The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 37

NOVEMBER 8. BUSKERS 17D Thomas says NU J' 1988 SUNDAY JOURNAL-STAB 1 if UiS iC 7 By Ken Hambleton defensive coordinator CharUe McBi defensive coordinator Charlie McBride 1- i V. i Jr. i -i'-a-- A. sfti J'Jli ipliipPiilil AMES, Iowa Broderick Thomas predicted something special "something everybody will notice" for Nebraska's game with Iowa State.

After the game someone asked, "What was it?" as if Thomas had forgotten his promise. After all the Nebraska senior outside linebacker didn't decapitate anybody. He didn't make the sun appear and he didn't stop the wind and snow. "It was better than that," Thomas said. "I think you all saw it A great team effort Offense and defense.

Something even the should be pleased with. "We didnt do anything foolish, and we didn't give up deep passes and big plays. We played consistent football," he said. "The last couple of weeks it's been pf: fense one week and defense the next "We wanted to put it all together as a The statistics bear Thomas out. Nebraska had 637 yards of total offense' while holding Iowa State to 251 yards (the Cyclones gained 166 yards in the final 12 minutes of the game).

"This was about the best football that we've played," Thomas said. "Championships are won by defenses. This is what the defense was supposed to be like all season." Didn't look past ISU Iowa State, which beat Missouri earlier this season and scared Colorado last week, had Nebraska's respect, Thomas said. "The safeties like Tim Jackson and the corners like Charles Fryar picked us up, and the inside of the line was very strong all day," he said. "Our first goal was to dominate the line of scrimmage and control Joe Henderson.

He's a very good back, and they have a good offense." Henderson, the fourth-leading rusher in the Big Eight coming into the game, was limited to 34 yards on 17 carries. Ne-. braska recorded nine tackles behind the line for minus 37 yards in losses. Thomas, Mike CrOer and Kent Wells each had quarterback sacks. "We ran one 'dime' defense and a total of three blitzes all day," Nebraska mmmmmmmmmmmmmm It 4.

Nebraska linebacker LeRoy Etlenne (47) and defensive tackle Joe said. "We're a team that plays better technique when we dont show a lot of movement and jumping around before the snap." Weather played role Iowa State was hampered by the wind and weather, McBride said. "They can do a lot more on offense than they did today," he said. "The weather was a big factor in our favor. "The only negative thing about the weather for us was we missed some coverage calls because the wind whistling through the helmets made it impossible to hear." Fryar, who got his fourth interception of the year in the first quarter, said the wind caused Nebraska to change some pass coverage plans.

"We knew when Iowa State had the wind to watch for overthrows and tipped passes. That's what I got," he said. "When they were against the wind, ye played a tight man-to-man coverage; be cause that was hard to throw against, especially deep. "Against the wind, the ball was like a brick Cold and wet and not flying very good," he said. Iowa State, the second-leading passing team in the Big Eight, was 7-for-17 passing for 103 yards.

"We had a locker full of stuff we had prepared for because Iowa State does so many different things. But they didn't get much done today and I think the weather kept them from trying a lot," Fryar said. Had something to prove The importance of a strong defensive performance was enhanced by the Cornhuskers' drop from No. 5 to No. 7 in the AP rankings last week after a 26-18 win over Missouri, Fryar sail "The close game with Missouri, and the drop in the polls made us wake up and play with a little more enthusiasm," he said.

That enthusiasm level shouldn't drop, McBride said. "We talk about and prepare for everything being at the worst for us and we take every precaution. Then, we line up and give it our best shot," he said. if I MM III II defensive interior was kept busy. Neil Smith was credited with 12 tackles last year and 10 tackles the year before.

Nebraska hasn't been able to replace Smith, an All-American defensive tackle and first-round NFL draft pick, in kind, of course. But Griffin, who ranks among the team leaders in total tackles, and junior Kent Wells have emerged from the pack, according to Coach Tom Osborne. In addition, middle guard Lawrence Pete, a senior, has played as well as he did as a sophomore back-up to All-American Danny Noonan. 1 Pete and Wells were involved in three From pag1D 1 Babcock "You just have to tackle well and get as many three-plays-and-outs as possible," said Nebraska defensive tackle Willie Griffin, who was credited with only one tackle, an assist, on Saturday. "I like the wishbone." The Cornhuskers, who allowed Iowa State 148 rushing yards on 39 carries, have controlled Colorado's wishbone the last two seasons.

