The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 35

lux. SEPTEMBER 17, 19B9 SUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR If USHERS 27D JJiahVgrafo bag of plays pesters Cornhusker defense By Ryly Jane Hambleton Mitchell did everything but draw the plays in the dirt Mitchell and his Utah teammates used some basic playground philosophy and a few tricks when they came to Memorial Stadium Saturday to, play the University of Nebraska. "It's kind of like when you play the big guy on the block in basketball," said Mitchell, a 6-foot-6 junior from Springville, Utah. "On paper, you know he can beat you, but you always want to cver him to prove yourself. "So you just keep pestering him and bothering him)' HVhat Utah did multiple offensive sets and formations along with a few trick plays kept the Cornhuskers on their toes defensively.

"Nebraska plays in a league that doesn't have have an opportunity to win the game. "But in the second half, we ran into some tough times and some tough field position." In the first half, Utah counted on ball control and trailed 21-16. Utah used a nine-play drive to take a 7-0 lead and after Nebraska tied the game, the Utes turned to the long ball for a 13-7 advantage. The lluskers regained the lead and the interception return gave Nebraska a 21-13 advantage. But a 13 play drive resulted In a 45-yard field goal by Wayne Lammle.

Utah controlled the ball more than 17 minutes in the first half to Nebraska's 12.42. That changed in the second half, with Nebraska holding the ball nearly 19 minutes to Utah's 11 minutes. Mitchell discounted any Idea that the 42-30 loss was a moral victory. "I wanted to win and we didn't do that I dont many teams that pass the batt," Mitchell said. "What we did affected them some.

Our different formations can be tough to defense because they're not used to seeing them and there are so many things we can do with our of fense. "But they have a good solid defense and they did a good job with a good pass rush. The key to the game today was their up front pressure and our mistakes." Mitchell said the mistakes were costly for the Utes. The first one was Nebraska linebacker Mike Creel's interception and 6-yard return for a touchdown in the second quarter that gave NU a 21-13 lead. "The guy just made a good play on the ball It was a crucial interception," Mitchell said.

"I thought he was holding our receiver and I tried to force the balL It was my mistake and I paid for. it" Coach Jim Fassel said the mistakes hurt, but Nebraska's constant pressure both offensively and defensively took its tolL "Our kids are in tremendous shape, but physically, after awhile, they wore us down," he said. "My fear coming Into the game toas that Ken Clark and their other backs could break the long one anytime. They never did. We gave them good gainers, but never the 80-yarder.

"But your stomach is always in your throat that they'll break it" Fassel said the Utes turned to their running game early to help break up the defensive russ. "We went after the run early when they were in their nickel package and ran some traps and draws," he said. "As long as you keep your offense on the field and the defense rested, you think this is the best we can play because we had too many penalties, interceptions and mistakes to win," he said. "But we can learn from our mistakes and teach ourselves to go a little further than we thought we could." Fassel said his first two Impressions after the game were positive. "My No.

1 goal for the game was to have the kids play hard for 60 minutes and at no point in Ume did they stop fighting," he said. "And I've at ways had the utmost respect for Tom Osborne and the Nebraska program, and today I'll add the fans. "This was the best crowd I've ever played or coached in front of In my life. The clapping (by the fans) we came into after the game was not patronizing applause. They appreciate good, hard football." i.

r.v-' A )-j Walker all smiles after playing a lot By Ken Hambleton rKenny Walker beamed with pride. Finally, be got in a game and stayed in the game. been four years since he played a lot in a football game. Walker hadn't seen as much action as he saw Saturday against Utah since he was named all-state, defensive end for Crane High School in Texas in the fall of 1985. Nebraska's first deaf scholarship player had been jfibved from defensive end to line-jjbacker to defensive Jtacfcle.

