Sports
Wednesday, December 6, 1995 Page 7
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ToddWalkenhorst
Students need
decoder ring
to find tickets
What happened? Don’t tell me
you missed it.
How could you miss the Fiesta
Bowl student ticket lottery? It ran
for a whole two days. I know, you
did not hear about it.
Don’t be fooled. The Nebraska
ticket office is not your friend.
The last thing that it wants is
for a student to get a ticket to any
Nebraska football game.
It’s a war, and the ticket office
has all of the weapons.
Much like the student migra
tion game against Colorado, the
ticket office has set up a string of
hoops for the students to jump
through if they want to see the
Huskers in Tempe on Jan. 2.
First, you have to realize that
there is a student lottery.
If you would have called the
ticket office a few weeks ago,
they would have told you to
watch the Daily Nebraskan for
advertisements about the lottery.
If you would have followed
that advice, you would still be
waiting. Zero ads ran for the
Fiesta Bowl student ticket lottery.
Why not sell the tickets just
like any other sporting event? Put
them on sale, first come, first
served. If students want them
badly enough, they’ll be out there
camping for a week.
Then you make the drive all
the way to the game to pick up
your tickets.
A couple of hours before the
game, you find the tent where the
cherished tickets are distributed.
But the other 499 students all are
trying to get their tickets too,
causing a line.
Meanwhile, inside the tent, the
ticket dictators are inside check
ing your student IDs, matching
your signature to the card,
checking fingerprints, taking
blood and urine samples and
performing DNA tests to make
sure you are really who you say
you are.
While waiting in line, you are
missing the first quarter of the
game. Is the ticket office really
afraid that students would drive
all that way to scalp their tickets?
Yes.
It’s nice to know that the ticket
office just wants Husker fans to
get a ticket at face value. They
would not take this opportunity to
scam extra money off of fans,
such as a $5,000 donation
equaling eight Fiesta Bowl
tickets.
But don’-t worry if you get
shafted on tickets this year, Fiesta
Bowl officials are planning the
world ’ s largest tai 1 gate party in
the parking lot of Sun Devil
Stadium complete with big-screen
televisions. That just might be the
Husker student section this year.
Walkenhorst Is a senior advertising
and broadcasting major and a Daily
Nebraskan sports reporter.
Tempe title boils down to defense
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Editor
In a clash pitting two of the nation ’ s
most prolific offenses, this season’s
national title game probably will be
decided by defense, Nebraska foot
ball coach Tom Osborne said Tues
day.
No. 1 Nebraska and second-ranked
Florida have combined to average
nearly 100 points a game, and each
team features a quarterback valued by
its coach as the most indispensable
offensive weapon in the nation.
Osborne admitted, however, that
the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.,
may boil down to a battle of defensive
linemen, linebackers andcomerbacks.
“I suspect that a big factor in this
game will be who plays the best de
fense,” Osborne said. “It certainly puts
pressure on the defensive staffs.”
The Gators’ defense, allowing
315.6 yards a game, ranks 20th in the
nation, seven spots behind Nebraska’s
Blackshirts. The Huskers allowed just
17 points in their final three games
and scored as many points against
Arizona State and Iowa State as their
11 opponents tallied all season.
Nebraska center Aaron Graham
said the Huskers already had faced the
toughest defense they would see this
season. Oklahoma, Graham said —
which held Nebraska’s offense with
out a touchdown for more than three
quarters during the Huskers’ 37-0 vic
tory on Nov. 24—was as prepared to
face Nebraska’s option attack as any
team he had seen.
Graham said he watched Florida
defeat Arkansas 34-3 Saturday night
on television in the Southeastern Con
ference championship game. Arkan
... .... .... 11
Angela Heywood/DN
In the Fiesta Bowl, Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier will test a Florida defense that is
allowing 315.6 yards a game.
sas rushed for 129 yards on 43 at
tempts. For the season, the Gators
have surrendered 13 2 yards a game on
the ground, including 300 yards to
Northern Illinois and 200 yards to
Auburn.
“They are going to have to work a
little biton changingtheir techniques,”
Graham said. “It takes a lot of practice
to learn how to defend the option.
“I just don’t think (Arkansas) can
compare with what we have to offer,”
he said. “They may have seven or
eight players, but we have got 11 guys
focused on making the option work.”
Nebraska’s record-setting offense
has averaged 52.4 points and 400yards
rushing a game this season behind the
command of Graham and quarterback
Tommie Frazier. Frazier, a senior
Heisman Trophy finalist, agreed with
Graham that Florida would have its
hands full stoppingNebraska’s ground
game.
“I don’t think they have really faced
that many teams that run the option,”
said Frazier, Nebraska’s all-time total
offense record holder. “That’s an ad
vantage for us, but with the athletes
they have, they have the capabilities
to keep us in check.”
If Florida stacks the line of scrim
mage, Frazier said, it would be leav
ing itself open to Nebraska’s passing
See FIESTA on 8
Huskers confront rival Creighton in Omaha
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter
It doesn’t matter that the Nebraska
basketball team has won five straight
games over Creighton or that the
Bluejays are coming off a 7-19 sea
son.
