By Mitch Sherman_
Senior Editor
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kan
sas football team learned Saturday
that it’s difficult to pass, run, block
and catch after you shoot yourself in
the foot.
Before a half-Husker partisan anti
half-frozen crowd of 50,300 fans al
Memorial Stadium, No. 10 Kansas
outplayed top-ranked Nebraska in the
first half, but several costly mistakes
cost the Jayhawks a chance to capture
momentum. The Cornhuskcrs domi
nated the second half,cruising to a41 -
3 win, which by nearly all accounts
was much closer than the score indi
cated.
Kansas fell to 8-2 overall and 4-2
in the Big Eight. Nebraska improved
to 10-0 and 6-0 in the conference.
“I thought at half time, it was
anybody’s game,” Nebraska coach
Tom Osborne said. “We scored on a
couple of fortunate situations in the
first half, and we hadn’t moved the
ball as well as they had.”
At the half, Nebraska had scored
only one offensive touchdown, lost
two fumbles, rushed for 79 yards and
gained only live first downs. The
Jayhawks, meanwhile, had 15 first
downs and 185 yards passing, but
only three points.
“I thought Kansas played really
well early in the ball game,” Osborne
said. “They seemed to be a little more
intense, a little more excited than we
were. As the game went on, we got
into it a little better and figured out
what they were doing.”
Kansas took the opening kickoff
and marched 48 yards to the Husker
33-yard line before two Mark Will
iams passes fell incomplete, turning
the ball over to Nebraska on downs.
Williams, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound
senior, nickeled and dimed the Husker
defense for 242 yards, completing 25
of 47 passes.
“They had a little more yards than
we would have hoped they would
have,” Nebraska outside linebaeker
Jared Tomich said, “but when you
keep the No. 10 team out of the end
zone defensively, we did real well.”
Nebraska gained 9 yards on its first
three plays, but Kansas wide receiver
Isaac Byrd bobbled Jesse Kosch’s first
punt in 14 days. The ball bounced 15
yards into the end zone, and Jon Vcdral
recovered it for a touchdown.
Later in the first quarter, Iomich
drilled June Henley, forcingthe Kansas
tailback to fumble at the Jayhawk 30
yard line. Tony Veland fell on the ball,
and two plays later, Husker quarterback
Tommie Frazier ran 25 yards to the 1
yard line. Frazier scored on the next play
to put the Huskers up 14-0.
For the day, the senior Heisman
Trophy candidate ran for 99 yards and
two scores on 10 carries and com
pleted 10 of 15 passes for 86 yards,
one touchdown and one interception.
On a third-quarter, 12-yard comple
tion toClester Johnson, Frazier passed
Jerry Tagge to move into first place on
the all-time Nebraska total offense
charts. Frazier now has 5,314 total
yards and 78 career touchdowns, both
school records.
Kansas took its first possession of
the second quarter 86 yards to the
Nebraska 3-yard line, but tough Husker
run support forced the Jayhawks to
settle fora 19-yard Jeff McCord field
goal that cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-3
with 11:23 to play in the first half.
“It’s always frustrating to give up
the short passes,” Nebraska linebacker
Phil Ellis said. “But as long as we
don’t give up the deep ball, we can get
to them. A team can only go so far
throwing those short passes. We bent
a little, but we didn’t break.”
Brook Berringer replaced Frazier
—who spent five minutes in the locker
room having his right leg retaped —
on the next possession. On a second
down-and-one play from the Husker
49-yard line, Berringer attempted a
lateral to Lawrence Phillips, but the
ball fell short, and Kansas linebacker
Dick Holt recovered the fumble,
Nebraska’s first turnover in 18 quar
ters.
Kansas went three plays and out,
and Sean McDermott’s long snap
sailed well over Kansas punier Darrin
Simmons’ head to the Jayhawk 23
yard line. Nebraska, however, failed
to capitalize, giving the ball back to
Kansas after a 2-yard loss by Frazier
on a fourth-down-and-two play from
the Kansas 15-yard line.
