The Miami News from Miami, Florida • 33

Drop the booze, Orange Bowl time DBlilll1 MkWM The Miami News IP By CHARLIE NOBLES MUml Ntwi Rtportir Louisiana Stale football players had a private meeting Wednesday to make the transition from funseckers to football toughies, to forget about all the sunshine, pretty girls, dress, up dinners, night-spot tours and ocean-front scenery that make Miami Beach in December such a tourist attraction. "You have to turn it on and turn it off," said LSU defensive tackle Ronnie Estay. Wednesday became turn-off time for the Tigers In preparation for tonight's 8 o'clock meeting with Nebraska in the 37th annual Orange Bowl Classic. But one of the annual worries of bowl-team coaches is whether there was too much fun-making and not enough serious football preparation. And that problem Is Intensified when you have athletes here who have been coUped into spots like Lincoln, and Baton Rouge, all season.

"I'm hoping our boys perform to efficiency," said LSU game like this, it's difficult. I can't really read the mental attitude of the team." But with a national television audience and capacity crowd looking on and an opponent like Nebraska (10-0-1), the Tigers surely do not lack incentive. And Nebraska, currently ranked No. 3 nationally by the Associated Press, has an outside shot at No. 1 providing, of course, that No.

1 Texas loses to Notre Dame In the Cotton Bowl, No. 2 Ohio State Is beaten by Standford in the Rose Bowl and the Cornhuskers blast LSU. At the very least, there will be conference pride at stake. LSU is the Southeastern Conference champion and Nebraska rules the Big Eight. It also will be a test of a great defense (LSU, 8.7 points a game) against an outstanding offense (Nebraska, 37.2 points per game).

In the last two Orange Bowl games, Penn State has struck a blow for defense, beating Big Eight offensive powers Kansas (15-14) and Missouri (10-3) in successive years. There are those on Nebraska who shrug off the possible distracting affects of Miami Beach. Said wide receiver Guy Ingles: "I don't look upon them as distractions merely as something to do until the game starts." And Nebraska sports publicity director Bob Bryant says the Cornhuskers have been to six bowls in the last seven years and haven't been penalized on the scoreboard yet for allowing their athletes to have a good time. He particularly points to Nebraska's 45-6 walloping of Georgia in last year's Sun Bowl. "Besides," he says, "kids don't want to go to a bowl if it's going to be like fall camp." Both Nebraska and LSU have two first-team AP All-Americas each linebacker Jerry Murtaugh and offensive tackle Bob Newton for Nebraska and linebacker Mike nder-Continued on Page 4D, Col.

4 Friday, January 1, 1971 Section coach Charlie McClendon, whose team is 9-2. think they will but, of course, there's a first time for everything." John Sage, LSU's All-America defensive tackle and co-captain, helped call the team meeting, but even he is unsure of what to expect tonight. "Each person has got to get himself mentally ready to play," Sage said, "and for a post-season 1 y-Z YV'Y 'VU- h- -i Nebraska: a machine on offense In 1970, the Nebraska Cornhuskers averaged 37 points a game. Which means quarterback Jerry Tagge (right) did some thing right. He'll really have to do it right to.

night, because his team is playing one of the nation's best defensive teams, Louisiana State, in the Orange Bowl 11 it; t- V. fx I I r.j,..,.. -fc. A LSU offense hunting for recognition You keep hearing about the Louisiana State defense. Well, it has an offense, too.

A good one. Nothing fancy, but solid. Tough blocking from offensive linemen like center Jack Jaubert (left) gives the unit its punch. Keep your eye on LSU's offense. It's tired of being the "other" part of the team.

I v-i They're like Texas, LSU moans J0HI1 OnilDEd Editor and the Tigers haven't played anybody with as deep a dropback. Sage said, "They wait for you to commit yourself and they have time to get up a head of steam." With Nebraska's anticipated ground assault, LSU likely will employ a five-man front some of the time. Obviously, the Tigers feel they must stop Nebraska's running first, although the Cornhuskers are far from a backward passing team. In fact they've completed 20 touchdown passes and totaled 2,036 passing yards. But then Notre Dame faced LSU with similar credentials and was overjoyed to escape with a 3-0 victory on its home field.