1 A year ago, the Buffaloes managed only 147 yards rushing and 226 yards total And even in their 20-10 upset of Nebraska in 1986, they gained only 263 yards, 182 of them rushing. In both games, the Cornhusker Successful day makes it warmer for Husker quarterback Taylor -At i. IAN DOREMUSSUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR running back Joe Henderson Nebraska has played reasonably well defensively all season long. That should be reason for optimism going into the games against Colorado and Oklahoma. "We'll be facing the "bone and our intensity can be increased," said senior cornerback Charles Fry ar.

"But I don't think we have to do anything other than play good defense. "I think well have a good background, a good resume, going into the Colorado game." 1 The Black Shirts could Include Henderson among the references. Hi Cornhusker quarterback Steve scored on the next play on a 23 From pag1D Huskers "It means a lot to me. Because when I leave want to be remembered as one of the best quarterbacks' Nebraska's ever had," he said. "I give a lot of credit to the of fensive line.

"We felt we had to come out and put some points on the board because we were disappointed last week and dropped in the ratings," he said of NU's drop from No. 5 to No. 7 in the AP poll The "disappointment" of a 26-18 victory over Missouri last Saturday was erased as Nebraska rolled up 637 yards of total offense in the game and limited Iowa State to 71 yards through three quarters. Clark who was held to just 57 yards last week, finished with 146 yards, boosting his season total to 1,165 yards sixth-best in Nebraska history. "Look at those stats and then look at what our offensive line did today," Clark said.

"Everybody looks at the backs and the yards, but nothing happens without those guys blasting away up front And they did some blasting." The Cornhuskers scored five times after drives of 64 yards or more. It was enough to impress Iowa State Coach Jim Waldea 5 Sims (56) combine to stop Iowa State tackles each on Saturday. Wells sacked Cyclone quarterback Bret Oberg for a 7-yard loss. 7 Iowa State, which has a diverse offense, averaged 4.5 yards per play Saturday afternoon, but 202 of the Cyclones' 251 total yards came after, Nebraska had a 38-0 lead. By then, Cornhusker defensive coordinator Charlie McBride was substituting liberally.

Nebraska played solid defense for a third consecutive game after Oklahoma State scored 42 points against the Cornhuskers. Take out that game and the first quarter of the UCLA game, and TEO KIRKSUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR There were a few wrinkles in Nebras- ka's attack Gdowski broke loose on a 45-yard run from the Nebraska 8-yard line to the ISU 47.1ate in the, third quarter on" an option play. "It was a bootleg and we rah out of a utile different formation than we usually do and I think we fooled them a little bit" Gdowski The run fooled Gdowski a bit too. "I could barely even feel my feet. It felt like I was hardly moving," he said.

But he was moving and so was the Nebraska of fense, Taylor said. "The good thing about our offense is that weather doesn't bother it because we count on the running and the short passes" he said. "Even with a day like this, we're back on track again," quotes Todd Millikan's touchdown catch to open NU's scoring was his 14th In his career and his seventh this season. He is tied for second with career touchdowns with Bobby Thomas and is 12 behind all-time leader Johnny Rodgers, who had 26. Millikan's seventh touchdown of the season tied the mark for tight ends held by former NU All-American Junior Mill-err NU wtngback Richard BeU said' the weather conditions were the worst he's ever seen: "I've never played in snow in my life.

It was probably the coldest game I've ever played in, also. My main concern was to hang onto the ball My hands were numb; all the receivers' hands were numb. The conditions were not my favorite." 8 ft 1 Cl By Ken Hambleton AMES, Iowa The weather was much worse than the last time Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor played at Cyclone Stadium-Jack Trice Field. This time it didn't matter that a cold north wind blew through the stadium. "I was thinking about the last time here (1986) the whole time.

It was cold and I was l-for-9 with negative 3 yards passing," said Taylor. "I wanted to come down here and play a really good football game." Taylor had one of his best Saturday, running for 154 yards and three touchdowns and passing for 71 yards and another score. His three touchdowns runs of 28, 23 and 11 yards moved him into a tie for fifth place on the Nebraska career touchdown list and his passing touchdown moved him into fifth on the career passing list Adjusted to cold "I think I'm adjusted to the cold weather. It was fun out there," said Taylor, a senior from San Diego, Calif. "It was very enjoyable today.

