California 3
Blackshirts shine at Cal
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Senior staff writer
BERKELEY, Calif. - A Nebraska
defense that promoted itself as one of
the best in the nation during the pre
season finally revealed the substance
behind the hype Saturday.
The Blackshirts produced their
best performance of the season in a
24-3 win over California at Memorial
Stadium in Berkeley, responding to
critics who labeled the defense over
rated after it allowed Louisiana Tech
590 yards passing in the season open
er.
No. 4 NU sacked Cal quarterback
Justin Vedder a season-high six
times. And the much-maligned sec
ondary grabbed two interceptions -
one each by Mike Brown and Carlos
Polk - during the last three minutes
of the game.
“When you put the responsibility
on your shoulder of being one of the
best defenses in the country, that’s a
lot of hype,” NU left rush end Chad
Kelsay said. “We have a lot of new
guys on offense and people were
expecting us to carry the team
through the first few games. So when
you start giving up a few too many
yards here or there, people will freak
out.”
The Huskers (3-0) provoked
many of the 67,397 fans - including
over 25,000 red-clad spectators - to
“freak out” with the game in doubt
much of the second half.
The defense’s defining moment
came in the opening minutes of the
fourth quarter. Nebraska held a 14-3
lead, but with Cal thrfedi^fiiftg to
score on nearly every drive in fee sec
Football Game Review!» ”
Nebraska L*Jk gattrraa
Rushing ^-§1' Rushing Qf
Name Car Yds Avg TD Name Car Yds Avg TD
Joel Makovicka 13 79 5.9 0 Marcus Fields 9 31 3.2 0
Correll Buckhalter 12 75 5.9 0 Joshua White 7 18 2.3 0
Eric Crouch 16 78 3.7 2
Receiving Receiving
Name Rec Yds Long TD Name Rec Yds Long TD
Shevin Wiggins 7 97 36 1 Demeane Douglas 5 124 40 0
Matt Davison 5 44 20 0 Joshua White 4 15 10 0
Sheldon Jackson 1 31 31 0 Ronnie Davenport 1 22 22 0
Passing Passing
Name Comp Att Yds TD Name Comp Att Yds TD
Eric Crouch 6 16 74 0 Justin Vedder 14 32 224 0
Monte Christo 9 12 106 1
Game StatS Rents^ m Vefcrasfca m
First downs 24 9 Fumbles lost 0 0
Rushing attempts 60 25 Interceptions 2 1
Rushing yards 254 12 Penalties / yards 4 / 29 9 / 53
Passing attempts 28 32 Punt returns / yards 7/41.9 9/38.2
Passing completions 15 14 Kickoff returns / yards 2/48 3/84
Passing yards 180 224 Time of possession 35:42 24:18
Total yards 434 236 Sacks/yards 6/36 3/21
Scoring Summary Nebraska 7 7 0 10 24
California 0 0 3 0 3
Team Qtr Scoring play Plays-yards Score
Nebraska CAL
NU 1 E. Crouch 1 yd run 7-67 7 0
NU 2 E. Crouch 3 yd run 5-64 14 0
CAL 3 T. Wolleck 38 yd field goal 6-47 14 3
NU 4 S. Wiggins 5 yd pass from M. Christo 9 - 70 21 3
NU 4 K. Brown 41 yd field goal 4 - -10 24 3
ond half, Kelsay said, the Huskers
needed to gain some momentum.
And the Bears (1-1) presented an
opportunity.
Cal regaini^pSssession after
I
Jon Frank/DN
Kris Brown missed a 40-yard field
goal attempt with 11 minutes and
three seconds remaining in the fourth
Please see DEFENSE on 11
