The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 24

6GC 3HUSKERS SUNOAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1993 LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAH i Mai La) hutk 'i 1 offense brie--' ixi AirlirV 'S JVl KUSXEB PTES, QUOTES Nebraska came through Saturday's game in good shape, according to head trainer and physical therapist George Sullivan. The most significant injury appeared to be a hip pointer, suffered by freshman I-back Lawrence Phillips. Sullivan said Phillips' status will be day-to-day. Wide receiver Abdul Muhammad slightly reinjured a sore knee, on a 41-yard touchdown pass play. Corey Dixon didn't play much, but returned punts.

Osborne asked him why he couldn't play split end if he could return punts against 11 people. "So he went in," Osborne said. Outside linebacker Donta Jones didnt play because of a sore ankle and tackle Joel Wilks was held out with a leg injury. Defensive tackle Kevin Ramaekers: "We had taken a lot of heat about last week, and the coaches were on us, too. But we were on ourselves.

We talked technique football and we made some improvement there. We played basic base defense and got a lot of people in. Christian Peter really impressed me. That's just a sign of the competition for positions on defense, and that's a good sign." Strong safety Toby Wright: "We went back to the basics. We didnt take things, like tackling, for granted u--f5 i tf-s A -v A L-aW 'jr.

NU linebacker Troy Branch (54) just misses batting down an pass from CSU's Anthoney Hill (7) in the first quarter as fellow Husker linebacker Dwayne Harris (86) turns up the pressure. KEEHASXA-CHLCHJLOO STATE K3TES confident BY KEN HAMBLETON Uncoln Joumaitar Quarterback Tommie Frazier said he telt so good, it was a "no aspirin day," Lawrence Phillips declared the I-back race over. And Nebraska offensive guard Brendcn Stai said the Cornhusker offense is dominant, "almost the way it should be." Xljhough all those pronouncements maj- be somewhat premature, they reflected the confidence Nebraska's offense gained against Colorado "We've got room to improve, but weje moving forward and that's the sigrj of life," said Frazier. "We ran the options and we balanced with the pass. And we made progress." Frazier also made it through three quarters without severe pain in his right; ankle the leftovers of a se-vere'sprain that limited his play the last three weeks.

Calvin Jones only made it through enough to keep him eligi-ble-for NCAA statistics but it was enough for Phillips to declare the I-back race over. ii know who is No. 2, but with Calyin back for our next game, the race is over," he said. Phillips led the parde of five NU I-backs with 79 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Jeff was next with 62 yank and a touchdown on seven carries and Clinton Childs picked up 15 yards on three carries and caught a touchdown pass.

"JVjS got all the I-backs in, although TED KIRKLINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR Nebraska's Tommie Frazier (15) sticks out his hand to ward off Colorado State free safety Greg Myers (3) on a first quarter run. Frazier gained 8 yards, setting up Lawrence Phillips' touchdown. Senior linebacker Brian Schneider, CSU's leading tackier and a second-team All-Western Athletic Conference performer in 1992, had to leave Saturday's game late in the second quarter with two sprained knees. He's expected to be sidelined three to four weeks. "His presence is huge," said defensive end Brady Smith.

"It's a great loss, but he's a tough kid, and hell be back as soon as he can." Quarterback Anthoney Hill played every offensive snap for the Rams and passed for 144 yards and rushed for 65. "I'm tired. I'm pretty beat up," he said. "But I was still having fun in the fourth quarter." Prior to Toby Wright's 32-yard interception return for a touchdown on the second play of the game, Hill hadn't been picked off in 71 pass attempts. "I just misjudged his break on the ball; you saw what happened," SCGRIXS STC3Y CS-NU How I don't know what we proved," said NU Coach Tom Osborne.

"Phillips has a hip-pointer. But I don't know where this game leaves us with the backs. "And we didn't get 400 yards on offense. Only 67 snaps is part of that But I didn't feel like the yards were there for us today," he said. Stai, who helped NU pick up 360 yards of offense, said Nebraska still isn't fluid on offense.