He had seen infrequent action in Jearly games last jseason and the Orange Bowl game lagainst Miami. I "The more I Freshman gets speed workout By Mike Babcock Tyrone Byrd was weary after Nebraska's 42-30 victory over Utah. "We did a lot of running," he said. "It was like a marathon for me." Byrd plays free safety for the Cornhuskers. And the redshirted freshman from Chandler, got a baptism under fire at that position Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

It was Byrd's second varsity game. But it was nothing like, what he faced a week ago, against Northern Illinois and its run-oriented wishbone offense. Passes rain down Utah quarterback Scott MitcheU assaulted Nebraska's secondary with 44 passes, 26 of them complete for 297 yards and four touchdowns. "I felt we were ready. But we seemed a little confused in the beginning," Byrd said.

"As the game went on, I think we started to adjust" Evidence of that was the fact Cornhuskers intercepted three of Mitchell's passes, including one by Byrd. The key to success was the pass rush, according to Byrd. "The defensive backs and linebackers, we needed that pressure," he said. "That's just my "When we put pressure on him (MitcheU), he couldn't throw the baU," said Charlie McBride, Nebraska's defensive coordinator. "When we didn't, get the pressure, we had problems." Outside linebacker Travis Hill, a red- shirted freshman from Pearland, Texas, was' among the Cornhuskers applying pressure; He had one tackle for a loss of three yards and caused a fumble.

A week's experience made a cant difference for both players. "I was much more relaxed. AU the butterflies were out, and I felt like I was just playing a game," Ul said. "I felt relaxed," said Byrd. "Last week I was reaUy nervous." t.

'Thirty croachment in the game. He was called offsides once after the offensive tackle opposite him bobbed his head. "The coach called me to the sideline and asked me what was wrong. We straightened it out and I didnt have any trouble after then," he said. Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride told Walker to watch the ball on the snap instead of the opposing tackle.

Stuffs ballcarrier Walker made the adjustment and on a play on which Utah running back Steve Abrams took the snap directly from center, Walker stuffed the play for a two-yard loss. He helped hound Mitchell on the rest of the fourth-quarter drive and Utah was forced to turn the ball over on downs at the Nebraska 15. "I see the improvement our defense made today. We gave them a couple of touchdowns at the end because we slacked off too much and they are a good team. We'll learn from that, too," Walker said.

Future uncertain As for the future, Walker said he doesn't know if he'll play as much as he did Saturday. "I will keep my hopes up. I've had to have a lot of patience to get to this point and I'm not going to lose that now," he said. "It seems like it's been such a long time and I have such a long road to go. But I made one step today and I want to keep at that level and go on." Kenny Walker 5layed today, the better I felt.

The more felt like a part of the team, the more I Srelaxed," said Walker. IPass-rushing specialist Walker was used as a defensive tack-5e, pass-rushing specialist in Nebraska's, J'dime" defense against Utah's ScotJ. Mitchell. He recorded two tackles, ta-Jcluding one for a two-yard loss, and Ihelped the Cornhuskers rally from a 13-7 Jdeficit. "I can't tell how far our defense has come because this is the first time I've Zplayed that much with these guys," he I know I feel a lot better about Jmyself, and I think I can contribute to Hheteam." mm if SF ftiW mJ 1 liwawmwiiiMii in' waiKer nao, some uruuuie jkuui, en- Nebraska defensive tackles Kenny Walker (57) and Kent Wells (91) chase Utah quarterback Scott Mitchell (19).

Defense plumb tuckered out after facing fbest quarterback' JS, f.iff' 4-: That Utah was able to score against Nebraska didn't worry Byrd. P- But "I felt we could hold them under 10," Byrd said. "Thirty points? "I was very discouraged." 'J-- HiU agreed. "You get mad when you look at the score. I'm surprised they scored so many points," he said.

j' Part of the problem was adjusting from a wishbone to defending against the pass, HiU said. Next Saturday, the Cornhuskers will face another run-oriented offense when they play Minnesota, which features running back DarreU Thompson, an AU-American candidate who's gained more than 3,000 yards during his career. HiU is eager for the chaUenge. "I like (playing) the run. You can get physical, get dirty," he said.

