St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 104

Diddle, Diddle-Huskers UseMarx Bros. Nonsense bob broeg sports editor or looked as if Uncle Al Onofrio were trying to resurrect the old Statue of Liberty play. A Bow To Butterf ield I suspect Bob Zuppke, wily old master of football chicanery, would have appreciated best Nebraska's trick play because Zup always did like hocus-pocus. Zup, that is, and Bert Fenenga, the long-time Cleveland High School coach here who tried to circumvent the rules and fool the foes, too. But I'm sure that Fenenga, Zuppke and any successful coach at any level would have appreciated most the effectiveness of Nebraska's standout defense.

Letting sentiment prevail when it's often as blind as love, I had envisioned a third successive 01' Mizzou upset over the Comhuskers by a score of, oh, 23-21. So, defensively, Missouri, even though yielding long scoring passes from Vince Ferragamo to little Bob Thomas, a damaging blocked punt and that dipsy-doodle right out of the old Marx Brothers' celluloid, really played a pretty stout game. But with Tony Galbreath still not quite a healthy Tony Gallop and with the Nebraska defense up front closing down the run, the Tigers would have needed an exceptional pitch-and-catch game between Pisarkiewicz and his receivers. Zark, though it's too darned bad he can't run Don Faurot's old option nearly so well as understudy Pete Woods, still was sharper, I thought, than his receivers. Not so sharp, by a long shot, however, as the top man on the field, defensive back Dave Butterfield of the unbeaten Huskers.

Funny thing if you can find anything funny about the width and depth of Missouri's defeat to Nebraska Saturday just after the Comhuskers hit the Tigers with a scoring play right out of an old Marx Brothers movie, the television camera panned in on three lovely MU coeds made up to resemble Harpo, Chico and leering Groucho. The way the Huskers hoodwinked 01' Mizzou with that Rube Goldberg gimmick from punt formation just before the half ended, I honestly expected the third period to begin with Chico chanting organ-grinder Italian as he did years agp in a college-campus football movie, "Horsefeathers." "Hi, diddle, diddle," said the movie Mara at quarterback in nursery rhyme, "this time I think we'll go through the, middle." Or, at a time when most teams called plays without benefit of huddle, the middle Marx chanted: "Humpty, dumpty sat on the wall, now Professor Wagstaff" Groucho, of course "will carry the ball." Crazy, sure, and almost as wild as the movie moments when Harpo, who was merely a generation ahead of his day with that heavy mop of blond curls, galloped triumphantly down the gridiron in a chariot. Or almost as zany as Nebraska's John O'Leary, presumably a blocker in punt formation, slipping surrep-tiously right through unsuspecting Bob McRoberts's arms to turn a trick-play loss into a 40-yard touchdown run. Button, Button, Who's Got As one who took in this one on television, rather than as customary in the pressbox at Faurot Field, I saw a re-run of that gridiron gizmo by which the Comhuskers took off the field a nine-point halftime lead rather than give Missouri pretty good field position at a time the Tigers seemed to have at least a measure of momentum. But on television, it wasn't apparent that on the fake-punt play, tailback Tony Davis, like O'Leary in a blocking position, concealed the ball beneath O'Leary's legs before Davis and the entire Nebraska interference swept to the right except, that is, for O'Leary.

