The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 46

Disappointed Kansas State sM waiting win, but it didnt turn out that way. BY KEN HAMBLETON Lincoln Journal-Star Everybody is kind of upset May said Nebraska's pass rush was important to slowing the Wildcats. r- fis v. "Sometimes I couldnt see where I was throwing the ball," he said. "I dont want to make excuses, but there 11 was a few times when the ball was slipping out of my hand.

I had some guys open, but the ball slipped." KSU receiver Mitch Running, who grabbed a 29-yard touchdown pass 1 1 mm and four other passes for 50 more yards, said Nebraska was better prepared this year. May threw for 489 lilt I yards against NU last year. I III I I I IliVTT VJ II III II II VI MANHATTAN, Kaa Kansas State was left waiting another year for a shot at ending Nebraska's win streak against the Wildcats. KState hasn't won in the last 26 games against the Cornhuskers, but it's getting closer all the time. "I think with Chad May in there and Tommie Frazier out of there, they're real close," Nebraska Coach Tom Os-' borne said Saturday after his team's 1 17-6; victory.

"Coming down here, I Wasn't sure that they weren't better. I think they can beat anybody left on their schedule-That may or may not ease the pain for the Wildcats, according to K-State Coach Bill Snyder. "We cant lick our wounds because we only have six or seven days and have to do it again," he said. K-State plays at Colorado Saturday. "I have a feeling that Monday will 'be painful for our youngsters," Snyder Said.

"Our team put a great deal of emphasis on this game. I thought we were capable of winning it, and so did cur players. We made a great invest- V4 "Last year, they werent ready for us, and they didn't think we could beat them deep," Running said. "This year, they played more relaxed and more loose, and they werent going to give up those big plays." Snyder echoed that assessment "We have moved the ball against Nebraska and made big plays in recent years but not today," Snyder TED KHKUNCOLN JOURNAL-STAR KSU Coach Bill Snyder (right) makes a point by grabbing the jersey of Tjyson Schwieger. ment in emotion, work and attitude yards of total offense said he was "It just didn't pay off." disappointed by the loss.

KSU quarterback May, who threw "We're all hurt right- now," May for 249 yards KSU finished with 242 said. "We expected to come. in and said. "We had no big plays at all, and we needed them because we were working out of the shadow of our goal line." NU I-back Black Shirts isave day, again takes licking, TED KJRKAJNCOLN JOURNAL-STAfl K-State's Chris Canty (17) tries to intercept a pass intended for Husker Reggie Baul (7) late in the first half, but Baul reaches in to knock the ball away in the end curt mckeever i Lincoln Journal-Star still ticking BY MIKE BABCOCK Lincoln Journal-Star HU-KANSAS STATE NOTES touchdown of the year on a 15-yarcT MANHATTAN, Kan. Lawrence Phillips didn't catch the screen pass, near the end of the first half of Ne irap piay in tne tourtn quarter: "The play was sealed off perfect and all I had to deal with was the comer- braska's 17-6 victory against Kansas Hi VI backs.

We have a line called the Mate on Saturday. But he got hit. "The guy hit me with his helmet," 1 Pipeline and they showed why. "The traps worked for the full 1 a said Phillips, whose left thumb ab backs because they were concen sorbed most of the impact trating on Lawrence Phillips oettina After the final I the ball. We did a lot of learning be cause we were in a lot of situations we hadn't been in before with the quarterback situation and all that was going on here." NU senior offensive tackle play of the half, and after players from both teams had gone into their locker rooms, Phillips was taken from the sideline riding the back of a cart Then, while his teammates listened to the MANHATTAN, Kan.

Brenden Stai wasnt wondering which Nebraska defense would show up during the Corn-; huskers' game against Kansas State Saturday. "I know our defense is one of the best in the country and when they have to play like that, they're going to play like the NU offensive guard said following Nebraska's victory. "They saved our ass." 1 1 What a difference a year makes. In 1993, Kansas State quarterback Chad May ripped the iCornhusker defense for a Big Eight-record 489 yards. Saturday, the Black Shirts forced the senior quarterback, touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate, into a 22-for-48 i passing performance that included his first interception of the season.

think he had some problems, at times, figuring out i what we were running," said NU secondary coach George players gave a great effort They're tired Af hearing how bad they are." May also was sacked six times Saturday, one shy of his season total entering the game. it "I think we did a good job of keeping him in the pocket I and making him look around a lot," said outside linebacker ponta Jones. Linebacker Ed Stewart complimented the defensive coaches for their game plan. Darlington returned the Comment by saying Stewart played a big part in making it I work. I "I was most concerned that they would lock us into an offensive set we couldn't handle.

