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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1995)
Neuheisel wants team to relax against NU By Mike Kluck Staff Reporter Rick Neuheisel is no Bill McCartney. So far this season, the new Colorado foot ball coach has: — had police come to his house because of loud noise from a party he was having, — taken the Buffaloes’ freshmen recruits white water rafting to promote bonding and, — tried to eliminate the rivalry status from the Colorado-Nebraska game. But Neuheisel has kept one thing the same from McCartney’s 13 seasons as coach — winning. Neuheisel The 6-1 Buffaloes are ranked seventh in both the Associated Press and coaches polls and are 2-1 in conference play. A victory in Boulder this Saturday against the second-ranked Cornhuskers would keep the Buffaloes hopes for a Big Eight champion ship and national title alive. But a fourth consecutive loss to the Huskers might have some Buffalo fans questioning Neuheisel’s approach to the game and season. Neuheisel said the Buffaloes’ new approach to the Nebraska game was meant to reduce the pressure on the Colorado players. “There’s no question that (playing Nebraska) is a lot of anxiety for young people to go through, if you allow it to be major anxiety,” Neuheisel said. “My point is for us to relax and enjoy this.” Neuheisel said he was trying to eliminate paranoia among the Buffalo players when pre paring for the Huskers. He said it was impor tant for Colorado to realize that Nebraska, although it is the defending national cham pion, was just another team. “They put their pants on one leg at a time just like we do,” Neuheisel said. “We’re going to go out and play our style of football and see if it’s good enough. “What we want to do is do the best we can and not worry about what they’re doing.” It is difficult not to worry, Neuheisel said, See NEUHEISEL on 10 V, ' Injury puts Hessler in spotlight By Mike Kluck_ Staff Reporter Saturday wasn’t supposed to be John Hessler’s day. If the season had gone as it was supposed to for Colorado, Koy Detmer would be the Buf faloes’ starting quarterback, not Hessler. But a knee injury to Detmer in Colorado’s Sept. 23 game against Texas A&M forced Hessler into the starting quarterback position. And after Detmer reinjured his knee Oct. 7 against Kansas, the job was Hessler’s for good. Now Hessler will lead Colorado in its 2:30 p.m. game against the second-ranked Comhuskers, and at stake will be the Big Eight championship and a possible national champi onship. “This is a great opportunity for myself,” Hessler said. “I never expected that I would get the chance to go in there against Nebraska.” Already this season Hessler has contrib uted, passing for 1,049 yards and completing 55.6 percent of his passes. Although the sophomore from Brighton, Colo., said he was looking forward to starting against the Huskers, he hoped to fare better than Detmer did against Nebraska. Jn 1992, Detmer, a true freshman, started for'the injureCTKdPdgTfSfewaft, btft 'corrfhieterd only nine of 26 passes for 119 yards and threw three interceptions. Nebraska held Colorado to 144 total yards of offense, including eight yards rushing. Hessler said that even though he hadn’t talked to Detmer much about that game, he had a benefit Detmer didn’t have — playing in Boulder. “I’ve watched that game, but I know play ing in Nebraska is tough,” Hessler said. “It ain’t nothing easy to go into an environment like that with all those people. Nobody can go See HESSLER on 10 Courtesy of the University of Colorado Colorado center Bryan Stoltenberg is hoping to end his stellar career by finally beating Nebraska, something he has never done and the Buffaloes haven’t done since 1990. Stoltenberg looks forward to playing ‘game of year’ By Mike Kluck Staff Reporter Numbers mean a great deal to Colorado’s All-Big Eight center Bryan Stoltenberg — especially the number one. Instead of standing for Colorado’s rank ing, number one stands for the Buffaloes’ lone loss this season, a 40-24 setback to Kansas on Oct. 7. <, Now, Stoltenberg and the the seventh ranked Buffaloes know an additional loss definitely will eliminate Colorado from winning the national title. Stoltenberg, a candidate for the Outland Trophy, Lombardi Award and All-Ameri can honors, said the Buffaloes, 6-1 and 2-1 in the conference, still have aspirations of winning the Big Eight Conference and play ing for the national championship.’ But they must beat No. 2 Nebraska this Saturday in Boulder at 2:30 p.m. “Definitely this game is even more im portant now,” Stoltenberg said. “But as long as we still win, we’re still going to be there at the end and still have a chance for (the national championship). “If we go in with momentum and make a run at the end of the season, all the goals we set at the beginning of the year, we can still obtain.” The number three is also prominent to Stoltenberg because in his three starts against . the Comhuskers, Colorado has never won. In the last three seasons, Nebraska has won by scores of 52-7 in 1992,21 -17 in 1993 and 24-7 last season. “I’ve never beaten Nebraska,” Stoltenberg said. “We all want to beat Ne braska. For whatever reason in years past we haven’t been able to show up. We haven’t performed Well out there; we’ve made mis takes, turnovers. Nebraska is a team that can capitalize on that and make you pay for it.” Because this is Stoltenberg’s senior sea son, he said, it is his responsibility to make sure the seven starting sophomores know what to expect from the Huskers.. “I’ve never beaten Nebraska. We all want to beat Nebraska. For whatever reason in years past we haven’t been able to show up. ” BRYAN STOLTENBERG Colorado center So far this season, Stoltenberg’s leader-, ship has been shown on the field as he has not allowed a quarterback sack in more than 2,100 snaps and has not been penalized this season. Even though the Buffaloes have defeated ranked opponents Texas A&M and Okla homa, Stoltenberg said the Huskers pre sented a different challenge. “The team’s got to have a great week of preparation and come out and play the best against Nebraska,” Stoltenberg said. “We have to play our best game of the year. It’s going to be a battle, a war. It’s going to be all four quarters. It will be a dogfight to the end.” This year’s contest, however, will be different than previous battles with Ne braska. New Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel has tried to lessen the rivalry built between the two schools during Bill McCartney’s reign as Buffalo head coach. Although the red letters that used to highlight the Nebraska game in the Buffalo locker room have been taken down, Stoltenberg said, the Husker contest still has some prestige. “It’s a changing of the tide, a new phi losophy, a new way to look at it,” Stoltenberg said. “It’s another game for us, but at the same time we know it’s going to be a big game and a special game for us. “It’s the game we have been looking forward to all year.”