NU runs two-minute
drill nearly perfectly
HURRY from page 10
the ball in scoring position, we
would have our chances to score.”
Nebraska usually initiates the
two-minute drill when it gets the
ball with less than 2:30 to play in
the first or second half.
Cheatham said there are several
variations to the two-minute
offense. The clock and remaining
timeouts dictate if Nebraska can use
running plays or must go to an all
passing attack, as it did against
Missouri.
No matter the time left in the
game, NU Receivers Coach Ron
Brown said there are two things that
the coaching staff emphasizes in
any two-minute situation.
We want to execute in pushing
the ball up the field, and we want to
get the ball out of bounds as much
as possible,” he said. “Any time you
can do those two things, you’re
going to have chance to put some
points on the board.”
The two-minute offense begins
with Frost, who must call every play
with hand signals to the wide
receivers and make the read for an
open receiver.
Nebraska Quarterbacks Coach
Turner Gill said he wants Husker
quarterbacks to make good deci
sions on the field.
“He’s got to get the calls made
very quickly, and then he’s got
about three seconds to make the
read,” Gill said. “If he doesn’t have
the open guy, he’s got to throw the
ball away.”
Frost, who completed five of 10
passes on the final drive, said he felt
comfortable running the Huskers’
hurry-up offense.
“Once you get in a rhythm
throwing the ball, you become a
more effective passer,”he said. '
The result of quarterback and
receiver working together can be a
tough combination to stop, Brown
said, because the two-minute offen
sive drill can put a defense on its
heels.
“There is that threat of a guy
getting behind you, so the corners
«
We want to
execute in pushing
the ball up the
Ron Brown
Nebraska receivers coach
will play loose and let you hit those
passes underneath the defense,”
Brown said.
In the first half against
Missouri, the two-minute drill did
n’t work out that way. Nebraska
started a drive at the Missouri 40
yard line with 45 seconds remain
ing but ran out of time after failing
to get out of bounds and then fum
bling a snap on the last play of the
half.
Brown said tnat tailed drive
illustrated the importance of using
the clock in the waning moments of
the half.
“You have to make sure guys get
out of bounds and have good time
management,” he said. “We got a
little discombobulated and we did
n’t score.”
Another situation where the
two-minute drill failed was in the
1996 Big 12 championship game
against Texas. NU failed to score
after the Longhorns went up 37-27.
Brown said he reminded his
players of that game Saturday.
“We didn’t get it done against
Texas, and I wanted to remind them
of that,” he said. “I didn’t want to
put negative rocks in their minds,
but I wanted them to know they
were good enough to pull this thing
off against Missouri.”
In the end, Brown said, there are
also two intangible qualities that
made that drive and any two-minute
drill work.
“Focus and maturity,” he said.
“To score in such a short amount of
time in any game takes focus and
maturity.”
Fremont lineman
accepts NU offer
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska football team
received its eighth verbal commit
ment Wednesday from Wes Cody, a 6
foot-3, 265-pound lineman from
Fremont Beigan.
Cody helped Bergan to a 7-3
record in Class C-2 this season play
ing on both sides of the ball.
Nebraska coaches have been to
Fremont more than once this year to
see Cody play, Bergan Coach Larry
Martin said, and they liked what
they saw.
ihey really like his aggressive
ness,” Martin said. “He comes off the
ball really hard. He plays the game the
way you’re supposed to.”
As a senior, Cody finished the
season with 15 tackles behind the line
of scrimmage and 38 unassisted tack-'
les. But his most impressive statistics
may have come in the weight room.
He benches 390 pounds, squats
540 pounds and has a 29-inch vertical
jump. Cody’s work ethic, Martin said,
made the difference.
“He doesn’t seem to take many
plays off,” Martin said. “He’s very
aggressive and very strong. He’s very
quick for a kid his size - especially
within the first 10 yards.”
Speed is not Cody’s specialty - his
best electronic 40-yard-dash time is
5.28 seconds - but as a lineman,
IT
I
quickness is important. Cody said he
wasn’t sure what position he will play
at Nebraska.
NU Coach Tom Osborne offered
Cody the scholarship Tuesday night,
and after talking it over with his fami
ly, Cody accepted Wednesday morn
ing.
He said he had hoped the offer
would come and once it did, his deci
sion was simple.
“They’re the best,” Cody said.
As long as he keeps his grade
point average above a 2.5, Cody will
qualify academically. He also consid
ered Kansas State, Kansas, Wyoming,
Michigan and New Mexico State but
has not made any official recruiting
visits.
Though high school athletes can
not sign letters of intent until the first
Wednesday in February, the Huskers
have also received verbal commit
ments from Chris Kelsay, a 6-4, 235
pound rush end from Auburn; Nate
Koltermann, a 6-4, 310-pound offen
sive lineman from Seward; DeAntae
Grixby, a 5-9,190-pound I-back from
Omaha Central; Dahrran Diedrick, a
6-1, 210-pound I-back from
Scarborough, Ontario; Aaron
Golliday, a 6-5, 230-pound tight end
from York; Jeremy Slechta, a 6-5,260
pound defensive lineman from
Papillion-LaVista; and Jon Bowling, a
6-4,'210-pound tight end from
Lincoln Southeast.
>.jV •-"
Victoria All-Stars outshoot NU
LOSS from page 10
with Nebraska, who shot 54 percent in
the first half and 31 percent in the sec
ond.