Most of the times, they eame out and matched a great receiver on Ed Stewart. I would think that's the matchup they wanted That says a lot about how well Ed Stewart played." JThe Cornhuskers occasionally showed a defensive look that Darlington said "we couldn't have done in the history of Nebraska. We didn't know about it I can't tell you where I got it They had a problem we Couldn't handle, so we did a great deal of research." Zach Wiegert said the running plays through the middle set up the trap plays. "They were stacking up the middle after awhile and just like we always do, they take something away, and we find another answer. It's a real dilemma for a defense.

We ran all those isolations and that opened up the other plays. Lawrence Phillips coaches map strategy for the second TED KIRKAJNCOLN JOURNAL-STAR NU cornerback Barron Miles (14) breaks up a pass intended for K-State's Kevin Lockett (83). Nebraska also got a boost when Troy Dumas leaped to block an extra-point kick by Martin Gramatica that would've tied the game 7-7 early in the second quarter. "That changes the tempo of the game a lot" Jones said, "because we knew if we kept them to six points we win the game" But the Cornhuskers still had to keep May in check. "I watched him warm up and I thought 'Holy I've never seen a guy throw fade routes 40 yards (so smoothly) one right after another." Jones said May was as good as advertised.

Last year, "We really didn't know too much about Chad," he said. "We prepared more for the run." Saturday, it was May who was usually on the run. "I think we screwed him up a little bit," Stewart said. Jones predicted the Wildcats would rebound. "They have a very good team," he said.

"I think they're going to go undefeated the rest of the season." As long as its defense steps up like it did Saturday, Nebraska might stand a good chance of doing that too. "I think we've been improving every game and will continue to improve," Stewart said. half, he went to a hospital for x-rays. "That's a real pounding for a de-. Two Nebraska players suffered injuries of note Saturday.

I-back Lawrence Phillips jammed a thumb and reserve offensive tackle Steve Ott sustained a broken ankle. NU now has the nation's long-, est regular-season winning streak of 21 games. The Husker win ended KSU's 16-game home win string and was Nil's third straight victory against a ranked opponent. NU is 70 for the eighth time under Coach Tom Osborne. KSU's minus 7 yards rushing was the 11th-best in history for a Nebraska defense.

The NU offense had season-low totals of tota! yards, rushing yards, first downs, rushing attempts, pass attempts and pass completions. Matt Turman became the first walk-on quarterback to start at Nebraska since Travis Turner started in 1985 (although Turner had a scholarship by the time he started). Turman and Brook Berringer accounted for a season-low 67 yards of total offense by the quarterbacks. Osborne said he hopes Berringer Is back to full strength this week. "I called this game in such a way that unless something wrong happened, he wouldn't get hit.

I'm hoping he'll be sound enough to do all the elements of our offense next week. We were pretty handicapped today in the things we tried to do." Unoffically, 38 of Nebraska's 61 offensive plays were run in between the tackles. NU defensive tackle Terry Connealy: "I think we had Chad May flustered and a little shook up because of our coverage and our pressure. We kept pretty much the same stuff all game a four-man rush usually." Jeff Makovicka, on his first There was no fracture, and he returned just after the second half started. Midway through the third quarter, he was back in the lineup.

The thumb was swollen, and it hurt, but I didn carry the ball in this hand, Phillips said, demonstrating. wen, mayoe ne aid. But "once you're in the game you dont really teel it (throbbing), he said. Phillips was visibly angry following the injury but not necessarily because tense ana it hard for those defensive linemen to recover." Will NU go back to No. Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder said he feels Nebraska should be on top of the ratings.

"They miss (Tommie) Frazier but they're still a great, great football team," he said. "Unta they get beat, they should be right up there and they deserve it." SCHEDULE Nebraska (7-0) Aug. 28 NU 31 West Virginia 0 8pt a NU 42. Texas Tech 16 Sept 17 NU 49. UCLA 21 Sept 24 NU 70, Pacific 21 Oct 1 NU 42, Wyoming 32 Oct NU 32, Oklahoma State 3 Saturday NU 17, Kansas State 6 Oct 22 NU at Missouri, 1 m.

Oct 29 Colorado at NU, TBA Nov. 5 Kansas at NU, 1 p.m. Nov. 12 NU at Iowa State. 1 p.m.