The only thing that matters in
tonight’s 7:05 showdown in Omaha is
that it is Creighton.
“It’s an in-state rivalry, and we
treat the game with a lot of respect,”
Coach Danny Nee said. “Through the
years, it has been very, very competi
tive. we usually al
ways catch
Creighton’s best
shot. I expect the
same thing (to
night).”
isn’t
team it was
the rivalry
its peak from
when the Bluejays won three of five
games against the Huskers.
But Nee said Nebraska’s recent
winning streak over the Bluejays didn’t
change the players’ attitudes in the
matchup of the state’s only two Divi
sion I-A schools.
“I don’t feel we’ve dominated,” he
said. “We’ve been fortunate to win a
couple games in a row. But they’ve
been a little down on their luck.
They’ve had some coaching changes
and things like that. But I still think the
players and the fans look at it as a good
in-state rivalry.
“It’sa quality basketball game. It’s
always been a high level of intensity
anytime we play Creighton. I expect
that type of game. We take it serious.”
Nebraska defeated Creighton 85
57 almost one year ago today in Lin
coln. Nebraska guard Erick Strickland
scored a game-high 22 points, while
Jaron Boone added 17.
“I still think the players
and the fans look at it as
a good in-state rivalry. ”
DANNY NEE
Nebraska men’s basketball
coach
The game marks the first time this
season that the 5-0 Huskers have been
on an opponent’s home court, which
will happen again Saturday at Minne
sota.
“This is a big test for Nebraska
basketball,” Nee said. “It’s the first
time we’re truly going to take these
guys on the road. We’ll get tested in
Omaha and then get tested again in
Minneapolis. I want to see how our
kids respond. These road games are
just what the Huskers need.”
Nebraska already has two tourna
ment titles under its belt — the Big
Island Invitational in Hawaii and the
Ameritas Classic in Lincoln.
Meanwhile, 2-0 Creighton’s only
victories have been at home against
the University of Nebraska at Omaha
and at Southern Methodist Univer
sity.
“The three games in Hawaii put us
a little ahead of schedule,” Nee said.
“We’re playing our sixth game and
Creighton is playing their third game.
That’s such an advantage to Nebraska
because you get a lot of things tested.”
“One - possibility would be that
Creighton would spread out the floor
and play ball control,” he said. “But
when I see our team, I don’t see why a
team would do that. I would play us
straight up. We have not shown con
sistency in any areas.”
Boone wants to improve,
hopes to end with a bang
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
Nebraska guard Jaron Boone has
been a dominant force this season
in the Cornhuskers’ basketball
lineup.
Boone opened up the season by
being named the most valuable
player at the Big Island Invitational
in Hawaii, after leading the Husk
ers with 59 points in the three-game
tournament.
Last Saturday at the Ameritas
Classic, Boone was awarded tour
nament MVP honors once again
after scoring 25 points against
Grambling State. He also was
named Big Eight player of the week.
“It’s great to have achieved all
of those awards,” Boone said. “But
I can’t ease up.”
The addition of point guard
Tyronn Lue has been a key factor in
helping Nebraska’s backcourt ex
cel this season. Lue, Boone and
Erick Strickland are the top three
point leaders for the Huskers this
season.
“(Lue) complements me and
Erick really well because he has the
capability to penetrate and pitch
and get us the open shot,” Boone
said. “It takes a load off our backs
to have a scoring point guard.”
Boone leads Nebraska with 100
points this season, Strickland is sec
ond with 76, and Lue is third with
65. The three players have ac
counted for about 52 percent of the
Huskers’ offense.
A 6-foot-6 senior from Salt Lake
City, Boone has been a key player
for Nebraska over the course of his
career. Since his sophomore sea
son, Boone has started in 65 of the
Huskers’ 67 regular-season games.
He needs just 235 more points this
season to become oneofNebraska’s
top five scorers of all time.
“Throughout my career certain
(statistical) categories have
dropped, and others have gotten
higner,” Boone said. “I’d just like
to keep everything consistent and
hopefully reach my career bests this
season.”
This year, Boone leads the Husk
ers in points and assists, and he has
scored in double figures in 29 con
secutive games.
Boone said that to achieve his
goal of having career bests in every
statistical category, he needed to
work on his rebounding.
“I think I need to go to the boards
a little more,” he said. “Once I get
that accomplished, more things will
open up for the team.”
This year, Boone said, the dif
ference has been the Huskers’ heart
and togetherness, something that
past teams have lacked.
“This year, it’s more of a team
work-oriented team,” Boone said.
“There is not one specific leader.
We each play our own roles. There
are six seniors on this team, and I
think we all fill the leadership role
in some way.”
As for next season, Boone said he
was not looking that far in advance.
“I just want to make this a spe
cial season,” Boone said. “It’s my
last year, and I want to go out with
a bang.”