with the full responsibility of tear
ing down the Oklahoma tradition.
Maybe it wasn’t Gibbs. Maybe it
was the probation and the stigma
that came along wi th a program that
won from cheating.
Since his exile following last
year’s embarrassing Copper Bowl
loss to Brigham Young — dubbed
by Schnellenbergcr as “the low
point of Oklahoma football” —
Gibbs’ name has hardly been heard
in Norman. Schnellenberger has
spoken only of the “new era of
Oklahoma football.”
Refusing to mention Gibbs by
name, Schnellenberger compared
the Copper Bowl to Pearl Harbor.
Imagine the bombs that must have
exploded around the Sooner Na
tion as the loyal followers of the
crimson and cream realized that
their new coach was simply blow
ing smoke.
“It’s no secret that I’ve said we
intend to win the national champi
onship as quickly as is humanly
possible to do it and as often as is
humanly possible to do it,”
Schnellenberger said way back in
July.
Looks like it might be a while.
Sherman is a junior news-editorial
major and the Dally Nebraskan assis
tant sports editor.
Rival CU promises rousing action
By Mike Kluck
Staff Reporter
Former Colorado football coach
Bill McCartney finally has gotten his
wish.
When McCartney became the Buf
faloes’ coach in 1982, he designated
Nebraska as Colorado’s rival, a term
the Huskers never accepted—appar
ently until this year.
Because of a new rule this year in
the Big Eight, each team can desig
nate one road opponent as its rival.
The team then will be able to take all
of its senior players on the trip.
The new rule means that the
Comhuskers can take 85 to 90 players
to Boulder, Colo., said Dan Young,
Nebraska’s offensive line and special
teams coach. For any other confer
ence road game, the Huskers could
take only the conference maximum of
66 players with them.
“McCartney should be happy to
Countdown
i i
5*32 tDays
know they’re the designated road ri
val,” Young said at the Extra Point
Club Luncheon Monday. “He always
wanted us to be his rival. He’ll be
happy to know that we finally kind of
consented.”
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
he did not know why Colorado was
chosen as the designated rival, but he
said the decision was up to the play
ers.
“It isn’t because of any special rea
son, but I guess the players would
rather fly to Colorado than ride a bus
to Kansas,” Osborne said. “I think that
(Colorado) was their wish, although
See YOUNG on 8
Hell week to psych Buffs
for upcoming Husker match
By Mike Kluck
Staff Reporter
AMES, Iowa — There is going
to be hell to pay for the Colorado
football team this week.
But it won’t be because of the
Buffaloes’ sluggish performance in
their 50-28 victory over Iowa State
on Saturday. Instead Colorado’s
persecution will come in prepara
tion for No. 2 Nebraska.
“Everyone’s going to be fired
up, and it’s going to be hell week,”
Colorado quarterback John Hessler
said. “It’s the week when every
senior gets on the scout team guys,
and everyone goes hard. It’s kind of
crazy.”
For Buffalo junior middle line
backer Matt Russell, hell week
comes after the two worst weeks of
Colorado’s season. The Buffaloes
lost to Kansas 40-24 on Oct. 7, a
team they had beaten the last 10
years, and then had two weeks to
prepare for the Cyclones.
With just 14 minutes left in the
game, Iowa State tailback Troy
Davis ran 45 yards for a touchdown
to give the Cyclones a 28-27 lead.
“I was nervous when they
jumped ahead of us,” Russell said.
“I started thinking to myself,' Man,
we can’t let this happen to us again.’
“We were just waiting for a
See COLORADO on 8
Jeff Haller/DN
Nebraska linebacker Grant Wistrom closes in on Kansas
State quarterback Brian Kavanagh in Saturday’s game.
Wistrom and fellow end Jared Tomich combined for eight
tackles and four quarterback sacks against the Wildcats.
Linebackers test QBs,
honor Husker tradition
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Editor
Broderick Thomas started the tra
dition. Mike Croel, JefTMills, Travis
Hill and Trev Alberts established the
dominance. Dwayne Barrisand Donta
Jones won a national title.
Now it’s time for Jared Tomich
and Grant Wistrom to shine. And Sat
urday against Kansas State, that’s just
what the pair of bookends on the Ne
braska defensive line did.
Nebraska outside linebackers have
become notorious for turning up the
heat in big games, making life uncom
fortable for quarterbacks.