Nov. 25 NU at Oklahoma, 1:30 p.m. of it Rather, he was upset at himself. "I didnt think I was finding what NU simplifies attack, keeps Berringer healthy was there, I guess, he said. Phillips needn't have been so hard on himself, not after rushing for 117 BY CURT MCKEEVER kincoln Journal-Star SCORING SUMMARY "We came out with a good game plan and things worked out good," said Berringer, a junior from Good-land, Kan.

"For a team to be successful, you've got to establish the running game before you can throw the ball. "Lawrence is a great back. He showed a lot of heart, but the offensive line was knocking people back." Berringer, who started Nebraska's previous two games, gave way to Turman as the starter Saturday. Berringer entered late in the first half, when he threw two incomplete passes into the end zone "I was ready to go," said Berringer, whose lung was X-rayed as late as Friday morning. "I knew as long as the game went OK, hopefully I wouldn't have to play in the first half." Berringer downplayed his role in the outcome, stating "I was just getting in the huddle telling people what had to be done" He did, however, hook up with wingback Abdul Muhammad for a 34-yard pass on a second-and-14 play during Nebraska's game-clinching drive that was capped by Darin Er-stad's 24-yard field goal The play illustrated how much progress Berringer has made since he stepped in for the injured Tommie Frazier three weeks ago.

"Game by game, experience and repetition are what you need," said Berringer. "I feel like I've been starting for a long time. You just go out and get it done We're not a one-man team." NU-KSU Time left MANHATTAN, Kan. Brook Ber-finger didn't care how Nebraska's 17-Ifl victory against Kansas State looked lio those in KSU Stadium Saturday. With walk-on Matt Turman making Zhis first start at quarterback, the Cornhuskers were conservative with their passing game.

When Berringer came in, NU went 'easy on the option game in order to Unprove the odds of preventing his Iteft lung from collapsing for a third straight week. That left a lot up to I-back Lawrence Phillips, who responded with a jl7-yard, one-touchdown effort on 31 Carries. FIRST QUARTER 7-0 Lawrence PMHIpt 2 run 6:12 Dove: 28 yards 6 plays. Set up by Tyrone Williams 14 return of short KSU punt Hightgnted by Phillips 7, 8. 6.

2. 3 runs. Conversion: Dam Erstad Kick. SECOND QUARTER 7-6 Mitch Running 29 pas from Chad May 14:55 Drive: 62 yards in 5 plays. Highlighted by May 9 pass to J.J.

Smith, May 21 pass to Kevin Lockett. Conversion: kick blocked. FOURTH QUARTER 14-6 Jeff Makovicka 15 run 1141 Drive: 75 yards in 11 plays. Highlighted by Brock Berringer 9 run, Phillips 5,4, 3. 10.

17, 3 runs. Makovicka 4 run. Conversion: Erstad kick. 174 Erstad 24 netd goat 1:32 iNUDefense pours it on as Huskers defeat Kansas State Drive: 63 yards in 12 plays. Highlighted by Phillips 6 run, Makovicka 7, 15.

12 runs, Berringer 34 pass to Abdul Muhammad. Continued from page 1E for-26 for 76 vards. and the WilnVata INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS yards and one touchdown against a defense stacked against him. The Wildcats expected him to get the ball, which he did 33 times, 31 by handoff or pitch and two by pass. As a result "they were loading up, stunting a lot" he said.

Despite anticipating he would get the ball, Kansas State still had difficulty stopping him. "Lawrence is amazing," said the Cornhuskers' Matt Turman, who started at quarterback and was responsible for getting Phillips the ball during the first half. "He's a great back," Turman said. "But you have to give a lot of credit to the men up front too." As the game wore on, those men up front the offensive line, began to wear down Kansas State's defense. "They always have a mentality that the fourth quarter is theirs," said Turman.

"I could sense that feeling on the sideline." Brook Berringer was Nebraska's quarterback most of the second half. Saturday was Turman's first start at Nebraska. Even so, "I was more nervous yesterday (Friday) than today," he said. "I was thinking about what needed to be done." What needed to be done was get the ball to Phillips, "a great player," Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder said. "He's pretty special, and he's got a lot of help.

I don't think we played bad defensively. Our defense played welL But Phillips kept fighting and made some plays." That's all in a game's work, said Phillips, who was asked if he had thought about possibly winning the Heisman Trophy. He now has rushed for 1.123 yards this season. Win the Heisman? No, Phillips said. "We're just trying to win games, and our quarterback is out" Because Tommie Frazier has been lost for the season, Phillips has become a more important part of the offense.

