The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 38

4E 3 HUSKERS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1992 LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR Huskers' 'we' backs record Heisman-caliber totals greater now." How much has Nebraska's confidence risen over the last three games? Well, Jones is already talking about an Orange Bowl rematch with top-ranked Miami With the win against Kansas, Nebraska is alone atop the Big Eight Conference standings with a 4-0 record. Wins against Iowa State, Oklahoma and Kansas State to end the year would give the Huskers' their second-straight Orange Bowl berth. Last year, the Hurricanes downed Nebraska 22-0 in the New Year's Day bowl game. "I'd love to play Miami again," Jones said. "This Nebraska team is a lot different than last year's team, and I say that because we're playing with a lot of confidence in ourselves and with a lot of intensity.

I hope we can maintain that confidence and intensity. If we do, we'll be tough for any team to stop." Kansas. "We were concerned about a letdown, but we're starting to get going on a consistent basis now," Lundberg said. "We know we have some talent, and we need to keep this thing going." Jones agreed. "I really feel we're getting better each week," he said.

"But we have to stress consistency in our performance." The Husker offense has improved since freshman quarterback Tommie Frazier was inserted into the starting lineup. Frazier has started three games this year, and the Huskers are 3-0 and haven't had a turnover. Brown said that gives the Huskers even more weapons on offense. "I think Tommie has a lot to do with it," he said. "At the times we need the important yards, he's made them.

Our confidence level is blowout of Colorado last week in Lincoln. Brown said he didn't have that feeling. "Last week's game meant something, so maybe we were still celebrating inside," said Brown. The offense, which gained 351 yards on the ground, seems to be getting better and better each week, said Jones, a sophomore from Omaha Central "And the guys up front deserve all the credit," Jones said. "They have a lot of experience, and nothing makes up for that.

They've played well the last two weeks, and we're going to be tough to stop if they keep it up." Left tackle Lance Lundberg said the Sine has improved week to week this season. Guards Ken Mehlin and Will Shields, center Jim Scott and tackle Zach Wiegert started tilings rolling on the offensive line against ing 110 of his yards in the first quarter as Nebraska built a 7-0 lead. On the second play of the game, Brown ran wide right and picked up 24 yards. After that. Brown said he knew it was going to be a long day for Kansas.

"After that first long carry, I knew that we could do anything that we wanted to," Brown said. "They have a great defense, but we have a great offense. I knew right away that we could run anything at them." In his career, Brown, a junior, has rushed for 2,551 yards, fourth on the all-time Husker list. Brown trails just Mike Rozier, Ken Clark and I.M. Hipp.

Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said the team seemed a little flat before the game started. Osborne said he was worried that the Huskers were basking in the glory of their 52-7 By Mark Derowitsch Lincoln Journal-Star Campaign '92 ended Tuesday, but Nebraska I-back Derek Brown was in the mood to do some politicking Saturday night. Following the Cornhuskers' 49-7 win against Kansas at Memorial Stadium, Brown started hitting the campaign trail. Brown held up a sign that read "We backs for Heisman," referring to himself and teammate Calvin Jones. "I like the looks of this," Brown said.

"I think I'll hang it up in my locker." The "We backs" certainly performed like a Heisman Trophy candidate against the Jay-hawks. Brown rushed for 156 yards on IS carries while Jones added 107 on 13 carries. The two Huskers have combined for 1,722 yards this season. Brown had the upper hand Saturday, gain Confident Cornhusker defense is on a roll and having a ball MWHpilMftUIWIWyillMlliy nniimMn II mm no ij a.jc.i jtjii i my ii jj. mi sv tr-; r-r t4 In years," he said.

Because of Big Eight scheduling realignment, Nebraska had played at Kansas the past two years. "They've been used to the friendly confines of Jayhawk Stadium and I don't think they were ready to see the 76,000 fans in a sea of red." Osborne agreed. "I'd like to compliment the fans. The last two weeks have been the most excited I've seen them and it has helped," he said. "Although, for the life of me, I can't understand who benefits from throwing oranges." The defense will take what help it gets, but mostly, the Black Shirts have been helping themselves.

Kansas finished the game with 273 yards of total offense and had to abandon its running game to try to catch up. Jayhawk quarterbacks completed just 11 of 30 passes and threw a pair of interceptions. "I was scared of their running game," said defensive coordinator Charlie McBride. "If a team can keep the ball and run at you, they wear you out. When you shut the run down and they have to go to a catch-up game, you can really tee off on the pass rush." That rush, led by Alberts' two tackles for losses, and sacks by Ed Stewart and Troy Branch, forced KU quarterback Chip Hilleary into both interceptions.