Not only that, "you don't have to worry about catching those speedy receivers," said HilL For Byrd, it was like running a marathon, or a road race, at least Utah QB praised Nebraska defensive coordinator Chaf-Ue McBride had high praise for Utah quarterback Scott MitcheU. "I think MitcheU is every bit as good as Troy Aikman (former UCLA quarterback) or Steve Walsh (former Miami quarterback)," McBride said. "I think MitcheU might be the best coUege quarterback I've seen since John Elway." forced the Utah quarterback to get rid of the ball on Utah's next two plays. Tyrance held Smith to no gain and Croel tipped a pass on the next two plays. "The pass rush is coming along well," Wells said.

"Our dime defense did a good job overall, considering our slow start and considering we were going against the best quarterback well ever see." Tyrance important Sophomore linebacker Mike Petko said teammate Tyrance was an important figure in helping the NU defense adjust. "He came in for me and did a great job of getting everyone going the right way," Petko said. "I was flustered and trying to please the veterans and it took a guy with Pat's experience to get us right in the 'dime' defense." Tyrance finished with nine tackles and one pass tip. Mental mistakes Nebraska safety Reggie Cooper said mental mistakes hurt the Cornhuskers early and slacking off too soon cost two touchdowns at the end. "We were not ready for all that wild stuff they threw at us, and they took advantage of our mistakes," he said.

"We were prepared, but the mistakes hurt us and really slowed us down. We're learning. There's one thing, that in seeing the wishbone last week, and all this stuff this week, we've probably seen about all there is to see, and we've won two games." Cooper, who led NU with 10 tackles one for a loss and one pass broken up, joined the group of players praising Mitchell. "He's the best I've seen. Usually defensive backs, like me love to see a passer and a passing game.

But this guy played tough. He winged the ball in there when he needed, and he used a great touch when he wanted to short ones," he said. "I'm dead tired. I think that showed late in the game because we didn't finish them off, and they came back with two touchdowns late." By Ken Hambleton The emotional as well as the physical tugs on the Nebraska defense were exhausting, NU defensive tackle Kent Wells said. "Maybe people won't believe it, but we were up against the best quarterback I've ever seen," he said of Utah's Scott Mitchell.

"He's a great passer, and he was plenty mobile early in the game. "We finally slowed him down, and by the middle of the game, we got to him pretty good." After Mitchell peppered the NU defense for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, the Cornhusker defense shackled him with two completions and two interceptions in his next 10 attempts. At the same time, Nebraska had complied a 42-16 lead. "The great ones adjust," Wells said. "We had our breakdowns early and we had our letdowns late, but we made the adjustments and shut them out when it mattered." Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne agreed.

"I think this was quite a task for our defense. They had a lot of heat on them today. And except for the early part" of the game and the late part of the game, they played well," he said. Some confusion early Wells said that there was some confusion on defensive sets early in the game. "We had a lot of inexperienced guys out there, and we were a Utile slow in starting.

Mitchell was using a four-step drop to pass and we were in a delayed rush, and it just wasn't quick enough to get to him," he said. "We changed that rush, dropped the delay and we got to him. That felt good." Wells and NU tackle leader Pat Tyrance dragged down Utah running back Clifton Smith for a four-yard loss on Utah's third play of the second quarter. The next play, outside linebacker Mike Croel intercepted a Mitchell pass and scored on a six-yard return. Redshirt freshman Travis Hill hurried Mitchell and Wells 2 t-k ''h.

"3 JJ TEO KIRKSUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR flu safety Reggie Cooper (17) breaks up a pass intended for Otah's Mike Anglesey, as Mike Croel (88) moves in. Ute notes and quotes Statistics Utah Offense Rushing No. Yds. Ave. Smith 17 82 4.8 7.8 1.7 Abrams 5 39 Slgloch 3 5 Mitchell 6 -21 Passing No.

Co. Yds PI Mitchell 26 297 3 Receiving No. Yds. D. Smith 6 84 Smith 7 62 a five-yard gain.

