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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1995)
I — JNo. 1 kluskers rumble over Buffs in Boulder By Derek Samson_ Senior Reporter BOULDER, Colo. — Tommie Frazier showed Colorado what it missed out on last year. Frazier, who missed Nebraska s 24-7 win over the Buttaloes last sea son, racked up 281 yards of total of fense in the Cornhuskers’ 44 21 win over No. 7 Colorado Saturday in front of a Folsom field record crowd Osborne of 54,063 fans. The win pro pelled the Huskers past Florida State into the No. 1 spot in both the Associ ated Press and USA Today/CNN coaches polls. But Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said Sunday that he was wary of being in the top spot. “I think it’s still too early to get too excited about it,” he said. “Being No. 1 has its pluses and minuses. You attract a lot more attention when you’ re No. 1, and that sometimes takes more time and energy and everyone gives you their best shot. “The plus side, of course, is it puts you in the position you are striving for — to play for the national champion ship.” The victory was Nebraska’s fourth straight over Colorado. The Huskers improved to 8-0 and 4-0 in the Big Eight. Colorado fell to 6-2 and 2-2 in conference play. “We got a win on the road against a very good football team,” Osborne said. “I like the chemistry ofthis team. 1 enjoy being around them. I like the way they play. I like the way they approach the game. I like the way they practice.” Freshman I-back Ahman Green didn’t waste time getting the Huskers on the board. He took an option pitch from Frazier and turned Nebraska’s First play from scrimmage into a 57 yard touchdown in front of the Colo rado bench. Green’s run, sparked by down Field blocks from fullback Jeff Makovicka and split end Brendan Holbein, put the Huskers up 7-0 with 13:13 left in the opening quarter. “They told us al 1 week that that was going to be the First play, and I was prepared for it,” Green said. “I knew where my linemen were going to be, and everybody did a good job. Jeff always gets out there and cuts them down, and Brendan does a good job of holding the defensive backs up.” but atter the teams traded punts, the Buffaloes proved they weren’t ready to lie down, as they put together a seven-play, 85-yard scoring drive. Phil Savoy capped the drive when he hauled in an 18-yard pass from John Hessler to tie the game with 8:19 left. Colorado regained possession af ter it stopped Nebraska on a fourth down, but gave the ball right back when Husker linebacker Terrell Farley intercepted a Hessler pass and returned it 42 yards to the Colorado 13-yard line. “Our defense is getting a little bit better,” Osborne said. “I thought the strongest part of Colorado was their offense. So, I still think we played a good defensive ball game, even though we gave up 21 points. We made some big plays.” Green scored four plays later on a 1 -yard run to give the Huskers a 14-7 lead. Nebraska looked to have taken control when it followed Green’s sec ond score by holding Colorado to three \ VvN \'h * Jl 4 4 V l »* . j . 1. |L • i . 4 I « u I M . v • 3m M&Hr ^ fj-|f ®’g* |k| a This week's polls are shown with 1^^III d*3h%Cl Si 1)10■ first-place votes in parentheses Associated Press Bank School Record Points Pvs. 1 Nebraska (23) 8-0-0 1,501 2 2 Florida SL (31) 7-0-0 1,498 1 3 Florida (2) 7-0-0 1,417 3 4 Ohio SL (6) 8-0-0 1,412 4 5 Tennessee 7-1-0 1,299 5 6 Northwestern 7-1-0 1,216 8 7 Michigan 7-1-0 1,180 9 8 Notre Dame 7-2-0 1,042 12 9 Kansas SL 7-1-0 1,038 14 10 Colorado 6-2-0 880 7 11 Kansas 7-1-0 833 6 12 Penn SL 6-2-0 828 16 13 Texas 5-1-1 764 15 14 Southern Cal 6-1-1 759 13 15 Washington 5-2-1 554 17 16 Alabama 6-2-0 544 18 17 Texas A&M 5-2-0 512 19 18 Arkansas 6-2-0 487 — 19 Oregon 6-2-0 457 10 20 Syracuse 6-1-0 354 21 21 Auburn 5-3-0 330 11 22 UCLA 6-2-0 328 24 23 Texas Tech 5-2-0 307 22 24 Virginia 6-3-0 305 20 25 Oklahoma 5-2-1 172 23 USA loday/CNN Coaches Poll I Bank Sfihofil BfiSfirg Points Pvs. 1 Nebraska (28) 8-0-0 1,505 2 2 Florida St. (24) 7-0-0 1,491 1 3 Florida (1) 7.0-o if418 3 4 Ohio SL (9) 8-0-o i,414 4 5 Tennessee 7-1-0 1,237 5 6 Northwestern 7-1-0 1,212 8 7 Michigan 7-1-0 1|159 9 8 Kansas St. 7-1-0 1,030 14 9 Texas 5-1-1 902 13 10 Notre Dame 7-2-0 837 15 11 Southern Cal 6-1-1 800 10 12 Colorado 6-2-0 784 7 13 Penn St. 6-2-0 772 16 14 Kansas 7-1-0 765 6 15 Syracuse 6-1-0 717 17 16 Texas A&M 5-2-0 580 18 17 Washington 5-2-1 427 jg 18 Arkansas 6-2-0 401 19 Oregon 6-2-0 400 12 20 Virginia 6-3-0 364 20 21 UCLA 6-2-0 349 24 I 22 Alabama 6-2-0 347 22 23 Auburn 5-3-0 312 tl 24 Texas Tech 5-2-0 249 25 25 Oklahoma 5-2-1 248 21 downs and forcing a Buffalo punt. Frazier then connected with Clester Johnson for a 52-yard touchdown pass on the Huskers’ first play of the drive. But Colorado again bounced back, this time with a 15-play, 78-yard drive that used up 7:08 of the clock. The Buffaloes’ touchdown came when Lendon Henry fumbled the ball on the Nebraska 1 -yard line, and guard Heath Irwin recovered the ball in the end zone to cut Nebraska’s lead to 21 - 14 with 9:34 left in the first half. Nebraska came back with scoring drives of 72 yards and 83 yards, the first ending in a 35-yard Kris Brown field goal and the second in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Frazier to Jon Vedral, giving the Huskers a 31-14 halftime lead. After stopping Nebraska on fourth down in the opening drive of the sec ond half, Colorado faced a 4th-down and-2 on its next possession, and Hessler hit James Kidd for a 49-yard touchdown pass. :::: JQl/fr • • • t • • • • • • • • • UN Graphic “That certainly regenerated the crowd and gave Colorado momen tum,” Osborne said, “That was a real credit to our team. I think most teams would begin to crumble a little and begin to doubt themselves. We seemed to be able to regroup defensively. Nebraska, leading 31-21, began to work on the clock and took its next possession 69 yards on 14 plays in 6:12, and Brown capped it with a 36 yard field goal. After trading punts, Colorado took possession at its own 13-y ard line, but it didn’t last long. On Colorado’s first play, outside linebacker Grant Wistrom hit Hessler as he released the ball, and linebacker Doug Colman in tercepted it. Nebraska could do nothing with the ball and settled for a 37-yard field goal from Brown and a 37-21 lead See GAME on 8 ■hihhv—m-wm Nebraska quarterback Tommie by Nebraska’s Chris Dishman. B Jay Calderon/DN Nebraska split end Reggie Baul looks for yardage while Colorado’s Mike Phillips attempts to s make the tackle. Baul caught two passes for 12 yards. I I * I . ; l ■" Nebraska l-back Ahman Green looks for a hole as fullback Jeff Merkerson. Green ran for 97 yards on the day.