Sports
Tuesday, November 14, 1995 Page 5
^_I
Derek Samson
Rutz discovers
difficult times
on other side
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas
quarterback Ben Rutz watched help
lessly as Nebraska cornerback Mike
Fullman returned an interception
86 yards for a touchdown in the
fourth quarter.
It was Nebraska’s seventh louch
downofthegame.and it ended Rutz’s
first series against his former team.
Needless to say, it wasn’t a pic
ture-perfect ending.
“Yeah, I was anxious to play,” he
said. “I just wish I could’ve played a
little more. I can’t wait to play them
when I’ve got a full game.”
Rutz,ajuniorwhobacksupstarter
Mark Williams, might reconsider that
statement next year, when he should
take over the starting job.
He can ask any of the Big Eight
quarterbacks over the last couple of
years about how fun it was to play a
full game against Nebraska.
Williams found out Saturday,
playing all but the final two posses
sions. Nebraska had one sack and
six tackles for losses.
Most of all, Nebraska welcomed
Kansas to the top 10 with a 41-3 rout.
Rutz very easi ly could have been
standing on the other sideline —
laughing, joking and celebrating
during the fourth quarter.
Instead, he was standing with
thcJayhawks—watching Nebraska
demolish his teammates for almost
the entire game in front of more
than 20,000 Husker fans in
Lawrence.
Then, when Williams had had
enough, Rutz finally got to strap on
his helmet and watch his third pass
of the day be returned 86 yards by
Fullman.
“Nothing went our way,” Rutz
rxuu.
But not much has gone the right
way for Nebraska’s opponents the
last few years, something Rutz wit
nessed weekly when he was a
Husker in 1992 and 1993.
Last season, he transferred to
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in
Miami, Okla., after seeing action in
only four games in 1993.
This year, the 6-foot, 190
pounder from Oklahoma City,
Okla., decided to make a bid for the
Jayhawks’ starting position.
He was able to be part of one of
the most successful Jayhawk teams
in history.
But Saturday, he was given a
painful display of the large gap
between his former team and cur
rent team.
If he had been in a Nebraska uni
form, he might have actually seen
moreplayingtime Saturday, he would
have probably not thrown an inter
ception for a touchdown and, most
importantly, he would have won.
But Rutz has one more shot at
the Huskers — his shot.
“It’s kind of a special game be
cause you get to see some of the
fellas you know,” Rutz said.
After next season when he plays
the entire game, he might be aw
ful ly tired of seeing his former team
mates.
Samson Is a senior news-editorial
major and a Dally Nebraskan senior
sports reporter and colamnist.
ouuu Diuim/uiN
The Nebraska offensive line paves the way for Husker quarterback Tommie Frazier to dive
into the end zone. The line hasn’t allowed any sacks and is getting a lot of the credit for
Nebraska’s top-ranked rushing offense.
Offensive line earns praise
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter u'' -
After posting 776 total yards,
including 624 rushing yards, in the
73-14 win over Iowa State two
weeks ago, the Nebraska offensive
1 ine was hearing nothing but praise
— from both locker rooms.
“The speed of their linemen is
what sets Nebraska apart,” Iowa
State linebacker Michael Cooper
said. “They’re on you before you
know what’s going on. You are
more defending yourself than re
acting to the football. That’s not the
way it’s supposed to be.”
Even after Nebraska was only
able to run for 289 yards in the 41 -
3 win over Kansas Saturday, oppo
nents still praised the Huskers’ of
fensive line.
“I’ll tell you what — that is a
very big, physical, athletic crew
they have,” Kansas defensive tackle
Kevin Kopp said. “A lot of teams,
after the first few hits, will kind of
lay off. These guys just keep com
ing at you. We knew they were that
quick, but you don’t realize it until
you play them.”
Nebraska I-back Clinton Childs
has had the luxury of running be
hind an offensive line that was sup
posed to be rebuilding.
“Our offensive line is incred
ible,” Childs said. “They’ve been
doing it all year long. They haven’t
played together at all. Aaron Gra
ham was the only one coming back
off of a major amount of playing
time. I can’t believe what they’re
doing for the running game and the
whole offense.”
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said he was surprised at how well
this year’s line had done, consider
ing four of five starters were lost,
with three going to the National
Football League.
But Childs said that was just a
credit to how hard this year’s group
had worked.
“When we have a break, they’re
all together discussing who’sgoing
to do what,” Childs said. “Every
where you look, they’re together.
They’ve really done a good job
gelling together and working to
gether.”
Childs said, instead of com
paring the offensive line to last
/ear’s, he would rather count his
blessings for running behind each
bf them.
“You really can’t compare
them,” Childs said. “They’re two
great offensive lines for two years
in a row. We’re fortunate to have
these type of linemen, especially
when you consider most of them
come from towns in Nebraska.
They’re hard to describe, but they’re
getting it done.”
Graham, a senior center, said he
enjoyed the attention.
