Husker defense
faces challenge
GAME from page 1
“I really don’t think we’ve cut
loose as a defense and I think that’s
what’s holding us back right now,”
Wistrom said. “I think we have most
of our package in, we just need to go
out and execute it.”
Big plays were what hurt the
Huskers the most last Saturday
against Central Florida, Wistrom
said.
“They really couldn’t drive the
ball on us consistently,” Wistrom
said. “When the team is just taking
the ball and driving it down your
throat, that’s when you have cause for
concern and that wasn’t the case last
Saturday.”
The Golden Knights rushed for
47 yards and threw for 318, but only
twice consumed more than three
minutes off of the clock while on
offense.
But Nebraska’s defense has not
made an abundance of big plays so
far this year. The Huskers have
recorded three sacks - all against
Central Florida - and have intercept
ed just two passes.
Through its first two games last
season, the Nebraska defense record
ed 13 sacks and intercepted four
passes. With Huard at the helm, the
Huskers will be challenged to make
things happen against Washington.
“Huard is very accurate and he’s a
big guy,” Nebraska coach Tom
Osborne said. “He’s not that easy to
sack.”
After losing eight defensive
starters from last year’s team,
Saturday’s game will be the first true
test for the Husker defense, Wistrom
said.
“This summer we did have a con
cerned effort to kind of refocus the
team,” Wistrom said. “Maybe we’re
not as good as we thought we were on
defense. Who knows? This
-Washington is one of the top teams in
the country. I guess we’ll see where
all this hard work got us. Hopefully
it’s not for nothing.”
Burton, Chorak
familiar with I^TJ
By Antone Oseka
Senior Reporter
Of all the players on the
Washington team, only one has seen
the Huskers up close.
In fact, he played against them.
Starting rover Nigel Burton was a
freshman when Pacific played
Nebraska in 1995. He said there’s
nothing quite like playing against
Nebraska.
“It was a different attitude then,”
he said. “I was going to fight then.
I’m going to fight now. It’s a good
feeling knowing you have a chance to
win it.”
When Burton visited Memorial
Stadium with Pacific, the Huskers
won 49-7.
A year later Pacific dropped its
football program and Burton trans
ferred to Washington.
Now Burton is one of the defen
sive leaders for the Huskies. In the
first two games he is fourth on the
team with eight tackles.
Burton had the opportunity to
play against one of the better Husker
teams in history, featuring quarter
backs Tommie Frazier and the late
Brook Berringer.
“Frost kind of reminds me of
Berringer,” Burton said of the current
NU signal caller Scott Frost. “He’s a
better athlete, so he can get out and
run.”
However, more Huskies remem
ber Frost from his days at Stanford.
The Cardinals beat Washington dur
ing Frost’s sophomore season at
Cardinal Stadium.
Senior linebacker Jason Chorak
said he has a vivid memory of Frost.
“I remember Scott Frost picking
us apart,” Chorak said. “He seemed
he could do no wrong.”
Burton has played in a lot of dif
ferent stadiums, including places that
are notorious for being loud. He said
the only place that compares to
Husky Stadium is NU’s Memorial
Stadium.
“Those two places are really sim
ilar,” Burton said. “It’s one of the best
experiences I’ve ever had. I was
impressed by how the fans handle
themselves.”
For Burton and the Huskies, play
ing in the confines of Husky Stadium
will be an advantage that can’t be
overlooked.
“We have the comfort of being at
home,” Burton said.
The sixth game in the Husker
Husky showdown has all the makings
of a big game for the two teams,
Chorak said.
“You stay at Washington for big
games like this,” Chorak said. “I fig
ured this team had a chance to play in
the Rose Bowl and maybe even a
national championship.”
For either team, a loss this early in
the season might end chances for a
national title.
“A loss wouldn’t be the end of the'
world,” Chorak said. “But a loss
would be disappointing.”
NEBRASKA l-BACK AHMAN GREEN attempts to break free of a tackier in last Saturday’s UCF game. Green and the Hie
have a good rushing attack this week against the Husky defense.
Lane Hickenbottom/ DN
TWO NEBRASKA DEFENDERS sack UCF quarterback Dauate
Culpepper in last Saturday’s 38-24 victory. NU recorded its first
three sacks of the season last week, but will need more against
Washington to slow down the Husky attack.
Comhuskers ir
to live up to tra
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
This is what college football is all
about.
Seventh-ranked Nebraska (2-0)
travels to Seattle Saturday to face sec
ond-ranked Washington (2-0) at 2:30
p.m. in Husky stadium. The game
will be televised regionally on ABC.
“This is why you play college
football,” Nebraska senior rush end
Grant Wistrom said. “When it comes
right down to it, it doesn’t get any bet
ter than this.”
The Comhuskers, who have won
eight straight games against top-10
teams, face the pressure of an early
season make-or-break game as well
as the pressure of maintaining
Nebraska tradition.
“You don’t want to be the team
that Coach Osborne only wins nine
games with,” Wistrom said.
Senior guard Aaron Taylor agreed
that Husker tradition enhances the
pressure of Saturday’s game.
“It’s tough to reach that point
where you want to be national cham
pions every year,” Taylor said, “but
it’s a goal th;
nation has. /
there we’re
and win this
In each c|
the Husker
games, and
than sixth in
than second J
Though i
son, Taylor s
Saturday’s ir
“If we w;
rest of this y
pie of year
going to h&
going to ha
against these
Against
three, Nebra
games. Not
Nebraska ha
team on the
second-rank*
in 1971 enre
onship.
A loss t<
would like!
for a natioi
son.
“If we
championshi
