f
The Big 12 offensive player of
the week was Nebraska senior quar
terback Scott Frost. Frost ran for 97
yards and two touchdowns in NU’s
27-14 upset of then second-ranked
Washington. Frost also passed for
88 yards in the win over the Huskies.
The Big 12 defensive player of
the week was Missouri linebacker
Barry Odom. Odom intercepted a
pass in the fourth quarter to thwart a
Tulsa drive in the Tigers’ 42-21 vic
tory over the^jolden Hurricane. He
also collected eight tackles in the
game.
The Big 12 special teams player
of the week was Texas A&M sopho
more running back Dante Hall. Hall
had 173 return yards in a 66-0 victo
ry over Southwestern Louisiana,
including one 70-yard punt return
for a touchdown.
■
Missouri is the Big 12 team in
the spotlight this week as the 2-1
Tigers take on seventh-ranked and
3-0 Ohio State Saturday in
Columbia, Mo. Coach Larry Smith
said that MU will be ready for what
may be its breakthrough game onto
the national scene against the
Buckeyes.
“We celebrated the Tulsa win for
about a minute, then it was all Ohio
State,” Smith said. “We’ve got to
pull the trigger and be super aggres
sive in this game to win it.”
(1
Kansas State is already thinking
about Nebraska, even though the
game is two weeks away on Oct. 4,
in Lincoln. The No. 17 Wildcats
play Bowling Green this week but
utilized their off week to start prepa
rations for the Huskers.
“We’re focusing on Bowling
Green right now,” Kansas State
coach Bill Snyder said, “but we
spent a good part of our off week
looking at Nebraska and seeing
what we can do against them.”
■
Oklahoma State looks to go 4-0
for the first time since 1984 this
weekend when they take on NE
Louisiana in Stillwater, Okla. Senior
All-American tight end Alonzo
Mayes said the turnaround has come
because of a change in approaching
games.
“We came in with a whole new
attitude this year,” Mayes said. “We
knew that we wanted to get some
things done this season, and we’re
trying to do that.”
■
Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel
spoke highly of Big 12 rival
Nebraska’s performance in the win
over Washington this past weekend.
“Nebraska played terrific,”
Neuheisel said. “I’m glad to see
them carry the Big 12 banner and
beat a team like Washington.”
This Week’s Big 12
Schedule
Texas at Rice
Ohio State at Missouri
Bowling Green at Kansas State
Wyoming at Colorado
Texas A&M at North Texas
Louisville at Oklahoma
Northeast Louisiana at
Oklahoma State
Big 12 Notebook compiled by
Daily Nebraskan staff reporter
Sam McKewon.
Sanderford era dawns at Nebraska
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Assignment Reporter
A new era of women’s basketball has dawned
on Nebraska.
It began June 19 when a monthlong hiring
period concluded with the
announcement that former
Western Kentucky coach
Paul Sanderford would occu
py the vacancy left by
Cornhusker coach Angela
Beck. Beck flew to the ranks
of the American Basketball
Association, closing an 11
Sanderf ord year c^apter *n Nebraska bas
ketball history.
Now Sanderford speaks of a new chapter
with a new message that, two months before his
coaching debut, he has already begun to write.
“Everyone in Nebraska knows the football
team is great,” Sanderford said. “Everyone
knows the volleyball team is great. What I want
people to realize is that the women’s basketball
team can be great too.
“When you hear people talk about the big
names in women’s basketball, we want you to
hear Nebraska being mentioned. And not only in
the Big 12 Conference, but also in the upper ech
elon of national teams.”
Sanderford has been to the top of the
women’s basketball world before. It was a fast
trip for Sanderford, who led the Lady Toppers to
the NCAA Tournament Final Four in his third
year, vaulting WKU and Sanderford into the
upper echelon of women’s basketball.
In 15 years at Western Kentucky, Sanderford
guided WKU to 12 NCAA Tournaments, three
Final Four appearances and the 1992 national
championship game.
Leaving a successful program at Western
Kentucky was difficult, Sanderford said, but the
13th winningest active coach in the nation
desired a new challenge.
“The fact that UNL shows excellence in a lot
of fields and its overall reputation attracted me,”
Sanderford said. “Western Kentucky was a
regional institution, and they were very good in
some areas. But I was interested in working in a
situation where national athletic and academic
reputations were established.”
Despite his credentials, Sanderford’s drive to
create a new, successful era of basketball at NU
was nearly destroyed by a head-on collision with
members of the state Legislature. Legislators
strongly favored hiring a woman to fill the posi
tion. Of NU’s 23 coaching positions only three
are held by women
“My response to criticism is: Look at my cre
Please see SANDERFORD on 8
MattMiller/DN
SCOTT FROST, who was named player of the game Saturday, led the Huskers to a 27-14 victory over Washington.
Frosts mg day silences critics
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
SEATTLE - Scott Frost left the
ungrateful fans of his home state and
traveled to Washington last weekend
with his respect on the line. The
senior quarterback led Nebraska to a
27-14 victory over the then second
ranked team in the nation before a
hostile crowd at Husky Stadium and a
regional ABC television audience.
Sweet revenge, right?
Maybe, but Frost will be the last
to admit it.
I m just happy to win this game,
Frost said. “I’m happy for the team,
I’m happy for the families of the play
ers. I’m happy for the coaches and
I’m happy for the fans who have sup
ported us through everything. Those
are the true fans and they deserve this
win as much as we do.”
Against Washington, Frost rushed
for 97 yards and threw for another 88
in an effort that earned him Big 12
offensive player-of-the-week honors.
Nebraska improved to 3-0 and
jumped from seventh to third in the
Associated Press poll. But the
Huskies weren’t Frost’s only oppo
nent.
Mentally, Frost had to deal with
the pressure of a big game as well as
opposing fans - both in Seattle and
Lincoln.
“It’s been very distressing to me
as a coach to see a player treated the
way he’s been treated, when all he’s
done is the best he can,” NU coach
Tom Osborne said.
In Lincoln on Sept. 13, Frost was
booed by Nebraska fans against
Central Florida. After failing to score
on the Huskers’ first two drives, Frost
found Sheldon Jackson for a 16-yard
touchdown pass to tie the game at
seven, but on the tourth drive, in a
pre-planned move by Osborne, Frost
was replaced by sophomore Frankie
London. Osborne said he wanted
London to have experience in case
something happened to Frost, but
after London led Nebraska to its sec
ond touchdown, some fans didn’t
want to see Frost return.
But fan displeasure for Frost dates
back to last season, his first at
Nebraska after transferring from
Stanford and sitting out a season.
Please see FROST on 8
