The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 29

v'v JouriiaHItar NOVEMBER 20, 1988 Money, 12 Oj -x '-V TTy ft -t I I By Ken Hambleton our defense tad defensive coaches, hut I- NORMAN, Okla. Oklahoma qiarter- donl know why anyone would talk that back Charles Thompson lie crumpled on way." the ground as Nebraska's defense left Certainly nobody in Norman is talking the field for the last time Saturday. that way after the Sooners were held But Thompson wasnt the only casual- without a touchdown for the first time ty. The frustration of four straight losses since a 10-0 loss to Missouri in 1983. to Oklahoma, an embarrassing string of "We dominated the line," NU middle losses in the fourth quarter to the mysti- guard Lawrence Pete said.

"Our defense cal "Sooner Magic," and a ton of doubts had to put to rest that talk about the Ne- that had haunted Nebraska since 1983 all braska choke and the Sooner Magic and disappeared. the stuff that we weren't as good and an The Cornhuskers battled rain, sleet, a- that stuff. 9-degree wind chill and Oklahoma for a "it's a matter of stopping the Twne. 7-3 win before 75,004 fans at Owens Field. Get them into third down-and-long.

If It was time. you dont let it dick, it wont click," he Time for a January trip to Miami and said. an Orange Bowl game against the Uni- Cornhuskers had 14 tackles for 44 versity of Miami. yards in kisses, including seven quarter-Time for an end to Oklahoma's 31 back sacks, with six coming when the game Big Eight conference winning Sooners faced third down." streak. fi 4 None of the sacks of OU's Thompson Time for a good feelings at season's were more important than the one by end.

Kent WeDs for minus eight yards after Time, for a new Big Eight cham- OU got possession of the ball at the Ne- pion," said Broderick Thomas, the Corn- braska 48-yard line with 1:45 left in the huskers senior outside linebacker. X. And one minute and 11 seconds of After Nebraska linebacker Chris Call-time that NU quarterback Steve Taylor endo corralled OU receiver, Eric Bross spent dropping to his knee as the clock ater a 3-yard pass and Nebraska comer-ran out on the Sooners. back Lorenzo Hicks batted away a pass "This time we got the last laugh," at the Nebraska 30, Pete and teammate Thomas declared as he toyed with a Willie Griffin sacked Thompson for the large clock draped around his neck. final time.

Nebraska's defense answered the bell Thompson, OU's leading rusher and a time and time again and shut off the key figure in Oklahoma's 17-7 victory vaunted Oklahoma wishbone like nobody over Nebraska last year, suffered a had in four years. Oklahoma was held to broken leg on the play. 137 yards of total offense, and only 98 Tm sorry to hear about the broken rushing. leg because Charles Thompson is the "The defense did a tremendous job," best wishbone quarterback I've seen Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said. GOLOR RANDY HAMPTONSUNDAY JOURfAAL-STAH Oklahoma's Rod Fisher (7) is swarmed under by a host of Nebraska defenders, including Pat Tyrance "There's been some talk this year about See HUSKERS on page 10D the Cornhuskers touchdown.

The pride of Charlie McBride: It's bursting out all over again is I sponsible for holding OU fullbacks to nine carries and a net gain of 22 yards. Thompson brought out the few flaws in the Nebraska defense when he picked up 65 yards on three quarterback draw plays in the first half. "We thought the quarterback draw might be a good play for them because he can read and react so well to what our line was doing," McBride said. "We ran a blitz when they were in a one-back set and he got through us for a couple of big gains. "We quit blitzing after that and turned our tackles inside to shield the middle and take that away," he said.

Thompson was limited to minus-15 yards on his final eight carries of the game. Oklahoma, which had outscored Nebraska 119-41 in the fourth quarter of the last 17 games and won 13 of those games in the last quarter, was shackled to minus-seven yards of total offense in the fourth quarter. When asked if he was surprised by the fact Nebraska held off Oklahoma on one final try with 1:45 left at the Nebraska 48, Thomas emphatically said, "No." Pete added, "No. No. No.

Our defen- See DEFENSE on page 90 Result "i- TED KIRKSUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR Nebraska outside linebacker Broderick Thomas hugs Oklahoma quarterback Ches Thompson after sacking him late in the fourth quarter. i By Ken Hambleton NORMAN, Okla. If he got any prouder, Charlie McBride would be bursting at the seams. "I said I was prouder of our team than ever before last week against Colo-, rado," said McBride, the Nebraska de- fensive coordinator. "Wen, I'm prouder now and don't ask me how." A week ago, Nebraska shut out Colorado.