"We're getting there. We had some good drives against a good defense. "We're still a little disjointed, with newer personnel and some lack of experience in there at times. But we've developed some depth to make up for 1 CV. f- i lack Shirts pin down Rams 7TS FIRST QUARTER 0-7 Toby Wright 32 interception return 14:03 Conversion: Byron Bennett kick.

3-7 David Napier 43 field goal 7:32 Drive: 51 yards In 10 plays. Highlighted by Anthoney Hill 30 run, teonfce Brown 13 run. 3-14 Lawrence Phillips 7 run 2:49 Drive 78 yards in 11 plays. Highlighted by Tommie Frazier 14 pass to Gerald Armstrong, Phillips 12 run. Conversion: Bennett kick.

SECOND QUARTER 3-21 Frazier 16 run 5:17 Drive: 59 yards In 6 plays. Highlighted by Frazier 16 run, Frazier 1 5 pass to Bell, Phillips 1 1 run. Conversion: Bennett kick. 3-28 Frazier 1 pass to Armstrong 0:43 i Drive 39 yards 6 plays. Highlighted by Jeff Makovlcka 17.

11 runs. Conversion: Bennett kick. 6-28 Napier 42 Meld goal 0:00 Drive: 40 yards in 7 plays. Highlighted by Hill 32 pass to Paul Turner, Hill 19 run. THIRD QUARTER 6-34 Frazier 41 pass to Abdul Muhammad 5:18 Drive: 72 yards in 7 plays.

Highlighted by Childs 9, 6 runs, Frazier 7 run. Conversion: Bennett kick failed. FOURTH QUARTER 6-41 Brook Berringer 5 pass to Clinton Childs 11:58 Drive: 1 7 yards in 5 plays. Set up by Kareem Moss 43 Interception return. Highlighted by Berringer 10 pass to Eric Alford.

Conversion: Bennett kick. 13-41 Brown 8 run 3.53 Drive: 60 yards In 5 plays. Highlighted by Hill 40 pass to Ter- rence Zenno. Conversion: Napier kick. 13-48 Makovlcka 22 run Drive: 28 yards in 4 plays.

Set up by Damon Benning 57 kickoff return. Highlighted by Makovlcka 6 run. Conversion: Bennett kick. the injuries and now, with some time off to heal up, we can be that fluid offense that gets smoother and better each game." Nebraska managed to pick up 5.5 yards a play against a defense that allowed only 2.4 yards per play rushing this year. The Cornhuskers didn'i have a 100-yard rusher for the first time this year, but didn't have a turnover for the first time this season, either.

"We had something to prove after the UCLA game," Stai said. "The theme here is to dominate on offense. We did that some today. We will do it more in the future." TED KRMJNCOLN JOURNAL-STAR we're pretty good," said McBride. "Then we put something new in and it throws a wrench into things." Outside linebacker Trev Alberts, who had eight tackles, including four for losses of 16 yards, said the defense is getting comfortable with the alignment "Early in the season, we gave up more big plays.

As long as we make a lot more than we give up, we're OK," he said. "This week, we worked on the elementary things of football, like tackling. You take for granted that you can tackle, but after working on it, I think we brought our feet better and concentrated a lot more. "This was a good test for us, going against the type of quarterback who can pass and run. He made a couple of big plays, but at the important times, we stopped them." That recovery is what held Colorado State in check.

"When it gets to third-and-20-some-thing, the older guys know we have to make something happen," Alberts said. "For the most part, we're doing that this year. "Our style is kind of like boxing (last year) we're going to take the first punch. We're going to hit them first (this year). In the past we'd spend some time reading what their offense did before we'd attack.

This style is much more fun to play." A RANOY HAMPTONUNCOLN JOURNAL-8TAR he said. "It wasn't like it was an Oh, I didn't think it was that until the ball was right there (in his hands)." Kicker David Napier made two field goals for CSU from 43 and 42 yards. He also missed from 43. Nebraska held a 92-yard edge in total offense. Two years ago, the difference was 400.

