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Osborne, Huskers
analyze execution
against Cyclones
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne got exactly
what he was looking for out of Saturday’s game
against Iowa State — consistency and execu
tion.
The No. 1 Comhuskers consistently scored,
l!!F”TiIj scoring on their first 10 pos
sessions and 11 ot 13 pos
sessions. Nebraska also did
not commit a turnover lor
the fourth straight game.
The Nebraska defense ex
ecuted well, holding the Cy
clones’ offense to only 264
yards.
cutting tnose two perfor
mances together, Nebraska
Green improved to 9-0 overall and
5-0 in the Big Eight, rolling to a 73-14 win over
Iowa State in front of a crowd of 75,505 fans at
Menxvial Stadium. The Cyclones dropped to 3
6 and 1-4 in the conference.
Osborne said he was worried that after play
ing two top 10 teams, Colorado and Kansas
State, and looking ahead to a third, No. 10
Kansas this Saturday, Nebraska might not be in
the game mentally.
“Sometimes there is a tendency to have an
emotional letdown, and I didn’t think we did
that,” Osborne said. “I don’t think it was an
inspired football game, but it was a solid foot
ball game.”
Osborne’s worries didn’t last long.
It took Nebraska only 3 minutes, 12 seconds
to get on the scoreboard. The Huskers marched
69 yards on eight plays, and the drive was
capped off by quarterback Tommie Frazier’s 4
yard touchdown run on an option-keeper.
Then it took Nebraska four seconds to get the
ball back. On the ensuing kickoff, Kris Brown
popped the ball up in the air, and all of the Iowa
State players ran away from the live ball. Eric
Stokes eventually covered the 24-yard kick at
the Iowa State 41-yard line.
“It’s just one of those crazy things that hap
pens to the football where we ended up with the
ball,” Osborne said.
But Nebraska took 5:34 to score its next
touchdown. The Huskers converted two fourth
down plays as I-back Lawrence Phillips re
turned to action.
Phillips,playing forthe first time since being
suspended Sept. 10, entered the game with
10:13 left in the first quarter and picked up 2
yards on his first carry. Phillips picked up a first
down on one of the fourth-down plays.
On second-down-and-goal from the 6-yard
line, Frazier threw a shovel pass from the shot
gun to Ahman Green, who took it for a touch
down to give Nebraska a 14-0 lead.
The Cyclones’ offense didn’t even take the
field until 6:10 remained in the first quarter.
After Iowa State punted, the Huskers in
creased their lead to 20-0 in 2:38. Nebraska
drove 80 yards in seven plays, and the drive
ended with a 17-yard run by Green.
The Cyclones did manage to cut the lead to
20-7 when Ed Williams scored on a 15-yard
reception from Todd Bandhauer.
After that, the Nebraska offense seemed to
score at will.
“We had a good idea we could score every
time we’d touch the ball,” Frazier said. “We just
went out there and executed really well, and
that’s all that Coach Osborne asked of us.”
Nebraska scored again on its next posses
sion. It took Nebraska nine plays to move 82
yards and jump to a 28-7 lead after Green’s 26
yard run and Frazier’s two-point conversion.
Frazier said he was battling a sore leg that
bothered him Friday and early Saturday morn
ing. He said he knew he would play, but he just
didn’t know how much.
On Nebraska’s next drive, it was Frazier’s
arm that did the damage. He connected with
Reggie Baul on a 36-yard strike to give Ne
braska a 35-7 lead.
Green, who rushed for 176 yards on 12
carries, said the offense needed this game to
polish its attack. Nebraska had 624 yards rush
ing and 776 yards of total offense.
In the meantime, the Nebraska defense held
Troy Davis to 121 yards on 28 carries, well
below his average of 190.8 yards a game.
Defensive coordinator Charlie McBride said
he knew the Cyclones would have trouble at
Memorial Stadium since they had scored only
17 points in their two previous road games this
season.
Brown added a 38-yard field goal 27 sec
onds before the half to give the Huskers a 38-7
lead.
To start the second hal f, Iowa State again had
trouble with the kickoff as Preston Rheamy
coughed up the ball, and Tyrone Williams re
covered it at the Iowa State 23-yard line. A 16
yard shovel pass to Green set up a fourth-down
and-goal from the 1 -yard line, and Frazier scored
with 12:39 remaining.
After a Cyclone punt, Nebraska had its sev
enth one-play drive of the season when Green
turned around the left comer and raced 64 yards
for a touchdown.
Nebraska scored three more rushing touch
downs in the game, including one by Phillips.
Phillips scored on a 13-yard run with 5:37 left in
the third.
Frazier said Nebraska was now on pace to
make it to Tempe, Ariz., to play in the Fiesta
Bowl.
“We had to go out there and win,” Frazier
said. “We know if we go out there and stumble
a bit, we won’t be playing for the championship.
“We put ourselves in a position now where
we have two games to go, and if we win next
week, we have one win to go, and that’s all
we’re doing is taking them one game at a time.”
-—lj
Nebraska rover Mike Minter intercepts a Toe (
quarter. The interception led to a Kris Browi •
38-7.
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Jon Waller/DN
Nebraska fullback Jeff Makovicka runs past Iowa State’s Matt
Straight Makovicka ran for 39 yards on five carries.
k
_ Nebraska 73
Scoring 1 St 2nd 3rd 4th Iowa State 14
Iowa State 0 7 0 7
Nebraska 20 18 28 7
Neb- Frazier 4yd run (Brown kick) Neb- Frazier 1yd run (Brown kick)
Neb- Green 6yd pass from Frazier (Biown kick) Neb- Green 64yd run (Brown kick)
Neb- Green 17yd run (kick failed) Neb- Phillips 13yd run (Retzlaff kick)
ISU- Williams 15yd pass from Bandhauer Neb- Childs 13yd run (Retzlaff kick)
(Kohl kick) ISU- Norris 6yd run (Kohl kick)
Neb- Green 26yd run (Frazier run) Neb- Joel Makovicka 18yd run
Neb- Baul 36yd pass from Frazier (Brown kick) (Retzlaff kick)
Neb- FG Brown 38yd Attendance: 75.505
(Nebraska
Rushing Att. Yds..
Green 12 176 j
Phillips 12 68 j
Frazier 8 62 =
Pas sing Com p-At t. I n t. Yds.]
Frazier 10-15 6 118 j
Receiving No. Yds. j
Baul.4.'48. j
Vedral 2 35 j
Green L ■
Breakdown Neb. isu
Iowa State
Bushing.au..Yds.
Davis 28 121 .
Norris 1 6
Bandhauer 3 -6
Passing Com£.-Att. Int. Yds.
Bandhauer 11-24 2 143
Receiving No. Yds.
® ® ®^®®®^®®®®®®^®®® ® ®^®®®®®®® ® ®^®®®®®®®®®^®^000000000 00000000000•
Horacek 5 66
Williams 4 45
Guggenheim 1 19
Neb. ISU
First Downs 37 15 Punts-avg. 0-0 6-36
Rushes-yards 68-624 32-121 Fumblcs-Lost 0-0' 2-1
Passing yards 152 143 Penalties-Yards 8-89 4-36
Return Yards_ 73 133 Time of Possession 35:59 24:01
DN graphic
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Nebraska l-back Lawrence Phillips breaks through the Iowa State defense. Phillips ran for 68 yards :
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