The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 227

FLORIDA C-6 The Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, September 14, 1997 u-v mm mue Knights play up to the occasion Contra! Florida vs. Nebraska LA "We'd have them third-and-long, and they'd come up with a 40-yard play. You can't win football games doing that." Receivers help, too. Last week at South Carolina, Siaha Burley caught 231 yards worth of passes to tie a school record. Saturday, Mark Nonsant was the man with seven catches for 174 yards.

"We should have won today," Nonsant said, not happy about statistics that come from a loss. "South Carolina had a better defensive scheme than Nebraska. All we had to do today was run good routes." From every corner of the UCF locker room, the same sentiment could be felt: anger at losing but pride about their effort. "Hold your heads up, baby, hold your heads up!" shouted defender and special-teams star Paul Miranda to his teammates. Culpepper and the rest of the Golden Knights lost, 38-24, to the mighty Nebraska Cornhuskers, but they were not beaten.

Although 0-3, the Knights are becoming better-known and more highly respected with each effort against high-profile competition. The profile doesn't get much higher than Nebraska, ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press' media poll. After passing for 318 yards and one touchdown and running fqr another 34 yards and yet another score, Culpepper left his impression on the Cornhuskers. "He's one of the best quarterbacks in the country," Nebraska All-America defensive end Grant Wistrom said.

"You're not going to find many quarterbacks that have the combination of the size and speed he has plus the accuracy he has with his arm No problem there. Freshman Fred Harley, starting at defensive tackle, was a typical Knight in that he refused to be intimidated by the situation or the opponent. Harley had a solid afternoon, contributing UCFs only sack. "Once we stopped them on their first drive," Harley said, "we knew we could get it done. Then we kept going out there, just trying to put the ball in Daunte Culpepper's hands." Culpepper was there for his teammates.

And as much as he appreciated the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium, he is even more appreciative of a camaraderie that continues to grow among the Knights. "The reason we are going to start winning games is team unity," Culpepper said. "We didn't have it as much my first two years here, but we have it'now." Daunte Culpepper threw for 318 yards and Mark Nonsant had 174 receiving to play big-time football. By Jerry Greene OF THE SENTINEL STAFF LINCOLN, Neb. The moment University of Central Florida quarterback Daunte Culpepper walked on to the carpet at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, he knew he was going to have a wonderful day.

"It's just a great atmosphere up here," Culpepper said hours later after rave reviews despite a losing effort. "I got out there, looked around, and thought, "This is what it's all Then he proved it. riff ilnCTi tT I Knights fuel QB controversy POOCH PUNTING UCF POOCH punter Chad Downey had one punt downed on Nebraska's 11 -yard line but another went into the end zone from 46 yards out. Regular punter Marek Butcher had another good game, averaging 44 yards on four kicks with a long kick of 60 yards. Nebraska's Jesse Kosch was called upon to punt for the first time this season.

His third kick went just 18 yards after Paul Miranda got a finger on it. SORRY, TODD UCF'S TODD Cleveland never got a chance to shine on klckoff returns as all seven of Kris Brown's kickoffs were touch-backs. Cleveland got one chance on a punt return but lost 2 yards. He caught three passes for 3 more yards. However, the receptions kept alive his string of at least one catch in his past 20 games.

ETC. NONSANT HAS caught at least one pass In 14 consecutive games. Daunte Culpepper has thrown a touchdown pass in his past six games. His career total is 38, fourth-best in school history. His 318-yard day was his fourth 300-yard effort, tying for second in UCF's records After last week's crowd of 81,908 at South Carolina was the largest for a UCF game, Nebraska's 75,327 was UCF's fourth highest.

Add in 28,216 at Ole Miss and the' Knights have played before 185,451 an average of 61,817. Ahman Green's 113 yards rushing led Nebraska's 364-yard running game that included four players who ran for more than 50 yards each. Culpepper led UCF with 34 yards and a touchdown, while tailback Mike Grant had 17 yards and another touchdown. JERRY GREENE By Ken Hambleton LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR WANNA PLAY? CENTRAL FLORIDA Athletic Director Steve Sloan did not expect anyone to weep for him, but the extraordinary performance of the Golden Knights may have caused problems ahead. "I won't be able to schedule any more games," Sloan said with a bemused smile.

"Big teams won't touch you unless they're sure they can beat you. And who could be sure they can beat us now? Imagine when that score was flashed around the country at halftime. The way we played today, we could fit in any conference in the country." If any conference wants to look into it, Sloan will be in his office Monday morning ready to handle any and all inquiries. IDAHO TICKETS THE UCF ticket office also will open Monday for season tickets and individual tickets for the Knights' first home game Saturday night at 7 against Idaho. Single-game prices range from $8 to $15.