Byrd got one and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown and Kenny Wilhite got the other one. Wilhite, who deflected three other passes, said he was able to anticipate the play when he intercepted the ball. "That was a play we've seen all week in practice. When the guy went in motion, I knew what was coming," he said. By Ryly Jane Hambleton Lincoln Journal-Star The Nebraska defense is positively giddy, but it's no laughing matter.

"We always had the talent, but now the guys understand just how good we can be," said NU linebacker Trev Alberts. "We're on a roll and we're having a great time playing football. There's not a lot of criticism, so there's a lot of smilin' and huggin' out there." The Huskers have allowed just 14 points in two games, shutting down two straight nationally ranked opponents. "Everybody's having fun and it's like one big family out there," said free safety Tyrone Byrd. "The defense has put it together and that's why we're having success.

We're confident." The confidence comes from familiarity. "The coaches are letting the talent speak for itself. Everybody knows the coverages and what they're supposed to do," said Byrd. "They're not worried about making mistakes or being in the wrong coverage. "And that's why we're not making the mistakes that hurt us in the past." Both Alberts and Coach Tom Osborne gave an assist to the fans.

"I can't describe the feeling I get when I step on the field and hear those fans," said Alberts. "It goes from your toes to your head. The fans don't realize what they do for us." And that might have affected the Kansas football team, according to Alberts. "These guys haven't been in Lincoln for a couple of TED KIHKLINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR NU quarterback Tommie Frazier sets up to throw a pass in the first quarter. He completed six of 1 1 passes for 1 61 yards and three touchdowns.

Freshman Frazier credits success to his supporting cast on offense ning game got better and better. I don't think we played too bad all night." Kansas Coach Glen Mason was impressed with his first look at Nebraska's freshman quarterback. "He's got a great supporting cast and he complements what they do very well. He's got great speed and doesn't make any mistakes," he said. Frazier has yet to have a turnover in his three starts.

Frazier said it's not hard to look good with the NU offense. "It's like a dream having our line and having Derek Brown and Calvin Jones to hand off to," he said. "I guess that's one reason why I'm not scared when I'm on the field. "Like tonight, Kansas was so worried about stopping Calvin, I think they forgot I could maybe run or pass or give it to somebody else." By Ken Hambleton Lincoln Journal-Star Tommie Frazier said he wasn't ducking the issues, he just didn't want become one the last two weeks. So he avoided pregame interviews.

'That was just for these last two weeks because I didn't want to be the 6ne talking or talked about with two big games on the line," he said. But the freshman from Manatee High School in Bradenton, is sure to be a topic of discussion after helping the Cornhuskers blast Kansas a week after crushing Colorado. A'lt's not surprising because the guys all around me on offense and the guys on our defense are playing great," Frazier said. "I thought we could play well. But I expected it would be a lot tougher." Frazier was a big part of why it looked so easy.

He designed a play on the run to get Nebraska its first touchdown a 36-yard pass to tight end Gerald Armstrong. "The play came into the huddle as half a play. So I made up the other half and it still didn't get the split end in the right place," he said. "But Gerald got open and it worked. "I think it shocked Kansas a bit.

Then, the second touchdown really scared them," Frazier said. He said part of the scare tactics was NU's success in passing. Nebraska's first three touchdowns came on Frazier's first three passes. He finished the day with 6 completions on 11 attempts for 161 yards. "The pass to Corey Dixon (a yard touchdown) was by design.

The design is for Corey to break open, get a man one-on-one and I throw to him because he has such great speed," Frazier said. "And with all that passing, our run mm RANDY HAMPTONUNCOLN JOURNAL-STAR NU outside linebacker Trev Alberts tackles KU quarterback Chip Hilleary. NU- From page 1E Nebraska, Kansas sidelights Notes "There's a great attitude and work ethic here as well, and that's always a good sign." Osborne said he was worried about a letdown and his team appeared "flat" before Saturday night's game. "Obviously, we weren't flat and we played well," he said. So what about the national picture? Nebraska is in front to vyin the Big Eight and go to the Orange Bowl.

"We can see that anything can happen with Washington losing today and our last two games being such blowouts," Alberts said. "We're in the hunt, and that's what is keeping us all going so strong." Osborne was just as cautious in his assessment. "Nationally, I don't know where we fit in but I think we can play with about anybody," Osborne said. 'The thing you find out about this kind of thing, is the less you say the less you have to take back." After the last two weeks, it doesn't appear Nebraska has to take anything back. march with a combination of Derek Brown and Jones and Lance Lewis.

