Sam McKewon
A defeat
for NU was
inevitable
It was bound to happen. You
knew it. I knew it.
The Comhuskers lost. They lost
in the way they’ve beaten so many
other teams. Texas A&M ran the
ball. Well. The Aggies pressured
Bobby Newcombe into one - and
one’s all you ever need - fatal mis
take that resulted in a touchdown.
Then, a big interception when it
was needed.
iNeorasica lost. Ana tnat s UK,
because it was bound to happen.
Now, the Huskers have to devise a
way for it to not happen again.
It gets a little easier next week
against Kansas, only because it’s
Kansas. But then, there’s Missouri.
Then Texas. And later, Kansas
State and Colorado. They could all
beat Nebraska.
Make no mistake about that last
statement. This Nebraska team is
nowhere near the 1995 team.
They’re not at a 1993, 1994, 1996
or 1997 level. That’s right: This is
the worst team NU has had since
1992.
It’s nothing to feel bad about.
After all, some team had to be the
worst out of that group. This is it.
Again, that’s OK. NU is not out of
the money just yet. Worse teams
have won national titles (Check
1990 Colorado, 1986 Penn State
and 1984 Brigham Young). With a
little luck, the Huskers can too.
First, the offense needs a little
attitude change. My charge-free
advice: Throw the ball more. Thirty
times a game, if NU has to. Why?
Because Newcombe can throw bet
ter than he runs the option. Because
he’s not 100 percent healthy and
probably won’t be for the rest of the
season. Because the pass isn’t evil.
Defenses are getting the pic
ture. Gotta throw, baby.
rur uic ueiense: yun gamming
and trust your boys a little.
Nebraska’s defense is good for nine
plays, bad for one. And it cost them
against Texas A&M.
To get back in this Bowl
Championship Series thing will
require some luck, too. Ohio State
needs to lose. If not that, then cer
tainly Tennessee or UCLA must.
That happens, and Nebraska has to
find a way to run the table. Which
means upsetting (that’s right, upset
ting) Kansas State and winning a
rematch with Texas A&M in the
Big 12 Championship game.
Whatever happens from here, it
will be interesting. Again, the
Huskers are humans. They are not
the gods of college football who are
not expected to lose.
“Nobody’s perfect,” tight end
Sheldon Jackson said Saturday
after the loss.
Well said, Sheldon. And some
times perfection is boring.
Sam McKewon is a junior
political science and news-editor
ial major and the Daily
Nebraskan sports editor.
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„. _ Darren Ivy/DN
KIM ENGESSER WINS the header with Colorado’s Kendall Pata on Sunday. Engesser scored two
goals this weekend, moving her into a tie on the NU all-time charts for most career goals.
NU survives late rally
from Buffaloes for win
By Darren Ivy
Staff writer
Soccer
Nebraska 1 0 1
Colorado 0 0 0
“(Being close) motivates me
more because my goal each
game is to get a shutout,”
LeBlanc said. “I got to see how I
If offensive statistics were what determined
the outcome of soccer games, Nebraska would
have been a six- or seven-goal victor in each of its
weekend games.
But soccer is more than statistics.
It’s about finishing shot opportunities.
The No. 13 Comhuskers didn’t and therefore
had to settle for a 1-1 tie with No. 7 Portland on
Friday and a 1-0 win against Colorado on Sunday
at the Abbott Sports Complex.
Against Colorado, the Huskers, 9-2-1, outshot
the Buffaloes 34-3, but Kim Engesser’s 16* goal
of the season at 34:21 was the only shot that made
it past CU goalkeeper Sloane Cox the entire game.
“I thought, overall, we played well,” NU
Coach John Walker said. “Cox was outstanding.
She’s the best goalkeeper I’ve seen in here, ever.”
NU freshman Kelly Rheem said the Huskers
needed to shoot the ball lower against the 6-foot-l
Cox, but they had a hard time doing that.
Cox made 16 saves, which helped keep the
Buffaloes within striking distance.
