Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 32

8 SUN BOWL The CIarion-tedger)ackson Daily News December 28, 1980 aim NEBRASKA 31, STATE 17 Pride, dignity intact despite loss, changed 'Dogs look to the future Paul Borden EL PASO, Texas "Hold your head up( Alan," urged a voice from the mob crowding around the entrance to the Mississippi State locker room. "I am," said Alan Massey as he made his way out "I am." He did, and rightfully so. For though the scoreboard at the south end of Sun Bowl Stadium a place that certainly lived up to its name on this warm, sunny afternoon showed Nebraska winning Saturday's game 31-17, Mississippi State emerged with its pride and dignity intact. Done in mostly by their own mistakes when they fell behind 17-0 in the first half, the Bulldogs fought and scrapped and carried the battle to the end. At one point, they possessed the potential, it seemed, of staging a miracle comeback against a Nebraska team that, though the bearer of a high national ranking, has been known to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on occasion.

It wasn't to be, of course, because one more mistake an errant pitchout from wingback Tim Parenton to another freshman, George Wonsley, let Nebraska recover. But the chance had been there until late in the fourth quarter. "At one point there I knew we were coming back," said Massey once he had escaped the jam in the stadium tunnel. "After we had scored and gotten 10, we got the ball back and was driving and we fumbled it. If we had kept it going, we'd have definitely come back.

There's no doubt about it." There, that confidence, that belief in themselves, that's what made the difference in the Mississippi State team of 1980 and the one of 1979, Emory Bellard's first that struggled to a 3-8 campaign. This group of Bulldogs is stubborn as, well, bulldogs on the football field. For five straight Saturday afternoons this fall, beginning with a 34-31 win at Miami, reaching a high point with the 6-3 win over Alabama, and ending with the 19-14 comeback triumph over Ole Miss, Mississippi starters from Saturday's game end Tyrone Keys, linebackers Don Edwards and Rusty Martin, and defensive backs Willie Jackson and Larry Friday will be missing come time for 1981 spring practice. The losses will be felt, but they are not severe. For one thing, the experience gained by younger players like quarterback John Bond, running backs Michael Haddix and Wonsley, and defensive stalwarts like end Billy Jackson, linebacker Johnie Cooks, safety Rob Fesmire will help next fall.

Experience, too, may counter the jitters and tension that mysteriously hampered the Bulldogs in their first bowl game since 1974. "At the very outset, we were exceptionally tight" Bellard said. "We couldn't relax and do anything. We were tight, stiff. Of course, Nebraska is a fine defensive team with lots of speed and team quickness.

They make you look tight, too." Bellard, however, was not blaming youth for the mistakes that plagued his club throughout the day. "We've got a lot of young players, but I don't think that's an excuse for it," he said. "I think we wanted to do well, and I think wanting to do well can make you tight" Wanting to do well also is another ingredient in any ballclub's success formula, however, one that has been in the Bulldogs' larder all along. It's just that only recently have they found out they can do well. "Nebraska is no better than Alabama," said junior fullback Donald Ray King.

"I'm not taking anything away from them, but to me, we should have beaten them." His head was held high, too. State simply would not be beaten. The change in the Bulldojs in just one year was not so much one of ability though there was marked improvement there, too as it was in attitude. It is at once a fine line and a big step from "we think we can win" to "we know we can win," but it is a distinction the Bulldogs now have made. "I am proud of our football team for the season they had," Bellard said.

"They're a helluva group of young men. We'll be back in another year, and we should be a football team that's a little stronger at the outset than what we were this year." A single defeat cannot obliterate the nine victories that came before. "I'm proud of our football team," Bellard said, repeating the phrase for emphasis. "I think they've accomplished a lot "I was just telling them in the dressing room it's tough to end on a loss. But forget the loss and let's go from there.

I think it's important to understand things when you lose. But it's also important for them to recognize their accomplishments have been outstanding, that they haven't just lost something. They have accomplished a bunch. "They lost this ballgame today, which is very disappointing, but we go on from there." Said Massey of the setback, only the third in a dozen outings: "Oh, it's not going to have any effect. They're going to bounce back.

I know they're going to have a good team. There's no doubt about it. "They're not losing very many seniors. It seems like they are, but they have a lot of good backups." Massey is one of four starters not returning on offense. He and Matt Edwards will be gone from the interior line along with receiver David Ellis and wingback Mardye McDole.

Defensively, five Vi4 HfMr Jill v- Cv A -via jfnT iitV'" i rifi1 i 4H I I v' f' jf i 1 LTl tviji .1 1 tm m-i, mini mmm First Quarter Early strategy backfires on 'Dogs By RICK CLEVELAND Clarion-Ledger Sports Writer EL PASO, Texas It may have surprised a lot of people, but Mississippi State football coach Emory Bellard thought it was just plain sound football strategy. When his Bulldogs won the flip of the coin at Saturday's Sun Bowl, they chose to defend the north goal and take advantage of a 5 mph breeze. Nebraska, which had averaged 40 points and 507 yards per game during the regular season, opted to receive. Even Nebraska coach Tom Osborne was taken aback. "It did surprise me because the wind wasn't that big a factor," said Osborne.