Season tickets are from $48 to $60. A family pass for $100 provides five general admission tickets for each of the four home games. For more information, call (407)823-1000. CLARK HURT THE ONLY reported injury was a twisted right ankle for redshlrt freshman wide receiver Kenny Clark of Ocala. He was hurt in the second quarter and watched the second half in civilian clothes.

UNHAPPY DAY BRIAN VANGORDER, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, said immediately after the game that his first reaction to the loss was disappointment. "We couldn't make the big plays at the end when we had to make them," he said. "They kept running the fullback at us, relying on physical plays." THE OTHER SIDE NOBdDY WATCHED UCF's defense closer than starting Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost: "I just think Central Florida started getting tired at the end of the game. Their top 30 players are as good as anyone we will face this year, but they just started to get worrj dowrju NUMBERS GAME THE CORNHUSKERS used 66 players, down considerably from the 101 they played two weeks ago in beating Akron, 59-14. UCF used 50, including eight defensive linemen, eight linebackers and nine defensive backs.

57nS LskSS 1.41 I tt rmt ASSOCIATE? PRESS Final blow. Nebraska quarterback Scott to score a 4th-quarter touchdown from 5 yards Frost eludes the tackle of Damien Demps (1 0) out to secure the hard-fought victory in Lincoln. Even when Nebraska took charge, Culpepper didn't lose his cool LINCOLN, Neb. Nebraska was going to rip the heads off another outmatched opponent and finally get on to the big game of the seasoa The Washington game has been sitting there at Sept. 20, 1997, in the future like Christmas, the Fourth of July, the last day of school and the first day of vacation all in one.

Nobody wanted to wait for the battle of the Husk "Ere" vs. "Ies." Get Akron and Central Florida out of the way and get on to the real thing. Then Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Byrne would stop being a radio show guest defending the schedule. There was only one problem, Central Florida didn't play along. The Golden Knights took $475,000 to play in Lincoln on Saturday and took away any overconfidence 'Huskers fans had of winning another national championship.

UCF also threatened the Nebraska defense as nobody has since James Brown and the Texas Longhorns a year ago. The Knights also helped add to Nebraska's quarterback controversy by stopping three of four first-half drives with Scott Frost at quarterback and none of one drive with Frankie London at quarterback. What controversy? Coach Tom Osborne stepped out from behind his postgame press conference podium to make the point that he didn't like the booing, and he's not changing his starting quarterback any time soon. "Scott Frost is out starter. He is our best quarterback," he said The public relations problem for Osborne's and Frost's defenders was that London drove the Huskers 65 yards and scored on an 8-yard run to give Nebraska the lead midway through the second quarter.

Frost reentered the game with 3:58 left in the first half and the 'Huskers trailing Central Florida, 17-14. Ugly boos echoed around the stadium. Sure enough, the first play after Frost returned, Nebraska lost the ball when Ahman Green fumbled. Frost came back before the end of the half, and teammate Kris Brown missed a 27-yard field-goal attempt By the end of the game, Frost had incompleted 5-of-14 passes, had just one touchdown pass and ran for less than 5.3 yards per carry. He was probably to blame for the heat and the warm pop.

London averaged eight yards a carry (on two rushes) and completed all of his passes for an average of 30 yards per pass (he completed one pass). "I don't know what the fans are judging this thing on," Nebraska quarterback coach Turner Gill said "Scott has done well He is running the option and the most important thing is that he's been very aggressive." The booing fans will make it tight for Frost for every play of ever game the rest of the seasoa Then again, playing at Washington next week may seem like a holiday for Frost There were only 4,000 Nebraska tickets available for that game. RESULTS, SCHEDULE Date Opponent Aug. 30 Mississippi 24, UCF 23 Sept 6 South Caroline 33, UCF 31 Sept 13 Nebraska 38, UCF 24 Sept. 20 Idaho, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 at Auburn, 7 p.m. Oct 4 at Kent, 2 p.m. Oct. 11 Samtofd, 4 p.m.

Oct 25 at Mississippi St, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at NE Louisiana, 8 p.m. Nov. 15 Eastern Michigan, 4 p.m.

