Ftatball Starters
Nebraska Starters
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Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne
goes for his 250th win this Saturday
against Oklahoma. This week the
Daily Nebraskan highlights Osborne’s
five most memorable games.
Nebraska^ second national cham
pionship under Osborne was perhaps
the Comhuskers’most dominating per
formance ever in a bowl game. ‘
The top-ranked Huskers entered the
1996 Fiesta Bowl with an unblemished
record and were looking to become the
first team in 40 years to repeat as nation
al champions. The only thing that stood
in the Huskers’ way was Florida, which
was also undefeated and ranked No. 2 in
the nation.
After two lead changes in the first
quarter alone, the game looked to be a
true national championship contest. But
in the second quarter the Huskers
scored 29 unanswered points, die most
ever in one quarter of a bowl game, to
take a 35-10 lead.
NU quarterback Tommie Frazier
added two touchdowns in the third quar
ter - a 35-yard run and a 75-yaid run in
which he broke seven tackles before
running down the sidelines for the
score. Frazier finished the game with
199 yards and I-back Lawrence Phillips
added two touchdowns and rushed for
165 yards.
The win expanded Nebraska’s win
streak to 25 consecutive times and
marked the third time in three years he
Huskers played for the national champi
onship.
JOHN f KANK/JJIN
Osborne focused on Sooners
OU from page 9 _
that he won't have a chance to face a
pure drop-back passer.
“I don't face option enough in
practice, now I have to play against it
on Saturday," Peter said jokingly. “I
was looking forward to Fuente (hop
ping back mid throwing.”
Oklahoma’s switch to a rushing
attack is led by Daniels, who led all
Sooner rushers last weekend against
K-State with 83 yards.
The Sooners will not have the
services of their leading rusher,
senior De’Mond Parker, who is suf
fering from an abdominal injury and
will notsuit up against the Huskers.
Sophomore Bennie Butler and
freshman J.T. Thatcher will play in the
place of Parker. The absence of Parker,
who has rushed for 1,123 yards and six
touchdowns so far this season, might
help the Husker defense.
-m Aria
M
I don’t get caught up in the sentiment of
some people.... I’m just interested in who
we play”
Tom Osborne
NU head football coach
But senior defensive end Grant
Wistrom said with OU installing the
option, the Blackshirts will have to put
a lot of emphasis on stopping the run.
“More than usual we will have to
worry about stopping the run,”
Wistrom said. “We really don’t know
what they are going to throw at us.
We are guessing right now, and hope
fully we’ll guess right.”
If Wistrom and the Huskers guess
right, NU might record its third
straight shutout. A win would also
give Osborne his 250th victory in 25
years of coaching. The Husker play
ers are excited to be a part of an
Osborne coaching milestone, but
Osborne said the main focus is get
ting ready for Oklahoma. ^
“I don’t get caught up in the sen
timent of some people,” Osborne
said. “You don’t have time to reflect
in this business. I’m just interested in
who we play.”
i *i • . n •
T i
W i If fi k
i I i i i
Sooners q ‘Game*
Alter Saturday’s game against
Oklahoma, the NU/OU rivalry will
take a two-year hiatus. This week the
Daily Nebraskan reviews the top five
games that have made this an intrigu
ing rivalry.
It was dubbed “The Game of the
Century II” after the 1971 classic
NU/OU matchup, but in reality, No. 2
Oklahoma outplayed No. 1 Nebraska
for most of the game and a 17-7 win.
In front of76,663, the largest crowd
in the history of Nebraska’s Memorial
Stadium, the Huskers drove 94 yards in
the first quarter to draw first blood with
a 25-yard Keith Jones touchdown to
lead 7-0, a lead that would hold up
through halflime.
-w ^ ft
Oklahoma, behind quarterback
Charles Thompson, threatened to score
several times in the first half, but was
stifled by five turnovers. In die second
half, OU cut down on its mistakes and
took control of the contest 1'
It began with an interception of a
Steve Taylor pass at the NU 13-yard line
early in die third quarter. Two play slater,
OU back Anthony Stafford ran it in to
tie the game at 7-7. OU running back
Patrick Collins put the Sooners up for
good with a 65-yard touchdown run.
The Sooners added a field goal to ice
the win. Oklahoma went on to lose the
national championship, while NU lost *
to Florida State 31-28 in the Fiesta
Bowl.
Minnesota next on Jtiusker mt list
By Darren Ivy
t Staff Reporter
Eleven months ago, Nebraska
and Minnesota met on the cold
tundra of the Abbott Sports
Complex soccer field in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskers were victorious
winning 3-2 in four overtimes
and advancing on in the NCAA
Tournament while the Golden
Gophers' season came to an end.
This Sunday, the two teams
meet again at 1 p.m. at the Abbott
Sports Complex. The game won’t
be an all-or-nothing game this
time.
