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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 1996)
defense held the Sun Devils, and Nebraska marched 64 yards in nine plays, taking a two-touchdown lead on Ahman Green’s 3-yard score with 9:53 to play in the: opening quarter. “Clinton knew that he had to take on some of the burden that Lawrence left us,” said quarterback Tommie Frazier, who directed the Nebraska to its 15th straight victory. “He did what the coaches asked him and came in and played hard. Ahman came in and played hard. James Sims came in and played hard. The depth that we got from those three guys, you just can’t ask for anything else.” Playing second at I-back in place of injured Damon Benning, Green ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 13 attempts. The true freshman from Omaha has gained 237 yards in three games this season. Just over two minutes after Green’s touchdown, Frazier ran 15 yards — flattening a Sun Devil defensive back in the process — and trotted into the end zone, giving the Huskers a 21-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game. “Everything we did was working,” Frazier said. “We weren’t worrying about them trying to put 11 guys up to try to stop the run. We were going to try to run like we always did and see if they could stop us. In the first half, they couldn’t do it.” In just over two quarters of action, Frazier completed 7 of 10 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The senior from Bradenton, Fla., also ran for two scores and 35 yards on five attempts. Following Frazier’s first score, Arizona State again was forced to punt, and after two five-yard runs by Childs, the I-back took a pitch from Frazier and threw a 34-yard pass to wingback Clester Johnson. "He did good,” said Johnson, a former quarterback, who caught four passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. “At first, I didn’t know if he was going to throw it to me, because I didn’t know if he saw me behind the guy.” On the next play, Frazier hit wingback Jon Vedral for a a 27-yard touchdown, increasing the Huskers’ lead to 28-0 with 5:38 to play in the first quarter. Sun Devil quarterback Jake Plummer hit wide receiver Keith Poole for a 66 yard gain to the Husker 2-yard line, and the duo connected again three plays later for a touchdown, Arizona State’s first score of the day. Plummer and Poole continued to connect, twice burning Nebraska cornerback Leslie Dennis and once Tyrone Williams. Poole caught six passes for 200 yards, including an 80-yard bomb in the second quarter that cut Nebraska’s lead to 35-14. “We never want to give up big plays,” Husker secondary coach George Darlington said. “But now we know better what our people can and cannot do.” Jeff Makovicka, Childs, Johnson, Green and Frazier added touch downs in the second quarter. WILL linebacker Terrell Farley returned an interception 21 yards for a score in the third quarter, and No. 3 quarterback Matt Turman hit Lance Brown for a 39-yard touchdown in the game’s final minute to end the scoring. “It was nice to have a game,” Osborne said. “We’ll just focus on ^k that. I imagine this ■ will be another rough week. I don’t expect ■ it to be very nice, but V that’s OK.” Travis Heying/DN Wingback Clester Johnson tries to outrun Arizona State defender Thomas Simmons. Johnson caught four passes for 129 yards. Clinton Childs dashes away from the Arizona State defense. Travis Heyin9/DN Arizona St. 28 at Nebraska 77 Passing Att-Comp. Int. Yds. Frazier 7-10 1 191 Team stats NU OU Berringer 2-6 0 16 Rushes^yards 55-394 45-171 ReCeivin8 No- Yds Passing 292 290 Johnson 4 129 Return Yards 123 77 Gilman 3 39 Comp-Att-Int 12-20-1 14-33-2 „ ,. Am. Punts-avg. 2-61 7.39 Rushing Att. Yds. Fumbles-Lost 1-0 (M) Childs 12 143 Penalties-Yards 5-30 8-66 Green 13 111 Time of Possession 27:27 32:33 Sims 7 47 Nebraska, ahead of Arizona State by 42 points, faced a 4th-down-and 13 play with 45 seconds left in the game. After calling a timeout, third string quarterback Matt Turman hooked up with third-string wingback Lance Brown for a 39 yard touchdown pass. The touchdown gave Nebraska a 77-28 win Saturday, but it also gave Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder a sour taste. “I think it’s important that we put it in perspective that the game was out of hand,” Snyder said. “It was clearly decided. “I know that quarterback was a third-stringer, and you can’t tell him not to compete. You can’t tell the receiver to drop the ball. I understand that because I’ve been in those situations on the other side. “I don’t know what is going on on their sidelines. But if they feel they have to run it up to match what Penn State did today, or what Florida State did today, then I’m saddened for college football.” Snyder said he let Osborne know after the game how he felt about the late touchdown pass. Osborne said he apologized to Snyder after the game. “I feel bad about it,” Osborne said. “It was a bush-league thing to do. I’ve very seldom had a situation like that late in the game.” But later in the week, Osborne thought differently. “We scored one touchdown offensively in the last half,” Osborne said, “and believe me, we could have done a lot more than that. “When you have your No. 3 quarterback, your No. 4 or No. 3 offensive line, your No. 3 or 4 wingback against the first-team safety,” he said, “is that a real apologetic situation?” Nebraska scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and totaled a school-record 63 points in the first half. “It was just kind of an ava lanche,” Snyder said. “I’ve never been in an avalanche, but it was that kind of a feeling. I’m standing there, and it’s all coming down the hill, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” Arizona State wide receiver Keith Poole, who burned Nebraska for 200 yards on six catches, said he was in awe of the Huskers. “They shocked us a little bit,” Poole said. “They’re the best team I’ve ever played in my life. I didn’t expect this. I honestly came in here thinking we’d win the game. But they’re awesome. I give them all the credit in the world. “I had never seen their offense. That offense is amazing. It’s unstoppable.” - By Derek Samson