"We try to take 'Daffy' seriously because it's a formation that works for us, even though it's fun," said freshman' receiver Bryan Rowley, who caught a 20-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the game. "At first, learning the offense was really hard, but once you take a lot of reps (repetitions), it starts to make sense." Although Coach Jim Fassel said the Huskers wore his Utes down during the course of the game, linebacker Joe Clausi said misplays were the root of Utah's problems. "We made mistakes on coverage a couple of times, but it had nothing to do with time on the field," Clausi said. "If we had kept them from making fourth-down conversions, it could have changed the game." Nebraska converted on two of three fourth-down conversion in the game. Both led to touchdowns.

"But we know Nebraska's a good team to be ranked year after year for 100 years," he said. ifc Utah junior running back JasonW ks taken from the game on a stretcher in the second suffered a neck injury. Wood was taken to SCElftabeth munity Health Center, where he was treated and released, a Smith 1 16 Knox 1 15 Knox 1 15 Interception return No. Yds. Reeve 1 14 Defense Tockels UT AT TT O'Brien 4 0 4 McKenna 2 0 2 Reynolds 2 0 2 Clausl 4 4 8 Chaytors 1 1 2 Tauslnga 0 1 1 F.

Bonifacio 3 1 4 Harris 5 1 6 Patterson 2 1 3 Reeve 0 1 1 Afu 4 0 4 Castaln 1 0 1 L. Edwards 7 2 9 B. Bonifacio 3 0 3 Powell 2 0 2 Odum 6 2 8 M. Edwards 0 1 1 Knox 5 2 7 Kennedy 2 0 2 Slgloch 1 0 1 Abrams 0 11 KIckoH returns No. Yds.

Turner 1 -1 Bell 1 16 Interception returns No. Yds. Croel 1 6 Petko 1 5 Byrd 1, 13 Defense Tackles UT AT TT Sims 3 0 3 Valladao 2 1 3 Engelbert 1 0 1 Wells 3 0 3 Walker 1 1 2 Mills 2 0 2 Petko 2 0 2 Tyrance 6 3 9 Hill 2 0 2 Curtz 1 0 1 Plckents 5 1 6 Lewis 4 1 5 Cooper 8 2 10 Cotton 2 1 3 2 1 3 Byrd 3 1 4 Ft White 1 0 1 Bell 1 0 1 IS Utah's Clifton Smith had fun playing in Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. Despite Utah's loss, Smith emphasized that -fact following his 82-yard rushing and 62-yard receiving performance. "The main thing you want to do out there is have fun, he said.

"It's not a job and you don't have to think of it as a job to be successful" But he admitted it wasn't fun all the time. "I'm not tired now, just beat up and bruised. But that's part of Smith said. "Nebraska is bigger, stronger, faster and they hit a little harder than most teams. They have all the tools, and they don't die.

"They start playing at one level and maintain it the whole game. They never get tired and they're constant, play after play, But we had them shook up with our passing." The Utes stung Nebraska for 297 yards through the air, including two touchdown passes in the final 3:38 of the The fun for Utah came in the form of multiple formations, including one called "Daffy Duck" which sends linemen to one side of the field, receivers to the other and leaves the center, one blocker and quarterback Scott Mitchell In the middle of the field. Another bit of trickery came when MitcheU left the game for one play and the ball was hiked directly to Smith for Nebraska Offense Rushing -No. Yds. Ave.

3ark .,,.32 130 5.9 5 102 20.4 8 6.5 Sell 4 38 9.5 3 34 11.3 flowers 21 4.2 3 10 3.3 1 110 Hughes 1 -2 Passing No. Co. Yds PI (Sdowskl 6 3 27 0 ScCant 10 0 1 jnlap 1 0 0 0 Receiving No. Yds. Gregory 2 25 $ll 1 2 Punting 5 No.

Yds. Ave. SMgge 3 112 37.3 Punt returns lm No. Yds. qUSpry .....2 4 72 28 28 11 13 -I Rowley 4 Anglesey 2 Hicks 3 Wllken 1 Abrams 2 Slgloch 1 Punting No.

Yds. Ave. Lammle 4 191 47.8 Punt returns No. Edwards 1 Kickoff returns No. 1 Yds.

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