Saturday, for the first time since 1982, Nebraska's defense kept Oklahoma' from scoring a touchdown at Owen" Field. "This group took some time to come around and boy did they come around," McBride said. "The senior leadership Lawrence Pete, Willie Griffin, Broderick Thomas and Tim Jackson was the reason. "We had young guys in there, Reggie Cooper and Kent Wells, and with the seniors it took some time to blend together, but it did blend together," he said. According to the official statistics, Nebraska blended so well that only 11 Cornhuskers were credited with tackles and every one of the tackles was unassisted.

and Southern Cal on top 31-16. UCLA had only 129 yards in total offense in the second half, 60 of them on its late fourth-quarter touchdown drive. 1 Peete, a senior considered to be one of the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy, played the entire game at quarterback for the Trojans despite his questionable status entering the game. He completed 16 of 28 passes without being intercepted and was sacked only twice. felt pretty good, but I was getting a little more tired than usual," said Peete, who recalled being unable to even stand up Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The only thing really today was that I was hoarse and had a cough. I was concerned whether I wu going to be loud enough for our players to hear me. "I'd have had to be on my death bed not to play in this game. Anytime you beat UCLA, it's special; when you beat UCLA to go to the Rose Bowl, it's extra special" UCLA linebacker Chance Johnson said the game was typical of Southern Cal-UCLA games. "It seemed like we always got in third-down situations with Rodney," Peete shrugs off measles, UCLA to keep Trojans i Us "We figured we had it covered as well as we could," McBride said.

"We figured if Oklahoma was going to score it was to be. on a big play. They had one score after a turnover in our territory and didn't really drive on us any other time." Part of the reason Oklahoma was held to a four-season low of 137 yards of total offense was the fact Nebraska had 14 tackles for losses of 64 yards. Another part of the reason Was the motivation, McBride said. "The challenge to people with pride is the greatest motivator in the world.

Our defense was challenge as not being as good as in the past and they have a lot of pride. "How else can you explain Kent Wells catching Charlesjhompson from behind twice," he sakL Wells, a sophomore defensive tackle is listed at 6-5, 285 pounds. He sacked OU quarterback Thompson, considered the fastest Oklahoma quarterback in OU history, twice. Senior defensive tackle Willie Griffin, who weighs 285, had one sack and another tackle for a loss. Middle guard Lawrence Pete, who weighs 275, had a tackle for a loss and was primarily re Johnson said.

"And he always converted. In the end, that broke our backs. "I dont know what to say about the measles. We knew he was going to play from day one. I just know I'm going to go back and get my shot," Many of the Bruins were inoculated in the Rose Bowl dressing room after the game.

The sixth-ranked Bruins, who completed their regular season with a 9-2 record and went 6-2 in the Pac-10, meet lOth-ranked Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2. UCLA win be bidding to become the first team in NCAA history to win bowl games following seven straight seasons. "We're obviously very disappointed," UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. "I thought the team played hard.

Give USC credit They played wen and didnt turn the ban over. "In the first half, we were able to move the ball well and we were playing good defense. In the second half, we didn't play as well on either side of the ban." UCLA senior Troy Aikman, also Con-See USC on page 2D situations," Evangel Coach Dave SchroedersakL FeazelL a junior transfer from Syracuse University, and senior quarterback Don Decker give Schroeder's team that capability. The two hooked up for a first-quarter scoring play of 27 yards, then hit for TD strikes of 14, 51 and 30 yards in the second quarter to help the Crusaders build a 39-14 halftime leal Replied to NWU TD Their Initial second-quarter score came two plays after Wesleyan's Pat Sweeney had returned an interception of Decker 42 yards to put the Plainsmen ahead 144 on the first play of the second quarter. (bottom), on the kickoff following Quote of the game NU safety Tim Jackson: "Coach Switzer said our defense wasn't up to par, thatit wasn't what it used to be.

I couldn't believe he would say something like that This wasn't the defense played against UCLA." Scoring, team stats Nebraska 7 0 0 07 Oklahoma 0 0 3 0 3 NU Taylor 1 run (Barrios kick) OU FQ Usrtar 29 A 75,004 NU OU First downs 13 8 Rushes-yards 54-265 47-98 Passing yards 48 39 Total yards 313 137 Return yards 8 19 -Passing 2-12-2 3-9-1 Punts Fumbles-krai 1-1 3-0 Penalties-yards 4-36 3-20 Time of possession 30:49 29:11 Third-down conversions 6-16 2-14 Fourth-down conversions 2-2 0-1 On the Inside Oklahoma's wishbone couldn't outrun Nebraska's defensive pursuit. Page 90. unbeaten This week beat NWU power Massfflon, Ohio, and ranked 10th in passing among Division II quarterbacks, threw for 243 yards and five touchdowns. He ran for another. FeazelL who averaged an amazing 30.9 yards on 23 receptions for 12 touchdowns during the regular season, added a second-half reception to finish with five for 149 yards.