The 6-1, 210-pound Nebraska senior from Port Washington, N.Y., turned to his left as if to block and, quite conveniently, a black-shirted defender as bamboozled as his teammates and the television commentators tossed O'Leary aside instead of for a loss. And that fella's unmolested skeedaddle diagonally the rest of the way proved at least as damaging to Missouri as Tiger difficulty holding onto passes at times, but, particularly, almost as harmful as Nebraska's most impressive defense. The Huskers covered pass patterns so well that Steve Pisarkiewicz held the ball so long so many times that the home-town kid wound up on the seat of his stretch pants Beautifully, Butterfield leaped to break up Galbreath's halfback running pass to Henry Marshall when Missouri threatened in the third period. And then in the final quarter when the Tigers had second and goal at the 10, Nebraska's 5-10, 182-pound junior bloodhound from Colorado sniffed out a play and jumped nimbly at the goalline to snatch an apparent touchdown pass launched from Zark to Marshall. Heads Up, Leo Too much will be made, I'm sure, about Leo Lewis's muffing a punt that would have given Missouri field position -at midfield or better and, instead, presented the Huskers the ball at the Tigers' 37, from where they scored on a long-Ferragamo-to-Thomas pass in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Of course, turning a nine-point deficit into 16 was damaging, but to dwell on that one would be most unfair to Lewis, a cool 144-pound freshman who has given the Tigers punt-return dividends before. Little Leo has been right more often than the capable Keith Jackson and partner Bill Flemming were on the tele- -cast when they first mentioned Lewis's father as coaching at Lincoln University in Columbia and then a high school there, rather than putting Leo Lewis Sr. and Lincoln where they belong in Jefferson City. In general, I thought Jackson and Flemming were fair and accurate, though you'll have to forgive an old grad for his halftime amusement when kids' conversation at a beerbust rally made 01' Mizzou sound even daffier than when I was a student, Paul Christman was the Tigers' hero, and the Athens of the Persimmon Belt, as a Nebraska sports writer once labeled Columbia, was regarded by many as a country-club campus. I'm sure college IS tougher now, just as the football teams are better.

Nebraska, most definitely, is among the VERY best, and Jackson said a southern mouthful when he lamented that the Nebraska-Oklahoma Big Eight showdown Nov. 22 couldn't be televised because the Sooners' probation won't end. And brother Flemming also touched a live one when he speculated what a lovely battle Nebraska-Ohio State would make. If, of course, Nebraska were to end Oklahoma's winning streak, the Huskers automatically could wind up in the Orange Bowl. And Ohio State, provided it can get past Michigan, will be in the Rose Bowl.

But. As for Missouri, all bowl bids are not lost. Above all, hopefully not the pride necessary to show well against Iowa State, Oklahoma and Kansas, whether or not those future Big Eight foes try to pull the wool or sheepskin over 01' Mizzou eyes with a film flim-flam right out of the old Marx Brothers and their lovely young coed counterparts. Mizzou Individual Statistics RUSHING NEBRASKA MISSOURI No. Yds.

No. Yds. Davis IS 50 Galbreath 15 37 Anthony 15 6 Blakemon 2 15 O'Leary 10 74 Brown 34 Ferraaamo 5 22 Woods 2 15 PASSINO Alt. Com. Yds.

lent. Int. Ferraaamo (N) 17 0 136 3 Pisarkiewwlcz (M) 27 12 1 19 RECEIVING Nebraska Missouri No. Yds Marshall 2 31 Galbreath 3 36 Grossart 5 72 Douglass 1 11 Stewart 1 I No. Yds.

Thomas 2 Jenkins 1 5 Davis 1 9 O'Leary 2 Helser I 12 fflUNAA'9 IITirMLA MALIBU'S VEGA i ALL CARS HAVE POWER AND AIR i iiki.ymA-j.il in Hi ii fc: 33 nmmm mm ZARK ON THE MARK. Missouri quarterback Steve (Zark) Pisarkiewicz was on target on this pass to tight end Charley Douglass for an 11 -yard gain. Nebraska defenders are Wonder Monds (26) and Bob Martin. (Post-Dispatch Photo by Scott C. Dine) a FROM PAGE ONE talented passing arm for the first time, moved in for the field goal, unable to advance after gaining a first down at the 13.

So, in came Coyle for three points. So, what's that? It took Nebraska 16 plays to move 64 yards. That's when Missouri's kicking game showed its first flaw. The line of scrimmage was at the 25. The Huskers hadn't called a punt-block play.

But left end Ray Phillips found himself unchallenged by Tom Garavaglia, Tiger defensive end who, on the punting team, protects Goble's right leg from the fullback spot. The onrushing Phillips detoured only slightly as he sped behind Garavaglia to get a big hand on the ball as it came off Goble's foot. Deflected, it bounded out-of-bounds at the 18. Nebraska scored in three plays, the first one seemingly broken. O'Leary went 14 yards on that one.