The third-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Tommie Frazier to Abdul Muhammad was Nebraska's longest of the season. Damon Benning's 57-yard kickoff return was the first of his career and the Cornhuskers longest of the season. Reggie Baul's 40-. yard kickoff return was his first, and his longest. Saturday's victory was Nebraska's 170th in a row when scoring 35 or more points.

The Cornhuskers finished non-conference play undefeated for the first time since the 1990 season. scored Time toft Colorado State Offense Rushing No. Yds. Ave. Anthoney Hi 17 65 3 8 Leonice Brown 19 58 31 Van Ward 3 1 04 Passing No.

Co. Yds PI HI 35 12 144 2 Receiving JT No. Yds. Paul 4 66 Brown 3 Terrence Zemo 2 47 2 11 Eric 1 9 Punting No. Yds.

Ave. 8 336 -420 Punt returns No. Yds. Greg Myers 3 18 Kickoff returns No. Yds.

Renard 5 99 1 is Defense Tackles LT AT TT Greg Myers 5 10 Kenya Hagsdale 5 3 Brian Schneider 2 4 6 Andre Strode 3 3 6 Kareem 3 2 Prentice Davis 2 3 Scott Lynch 2 3 Stevertodga 3 1 4 Vincent Booker 2 2 4 Sean 1 3 4 Garrett Sand 0 3 3 David 1 Steve Norton 1 Derrick Roth 1 Steve Standrtar 1 Tony Uaazek 112 Raymond Jackson 0 2 2 Robert Maroeau 1 1 Mitch Palmer. 1 1 Brady Smith 1 Derek Yurosek 1 0 1 Kirk 0 1 1 Tom Romero 0 1 1 Roy W-ums 0 1 scrmiE (AJ Sme Cental) Pt 4 -Nebraska 76. North Texas 14 Sept 11 Nebraska 50, Texas Tech 27 Sept 18 Nebraska 14, UCLA 13 13 a- 48. Colorado State Oct 16 Kansas State at Nebraska. 1 p.m.

Oct 23 Missouri at Nebraska. 1 m. Oct 30 Nebraska at Colorado TBA. 1 l. State at Nebraska.

1 m. Nebraska free safety Troy Dumas (4) tries to corral Colorado State running back Leonice Brown. The Rams gained 10 yards on Brown's reception of a shuttle pass from Anthoney Hill. today. I think we all made mistakes last week, but we made improvements this week, we were fired up and banging each other around all this week.

I think we're ready for the Big Eight, but Toby Wright we've got few days and we're take it slow to a slow boil for Oklahoma State. If we focus, stay aggressive, we shouldn't have a problem being the best defense in the nation." Wright's 32-yard interception return for a touchdown on Colorado State's second play from scrimmage was his second interception return for a touchdown this season. He returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown against North Texas. Secondary coach George Darlington: "We dont have a problem with aggressive players. If anything, we have to control the aggressiveness.

If you fly up out of control, you might make a big tackle, but you also might make a whiff." Defensive coordinator Charlie McBride (on having a week off): "We can get healed up and also look at teams down the road. We need to see some option football like well see against Iowa State. Even working against ourselves when the offense is working on options will get us used to seeingthat" Safety Tyrone Williams (on ing made bis first start): "I was nervous at first I was playing a little deep early, and they tried to take advantage of that But once I shook off the butterflies, I was OK. It took a few plays. "Concentration is important when you have a quarterback who scrambles and you have to cover longer, You cant relax, you stay with the receiver, and you be patient You have to stick to your responsibilities and not try to be the hero of the game." Offensive tackle Lance Lund-berg: "We had some limited success.

It came in spurts. We wore them down because we are bigger and more physical. They were sound defensively. They knew their reads and had a lot of guys up on the line of scrimmage. "We need to be more fluid.

We have a ways to go. We need to get healthy and execute better on every single play." Punter-kicker Byron Bennett: "In these types of games, you never know how much you're going to kick. It's hard to stay stretched all game long. You want to celebrate a bit with the other players, but you have to keep loose. It takes its toll on the body." (On the missed extra point) "Aaron (Graham) snapped the ball a little behind David (Seizys), which is very unusual, and David couldn't get the ball around to the spot we'd marked." KEXT Oklahoma State Sept 11 Oklahoma Stat 45.

