CU aims for conference-contender status
By Brian Christopherson
Staff writer
Colorado feels a little left out, like the high
school boy who just got his prom date stolen by
the new kid in town - the kid ^nearing die purple
tux, no less.
It was just a few years back when the
Buffaloes used to dance with Nebraska annually
for the Big Eight and Big Twelve crowns in foot
ball.
Lately, the new fascination of the conference
has been with the new hot item Kansas State.
CU wants that to change this year, and a con
ference tide is the team goal even at this point in
spring ball, said defensive end Brady McDonnell.
“Our goal every spring is to compete and win
the conference championship,” McDonnell said.
Despite the loSs of four starting offensive
lineman and quarterback Mike Moschetti from
last season, the Buffaloes are sky high with con
fidence. • Vf '
It is a team that has every right to be, winning
four of its final six games last season; one of
those losses included a gut-wrenching 33-30
overtime loss to Nebraska in CU’s regular season
finale. ;
Colorado Coach Gary Barnett doesn’t want
to equate the finish of last year’s team with his
second Buffaloes team, though.
“I personally believe that a team’s life is 365
days, then you start all over again,” Barnett said.
Barnett has a great deal to start over with on
defense, where seven starters return, including
Butkus Award candidate Jashon Sykes, who is
sitting out until the fall after a recent shoulder sur
gery. .
“Defense wins championship, and we got the
attitude this year to be a great defense,”
McDonnell said.
The offense will carry the question mark over
its head into the season, especially with a square
off for the starting quarterback position taking
place this spring.
Sophomore Zac Colvin is being pushed by
junior Bobby Pesavento for Ihe No. 1 spot.
“It will take time for the offense to develop,”
Barnett said. “Moschetti was such a great com
petitor and could bring fire to the huddle. But I
believe both these guys have that same mentality
and the ability to get it done.”
Barnett says his team’s success will come to
depend more on foe big boys up front.
“I think foe main key is to see if foe offensive
line fills in good,” Barnett said.
It is an offensive line that will have to develop
quickly. CU opens up with one of the toughest
schedules in the country, going up against
Colorado State, Southern California and
Washington.
The Buffs then end September with a home
contest against one of their conference nemeses,
Kansas State.
“I like to play teams that generate a nation
wide interest in our program, and that’s what
8fiBC0ACH!S!?B!SrB^^n|
“ RECORD: 6-5 overall, 5-3 Big 12 ^
OFFENSE: Ballcontrol/multiple
DEFENSE: 4-3
OUTLOOK: Finding a quarterback is
a premium. After that, CU looks solid.
Come fall, the Buffs likely will start a
true freshman at tailback in Marcus
Houston. If he’s up to the challenge,
Colorado is in the hunt.
we’re doing this year,” Barnett said.
But don’t be fooled. There is still one team
that is marked in red letters at the bottom of that
schedule.
“When you’re sitting below looking up at
Nebraska, it makes you want to beat them,”
McDonnell said. “Nebraska is at the top of that
/poll, and to be the best, you have to beat the best.
It’s our biggest game of the year.”
Wins a
goalfor
coach’s
PLAYERS from 16
the coach before he was offi
cially announced. Byrne
delivered. : \
Collier met with the play
’ ers for an hour in the Hewitt
Center and told them the
direction he envisioned the
program heading, and that he
is in it for the long run.
But much of the tearti is in
it for the short run. Eight
Huskers, including Bradford ■
and Ffriend, are going to be
seniors next year.
He isn’t coming in to feel
his way around,” said
Bradford of Collier. “He is
coming in to win.”
Bradford said Collier laid
down the law on many issues,
including drugs and making a
family out of the team.
Ffriend, who will have his
fourth cor^h in four years of
basketbal ' said Collier will
demand a tot from the team.
Bradford agreed.
“He is about discipline
and toughness,” he said,
“especially on defense.
“He don’t like zone. He
likes hard-nosed defense, and
if you can’t guard anybody,
you are going to be sitting
right next to him op the
bench.”
Predictions favor KSU;
coach stresses team unity
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
Being tabbed as a preseason football
favorite is becoming commonplace for the
Kansas State football program.
As one of two programs to win 11 games in
the past three seasons, that can happen.
Still? preseason title predictions about the
Wildcats still are new to many football fans.
Many people remember a program that rou
tinely languished at the bottom of the Big
Eight conference standings and regularly
sported one of the worst records in college
football in the 1980s.
As the Wildcats came off of an 11 -1 season
it 1999 that ended in a 24-20 victory over.
Washington in the Holiday Bowl, final rank
ing expectations are high in Manhattan, Kan.
Add to that 16 starters returning from last
year’s squad, and many across the country
anticipate a strong 2000 campaign for the sil
ver and purple.
But Coach Bill Snyder cautioned against
such lofty expectations when he spoke pub
licly for the first time this spring on Tuesday.
“It’s easy to say that since you have starters
X,Y,Z back so you should be every bit as good
as you were and then some,” said Snyder, who
has compiled a 88-40-1 record in 11 seasons at
Kansas State.