Then came Ferragamo's TD pass to Jenkins. So, 1(M). That was the score with only 10 minutes to play last year when Pisarkiewicz and Galbreath combined for a 21-10 victory. Maybe it could happen again. The Missouri defenders stopped Nebraska cold twice and after the second time now well into the second quarter Garavaglia atoned for his miscalculation with the punting unit by sticking Kurt Stacey so solidly on a punt return attempt that he coughed up the football.

Cornerback Ken Downing claimed it for Mizzou at the Nebraska 42. The Tigers had been down but suddenly, there was electricity. Zark would have had a touchdown if he could have hit a wide open Henry Marshall on first down but he missed. No matter, Zark kept for eight yards and optioned to Curtis Brown, Galbreath's backup, for 13 more on the next play. His third down pass to Randy Grossart, good for 13 yards, brought a first down at the 9.

Pisarkiewicz missed twice on passes from there and the second miss was serious because the ball bounced into the air off a clutch of players, allowing Nebraska safety Jim Burrow seemingly to intercept the deflection. But wait! Chet Laney, field judge on referee Vance Carlson's officiating crew often accused of Missouri baiting saw interference in that clutch of defenders and the Tigers were given a first down at the 1. Galbreath made it on first down and Tim Gibbons kicked the point. But that only set up, "Bummeroosky" the fake punt play which the Comhuskers pulled on next possession after running out of downs. The one Mizzou player who might have stopped it was co-captain Bob McRoberts who in crashing into the Nebraska backfield almost upset the crafty O'Leary by accident.

"I thought he was a blocker," said the despondent senior from Ladue. "I gave him a little brush (a forearm) and then when I got by him, I got just a little flash of leather (the football). Well, I reached, but it was too late." Yep, O'Leary by then had extricated the ball from between his legs where he had concealed it, and was trotting 40 yards for a touchdown. "That was an awfully big play," said Pisarkiewicz in reflecting upon Missouri's strategy in the second half. "Instead of trying to run right at them as we'd planned, we got more option calls.

They pursue awfully well from sideline to sideline." Said defensive line coach John Kadlec: "I don't think our defense sagged because of that, but it hurt us." Said coach Al Onofrio: "We knew they weren't going to punt and we called it. That's what hurt so bad. They executed well enough to make it work anyhow. But I don't think that lost the ballgame. It's hard to say which of our errors did it.

But against Nebraska, you can't make errors arid still hope to win." The Tigers were not on the muscle especially offensivelywhen they came out for the second half. They didn't make a first down until less than five minutes remained and although they came up with two then (after putting a Nebraska punt in play at their own 16) the net result of thatt abortive drive was a 69-yard field goal attempt by Gibbons. It was short, but it left the Comhuskers in poor field position because they put the ball in play at their own 17 and couldn't make a first down. Perfect! Now the Tigers would have prime field position going into the fourth quarter and, instead of trailing by 10 as they did last year, trailed by only 9. Except, when freshman Leo Lewis called for a fair catch of punter Randy Lessman's boomer at the Missouri 45, it skidded through his fingers, between his legs and all the way back to the Missouri 37 where Nebraska's Greg Jorgensen claimed it.

The Nebraska and Missouri teams mirror each other. MM (6m) Their slot-I offenses are identical and so is all the rest. What would Missouri have done with a break like that? Strike while the iron is hot. That's when Ferragamo fired his 37-yard bomb to Thomas. Presto, 23-7.

The final touchdown also came off a break. The Tigers, recovering a fumble by Anthony with 14:37 remaining in the game, took new life and launched a drive from the Nebraska 42. It was sweaty work, but with Zark completing a pass to Grossart for 23 yards and with Brown carrying on the draw for 8, Mizzou moved to a first down at the 10. Then cornerback Dave Butterfield made himself ABC's defensive star of the game by a brilliant interception of Zark's pass in the end zone. He returned it to the 10 before Joe Stewart bagged him.

The Huskers couldn't get out on their own steam this time either but while Lessman's next punt was in the air, a Tiger was adjudged guilty of holding. This let Nebraska retain possession with a first down at the Missouri 34. A couple of running plays moved the ball to the 39 and now Ferragamo again played the Mizzou defenders like a violin. Faking short, he fired the ball long. Thomas caught it at the 15 and crossed the goal line standing up for the 61-yard TD.

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