Brown finished with 156 yards on 15 carries, Jones with 107 yards on 14 carries and Lewis with 42 yards on three carries, including the final NU touchdown on a 5-yard run. "We got the running after we got the passing and that was a good sign," said Frazier, who is 3-0 as a starter at Nebraska. "People said our passing wasn't that good and we could only run. "So we got some passing done tonight and it's just another step in improving our game and playing to our capabilities." Nebraska rolled up 533 yards of total offense while the Cornhuskers limited Kansas to 273 yards but 114 of that came in the third quarter, after NU had a 42-7 lead. "We obviously have gotten a little confidence," Osborne said.

"I think the defense's confidence is up right-now. Offensively it has always been pretty good. We have a great kicking game, too. bit. The time I thought about it the most was when I caught the one at midfield.

I said, 'I've got 50 So I put on one move and he missed, then someone caught me from behind. But I wasn't real disappointed. I was just happy to catch the ball." Armstrong's first touchdown, the 36-yarder for a 7-0 NU lead, wasn't exactly what was expected. "It's not even a play we have, actually. He (Tommie Frazier) called it and I recognized it.

There are options of that base play and I did what I thought I should have and took it deep. I was pretty wide open and Tommie did a good job of not throwing it over my head." a It was the fourth game in a row that Nebraska had not had a turnover actually 4Vi games dating back to Sept. 26. Mike Stigge now has 154 punts in his career, a school record. He passed the career mark of 150 set by Randy Lessman (1974-76).

For the second week in a row, Husker fans threw oranges onto the field following Nebraska's first score. That prompted a message from Osborne. He warned that the fans "better knock it off," or the Huskers would be penalized. l-Back update No. Yds.

Ave. TO Calvin Jones 107 859 8.0 11 Derek Brown 140 853 6 4 Schedule (Times subject to change) Sept. 5 Nebraska 49, Utah 22 Sept. 12 Nebraska 48, Middle Tennessee State 7 Sept. 19 Washington 29.

Nebraska 14 Sept. 26 Nebraska 45, Arizona State 24 Oct 10 Nebraska 55. Oklahoma State 0 Oct. 24 Nebraska 34, Missouri 24 Oct 31 Nebraska 52, Colorado 7 Nov. 7 Nebraska 49.

Kansas 7 Nov. 14 Nebraska at Iowa State, 1 p.m. Nov. 27 Nebraska at Oklahoma, 12:30 p.m. Dec.

5 Nebraska vs. Kansas State, Tokyo, 10 p.m. (kickoff is noon Dec. 6 in Japan) Nebraska's top two tight ends were injured in the game. William Washington sprained the arch in his right foot and Gerald Armstrong sprained his left knee.

"Armstrong could be out a week or three weeks. And William sprained an arch two years ago and missed five weeks," said Tom Osborne. "We run a lot of double-tight ends, so that hurts. would say it is rather doubtful whether they will play next week (against Iowa State)." r. Armstrong, whose first six catches for Nebraska went for touchdowns including two against Kansas, finally caught a pass that didn't go for a.

score. After pulling in touchdown passes of 36 and 11 yards in the first half, he pulled in a 13-yard catch in tie Huskers' longest touchdown drive of the game. "The streak was in my mind a little Scoring summary zier found Corey Dixon streaking down the middle of the field for a 46-yard touchdown. Kansas finally answered with an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive, but Nebraska countered with a 5-yard touchdown by Calvin Jones to zoom ahead 28-7 with 4:13 left in the first half. "We shouldn't have let that (KU's touchdown) happen," NU secondary coach George Darlington said.

"Blown coverage. But we adjusted." Less than two minutes after that score, Frazier hit Jones on a 41-yard screen pass to the Kansas 10. and in two plays Jones had his second touchdown and Nebraska had a 35-7 half-time lead. "The Big Red is on a roll," NU outside linebacker Trev Alberts said. "When we saw what our offense was doing against a supposedly great defense, we knew we had to hold up our end of the bargain by stopping the Kansas offense.

"And like our offense, even when we lined up wrong, or made the mistakes, we seemed to get the job done and shut Kansas down pretty good." The Jayhawks were beaten by the widest margin in two years and tagged for more points and more yards than any other game this year. The game figured to be closer than the annual Nebraska pummeling of Kansas because the Jayhawks at 7-1 were off to their best start since winning the conference in 1968. Kansas also had the top rushing defense in the Big Eight and compared favorably with Nebraska in most statistical categories. But it didn't seem to matter to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were near perfection in the first three quarters.

Nebraska expanded a 35-0 halftime lead to 42-0 when Tyrone Byrd picked off a pass and sprinted 30 yards down the sideline with the second half less than a minute old. The Cornhuskers, who had scored their first seven touchdowns in a total elapsed (official) time of 4 minutes, 53 seconds, spent some time scoring its final touchdown. After 13 plays and 87 yards, the Cornhuskers completed a scoring KU-NU How scored Time left Individual statistics Punting No. Yds. Ave.