“If we throw the ball around the out
side and shoot three’s, we don’t play
well,” Molloy said. “We’ve got to make
sure we can penetrate and get it into the
key, and then kick it out and shoot from
there. We didn’t get that done in the first
half.”
What Victoria didn’t do in the first
half, won the game for them in the sec
ond half.
“We’re not totally dumbfounded
about the fact that we don’t have a true
point guard and that teams are still going
to press us,” said NU senior guard Anna
DeFoige. “We just couldn’t get the right
people open, couldn’t get the right pass
es, it was just unforced errors.
“We were getting a lot of good shots,
good looks in the first half. But we
couldn’t even get the ball past half court
in the second half. I think definitely the
pressure was a huge difference in our
second half.”
«
I think definitely the pressure was a huge
difference in our second half ”
Anna DeForge
NU senior guard
DeForge also thinks the absence of
Brooke Schwartz added to Nebraska’s
exhibition loss. Schwartz had an appen
dectomy last Tuesday and should return
by Friday.
“Yeah, she could have helped us out
tonight,” DeFoige said. “She’s got great
court vision.”
Nebraska came out in the fourth
quarter looking like they were ready to
attack Victoria’s press, but with 6:15 left
in the fourth quarter, Victoria still main
tained a 67-62 lead.
Their lead increased as the
Australian team outscored the Huskers
15-5.
“I thought their coach made some
great adjustments at halftime,”
Sanderford said. “They went to the zone
press a little too late in the first half, but
then we didn’t attack it We made slug
gish cuts, we should’ve taken into the
double team, you’ve got to draw the dou
ble team before you kick out the ball.
“I thought for a little while it was
going to be Anna (DeForge) versus the
world.”
Despite the loss DeForge still said
she is ready to start regular season play
and forget about the Victoria All-Stars.
“This was just an exhibition game,”
she said.
The Huskers open their regular sea
son Friday night by taking on Miami of
Ohio in the Women’s National Invitation
Tournament.
Tight NU win inspires Iowa State
ISU from page 10
and the USA Today/ESPN coaches’
poll.
“It was one of the best games in col
lege football in 1997,” McCamey said.
“Both sides had
players making
great plays.”
But one close
game doesn’t mean
Nebraska is beat
able, McCarney
said.
“It hasn’t hap
pened yet,”
McCarney said. McCamey
“They are a super
football team. I don’t see one weakness
on their football team.”
ISU also played a nail-biter
Saturday in Ames against Colorado.
The Buffaloes rallied to score 19 points
in the fourth quarter, including a touch
down with seven seconds remaining to
down the Cyclones 43-38.
“We really got after Colorado from
the get go,” ISU linebacker Michael
Cooper said. “But we couldn’t put them
away. I think it was a tough one to swal
low because we had the game won.
“But I think people realize now that
we can play with people. I think we’re a
lot better team than our record sug
gests.”
Iowa State was without standout
tailback Darren Davis in the second
half. Davis, brother of former ISU and
current New Orleans Saints tailback
Troy, left with a thigh bruise after rush
ing for 68 yards and one touchdown.
“It was a game we had a lot of
opportunities to win,” McCamey said.
“We played our best half of football of
the season in the first half.”
After losing their first six games,
the Cyclones beat Baylor 24-17, Oct.
25 in Ames. Since the win, ISU lost at
Kansas, 34-24, and to CU.
“I think the team we play Saturday
is much improved,” Nebraska Coach
Tom Osborne said.
Iowa State was the last team to hand
the Huskers a conference loss when the
Cyclones upset NU 19-10 on Nov. 14,
1992, in Ames.
The Cyclones have not defeated-a
ranked team on the road since Oct. 20,
1990, when they beat then-1 b^-ranked
Oklahoma 33-31 in Norman, Okla.
Iowa State has never defeated a top-five
team.
Vacek hopes to end NU
career with NCAA run
VACEK from page 10
as the sixth-ranked team in the coun
try. With a 17-3 record, the Huskers
are making their second consecutive
trip to the tournament.
A win Sunday would more than
likely send the Huskers to play at No.
2 Notre Dame. Vacek said the Huskers
are not getting noticed as one of the
top teams in the country.
“I don’t think we’ve gotten full
respect,” Vacek said. “I guess the only
way to prove it is to beat some of these
teams over and over again.”
Nebraska as a team may not be the
only one missing respect. Seven
I-:
Huskers were named to either the first
or second all-conference teams. Vacek
was not one of them. Last season, she
was named to the first team.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t both
er me,” Vacek said. “I thought I had a
better year than I did last year. I helped
the team more by improving. Besides,
it’s just a name on a paper.”
Even though Vacek’s stint as a
Husker is hanging in the balance, she
said the only thing she is focusing on
is the game against Michigan.
“I don’t plan to lose,” Vacek said,
“but if we do it’s over. I am still going
to go to practice tomorrow and do my
same job.”
MAh^ialtAHhd 11
GIVE IT A SHOT
WNIT -First Round:
NU Women vs. Miami (Ohio)
Friday, November 14 @ 8:35 pm
at Bob Devaney Sports Center
Student-Promotion: “Huskers Authentic™ Shootout"
UNL students, here’s your chance to win free apparel from
Huskers Authentic™ or a leather jacket.
All shootout participants get a free t-shirt from Huskers
Authentic™.
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