“For the first time this year,”
Tomich said after Nebraska’s 49-25
win over Kansas State Saturday, “the
front line did a good job of getting in
there. We were getting in the
quarterback’s face all day.”
Wildcat quarterbacks Matt Miller
and Brian Kavanagh were sacked a
season-high nine times for 82 yards in
losses on Saturday. This week against
No. 7 Colorado, the Comhusker de
fense will face another inexperienced
signal caller, John Hessler, who has
started just three games in his career.
“That has always been our defen
sive philosophy, to get to the quarter
back,” said Wistrom, who sacked
Miller twice on Saturday. “As long as
it is clean, we want to knock him down
and make sure he knows every time he
steps back in the pocket, there is going
to be somebody breathing down his
neck.”
Wistrom, a sophomore from Webb
City, Mo., was one of two freshmen
last season not to redshirt—Octavious
McFarlin was the other — and was
named Big Ei ght defensive newcomer
of the year.
Tomich has taken a different path
to the top of the Nebraska depth chart.
The junior walk-on from St. John,
Ind., sat out his first season and
redshirted his second year in Lincoln.
Asa sophomore last year, he earned
a scholarship backing up Harris, and
made 23 tackles, including one sack.
This season, he leads the team with six
sacks.
“I haven’t seen very many college
rush ends that are better than Jared,”
Wistrom said.
True freshman Chad Kelsay,
Wi strom’s backup, said he had learned
a lot from watching Tomich, Wistrom
and senior Luther Hardin this fall.
“Our two starters are probably the
best in the nation,” Kelsay said. “Just
talking to them, you know if it’s a big
game, it’s time to step it up.”
Tomich said he would have his
eyes on Hessler while watching film
this week, and also during the game at
Boulder on Saturday.
“It’s probably our most important
goal to get in the quarterback’s face
every time he comes up to the line,”
Tomich said. “We want him to know
where we are, and to worry every time
he passes the ball that one of us will be
coming up behind him.”
Wrestler dismissed for ‘couple of boo-boos’
By Tim Pearson
Senior Editor
The Nebraska wrestling team will have to do
without senior Mike Eierman this season.
Before the start of practice this fall, Eierman,
.., who wrestled at 142 pounds last
season, was dismissed from the
team for breakingtrainingrules,
Cornhusker coach Tim
Neumann said.
Neumann wouldn’t elaborate
on the circumstances surround
ing the dismissal of Eierman,
who was an All-American as a
freshman.
Eierman . “H<r, P?ade a couP'e of bo°
boos, Neumann said.
Eierman, from Chicago, finished fifth at the
NCAA meet in 1993 to gain All-American honors.
But in the past two years, Eierman has not fared
as well at the NCAA meet. Two years ago, he did
not compete in the meet after Justin Ware beat him
out for the starting spot at 142 pounds, and last year
he lost in the first round.
“Last year, Michael was not the real Michael,”
Neumann said.
Even though Eierman is not wrestling, he is still
attending classes at the university and is doing well,
Neumann said. Neumann said he still talked to
Eierman three times a week.
“Michael’s been one of my favorite people,” he
said.
Neumann said Eierman probably wouldn’t re
turn any time this season.
“It’s not like that if he does A, B, C and D, he’ll
be back on the team,” he said. “The chances are not
good, but I’ll never say never.”
Three redshirt freshmen are battling for
Eierman’s spot at 142 pounds. Jake Roe, Dusty
Morris and Ryan Bauer are dead even right now,
Neumann said. All three wrestlers were part of
Nebraska’s third-ranked recruiting class two years
ago.
Roe, from Whitney Point, N.Y., was named a
1 Oth-team high school All-American at 135 pounds
by Amateur Wrestling News. Morris, from Cody,
Wyo., was an eighth-team All-American at 140
pounds, while Bauer, from Bismarck, N.D., was a
ninth-team All-American at the same weight.
“We haven’t had any real matches,” Neumann
said, “but all three of them have improved a ton.”
NOTES:
• Nebraska has four wrestlers rated in the top
three at their respective weight classes. Both junior
Tolly Thompson at heavyweight and junior Temoer
Terry at 150 pounds are ranked No. 1 in the country.
Junior Ryan Tobin at 190 pounds and sophomore
Brad Canoyer at 126 pounds are ranked No. 3.
• Neumann said Terry spent part of the summer
in Atlanta working out with the World Team, and
Thompson, the defending national champion at
heavyweight, added 25 pounds over the summer.