“You usually don’t get a lot of
comments in the paper, especially
from other players,” he said. “So it
feels good to see people giving us
credit. But we didn’t feel like this
was going to be a rebuilding year. If
you look at the performance scores
of some of these linemen, you can
see that they’re really athletic.
We’ve got some big 300-pounders,
but they can really move.”
Graham doesn’t have to tell
Childs.
“We know what they can do,”
Childs said. “We can’t do nothing
but tip our hats to them after every
game.”
Seniors
give Nee
confidence
By Mike Kluck
Staff Reporter
A group of si x seniors and a “pleas
ant surprise” from a freshman are giv
ing Nebraska basketball coach Danny
Nee confidence heading into his 1 Oth
season.
Nee said at the Extra Point Club
Luncheon on Monday that he was
expecting seniors Terrance Badgett,
Jaron Boone, Jason Glock, Chris
Sallee, Erick Strickland and Tom Wald
to provide leadership this season.
“Anytime we’ve had a group of
seniors like this nucleus of six, we’ve
ended up doing OK,” Nee said. “1
really have a lot of confidence. I have
so much confidence I’m building a
house, so I’m depending a lot on these
seniors.”
a.11 six seniors nave Dig nigm ex
perience and can add different aspects
to the Cornhusker squad, Nee said.
“They have to have what we call a
career best,” Nee said. “If they have
the kind of year we think they could
have, we are going to be a solid bas
ketball team. When you have seniors,
usually things work out right.”
Besides the seniors, Nee said, the
Huskers also will be counting on fresh
man Tyronn Lue to contribute early in
the season for the Huskers.
Lue, a two-time all-state selection
from Mexico, Mo., Nee said, was the
first player recruited by Nee from the
home state of a Big Eight opponent.
Lue was recruited by Arkansas, Mis
souri, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
“He’s the real deal,” Nee said.“He’s
the best player I’ve coached in a long
time. I’m really excited about him.”
Nee said junior Bernard Garner
also would be a key player for the
Huskers. Garner, a junior-college
transfer from Western Nebraska Com
munity College in Scottsbluff, was the
national junior college player of the
year last season.
“He’sagreat player, but he’s stink
ing the joint out right now,” Nee said.
“I think in time he’s going to come
around.”
With this season’s senior leader
ship and depth on the bench, Nee , -
compared this squad to the 1990-91
team that finished with a 26-8 record,
a third-place finish in the Big Eight
and an NCAA appearance.
“If you remember in the 1990-91
team, Eric Piatkowski came off the
bench and gave us a pretty good lift,”
Nee said. “I’m looking for the same
thing out of our bench this year. It’s
Inna and talented ”
Florida team considers benefits of tough match
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
If the Nebraska volleyball team is
ranked No. 1, then Florida is not too
far behind, Gator Coach Mary Wise
said.
“If they are No. 1, then we may be
IB,” Wise said. “I don’t think there is
as big a gap as we have been told. I
think our players proved that there
wasn’t that big of gap.”
No. 3 Florida, 28-1, slugged it out
with Nebraska before the Comhuskers
handed the Gators their first loss of the
season 15-4,15-13,11-15,14-16,15
7, Sunday at the NU Coliseum.
Wise said a match like that would
help both teams, but especially the
Gators.
“We’ll learn a whole lot more from
playing this than had it been another
3-0 win or if we would have not re
grouped after the first game,” Wise
said. “To come in here and take it to
five speaks highly of what our players
are capable of.”
Florida proved a lot of things to
themselves, especially coming back
from a two games to none deficit,
Aycan Gokberk said.
Gokberk, a senior middle blocker
from Izmir, Turkey, had a team-high
30 kills on 66 attempts. Gokberk, who
averaged a .460 hitting percentage
coming into the match, hit .348 against
Nebraska.
In the first game, Florida hit .094
and scored four points, its least amount
of points scored in any game this sea
son. The previous low was eight
against Florida State.
Gokberk said the Gators needed to
play at a much higher level than they
played in the first two games.
“We needed toget outofthat sloppy
play and start playing Gator volley
ball,” Gokberk said. “In the third game
‘7 don’t think there is as big a gap as we have been
told. I think our players proved that there wasn’t
that big of gap.”
MARY WISE
Rorida volleyball coach
__S!*t
we said we have more than what we ’ ve
shown. Everybody just looked at each
other and said let’s go, and I think we
played much better.”
Florida showed that by outhitting
Nebraska in the second, third and
fourth games. The Gators hit .468 in
the second game, .220 in the third and
.259 in the fourth. In those three games,
the Huskers hit .426, .155 and .217,
respectively.
Gokberk said the crowd played a
major role in the match. At one point
in the fifth game, Gokberk caught the
ball after the crowd reacted to a no
call by the officials of what the fans
thought was a double hit by Gokberk.
That point gave Nebraska a 7-6 lead,
which they never relinquished in win
ning the third game 15-7.
“When Nebraska turned it on, so
did the crowd,” Gokberk said. “You
can’t hear each other, and communi
cation breaks down. If we had played
this match in Gainesville, it would be
the same way.”