“But there is a great fallacy to thinking
that It would be bad for us if anyone, whether
it be players or coaches, to think that we will
be good without seeing how we end up this
spring.”
The Wildcats should be loaded this spring
on offense with the return of eight starters
including quarterback Jonathan Beasley,
receivers Aaron Lockett and Quincy Morgan
and running back and return specialist David
Allen.
Joe Hall likely slips into the running-back
am
COACH^BUlSnyde^^^^^TB
^ RECORD: 11-1 overall, 7-1 Big 12 ^
OFFENSE: Multiple
DEFENSE: 4-3
OUTLOOK: KSU has to replace a few
defensive studs, but nothing keeps the
Cats from competing for the Big 12
crown. Jonathan Beasley is capable, if
not spectacular. ' • \
role.
KSU was hit a bit harder on defense, as it
lost playmakers linebacker Mark Simoneau,
defensive end Darren Howard and free safety
Lamar Chapman.
But the team does return seven defensive
starters. Special teams are also a strength as
All-American Jamie Rheem returns to handle
the place-kicking duties,
v Despite the large number of established
starters returning, Snyder said no positions are
secure, and all are up for grabs.
“Overall whether it be offense, defense or
the kicking game, it is vital for us to create as
much competition for starting positions as we
can,” Snyder said.
“What we don’t want is for starting posi
tions to be defaulted to one guy. We want out
No. 2s and No. 3s to be able to compete very
well.”
Along with competition and developing
quality throughout the depth chart, the biggest
spring goal of the team will be to establish
team unity.
“In a general sense, chemistry is impor
tant,” Snyder said.
“It’s easy to say we have a lot of people
returning, but we did lose some key players,
and we have to plug new guys in that will get
the job done.”
DN file photo
KSU COACH Bill Snyder warned against high expectations dur
ing spring ball. The Wildcats return eight starters this season.
CU riles NU softball team I
By Sean Callahan
StaffWriter
About 60 miles east down Interstate
80 there is another Division I softball
team in Nebraska.
Tonight when the Nebraska softball
team travels to Omaha tb take on in
state rival Creighton, it will try to
extend its win streak to 16 games, one
off of the school record of 17.
The 27-15- Comhuskers have
played two of their four scheduled
games against the 19-13 Bluejays. NU
took both of those games 5-0 and 3-2:
Husker Coach Rhonda Revelle said
she treated the Creighton games as if
they were a conference series.
“I think it’s a tremendous rivalry,”
Revelle said. “We bothlprepare for it
just like it was arty postseason contest
“They are very motivated to be suc
cessful against us as we are against
them.”
The CU program is one that has
been on the rise the past couple of years.
Last season Creighton made it to the
NCAA tournament, and it is also the
two-time defending champion of the
Missouri Valley Conference.
Because this has become more of a
rivalry the last couple years, Revelle
said it had been easy to motivate her
players to play a team like CU.
“We know that there is no letdown
when we play Creighton,” Revelle said. .
“We have a very healthy respect for
them.”
Junior infielder Jamie Fuente, who
is filling in at second base for the
injured senior Jennifer Lizama, said she
and her Husker teammates take
Creighton very seriously.
“Creighton is definitely just like
playing conference,” Fuente said.
“They like to beat us, and we love to •
beat them, too.”
As far as the return of Lizama and ,
junior short-stop Leigh Suhr, Revelle *
said at least not for another week.
One possible move, Revelle said,
would be to move Lizama to first base
and Suhr to third base to lessen the \
mobility they would need to have on die
field
because PAUL'S not dead. dailyneb.com [
Sport Clubs
Results
, This Weekend at Home
Rifle -hosting Jr. Sectionals this weekend at
Military and Naval Science rifle range.
Women’s Soccer - match vs. Hastings College,
Sun. the 9th at 1:00 pm, Whittier Field.
On the Road
Water Polo - competing in a tournament at
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
Men's Rugby - traveling to South Sioux City,
competing in the Great Plains Benefit
Tournament, Sat. & Sun.
Special Event
• Pepsi One Challenge •All day April 6th •
•City Union Plaza*NU Crew*
Women's Ultimate - went 3-3 in the Fool’s
Fest Tournament last weekend.
Men's Ultimate - went 8-0, defeating
Wyoming/Colorado 15-6 for the Fool’s Fest
tournament championship.
3rd Annual Flatland Climbing Competition
Beginning Men Beginning Women Intermediate Men
1st Ben Westenberg 1st Erin Dickey 1st Paul Addison
2nd Eric Wood 2nd Kendra Luebbers 2nd Dan Booth
3rd Mike LaVelle 3rd Denise Craig 3rd Matt Olberding
Women's Rugby - placed 6th in Westerns
over the past weekend, losing to Truman
State 15 -12. They lost to Air Force in round
one and defeated KU in overtime 2-0 in the
semi-finals.
«For more information regarding any of the
UNL Sport Clubs events - Please contact the
Office of Campus Recreation 472-3467