However, it will still be
important, senior All-American
Kari Uppinghouse said.
“Coming into conference
(tournament) and the (NCCA)
playoffs, it will be good prepara
tion to play a quality team,”
Uppinghouse said.
Nebraska Coach John Walker
said No. 10 Minnesota along
with Duke and Texas A&M will
be the Huskers toughest games
this regular season. Nebraska
lost to Texas A&M 1-0 in
September in College Station but
beat Duke 5-0 on Oct. 20 in
Durham, N.C.
Minnesota (16-1-1 overall) is
coming off the Gophers’ first
undefeated conference season in
.Big 10 history and returns eight
starters from last year’s tourna
%
-~~
ment team. The Gophers have
also won 13 straight games and
not lost on the road this season.
NU (15-2) has some streaks of
its own. The Huskers have won
11 straight games and not lost at
home in more than two years.
Nebraska was scheduled to
play St. Louis tonight but the
game has been canceled due to
poor field conditions at the
Abbott Sports Complex.
“We are playing as well as we
have at any time in the past two
years,” Walker said.
This is bad news for NU
opponents since- the Huskers
made it to the semifinals of the
NCCA Tournament last season.
One of the reasons NU has
been playing so well lately is
improved defensive pressure,
Walker said. He said NU is win
ning more balls, so they have
more possession of the ball and
more chances to score.
One of those defenders who
has come on the past six games is
midfielder Kristen Gay. Walker
said she has really solidified the
midfield for the Huskers.
Gay's improved defensive
play has allowed All-American
midfielder Kari Uppinghouse to
become more aggressive on
offense. This past week
Uppinghouse became the team's
M
We are playing as
well as we have at
any time....”
John Walker
NU soccer coach
leading scorer by netting five
goals and adding one assist in
two games.
“I have been able to go for
ward because I know she is going
to dominate the midfielcUbehind
me,” Uppinghouse said.
NU will need to have another
strong defensive game Sunday
because Minnesota has two for
mer Big 10 players of the year in
Jennifer McElmury and Jennifer
Walek. Walek was unable to play
against NU in 1996 because of an
ACL injury.
“They have so many
sign of a good team to have more
than one scorer ”
One advantage NU will have
is that they have played in poor
conditions the past four games.
Walker said the forecast for the
weekend is good, but he is not
sure what shape the field will be
in. He doesn't think it will bother
his team, though.
“We are more used to playing
in bad weather than good*”
Walkersaid. ^
Huskers commence
soars for OU matchup
By Andrew Strnad
Staff Reporter
Nebraska will try to fight off a
second dose of Sooner Magic
Saturday night at 7:30 as the Huskers
play host to Oklahoma at the NU
Coliseum.
No. 11 Nebraska (15-6 overall, 6
4 in the Big 12) will try to rebound
from a three-game loss to Colorado
on Wednesday night with a victory
against the Sooners (15-6, 6-4). The
match will be televised on a tape
delay basis on Fox Sports Net
With Wednesday night’s loss, NU
has now lost four of its last six match
es, including a three-game loss
against Oklahoma on Oct. 10 in
Norman, Okla.
NU junior middle blocker Megan
Korver said the Huskers* recent slide
has taken a toll on the minds of the
players.
“We have no doubt in our physi
cal abilities at all,” Korver said. “I
think it’s all mental and 1 think it’s
been mental the whole time.”
The Huskers have been hampered
this year with key injuries to ttyo of
their best passers and outside hitters,
Jamie Krondak and Renee Saunders.
Saunders will be out a few more
weeks with a broken foot Krondak,
who practiced On Thursday but didn’t
make the trip to Colorado, is battling
an injured back and her status for
Saturday fc match is uncertain ?' C
One thing that is certain for
Saturday^ match; according to senior
outside hitter Lisa Reitsma, is the
Huskers’ home court advantage.
Nebraska has won 41 consecutive
matches at the NU Coliseum and
Reitsma said Oklahoma is going to
have a difficult time coming into the
NU Coliseum and beating the
Huskers a second time.
“The coliseum just gives us so
much energy and excitement, and if
we play the way we can, we definite
ly should win,” Reitsma said.
The Sooners dealt NU its first
three-garhe loss in conference history
on Oct 8 (17-15,15-11,15-10). OU
outside hitter Melissa Peterson led
the Sooners with 16 kills in the
match, and Korver said the key to the
match is getting an effective block
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Sooners.
“(Patrice) Arrington, Peterson,
they’re all great players, but they’re
not unstoppable,” Korver said. “The
whole game starts with the block <ahd
that’s what we plan on doing.”
Korver said this weekend's match
should provide the Huskers with a
chance to regain the mental edge
they’ve been missing midway
through the season. Another loss
could send the fifth-place Huskers to
the lower half of the Big 12 standings,
gi “We had a great practice, and
there’fc no doubt m my mind that we’ll
blow them away,” Korver said.