Nov. 22 Toledo, noon 3 fensive plays, a perfect deep pass to Nonsant for a 44-yard gain to Nebraska's 25-yard line. Four plays later, Culpepper put UCF ahead, 7-0, on his own by fighting for 10 yards into the end zone. The 400 UCF fans in attendance probably were taking camera shots of the scoreboard, but the players wanted more. Nebraska tied the score before UCFs Fred Wac-zewski hit a personal-best 51-yard field goal to put UCF ahead again, 10-7.

Back came Nebraska to take the lead, 14-10, seemingly restoring order in the football universe once again. Then the big play happened on special teams. UCFs offense appeared to have stalled on three plays for the first time. Marek Butcher punted and Paul Miranda forced a fumble on the return that Jeff Fye recovered on Nebraska's 45. Culpepper found Nonsant for a 43-yard gain, then handed off to tailback Mike Grant for the last two yards for a stunning, 17-14 halftime lead.

The Knights clearly had the Cornhuskers' attention. Nebraska rushed for 149 yards in the third quarter and pulled ahead, 31-17. As Culpepper said, however, the Knights never quit. They scored again on a 4-yard pass to fullback Kendrick Moore and kept playing for victory until the end. After shaking hands with the Huskers and sharing in a midfield prayer, the Knights reluctantly left the field to the steady applause of I-A football fans who knew they had just seen a I-A football team.

UCF from C-1 174 yards. Free safety Donnell Washington made 15 tackles and forced a fumble, fighting off Nebraska's vaunted Option offense all afternoon. Linebacker Deaubrey Devine had 12 tackles, while linebacker Emory Green and end Jermaine Benoit had 10 each. Paul Miranda forced a fumble and blocked a punt, UCFs fourth blocked kick in two weeks. But it was more than individual effort It was a collective spirit by 50 players.

Nebraska, however, did not get rattled and rallied for its 38th consecutive home victory. UCF is 03 but doesn't feel like it "People around the country know we play pretty good football," Knights coach Gene Md)owell said. "We were close." Nebraska is 2-0 and relieved to be past the "pow-derpuff part of its schedule that produced media ridicule. It beat Akron, 59-14, in its opener. "The big thing is that we got through it," Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said.

'This team we played today probably should have won one or two games by now." Ask the Knights and they'll tell you they should have won three. Each of the teams played two possessions in the opening quarter without scoring as UCFs defense seemed to grow in confidence with every stop. Then Culpepper ignited the first of many big of CORNHUSKERS 38, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 24 Passing Team Player AO Com Kit Yds TO Culpepper 35 24 1 318 1 Receiving 1st DOWNS Rushing No Yds Ave 7 174 249 7 76 109 3 31 10.3 Nonsant Burley Lee Cleveland Grant Hubbard Moore I.O 20 100 10 100 4 40 UCF NEB 14 30 20 to a 0 2 365 514 47 364 26 65 1- 5 3-21 18 56 318 150 35-24 15-10 1 0 6-43 0 0 0 (-2) 116 12) 34 4-108 1-0 7-35 1-5 2- 1 4-2 2610 33 50 Miner 1 10 10 10 Nwcmbe 15 5 5 Cobb 14 4 4 Kingston 12 2 2 Passing PUyer AO Com Yds TD Frost 14 9 0 120 1 London 1 1 0 30 0 Receiving Player No Yds Avg TD Jackson 3 61 20 3 1 Cheatham 2 36 18 0 0 Green 2 30 15 0 0 Wiggins 1 12 12.0 0 Brown 1 8 80 0 Legate 1 3 30 0 Punt returns Player No Yds Avg TD Wiogms 3 8 28 0 Kickofi returns Player No Yds Avg TD Waker 2 60 30 0 0 Wiggins 2 48 240 Tackles-assists-sacks Punt returns Penalty TOT NET YDS NET YDS. RUSHING Rusnes Sac. Yds.

lost Avg per rusn NET YDS PASSING Comp-AtL Had int. PUNTS-Avg. Had blocked RETURN YDS. Punt Returns KjckorJ Returns Interceptions PENALTIES-Yds. FUMBLE W.OSI TIME Of POSS.

A 75.327. No Yds Avg TD 1 -2 -20 0 Tackles-assists-sacks Washington 114-0, Devine Green 40. Beroot 3-7-0. Rlckerson 4-44, Doster 1-54. Miranda 1-44.

McWhorter 3 2 0. Harley 2-2-1, Demps 4-0-0. Latimore 2-1-0. J. Moore 1-2-0, Dans 1-1-0.