I wasn't cold until I was on the bench. "Every time I have a good game it's a good day to play," Taylor said. When a reporter commented that Taylor's performance in the cold weather might make him. attractive to the NFL's Buffalo Bills, Taylor laughed, "Oh, no." Taylor said the Cornhuskers wore Iowa State down with constant pressure from the offensive line. "I had a lot of room to run, and that's a credit to our line.

I don't think our line was happy about last week's performance (a 26-18 win over Missouri) and they wanted to prove something," he said. Clark proved point I-back Ken Clark also proved a point, with an 18-yard touchdown run and 146 yards rushing. It was the fourth game in which Clark gained 100 yards or more and the third time in the last four weeks. NU l-back Ken Clark (32) is knocked out of bounds by ISU's Anthony Hosklns. HARALO OREIMANISSUNOAY J0URNAL-8TAR Taylor (9) breaks loose for a 20-yard gain in the second quarter.

He yard run. In pursuit is Iowa State linebacker Anthony Hosklns (49). "Last week ticked me off," said Clark, who was held to 57 yards by Missouri. "It was an embarrassment, so we came out to run the ball today." The Cornhuskers ran 68 times for 566 yards and six touchdowns. Reserve quarterback Gerry Gdowski gained 56 yards on four carries and scored once, and teammate Mickey Joseph picked up 44 yards on four carries, giving the NU quarterbacks 254 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

Seven Nebraska backs gained at least 40 yards each. "The offensive line was getting off the ball very well today," Clark said. "Last week, we had people flying in from everywhere and we worked on that, but Iowa State didn't blitz and our old game plan worked welL" Cornhusker notes, "We just could not play smash-em-up football with this team," he said. "Nebraska is very good, and we aren't as good as they are." But it was the fear that Iowa State was close in ability that bothered Ne-. braska Coach Tom Osborne before the game.

"We felt it would be a difficult game because Iowa State has played well," Osborne said. "They had eight turnovers and lost by 12 to Colorado. "And this looked like one of the worst days we've ever played on. I felt it was to get all the lead we could, because a team, especially a passing team like Iowa State, could score 21 to 28 points with this wind at their back" Osborne said that was his motivation for calling timeouts at the end of the--first half to set up a 30-yard field goal by Gregg Barrios that put NU ahead 31-0. Half of the ISU crowd booed the decision and the other half was on its way to the parking lot Osborne denied the decision to go for the field goal was tied to the Cornhuskers' drop in the polls last week "You never know.

UCLA was ahead of Washington State 28-6 last week and lost" Osborne said. "It was not meant as disrepect to Iowa State. We did not run up the score today. We've got to do what's best for us." Osborne said he was pleased with the play of both his offense and defense and the kicking game Saturday. "We've been a little inconsistent and most every game we've had something that hasn't been good," he said.

"But if you consider the conditions, everything was pretty positive until we made substitutions." Iowa State, 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big Eight scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 67-yard run and a 35-yard pass against the Nebraska reserves. "I dont have any problems with that," Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride said. "I'm just glad we had the big lead early with this kind of weather. "It worked to our advantage to get the lead and have them try to catch up by -passing with this wind. We were happy with our performance," he said.

"We stayed pretty basic and we didnt show a tot of what we had prepared, but sometimes the simpler it is, the better it is" 5C Defensive tackle Willie Griffin suffered the only serious Nebraska injury. Griffin tore ligaments in his thumb and will probably have to wear a playing cast. "I'll probably have the same thing Keith Jones had last year and then get operated on after the Oklahoma game," he said. Griffin said Nebraska's defensive goal was to get as much done from basic defensive sets as possible: "We have enough things to do and enough good pepple to do them and it's all pretty basic on defense anymore. The last couple of games it's been a matter of let them come at us and try to beat us.

If we give all we can and they can beat us, then we'll change." Steve Taylor's 154 yards rushing was the second-highest rushing total for a Nebraska quarterback. He had 157 against Utah State a year ago. He became the 12th Cornhusker to run for more than 2,000 yards as he boosted his total to 2,018. Senior I back Tyreese Knox, who had 44 yards on 10 carries, said the weather was expected: "This is my fifth year and it seems like every year there's one game that's unbearable. When it's cold like it was today, you really feel the shots more because your body is already tensed up.

I think we went out and delivered more of a hard hit today. I think they were feeling a little bit more of the pain than we were." 9' 1.