NU maintains focus for OSU
Sam McKewon
‘Selling’ of
home game
hurts OSU
You can't help but like Oklahoma
State Coach Bob Simmons.
He's one of us. By “us" 1 mean he’s
a coach out of the Nebraska mold. He
likes running the football. He likes the
option. He's got a punishing defense
that loves to hit.
He’s a guy worth rooting for.
Simmons has done a lot of things
right in his tenure at OSU. Given the
fact he lost more than 10 players for
academic reasons at the beginning of
1997, the former Colorado defensive
coordinator has been pretty damn good
at pulling his team from the fire.
But he made one big mistake
before this season. He sent his team
straight up the river this weekend in
Kansas City, Mo., when it plays
Nebraska at Arrowhead Stadium
instead of at home in Stillwater, Okla.
They're getting paid to do it.
fiscally, it may have been the smart
thing to do. The Cowboys will get a lit
tle money for playing away from home.
As a little bonus, all those orange-clad
fans get to travel 600 miles to see their
team get beat. Some home game that is.
Simmons said Monday he's got
plenty to worry about without thinking
where the game is.
“We're going to run into (a team)
that's normally ready to play, in terms
of their opponents," Simmons said.
You bet Nebraska's ready. Ready to
play in front of 50,000 of its own fans.
Ready to make a shorter trip than
Oklahoma State has to make to the
game. Ready to have a little home
away-from-home game for a change.
What was Oklahoma State think
ing? In Stillwater, they may have had a
good chance of staying with Nebraska.
At least a shot to make a run at it.
Now, Oklahoma State loses that
crowd and that chance. In a season
where NU isn’t invincible, a win over
the Huskers - the first since 1961 -
would mean more to OSU than a cou
ple of bucks. Wouldn’t it?
As it is, the Cowboys have the deck
stacked against them. Fewer fans.
Lesser team. Instead of getting to stay
at home, they have to stay in a hotel.
And who sleeps well in those motel
beds, anyway? Not I.
Simmons let the boys m the athlet
ic department more or less give up a
win for the almighty dollar. In that
sense, Simmons is not like a Nebraska
coach. While the Huskers pull in plen
ty of coin for each home game, I don’t
see Tom Osborne or Frank Solich
scooting down to the Astrodome in
Houston to play Texas or Texas A&M.
It’s about winning games, not winning
over boosters who want to have a hot
night out on the town.
I like Bob Simmons. But he and the
athletic department screwed up. On
Saturday, he and the rest of his team
will find out just how much the home
field cost OSU.
Sam McKewon is a junior news
editorial and political science major
and the Daily Nebraskan sports edi
tor.
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Business as usual.
Or at least, that’s how Nebraska I-back De Angelo
Evans describes it.
Just three days after thrash
ing the No. 8 team in the nation
55-7, the Cornhuskers aren’t
basking in the glory of one big
win.
They’re getting ready for
their next game - this week it’s
Oklahoma State.
“That’s the way we feel,”
Evans said. “One game at a
Solich time. Destination: Tempe.”
Tempe, as in Tempe, Anz.,
home of the Fiesta Bowl and this season’s national
championship game.
Evans wasn't the only Husker to talk about Tempe
at Tuesday’s weekly press conference, and he wasn't
the only player to discuss avoiding complacency after
NU’s win over Washington last week.
“Any time you win a big game, you can’t look at
yourself as being, ‘Oh, we’re there already. We’re the
best team,’” Nebraska quarterback Bobby
Newcombe said. “You have to continue to improve
every' single weekend.
“The coaches do a great job here at Nebraska.
They always make sure that their players realize that
they have to prepare well for every game. They can’t
settle for one big win.”
vs.
_Oklahoma St
In the last four seasons, the Huskers are 16-1
against ranked opponents. The one loss, against 17th
ranked Arizona State in 1996, was followed by seven
consecutive wins.
After beating a ranked opponent, the Huskers
haven't lost a following regular-season game since
1992, when they lost to unranked Iowa State 19-10
after defeating No. 13 Kansas 49-7 in Lincoln.
“It's somethuig where, if you look back over the
years, we haven't been complacent very often,”
Nebraska senior fullback Joel Makovicka said.
“That's why we've been able to continue winning. 1
don't think this team will get complacent. We know
we have to focus for each game.”
Anti Newcombe said, the Huskers know what
would happen if they lost to a team ilic> were expect
ed to beat.
“If we would have lost to Alabama-Birmmgham,
people would have been talking about that right now,”
Newcombe said.
Nebraska (4-0) will travel to Kansas City, Mo.,
this weekend to face Oklahoma State (2-1) at
Arrowhead Stadium.
The Cowboys, coming off a 42-23 win over
Mississippi State Sept. 19, haven't defeated the Huskers
since 1960 and 1961 - the teams' first two meetings.
“1 think they're looking forward to playing us -
No letdown here... ,^y
The last five regular-season losses by the
Nebraska football team after defeating a ranked team.
Year Lost to Score Ranked team Opp. Rank
beat/ Score
1997 Texas 37-27 Colorado/17-12 5
1992 Iowa St. 19-10 Kansas/49-7 13
1984 Syracuse 17-9 UCLA/ 42-3 8
1981 Penn St.(3) 30-24 Florida St./34-14 19
1980 Florida St.(16) 18-14 Penn St./ 21-7 11
Jon Frank/DN
looking to see if they can knock off the No. 2 team in
the nation - and thinking we might be complacent
with our win last week,” NU senior center Josh
Heskew said. “Hopefully, we’ll come in and prove
them wrong.”
Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said the Huskers
need to have a good week of practice to be prepared
for Oklahoma State.
“I think our players know that we’ve never over
looked anybody,” Solich said. “Basically, we’ve treat
ed everybody similar in our approach. That’s what
Oklahoma State wiii get. It’s very easy to see that
they’re a legitimate football team.”
Heskew agreed.
“This is a big game even though some people
might not categorize them as a great team,” he said.
“They move around well on defense and have a good
offense.
“It’s real easy to get complacent. I think some
people might, but as a captain. I’ll take it upon my
shoulders to try to keep people up.”
Anderson
is versatile
NU player
,-jt
By Darren Ivy
Staff writer
There are only four positions on
the soccer field that Nebraska fresh
man Meghan Anderson hasn't
played during
the first eight
games this sea
son.
Recruited
as a midfield
er/striker com
ing out of high
school,
Anderson has
Walker played both
those positions.
But Sept. 11, against then-No. 8
Clemson, she got the ultimate sur
prise when Coach John Walker
moved her to goalie.
At the time, Anderson was play
ing midfielder. But starting goalie
Karina LeBlanc suffered a concus
sion, and her back-up, Jackie
Erdkamp, tore the anterior cruciate
ligament in her knee.
With no more goalies on the
bench, Walker and Assistant Coach
Marty Everding had to make a deci
sion.
“We needed someone with char
acter who could handle that posi
tion,” said Everding, who coaches
the goalies.
Anderson was the choice.
“She’s someone who would say,
‘I have to play goalie, no big deal,'”
Everding said. “I’m sure her heart
was probably pounding, but you did
n’t notice.
“She took the bull by the horns
and came out and got the first shot.”
That’s the kind of person
Anderson is.
She’s a nsk-taker and not afraid
of failure, Everding said. That
helped her as a goalie.
Anderson thought her goalie
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