Mate 1-1-0. Osuna 1-0-0. Moore 0-1-0, Porter 0-1-0. Carter 1-00 NEBRASKA Was Big East paying attention on Saturday? Individual CENTRAL FLORIDA Rushing No Yds Net LO 122 113 14 25 Rushing Brown 8-34, Peterson 6-00. War-field 3-24.

McFarkn 1-44, Kersay 1-4-0. Rucker 3-14, Shaw 3-14. Wtz 2-24. Foreman 2-2-Vt. Peters 2-2-1'.

Brown 1-24. Wrjtrom 1-1-1. Wills 01-0, Warren 144. Po 0-14. Orttt 01-0.

Walker 144. MISSED FQ ATTEMPTS Nebraska: K. Brown 27. Green Bcw Mkvcka Frost London 82 82 23 68 68 23 58 52 17 SCHMITZ from C-1 11 11 10 2 2 Player No Yds. Net 18 CuOepper 13 59 34 23 Grant 12 25 17 9 Burley 1 0-4 -4 Culpepper, had to actually cajole their plowhorses to separate them from their biggest upset loss in history.

"Central Florida is a very good team that will get better before the year is out," said Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride. "Sometimes when you hear how weak your schedule is over and over, your younger players sleep on a team like this." Rest assured, nobody will sleep against the Knights again. They've definitely blown their cover even before they got to be called giant-killers. If cynics around the country were not convinced UCF was Division I-A caliber after narrow losses to Ole Miss (24-23) and South Carolina (33-31), their stirring effort against Nebraska provided a nationwide billboard. Was the Big East paying attention? Well, it is a problem that McDowell will gladly accept.

He isn't enamored playing the off-Broadway teams anymore, either. But it's just another challenge to his coaching abilities, which have been questioned by detractors the past few years. This murderous road schedule offered McDowell-bashers their best chance to oust him for perhaps a younger, more '90s marketable replacement. Too bad. At a very deceiving 0-3, McDowell is now even more entrenched at UCF after the Knights' fast-forward I-A development.

Said McDowell, "The ones his detractors that say McDowell can't take this program to the next level to them, I'd like to say we are at the next level. To those coaches they suggest should be the next coach at UCF, I'd like to say the job is not open." "When that halftime score flashed around the country, there's nothing we could do in the way of marketing or advertising that makes that kind of statement," UCF Athletic Director Steve Sloan said. Funny, but now UCF coach Gene McDowell has a problem he frankly didn't anticipate after these three games fear of a collective letdown. How are you going to keep them focused on Idaho after they've seen Lincoln? You might have thought after these three brutal road games that the Knights would have been looking forward to playing the Idaho Vandals on Saturday in their first home contest. Now, ironically, the Knights have to avoid saying what other teams have been saying about them lo so many years: Who's Idaho? age.

In today's world, if it's not on TV, it doesn't happen. But, yes, Nebraska used its varsity on Saturday. Coach Tom Osborne could play 101 players and several cheerleaders in a 59-14 blowout of Akron two weeks ago. On Saturday, UCF was still such a nuisance even midway through the fourth quarter that Osborne dared use only 66. Nebraska faces Washington in a showdown with national-championship potential next week.

But, to their wholesome Midwest credit, nobody wearing Cornhusker red was making those looking-ahead-to-Seattle excuses after escaping li'l, old UCF's grasp. The Cornhuskers, their secondary shucked by Knights big-play quarterback Daunte iwmm i Central Florida Golden Knights 7 10 0 7 24 Nebraska Cornhuskers 0 14 17 7 38 Time UCF-N Scoring ptr, PAT Ksypley Drive led First Quarter 7-0 Culpepper 10 run Waczewski kck Noraont 44 pass from Culpepper 069 1:16 Second Quarter 7-7 Jackson 16 peas from Float Brownlrcfc Mskovcka 23 run 9-69 1321 10-7 FGWapewskiSI Lee 24 peat from Culpepper 1048 938 1014 LondonSrun Brownkck CheaTvjm 30 peas from London 066 6:05 17-14 Gram 2 ii Waaewskj kick Fye reman lumtad put rati 2-45 409 Thw Quarter 17-17 FG Brown 21 Water 5' leapt Taum 1043 1020 17-24 auckhatar 13 run Brown BuckheUr 23 fun 744 601 Tt3i BucWair5run Browntt Froat17run 7-54 125 Fouti Quarter 231 Mrxve 4 pan fromCubapper Wacgwskmck Munde 0lor punt 943 717 238 Frost 5run 1 Brown lock Jackson 33 peal from Frost 069 308.