The Jayhawks again threatened to
score, but Williams’ pass was de
flected and picked off by Tyrone Wil
liams at the Nebraska 11-yard line.
“1 was very surprised because that
very seldom ever happens to me,”
Williams said. “Everybody on the field
gels some lucky interception except
me.”
But Nebraska, trying to mount a
last-minute scoring drive, returned the
favor to Kansas on an Ahman Green
fumble recovered by Chris Jones at
the Kansas 46-yard line.
Williams completed two passes,
and Tomich was called for a 15-yard
facemask penalty that gave the
Jayhawks a first down at the Husker
22-yard line. McCord entered to at
tempt a 39-yard field goal, but time
“/ thought at halftime,
it ivas anybody's game.
We scored on a couple
of fortunate situations
in the first half and we
hadn't moved the ball as
well as they had."
TOM OSBORNE
NU football coach
ran out before Kansas could snap the
ball.
Nebraska scored on three of its
first four possessions of the second
half, the first touchdown coming on a
1 -yard pass from Frazier to tight end
Vershan Jackson.
Phillips, in his second game back
after serving a six-game suspension,
was Nebraska’s second-leading
rusher, gaining 47 yards on 10 at
tempts. The junior from West Covina,
Calif., carried the load on Nebraska’s
second touchdown of the third quar
ter. He ran three times for 23 yards,
the final six yards resulting in a touch
down that gave Nebraska a command
ing 28-3 lead with 4:04 to play in the
third quarter.
Frazier added a 5-yard scoring
plunge, and cornerback Mike Fullman
intercepted a Ben Rutz pass late in the
game and raced 86 yards for a touch
down to close the scoring with 6:46 to
play in the game.
“KU played really good in the first
half and made us buckle down,”
Frazier said. “We got set on what we
had to do and stayed focused. My
team came out and got the victory, and
that’s all I care about.”
Nebraska’s Mike Minter, left, ar
«\v,v • v.v ' vWKWftv v vl E
Jon Waller/DN i
Kansas coach Glen Mason argues with officials at the end of I
the first half. The Jay hawks weren’t able to set up to kick a field I
goal because the clock had started and expired. I
Ifni I K‘\ Km Nebraska 41
Scoring ist 2nd 3rd 4th Kansas 3 |
Nebraska 14 0 14 13 I
Kansas 0300 I
Neb- Vedral fumble recovery in end zone Neb- V. Jackson lyd pass from Frazier
(Brown kick) (Brown kick)
Neb- Frazier lyd run (Brown kick) Neb- Phillips 6yd run (Brown kick)
KU- FCi McCord 19yd Neb- Frazier 5yd run (Brown kick)
Neb- Fullman 86yd int. return (kick failed)
4
4
1 Rushing au..Yds.
1 . i n 99
Frazier 47
I Phillips %
Green
i Passing Con\p;Mt. int....X^:.
...in*is l ko i
Frazier . 1U
I.r.IT..!
2 13
1 14
I Kll
Breakdown Neb. *.
_
Rushing.au. Yds.
Levine 13 47.
Henley j 14
Williams 3 7
Passing Comp.-Att. Int. Yds.
Williams.27-’4'5.2.2'4'3
Rutz 3-5 i 3i
Receiving no. Yds.
Levine.9.51.
Byrd 6 71
Smith 6 48
Neb. KU
First Downs 20 25 Punts-avg. 3-42 4-33.
Rushcs-yards 51-289 32-72 F'umblcs-Lost 3-2 3-2
Passing yards 86 273 Penalties-Yards 2-20 5-42
Return Yards 166 106 11 me of Possession 28:36 31:24
—
DN graphic
Nebraska q^rterbaek Tommie Frazier breaks free from the grasp of Kansas defensive tackle Dewe*