Score one for the immovable object against the irresistible force. The pressing question is will the Tigers be just as immovable er than anybody they've faced." Sage, Anderson and Estay have been regulars in an LSU defense which has not yielded more in two years than the 102 yards rushing Baylor got this season. Estay, who nailed a couple of quarterbacks named Archie Manning and Pat Sullivan for safeties, said, "We've had a breakdown here or there, but we've pretty much stopped every team we've faced. "We've just got a bunch of guys who stay together and play hard-nosed football. We try to be aggressive and never slack off.

We've been hearing a lot about Nebraska and this will be a chance for us to see if we're really that good." One thing about Nebraska, however, that has the Tigers a bit concerned is that the Cornhuskers station their running backs seven-to-eight yards into the backfield. Most teams, like LSU, use only a four-yard spread Craig Randall, LSU's defensive line coach, said, "They're like Texas. They run at you and may not make four yards but they don't get discouraged they run at you again. I think they've got better running backs than Notre Dame." Mike Anderson, LSU's All-America linebacker, is also impressed with Nebraska's rush offense. "They probably have the best running game we've seen.

They're similar to Notre Dame, but they seem like the type team that will take their three and four yards a carry all night." "Their size is the most impressive thing to me," offered John Sage, LSU's second-team All-America defensive tackle. "Their line comes off the line real well and I never saw one man bring their backs down." Sage thought on that a moment, then said, "I think we'll hit them as hard or hard By CHARLIE NOBLES Mliml Ntwi Hiporttr Louisiana State's defensive players studied game films of Nebraska's offense and came out feeling the Cornhuskers run-it-down-your-throat attack will present their biggest challenge. Of course, something has to give when a team (LSU) which restricted 11 opponents to 52.2 yards a game rushing faces a team (Nebraska) which has rolled up a 232.2 rushing average against 1 1 believers. LSU junior defensive tackle Ronnie Estay said: "We'll see if we're really that good." The Tigers view Nebraska as a cross be-twecn Notre Dame and Texas: strong, fundamentally sound and awesome ground eaters. Teams meet: uh, nice weather, eh? Coaching's not easy, but it beats dynamite Charlie McClendon, who will direct the LSU football team tonight at the Orange Bowl, got into college athletics as a basketball player.

1 Softball was indirectly responsible for sending Bob vey, the Nebraska coach, into college football. McClendon was the seventh son of the city marshal of Lewisville, Ark with no prospects of financial aid toward college. His high school was so small it didnt have a football team, but McClendon was a basketball whiz. McClendon went directly to the Arkansas oil fields out of high school, to work on a crew which planted dynamite and inspected the results of the explosions for traces of oil. After a few months of that, McClendon decided college was a better idea, so, following three years in the Navy, he went on a basketball scholarship to Magnolia (Ark.) Junior College, where Bear Bryant's football talent scouts found him and brought him to Kentucky.

Bob Devaney's father worked on a Great Lakes ore boat. For a time, the man who has taken Nebraska to seven bowl games in nine seasons while accumulating college fcotball's best won-lost percentage, earned a living in a Michigan found ry. He was hired, to play on the company team, partly for his ability as a top-notch softbail player. Machines do his old job Devaney enjoyed the softbalLbut not the hot iron. The factory jobs which Devaney worked were so routine, they are handled by machines now.

But in the early 1930s they were done by men who were willing to wear leather masks on their faces to block the flying cinders. "It took me two hours every day to get my hands clean after work," recalled Devaney. "I didn't like it at Finally a man who rode vUth Devaney to work every day Suggested he borrow money at Alma (Mich.) College to go to school, and Devaney went willingly. The two highly successful coaches In tonight's 37th Orange Bowl are striking examples of what a curious, precarious and unpredictable matter this business of coaching football can be. It is remarkable that a man of Devaney's talent he has lost 28 games in 14 years as a college head coach could be buried as long as he was in high school coaching.

