Newcombe saves game for NU
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By Darren Ivy ^
Senior staff writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Nebraska got
an early Halloween scare Saturday night
from some guys dressed in Jayhawk
costumes.
That’s when junior wingback
Bobby Newcombe decided to put on his
Superman costume a day early and
come to the rescue with an 86-yard punt
return for a touchdown and a 49-yard
reception for the game-winning touch
down in the fourth quarter.
“Without Bobby, I don’t know what
we would have done today,” said senior
linebacker Eric Johnson. “Bobby is one
of the most underrated players in this
country. Bobby is a great player. He is a
play maker.”
The Huskers, 7-1 and 4-1 in the Big
12 Conference, needed Newcombe’s
heroics to offset a lackluster first half
and an inspired Jayhawk team seeking
to erase the haunting of 30-straight loss
es to its northern neighbor. It wasn’t
until the clock ran out on a scramble by
KU quarterback Dylan Smith that NU
players and fans could relax with a 24
17 victory.
“This is a big relief,” said junior
safety Clint Finley. “I am so glad that we
won because KU played real hard and
tough. We are lucky to come out with a
win.”
NU was lucky indeed.
The Jayhawks, 3-6 and 1-4, played
like the other Big 12 team in Kansas
Saturday night. Meanwhile, NU
appeared to have a Texas hangover in
the first half as the offense had just 69
yards of total offense and the defense
gave up 184 yards of total offense. The
95th-ranked KU defense and 91st
ranked offense looked like a top-10
team in both categories.
Freshman running back Matt
Jordan gave the Jayhawks a 2-0 lead
when he blocked Dan Hadenfelt’s punt
out of the end zone. The difference
remained two points until KU tight end
u
Without Bobby, I
don’t know what we
would have done
-
today.... Bobby is a
great player. He is a
play maker. ”
Eric Johnson
Nebraska linebacker
David Hurst tacked on a 22-yard touch
down reception with nine minutes and
12 seconds remaining in the second
quarter.
The catch capped off an impressive
seven-play 79-yard drive in which
Smith completed 5-5 passes for 58
yards. His accuracy caught NU players
off-guard, but not defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride.
“Coach McBride was right when he
said this wasn’t going to be the same
Kansas team we had played years ago,”
Johnson said “They have a nice quar
terback. The quarterback was throwing
really well, and they were clicking on
offense. They were doing things we
hadn’t seen on film. They really out
played us that first half.”
Trailing 9-0 at halftime, Coach
Frank Solich knew NU had its back to
the wall and had to execute better in the
second half. He challenged the players
to do better in the second half,
Newcombe said
NU’s fortunes appearedto change
almost immediately in the second half
as Eric Crouch hit Matt Davison on a
63-yard bomb on the initial play of the
half It setup the Huskers at die 20-yard
line, but two plays later the fumble gods
struck NU again as Dan Alexander
coughed up the ball at the 10-yard line.
Andrew LeClair recovered the ball at
Uryp WaPPPV/HN
MICHAEL WEGENER, a native of Omaha and a student at Kufdecided he
would don the scarlet and cream of Nebraska and root for the Huskers even
while sitting In the Kansas student section.
the 1-yard line.
TTie defense, however, rose to the
occasion, stuffing KU on three-straight
plays. Then die special teams came up
with a blocked punt by Gregg List. It set
up NU at the 23-yard line.
The Huskers moved the ball to the
8-yard line, but the Huskers killed
themselves with an unsportsmanlike
conduct penalty. It stopped the momen
tum, and NU had to settle for a 31-yard
Josh Brown field goal.
It was Newcombe’s punt return later
in the quarter that finally gave NU die
break it was looking for
The Buskers added another score in
the fourth quarter on a Crouch eight
yard run to take a 17-9 lead.But Kansas
still hadsome tricks left in its goody bag
of plays. On the first play after die NU
touchdown, Smith continued to make
bigplays hitting Michael Chandler for a
76-yard bomb. Smith found Chandler
again on die two-point conversion to tie
the game at 17-17 with 11:44 remain
ing.
‘It just felt a lot like last week, look
ing at yourself and saying, ‘Damn, what
is going on here?’” said defensive tack
le Loran Kaiser about the touchdown.
That set the stage for Newcombe’s
49-yard game-winning touchdown
catch. Ml
“Great players make great plays,”
said Mike Brown. “He’s a special play
er, and everyone knows it.”