"I told our guys to look for the onside kick." Bellard, however, was thinking field position and showing confidence that his defense could pin back the Huskers. "We elected to take the wind because Nebraska had been averaging only 35 and 36 yards per punt going into the game," Bellard explained. "It all went well except for us fumbling the punt." Nebraska managed one first down before Kevin Seibel, punting for the first time this year, lifted a high punt that Mardye McDole caught for a split second, then dropped as he began to run. "I was trying to find an open lane," McDole said. "The next thing I know I'm looking for the ball.

Nobody hit me. I don't know what happened." What happened is Steve Davies recovered for Nebraska at the State 23 and the Cornhuskers scored on the next play. Nebraska quarterback Jeff Quinn appeared to be running an option play to the left, but he pitched instead to split end Todd Brown, who was running back to the right against the flow. State defensive end Tyrone Keys and corner-back Willie Jackson were the only Bulldogs with a shot at Brown, who quickly juked Keys in the backfield, while four or five of his teammates took care of Jackson. "They overran the play, and I got a couple of good blocks," Brown said.

So it was 7-0 just 2 Ms minutes into the game, and Nebraska had made it look it so easy. It was anything but easy for State. On the Bulldogs' subsequent possession, quarterback John Bond twice had open receivers but missed themand State was forced to punt after a single first down. Make that forced to attempt a punt. Dana Moore, who would boom his punts for the rest of the afternoon, fumbled the snap and was buried by onrushing Cornhuskers at his own 19.

The Bulldogs survived that foible, thanks to the MSU defense which stopped the Huskers cold on two running plays before Rob Fesmire deflected Quinn's pass and linebacker Rusty Martin made a diving interception. Punts were traded for the remainder of the quarter, with Moore hitting 64 and 55 yarders to help State in the battle for field position. No more points were scored, and considering the two critical errors, the Bulldogs seemed fortunate to be down only 7-0 and very much in the game. Some of the State fans in the record crowd of 34,727 cheer fo ir Second Quarter Mistakes, Husker fancy plays indicative of future quarters i 11 J'. H.hmmJmMBWIM.KmW.

uhil i ju mna ki mii in iniiin mmmmmmmmmtmmmmmi mm i '1111 5 I 'x If iff lf 'xr jf il A 1 'IP! 4 1 'V 1 ti i. 1 t. fiii i g. fi .1 1 i 1 1 Ll i "They just had some well-executed plays." The second quarter began with Nebraska punting from its own territory. Kevin Seibel's kick nailed the Bulldogs at their own 11-yard line, but from there, they mustered their best drive up to that point.

State moved out to its own 46 before Toby Williams caught quarterback John Bond for no gain on a third-and-2 play, forcing another punt from Dana Moore. Another Bulldog mistake this time George Wonsley's tackle of return man Dave Liegl, who had signalled for a fair catch at his own 13, let Nebraska start from its 28. State's defense stopped the potent Cornhuskers in three plays, forcing another punt, but another mistake minutes later proved costly. Bond, trying to find receiver Dave Ellis, was intercepted by Nebraska's Ric Lindquist, setting up the Cornhuskers at the State 32. Again, State's defense answered the challenge, and, again, the Cornhuskers benefited from some trickery.

They faked a field goal on ourth-and-5 at the State 26 with Quinn, the holder on place-kick attempts, passing to Jim Kotera for a first down at the 21. State stiffened again inside its 5, bringing on Seibel for a field goal try. This time, he went through with the kick from 22 yards, giving Nebraska a 10-0 margin with only 3:23 left in the half. The period seemed destined to end at that count, even though State controlled the football for little over a minute before punting. But Moore's kick backed up Nebraska at its own 37 with only 2:11 togo.

That's when Nebraska again dipped down into its bag of tricks and pulled out a play designed especially for this game. No I-back lined up behind Quinn, but instead, two wingbacks were flanked to either side. One was senior Tim McCrady, who raced down the west sideline and hauled in a long pass from Quinn at the State 8-yard line just before tumbling out of bounds. "We call it a spread formation," McCrady said. "All four receivers evenly divide up the field and run straight down the field.

Jeff finds the open receiver. "The ball was underthrown but you have to realize Jeff was running when he threw it. It took a strong arm to get it there." On the next play, Quinn found tight end Jeff Finn open at the goal line for the touchdown that made it 17-0. Though State would make some threatening motions in the second half, that simply was too big a deficit to make up. By PAUL BORDEN Clarion-Ledger Sports Editor EL PASO, Texas To get a capsule look at Saturday's Sun Bowl game, all you have to do is examine what transpired in the second quarter.

Mississippi State, down 7-0 after the first 15 minutes thanks to a costly fum-ole, continued to be plagued by mistakes. Its defense, put to the test, answered more than one challenge but finally was stretched a bit too far. And Nebraska struck for one big play to set up the touchdown that gave the Cornhuskers a comfortable cushion to ride to the eventual 31-17 victory. The Cornhuskers also continued their if fection for fancy plays early in the pe-iod when quarterback Jeff Quinn landed off to I-back Roger Craig who, turn, pitched back to Quinn for a long ass play. This particular attempt fell ncomplete, but it was all part of the attern established earlier when Ne-raska scored on a reverse and ran a flea flicker" a lateral to Jarvis Red-vine following a pass completion.

Still, coach Emory Bellard said his Bulldogs weren't surprised by anything the Cornhuskers came up with. "I don't remember them doing any-hing different from what they had been loing before," he would say later. SlaH photo by MikeWann John Bond cele hi Johnie Cooks crunches Nebraska quarterback Jeff Quinn..