Southwest Ml tour Stale 7 Sept 16 Oklahoma Statt 18. Tuba 10 Spt 25 Oklahoma Slat at Arizona Statt Oct Tsxat Christian at Oklahoma Statt Oct 1 Nebraska at Oklahoma Statt Oct 1 Oklahoma Stat at Missouri Oct 23 Oklahoma State at towa Stat Oct 30 Kansas at Oklahoma State Nov. Colorado at Oklahoma State Nov. 13 Oklahoma Stat at Oklahoma No. 20 Kansas Stata at Oklahoma Stat 57 yards, and four plays later, Mako-vicka scored on a 22-yard run on fourth down to end the scoring.

The Cornhuskers win take two days off before beginning preparations for the Oct 7 (Thursday night because of ESPN coverage) game at Oklahoma State in the Big Eight Conference opener for both teams. "At this time, an open date is what we need," said NU Coach Tom Osborne, who earned hs 199th victory. "We've got a number of players who can benefit from the time off. We're not overall where we wanted to be. And considering what's happened so far, we can get better.

We plan on LC-l- BY ft YLY JANE HAMBLETON LincolrrJournat-Staf Ti Nebraska defense closed ranks thisp week and Colorado State got caught in the middle. "Coach McBride (Charlie) pulled thehole defense together before the game and said, 'We are one big family outtthere. Play for each other and shor people who we really are said tackle Kevin Ramaekers. Linebacker Dwayne Harris said the goal was to gain respect "Lslst week, we let our tackling skills-slip a bit, so the focus this week on wrapping up," said linebacker Dwayne Harris. "We want Nebraska to be feared not only on offense but defensively, as welL" The defense proved its point in a hurfy.

On the second play of the game, Toby Wright intercepted a pass and raced 32 yards for a touchdown. The Cornhuskers kept up the defensive pressure, catching Rams behind the line of scrimmage 14 times for 0 total of 62 yards in losses. "We cut down on our blitzing today because everybody is keeping 12 guys in the huddle and running one off the field," said defensive coordinator McBride. "The secondary and linebackers did a good job today. We didn't get as much pressure up front as Fd hoped.

"But anytime you have two tight ends, takes away your ability to pressure. We did flush him out and that sort of thing." Colorado State quarterback Anthoney Hill completed 12 of 35 passes for 144 yards, had two intercepted and was-sacked six times for 44 yards. were disappointed at times when! we let him off the hook, but all in aHit was a very good performance agafitft a very mobile quarterback," said George Darlington, defensive secondary coach. "The stats will show he passed a lot, but they really won't reflect how many times they wanted to. There were a number of times he was; forced to pull the ball down and runi which was indicative of how well covered the receivers wtre." The secondary coverage was aided by the pressure put on the quarterback by the line and linebackers.

"Yo try to keep containment on a quarterback, but you have to stick to what you do," said Harris, who had two tackles for losses. "You focus on the man in front of you, which for me is a tackle, and then look back to see where the quarterback is." 'Jlarris said the defensive players feed off each other's success. "There is a competition with the other players. You play with them as a team, but there's also a challenge to see who can get the job done," he said. "I feel no one on the field can make Smoother ride Oyflhued from Page 1C -j I big plays," Alberts said.

"We showed sa.Xnuch improvement from last week. Guys were chomping at the bit for this game because we were not happy; with a lot of things we did against UCLA. after that first half, we were feeling pretty darn good." Colorado State was held without a first down in the third quarter. The Rams managed 21 yards of offense on three possessions of three-do wns-and-out In the period. Irj the mea'Jtw.

nzier capped a 51-yard drft 2t a'f1rd tourh- down pass-to Wui Muhamtnad, baelup quarterback Brook Berriiigef hit back Clintoif 'Childs on a 5-yard "We want Nebraska to be feared not only on offense but defensively, as well." Dwayne Harris, NU linebacker the play before me, but everyone else feels that way, too." That competition helped the Husk-ers continue improvement in the 4-3 defensive alignment "The kids knew it was ugly last week. They have pride and they knew they didn't look so hot on TV," said McBride. "We're still a bit ragged, but they used some shifts today we hadn't seen and the kids did a great job of adjusting on the field." Wright said the defense needed to improve after last week's 14-13 win over UCLA. "I think we were pretty fired up in the beginning of today's game," he said. "As a team unit, we try to be very close.