While every NU fan may know
about Newcombe’s ability, throughout
much of the season he has taken a back
seat role to Crouch in terms of media
exposure and big plays. But the wing
back from Albuquerque, N.M., got his
chance to shine on Saturday night. ? 21
It was a far cry from last week, when
Newcombe almost vanished ittthfs^ep
ond half against Texas. The coaches did-?
n’t foiget about him this week.
“Tonight a lot of opportunities came
my way,” said Newcombe, who fin
ished with 89 receiving yards on four
catches and 115 yards on two punt
returns.
KU loses grip on Huskers in 2nd half
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
If a camera was focused on
Kansas Coach Terry Allen during the
Kansas vs. Nebraska game on
Saturday, it would have told the story.
His body language on the sideline
during the game and in the locker
room afterward showed the roller
coaster of emotions the KU football
~ team went through in its 24-17 loss to
the Cornhuskers. The team’s spirit
and ultimately its defeat were best
reflected in the actions of Allen.
After the game, a visibly disap
pointed Allen came out of the locker
and barked “let’s go” at players who
took time speak with friends and fam
ily before going into the changing
room.
He also refused to laud his team’s
play in the near win against No. 8/9
Nebraska.
“You don’t give congratulations,”
Allen said. “Sure, they gave a great
effort. We came to play and came to
win. It’s frustrating, and it’s disap
pointing. You have to play all facets of
the game. I’m pleased and proud of
their effort, but you don’t give con
gratulations when you get beat.”
That contrasted with a vibrant
Allen, seen early on as he paced the
sidelines with a spring in his step,
cheering on his players. He could be
seen celebrating after every first
down or great defensive play as his
team took a 9-0 lead.
And unlike its first six games of
die season where the Jayhawks, who
fell to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in die Big
12 Conference, were outscored 144
96 in the first half and 60-26 in the
first quarter, responded to Allen’s
exuberance in the first half against
Nebraska (7-1,4-1):
“I thought our kids believed they
could win,” said Allen, who had 56-1
record when leading at halftime.
“And that was demonstrated in the
first half when we talked about trying
to make things happen.”
Using an open offense, staunch
defense and a blocked punt for a safe
ty, Kansas, not Nebraska, was the bet
ter team in the first half.
Allen’s offense had him pumping
his fists into the air after quarterback
Dylan Smith hit David Hurst on a 22
yard touchdown pass to give the
Jayhawks the nine-point margin.
Using formations, which used
several receivers to spread out a slug
gish NU defense, Kansas picked at
the Nebraska defense in the first half
for 184 yards and 12 first downs.
At die same time Allen had reason
to applaud his defense. The same unit
that had been scorched for 412.8
yards per game in 1999 had yielded
only 69 yards and zero points to
Nebraska in the first half.
Free safety Carl Nesmith said the
defensive effort was one KU’s finest
this season.
“The defense played great,” said
Nesmith, who led the team with 11
tackles. “Everybody did their job
tonight. And the whole team played
well.
“The defense has a lot of confi
dence now. We should have shut them
down. We should have won the
game.”
Football Game Review Sf # j
Nebraska Kansas
No. Name Yds Avg TD No. Name Yds Avg TD
30 D. Diedrick
No. Name Att Cmp Int YdsTD No. Name Att Cmp Int YdsTD
28 H. Childs 1 0 1 0 0
Game Stats manna n wianua ku
Rushing attempts 42 39 Interceptions 1 0
Passing attempts 20 70 Punt returns/yards 8/199 4/16
Passing yards 217 Time of possession 28:18 31:42
Mwpwpi
Total yards 334 Fourth-down conversion 1 of 1 OofO
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• '
• v ■ - . 4
Caeaemigm ri»«wiH^—i Score by quarters Total
dconng summary Nebraska o o 101« 24
Kansas 2 7 0 8 17
Team Qtr. Scoring play Plays-yards Score
. . __ NU KU
MMMHtiMMMmNHMMMMMMNMOTMHMMMMHI
KU 2 0. Hurst 22yd pass from D. Smith (J. Garda) 79-7 0 9
WMMMMNIPHNIPMiiiHMHWHlHHHMMK
NU 3 B. Newcombe 86yd return of 48 yd Delfanio punt 10 9
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