Devaney's first coaching job was at Big Beaver, at $950 a year. "The team hadn't won a game in four years when 1 came," he said. "If my wife gotten a job teaching, we would have been dispossessed. An English teacher got sick and my wife substituted for three months at day. We used the money to pay off some of the loans that I had taken to get through college." Seventeen years ago, Biggie Munn, the football coach at Continued on Page 3D, CoL 1 vent type defense.

They know you aren't going to run on 'em so they can afford to play the pass." Schneiss has the tempo of the game already figured out. "We'll spend the first quarter feeling each other out," he said. "Then we'll start playing our game. We have no trick plays. We'll just go out there with our basic offense and defense." LSU had college football's best rushing defense the past season.

"They're the No. 1 defense, It's right there in black and white," Schneiss said. But he doesn't look for defense to prevail. "It will be a high-scoring game," Dan said. "Both teams are good.

LSU is quick. They like to run into each other. It should be a good hard-hitting ball game." Tagge, who has to be a conservative as quarterbacks go, said: "I'm just out to win the game no matter what the score is. The back in the Big Eight Conference, said: "The defenses we've faced have been bigger and they relied more on raw power. Missouri, for example, comes at you with eight or nine guys.

LSU does a little more plugging. It's hard to really figure 'em out. "They use a rotating backfield. Sometimes the two halfbacks come up and bump and run and sometimes they'll Just bump and fall in the flat It's real difficult to figure the rotation out because they go to a different one every time." Tagge says he's not even going to worry about the rotation puzzle for a while, at least "The key to winning the game is establishing our running game," the quarterback said. "They dare you to run outside and they make it tough to run up the middle.

They have about 25 Interceptions, which is incredible," Tagge said. "They use mainly a pre predicting business is not for me." NEBRASKA NOTES Elevators are not used to carry players as large as some of the Cornhuskers. The other night at the Ivanhoe Hotel, the elevator stopped between floors. What caused it? Offensive or defensive linemen? "Neither," said one player-passenger. "It was a bunch of old ladies." The hotel swimming pool has been off limits to the team since Wednesday.

"I'm not worried about their playing in the water." said head coach Bob Devaney, "but some of them can't swim too well." To that LSU coach Charlie McClendon said. "Yeah, they're too big to float" Aside from tonight's game, Nebraska has played only one night game this year. That was a 21-21 tie against Southern California which spoiled a perfect record Nebraska is 3-5-0 in bowl games. Last year it beat Georgia, 45-6, in the Sun Bowl. Its last Orange Bowl appearance was its 1966 39-28 loss to Alabama Big Eight Conference teams (Nebraska is a member) have lost the last two Orange Bowls.

Penn State beat Missouri last year and Kansas in 1969 Big Eight teams are 8-10-0 in the Orange Bowl and Southeastern Conference teams (LSU is one) are 15-9 in the classic LSU's last appearance in the Orange Bowl was in 1952 when it defeated Colora-d0)25-7. By AL LEVINE Miami Ntwi Rwtrttr The first meeting between Nebraska and LSU this holiday season was a standoff. The two Orange Bowl teams are quartered four hotels apart on Miami Beach. Both have busy schedules. But there is always the chance they will bump into each other before the game.

The Inevitable happened the other day. "Oh, we just talked about the weather," said Dan Schneiss, the fullback who captains Nebraska's football team. "They're real confident and so are we," Schneiss said. The real meeting comes up tonight, an anticipated collision between Nebraska's points-a-poppin' offense and LSUi Falstaff defense. For the Cornhuskers, LSU's defense will be a completely unique experience.

"It's a new challenge for said Jerry Tagge, the Nebraska quarterback who threw for 12 touchdowns the past season. "A lot of teams use linebacker stunts against us. LSU has a basic 4-3 defense. They do one thing really well. They disguise their cover-age.

You never know if they're in a man-toman or a zone." Schneiss, rated the best all-around full Sizing up Sunday's NFL title games -Page 2D.