And we felt we had a lot to prove after last week. Because of the individual mistakes, some of us felt we lost even though we didn't Today, we did not take Colorado State for granted" McBride said the defense continued to improve after another week of practice in the 4-3 base defense the Huskers switched to this fall "It's polish time now. We're on the verge of getting to the point where is more comfortable touchdown pass after Kareem Moss intercepted a CSU pass and returned it to the Rams' 17. That made it 41-6 early in the fourth quarter. "Colorado State was one of the better defenses well face," Frazier said.

"It helped a lot that we were somewhat healthy this week, and it will help a lot more when we're all full speed and we're hitting on all cylinders." Frazier seemed unhampered by the ankle sprain that limited his options of option plays the last two weeks. He picked up 8 yards on a keeper on the first scoring drive. He broke loose for another 29 yards on fp parries on the second drive and scored on a 16-yard run on the third drive. He had one other 16-yard burst mmmsjL statistics Nebraska Offense Rushing No. Yds.

Ave. Lawrence Phillips 14 79 5 8 Tommie Frazier 11 75 6 8 Jelf Makovioka 7 62 6 9 Canton Childs 3 15 8.0 Dave Fiata 1 13 13.0 Cory Schtesmger 3 9 3 0 Damon Benning 2 6 3 0 Lance Gray 1 1 1.0 BenFtutz 1 -2 -20 Brook Berringer 3 -4 Passing No. Co. Yds PI FrazKr 13 7 79 0 8 4 27 0 Receiving No. Yds.

Gerald Armstrong 2 15 Clester Johnson 2 12 Benning 2 3 Abdul Muhammad 1 41 Trumane 1 15 Erie Alford 1 10 Childs. 1 5 1 Punting No. Yds. Ave. Byron Bennett- 7 283 40.4 Punt returns No.

Yds. Corey Dixon 2 6 Kareem Moss 1 42 Kickoff returns No. Yds. Dixon 2 6 Benning. 1 57 Reggie Bad 1 40 Defense Tackles AT TT TrevAberts 2 6 8 MM Anderson 4 3 7 Dwayne Hjimr 2 4 Toby Wright 3 14 ISrlht Mcrt4Y im IU 3 1 Ernie Beter 2 2 4 Ed SWwarl 0 4 4 Johnfteece 2 13 Doug Coiman 2 0 2 Devxj Seizys 2 0 2 BmyWade 2 0 2 SeOc Cor 1 1.2 Tymn IWWtjmf 1 12 Twy ft Troy Branch 1 0 1 re 10 1 EH.

1 0 1 Lance Qray 1 0 1 0 1 Barron MNes 10 1 Ed Morrow 1 0 1 Aaron Pemend. 10 1 Larry Townsend 1 0 1 Darren Wams 1 0 1 Troy Dumas 0 1 1 Jaaon Fishar 0 1 1 Lulher Hardn 0 1 Todd Heyna. 0 1 1 Kerth Mmrm 0 11 Bruce Moore 1.1 Kewi Ramaekers 1 i Dean Schnaider 0 1 1 as Cornhuskers rout Colorado State around the left end. The 41-yard touchdown pass to Muhammad might have shown the look of the 1993 Cornhuskers. Muhammad, who had been held out of the game with an injury, Was hurt on the play, and Frazier was obviously tired and sore.

1 was tired." Frazier said. "I told Coach Osborne that was it" Colorado State, which gained a respectable 268 yards of offense on 74 plays seven more plays than Nebraska finally reached the end zone with S3 left on an 8-yard touchdown run by Leonice Brown. But the Cornhuskers responded in kind, when Damon Benning returned the kickoff.