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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1998)
Gameday: Nebraska 38, Husker kicker Kris Brown became Nebraska’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday with a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter. Brown eclipsed former NU I-back Mike Rozier’s mark of 312. Brown will go into the California game with 315 points and counting. “It was really an honor for me to be able to break the record, but I really wasn’t focused on it at all,” Brown said. H Among the inductees to the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame at the halftime ceremony on Saturday was Pat Donohoe, who played defensive tackle for Wayne State from 1973-76. Donohoe now is the defensive line coach for Alabama-Birmingham. Another Hall-of-Famer, ex Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne, received a cordial roar from the Memorial Stadium crowd as his name was announced. Osborne missed last week’s game with Louisiana Tech but was back for his homecoming with a seat in the press box. B Grant Wistrom and Aaron Taylor also netted Hall of Fame status on Saturday. 1997’s Lombardi and Outland Trophy winners, respectively, and the members of the storied Husker senior class of 1997 that won three national championships in four years, were on hand to be recognized. B Joy Berquist, Husker left guard from 1921-23, joined Osborne, Wistrom and Taylor as the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors selections for 1998. B Eight other Nebraska football greats were chosen for induction by their peers in the Hall of Fame’s general membership. The new inductees include Dale Bradley (NU fullback, 1940-42), John Sedlacek (NU tackle, 1945-48), Mike Kennedy (NU line backer, 1963-65), Fred Davis (Doane offensive tackle, 1966-67), Paul Rogers (NU kicker, 1968-70), Derrie Nelson (NU defensive end, 1978-80) and Neil - Smith (NU defensive tackle, 1985-87). B Blazer fullback Ortavious Miles, who scored UAB’s only touchdown, made a partial plea to the pollsters after the game. “They’re probably the No. 1 team in the nation right now,” Miles said ■ UAB may be a team to watch in weeks to come. The Blazers will be tak ing on Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Virginia Tech and Tennessee this season. UAB linebacker Brian Smith said he hopes the NU game will just be a building block toward success for the rest of the year. ■ Blazer Head Coach Watson Brown is no stranger to playing defending national champions. In 1983, as the head coach at Cincinnati, Brown coached the Bearcats to a 14-3 win over 1982 National Champion Penn State. Notebook compiled by staff writer Adam Klinker. tough loss for Blazers UAB coach ‘proud’ of team’s effort By Adam Klinker Staff writer It’s the little things that usually factor big. For Alabama-Birmingham, Saturday’s game against Nebraska was no exception. The Blazers, facing the Comhuskers in their first contest of the year, ran an NU-like offense and got away with it - but not well enough to gain a victory as they fell to the Huskers 38-7. “I was proud of them,” Blazer Coach Watson Brown said after the game. “They tried to execute the game plan that we had. We just ran out of gas.” Brown said his team gave its all for VA quarters before fatigue set in, and small mistakes and missed assignments did the Blazers in. Just the same, Brown said UAB fought hard to the finish. “They didn’t come in here and back down,” Brown said. “They came in here and kept their poise. They didn’t give the game away” In a crucial drive late in the third quarter, the Blazer offense, trailing 21 -7 and guided down field by sophomore quarterback/punter Daniel Dixon, was penalized four times, including three flags in a row inside NU’s 25-yard line. “The heat’s on them at that point,” Brown said. “I thought if we could get that one in, we would have had ourselves a dogfight, but it got loud, and we didn’t have it.” Another big play occurred in the second quarter as NU, with a 7 0 lead, was driving deep within Blazer territory. On third down and 11, NU quarterback Eric Crouch, operating out of the shotgun, threw a screen pass to I-back Correll Buckhalter. UAB strong safety Wes Foss was unable to judge the receiver’s direc tion in time, and Buckhalter slid by him for a 10-yard gain. Though the Huskers faced fourth and one, they elected to go, and Crouch threw a 15-yard pass to a wide open Sheldon Jackson in the end zone for NU’s second score. “We just made little mistakes like that,” said Blazer linebacker Brian Smith, who finished the game with seven tackles. “We’ve got to be on point with everything if we’re going to beat a team like Nebraska.” v Smith, who has played against other premier offensive lines in the nation including Tennessee and Auburn, said NU’s front line was by far the best he had ever seen. On the other side of the ball, the UAB offense was running at the Huskers with a little of its own medicine in options and draws, keeping the NU defense on its toes for most of the first half. “That surprised me a little,” Dixon said. “But I kn^w Nebraska would react to it and change, and they did.” Dixon finished the game with 50 yards rushing on 16 carries and Turning Point ^ In the third quarter, UAB was driving for another touchdown when several penalties pushed them back to the Nebrask 40-yard line. Instead of a sure three points or a possible touchdown. UAB had to punt. Game over. was 8-15 passing for 56 yards. He a|$o punted the ball sdvfcn times for *. Sri average of 39. byards. ► The Blazers’ lone touchdown of the afternoon^came on a 2-yard . draw play by fullback Ortavious Miles in die second quarter. “I’ll remember that forever,” Miles said. “Scoring against Nebraska -1 couldn’t ask for a bet ter feeling than that.” While the feeling in the Blazer locker room after the game was one of accomplishment, Brown made certain that it was certainly not a victory atmosphere. “This is not a victory speech by any means,” Brown said. “We just weren’t good enough. We fought them, but they didn’t make mis takes.” Brown said he gave his players a lot of credit for their composure, toughness and effort, but in the end, UAB’s errors were too much. “They didn’t get knocked down and beat,” Brown said. “They made mistakes and got beat.” As UAB walked off the field at the end of the game, a cheer from Husker fans erupted from the northwest stadium. “That was great,” Dixon said. “These are great people, and this is a great place to play, and I think we can feel proud of what we’ve done.” Photos by Mike Warren/DN (TOP) UAB QUARTERBACK DANIEL DIXON watches as his helmet, torn off by Nebraska defensive lineman Aaron Wills, flies toward the turf at Memorial Stadium. Dixon had 66 yards on 16 carries and 56 yards passing. (ABOVE) SENIOR TIGHT END SHELDON JACKSON leaps for pass from quarterback Eric Crouch on a fourth down play that led to Nebraska’s second touchdown. It was Jackson’s second touchdown reception of the season. (RIGHT) FRESHMAN QUARTEBACK ERIC CROUCH celebrates after his first touchdown in Nebraska’s 38-7 win over Alabama Birmingham. Crouch scored two touchdowns,including this 11-yard score.