During the last five minutes CU threatened -
taking two shots and two comer kicks - but it
couldn’t score on Nebraska goalkeeper Karina
LeBlanc.
LeBlanc said she liked having a close game.
handle the pressure.
Rheem, a Littleton, Colo., native, also had a
little added pressure playing against some former
high school and club teammates, but she said it
didn’t bother her.
“You don’t play any different,” said Rheem,
who set up Engesser for her game-winning goal.
“It’s weird to see familiar faces (on the opposing
team).”
Friday’s overtime game with Portland was a
reunion of sorts for Engesser, who was a Pilot in
1995-96.
Alter a scoreless first half, Engesser got NU
on the board at the 47:57 mark. Engesser scored
off a pass from Rheem, her sixth assist of the sea
son.
Rheem had beaten a Pilot defender and drawn
the goalie to her when she tapped to ball to
Engesser for a shot at the wide-open net
“I was just hoping I wasn’t going to kick it
wide or over like I usually do,” Engesser said.
Ten minutes later, Portland’s Vanessa Talbott
tied the game at 1-1. The game remained tied at
the end of regulation, forcing overtime.
In overtime, NU outshot Portland 8-0, but
couldn’t put in Ihe game winner.
McBride:
Huskers had
lost urgency
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Though the Comhuskers aren’t accustomed to
losing games, Nebraska Defensive Coordinator
Charlie McBride expected the
Huskers’ narrow victory over
Oklahoma State on Oct. 3, to
serve as a wake-up call.
It didn’t happen.
After an unimpressive
week of practice, Nebraska
lost for the first time since
1996 Saturday to Texas A&M
in College Station, Texas. The
28-21 loss snapped a nation
leading 19-game winning
streak for NU.
It also ended a 40-game regular-season confer
ence winning streak.
“I think they probably played like they practiced
last week,” McBride said “I thought last week was
one of the low lights that I’ve seen around here.
“There was no motivation. It seemed like either
they were tired or not focusing, and they played that
way.
“Usually when you come off a game like
Oklahoma State, there’s a sense of urgency. Last
week, there didn’t seem to be one.”
The Huskers last loss came in the 1996 Big 12
Championship against Texas - meaning NU’s true
freshmen and sophomores had never lost a game
until Saturday.
The Nebraska seniors still boast an impressive
41-3 record
“A lot of the young players think they’re pretty
good because they’re playing with guys that have
won national championships,” McBride said. “They
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kuiuA. iuio 10 j udi a
cake walk. I think
they’re finding out
that there’s more to it
than that”
Nebraska’s def
ense surrendered 93
yards through the air
and 259 yards on the
ground facing the
best offensive line it
had seen all season,
McBride said.
“They just basi
cally man-handled us
up front” be said.
As a whole,
McBride said, the
Texas A&M program
has improved since
NU downed the
Aggies D4-1D m last season s tug 11 cnampionsmp
game.
“Overall, they have a renewed attitude,”
McBride said “I think they’ve worked at their game
a lot harder. I saw them play all their games on film,
and it was just one of those deals where you were
just waiting for them to explode.
“They saw what happened to us at Oklahoma
State and I think they figured they could capitalize
on that”
The Huskers defeated OSU 24-17 after stopping
the Cowboys one foot from the goal line as time
expired. The Cowboys were able to hold the Huskers
to only 71 yards rushing for the game, but still lost
After the victory, McBride said, the NU coaches
could only do so much to get the players mentally
ready for Texas A&M.
“They’re men,” McBride said. “They’re not
kids. They control their own destiny - as far as what
their attitude is for work habits and what hey want
to do.”
Now, McBride said, he team’s fate ultimately
rides in the hands of he players.
‘1 don’t think when you lose anybody feels real
excited about it,” he said. “There wasn’t anybody
whining or griping or any of that kind of stuff.
Hopefully, it was an attitude that the players are
going to see he urgency of getting better:
“Competitors will fight back. People that aren’t,
will just fall along he way.”
ii
They think this
is just a cake
walk. I think
they re finding
out there s
more to it than
that.”
Charlie McBride
NU defensive coordinator