"Basically, it was a timing route with Don throwing it out and me getting under it," FeazeU said of his production. "I'm a player that if I get one, I Just keep going and going." A takeaway team Now, the MM) Crusaders are going to 3T i WHSLfYAN on pslge 30 i PASADENA, Calif. (AP) Rodney Peete overcame the measles and, with plenty of help from his Southern Cal teammates, crosstown rival UCLA. Next on the agenda is top-ranked Notre Dame. who only three days earlier was diagnosed as having the measles, passed for 189 yards and one touchdown Saturday, leading second-ranked Southern Cal to a 3-22 victory over the sixth-ranked Bruins and giving the Trojans a berth in the Rose Bowl game.

Peete also scored a touchdown and Aaron Emanuel tallied twice as the Pa-cific-10 Conference champion Trojans, 8-0 in league play and 10-0 overall, qualified to face Big Ten champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2. But first, Southern Cal entertains the Fighting Irish next Saturday in a game that could ultimately decide the national championship. Notre i Dame beat Penn State 21-3 Saturday to raise its record to 10-0. "I've never had a group of young people who have responded so well and played so wen under adverse conditions all week," said Southern Cal Coach Larry Smith.

"Next week's going to be a VtWWWMMiiiiiinririT" Notre Dame doesn't need ghosts to make Penn State season a loser. Page 2D. biggie, it's going to be one of the great games of all time. This is what we've been playing for." Smith praised the effort of Peete and the Southern Cal defense, which shut down the explosive Bruins in the second half. "I've been around football a long time.

That was one of the greatest efforts I've ever seen," Smith said of Peete's performance. "It (the decision on whether Peete would play) went an the way up to warmup8 1 "It was a super-hurtful effort II that wasn't a Heisman Tropliy effort, I dont know what is." As far as the Southern Cal defense was concerned, Smith said, "the second half, the defense was outstanding. That's what we told them at halftime; that it was up to them to keep UCLA) out of the end zone." The Trojans led 21-lft at halftime. UCLA was held scoreless after that until scoring with less than two minutes left J.I 1 Notre Dame (1 0-0) def Penn State 21-3 at Southern Cal 2. Southern Cal (10-0) def.

UCLA 31-22 Notre Dame 3. Miami, Fla. (8-1 def. Louisiana State 44-3 Arkansas 4. West Virginia (11-0) def.

Syracuse 31-9 completed season 5. Florida State (9-1 was Idle Florida 6. UCLA (9-2) lost to Southern Cal 31 -22 completed season 7. Nebraska (11-1) def. Oklahoma 7-3 completed season 8.

Auburn (9-1) was idle Alabama 9. Oklahoma (9-2) lost to Nebraska 7-3 completed season 10. Arkansas (10-0) was Idle at Miami 11. Louisiana State (7-3) lost to Miami. Fla.

44-3 Tulane 1 2. Michigan (8-2-1 def. Ohio State 34-31 completed season 1 3. Oklahoma State (8-2) def. Iowa State 49-28 idle 1 4.

Syracuse (8-2) lost to West Virginia 31 -9 idle 1 5. Clemson (9-2) def. South Carolina 29-1 0 completed season 16. Wyoming (10-1) played Hawaii completed season 1 7. Houston (8-2) def.

Texas Tech 30-29 Rice 1 8. Alabama (7-2) was Idle Auburn 19. Washington State (8-3) def. Washington 32-31 completed season 20. Georgia (7-3) was idle Georgia Tech Evaiigel puts it up, pulls it down to Plainsmen basketball team rips Concordia i Page 5D The next bomb came three plays later one play after Mike Benton recovered a fumble by Wesleyan halfback Scott Shaffer.

The Plainsmen, outgalned just 345 yards to 277, spent the rest of a chilly and drizzly afternoon in frustration, losing the ban twice more on fumbles and five times on interceptions. The thing that's disappointing to me is that we were right there," Wesleyan Coach Jim Svoboda said. 1 don't think we were mismatched that much they've got a few players that arent quite the caliber of our kids." Svoboda didnt have to say who he was talking about Decker's and Fea-zeffs numbers spoke for themselves. Decker, from perennial Ugh school a By Curt McKeever SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Pretty much up for grabs.

That's what Saturday's NAIA Division II football playoff between Evangel College and Nebraska Wesley an was one play into the second quarter. That was also when the Crusaders put the ban up for grabs to flanker James FeazelL who pulled it down on fly patterns four times in the first half or a school-record four touchdowns to lead the second-ranked team to a 45-14 victory before 150 at Briggs Stadium. "That explosive passing attack we've almost been able to hit on that, I wouldn't say at win, but we've been able to come urjwith the byplay in those Sanders sparks OSU past Cyclones' Jrl County had a tragedy-filled season i' i Pag5D.