6 250 41.7 Punt returns 4 Nebraska Offense Rushing Yds. Ave. 156 104 107 8 2 42 14 0 30 3 8 90 23 07 40 20 No. 0 Brown 15 (J.Jones 13 Lews 3 McDuffy 8 Hughes 1 ScMesnger 4 Frazier 9 Mackovicka 1 Muhammad 1 McMilten 1 Hawkins 1 veland 1 Barnnger 1 Grant 3 FIRST QUARTER 0-7 Gerald Armstrong 37 pas from Tommie Frazier 13:30 Drive: 80 yards In 5 plays. Highlighted by Derek Brown 24 run, Frazier 1 1 run.

Conversion: Byron Bennett kick. SECOND QUARTER 0-14 Armstrong 1 1 pass from Frazier 14:54 Drive: 53 yards in 4 plays. Highlighted by D. Brown 16, 33 runs. Conversion: Bennett kick.

0-21 Corey Dixon 46 pass from Frazier 12:46 Drive: 46 yards in 1 play. Set up by Dan Eichtoff 22 punt to Kansas 46. Coversion: Bennett kick. 7-21 Maurice Douglas 4 run 8:14 Drive: 80 yards in 8 plays. Highlighted by Chip Hilleary 6 run, Hilleary 1 7 pass to Douglas, Douglas 5, 4 runs, Hilleary 35 pass to Pete Vang.

Conversion: Eiehloff kick. 7-28 Calvin Jones 5 run 4:13 Drive: 61 yards inTTplays. Highlighted by Lance Lewis 34 run, C. Jones 6, 8, 8 runs. Conversion: Bennett kick.

7-35 C. Jones 6 run 2:53 Drive: 50 yards in 3 plays. Set up by Eiehloff 30 punt to 50. Highlighted by Frazier 41 screen pass to C. Jones.

Conversion: Bennett kick. THIRD QUARTER 7-42 Tyrono Byrd 30 Interception return 14:18 Conversion: Bennett kick. 7-49 Lance Lewis 5 run 8:03 Drive: 87 yards in 13 plays. Highlighted by D. Brown 22, 8, 15 rura, Frazier 14 pass to Vincent Hawkins, Frazier 13 pass to Armstrong, C.

Jones 1 1 run. Conversion: Bennett kick. 10 10 Gray 1 0 1 Miles 1 0 1 A. Penland 1 0 1 Pesterfield 1 0 1 Prevette 10 1 D. Williams 1 0 1 Beler 0 1 1 Brinkley 0 11 McMillen 0 1 1 Stigge 0 1 1 Kansas Offense Rushing No.

Yds. Ave. Douglas 17 63 3.7 Hilleary 9 45 5.0 G.White 8 18 2 3 Levine 3 7 2 3 C.Johnson 1 0 0 0 Thomas 2 -5 Passing No. Co. Yds PI Hilleary 28 11 145 2 Thomas 2 0 0 0 Receiving No.

Yds. Gay 6 58 Douglas 3 41 Vang 1 35 G. White 1 11 Punting No. Yds. Ave.

Eiehloff 9 319 35.4 Kickoff returns No. Yds. White 3 61 Douglas 1 19 Punt returns No. Yds. Bowen 1 5 Defense Tackles UT AT TT Lassiter 10 0 10 Vaughn 6 2 8 K.

Moore 4 2 6 Bowen 6 0 6 Bailey 2 4 6 G. Brown 3 2 5 Ward 3 1 4 TNH 2 2 4 Chnftian 0 4 4 McBurrows 3 0 3 G. Howard 2 1 3 Stubbtefield 0 3 3 Maumalanga 2 0 2 D. Davis 2 0 2 Harvey 1 1 2 Steele 0 2 2 Holt 1, 0 1 Rodgers 1 0 1 S. Wnght 1 0 1 -1 -10 No.

Yds. Hughes 2 10 Kickoff returns No. Yds. Dixon 1 28 Interception returns No. Yds.

Byrd 1 30 Wilhite 1 0 Defense Tackles UT AT TT Hill 5 1 6 Stewart 4 1 5 Byrd 0 5 5 Alberts 4 0 4 Wilhite 3 1 4 Leader 2 2 4 Branch 2 13 Carmer 2 1 3 Parrelll 2 1 3 Moss 2 0 2 Beece 2 0 2 Mi. Anderson 112 Connealy 1 1 2 D.Jones 1 1 2 D. White 1 1 2 T. Wnght 1 1 2 -3 -30 -12 Passing No. Co.

Yds PI Razier 11 6 161 0 Grant. 4 2 21 0 Receiving No. Yds. Armstrong 3 60 Jixon 46 6. Jones 1 41 Hawkins 1 14 McDuffy 1 13 1 8.