But "I dont try to take everything into my own hands," he said. By mid-afternoon Saturday, the thumb on one hand was hurting. Nebraska Offense Rushing No. Yds. Lewranoe Php 31 117 Jeff Makovicka 7 56 Cory ScTKesnger 3 24 Matt Turman 4 10 Brook Berringer 2 5 Ctnton Chikts 2 0 Damon Banning 1 -2 rasemg No.

Co. Yds Brook 7 2 37 Matt Turman 4 2 15 Ave. 21 4.0 PI 1 Yds. 29 79 78 44 19 Ave. 39.2 30.7 Yds.

51 21 Yds. 17 Receiving No. Ave. 37 80 80 25 25 00 2.0 PI 0 0 Yds. 15 34 3 Ave.

37.3 Yds. 39 Yds. 15 Yds. 54 Lawrence PNKpa. 2 Abdul Muhammad 1 CtntonChitds 1 Punting No.

Yds. Darin 7 267 Kansas State Offense Rushing No. Yds. JJ. Smith 14 29 Chad May 9 -36 Passing No.

Co. Yds Chad May 48 22 249 Receiving No. J. 6 Mitch Running 5 Kevin Lockett 5 Ron Brown 3 Tyson Schwieger 3 Punting No. Yds.

Eric Hardy 5 196 Scott 3 92 Kickoff returns No. Mice Lawrence 2 Ron Brown 1 Punt returns No. Mrtch Running 3 Defense Tackles UT AT Chuck Marlowe 3 13 Tm Colston. 4 8 DaShawnFogte 0 8 Percet Oaslons. 3 4 Chns Canty- 1 6 Steve Hanks 4 2 Joe Gordon 1 4 Kety Greene- 4 0 NytevvVen 1 3 Drk 1 3 Laird Veatoh 2 1 Matt McEww 2 0 Darrel Hartrt 1 1 KiroyHocutt 1 0 Ray 1 0 Mike Exeter 1 0 Jason Johnson 1 0 ManHetnphi 0 1 Kickoff returns No.

Clnton Chios 2 most doubled its offensive output and time of possession. "We wore them down, and in the second half the holes were getting bigger and the gains were getting longer," said Berringer, who didnt get into the game-until the final 1:15 of the first halt He finished the second half. "It was pretty evident that we were the physical team," he said. "We ran up the middle because we had two phases of our offense on hold the option because they (the coaches and doctors) didnt want me to run it and the passing because they didnt want me to take a big hit and it still worked." The extent of Nebraska's offensive variety was limited on purpose Osborne said. "Offensively, we were handicapped a bit in what we wanted to do, but we wanted to get Brook through the game without having that lung collapse again," he said.

"We were holding our breath that be wouldnt get hit hard, and our offensive line did a great job of proterting him." Kansas State threw Nebraska for losses five times and held the Cornhuskers to less than half of their offensive average and just four pass completions. "You could tell our offense was going to do the job because they kept smashing everybody in front and we got that same old feeling we'd wear them down," said NU defensive, tackle Terry Connealy. "At the same time on defense we knew they had to pas to get the lead And all we had to do was pin our ears back and let it fly." Punt returns No. had just two plays in Nebraska territory. "Our defense really stepped it up," Osborne said.

"This was physical-style football, and I was really pleased with the performance in the fourth quarter." May said the difference was in Nebraska's defense "When they're pushing upfield and guys are in your face, it's kind of hard to throw," he said. "Sometimes I couldnt see where I was throwing the balL" May was sacked six times for 53 yards in losses. But he said his toughest play was a quarterback sneak in the middle of the second quarter when he had to call time out because his eye had been poked. "They tried to poke my eyeball," May said. "I know because someone was reaching and starting digging with two fingers.

They grabbed me in places you dont want to know." Some of those places May didnt want to be grabbed could have been 8 yards deep in the backfield while being chased by NU freshman Grant Wistrom on KSlTs first series. Or on a sack by NU linebacker Ed Stewart in the third quarter. "Nebraska is still Nebraska, and K-State is still K-State," Stewart "There were a lot of times when they were throwing the ball and no one was there I think we did fluster them abit "And as we started playing better on defense our offense started wearing them down." In the second half, Nebraska al Thereafter, Nebraska's defense held the Wildcats scoreless despite May's 249 yards passing on 22 completions and an edge of 20 more plays Ithan the Cornhusker offense through Jthe third quarter. "We had no big plays at all, and we Jshot ourselves in the foot with near misses and penalties," K-State Coach Bill Snyder said. "We weren't dominating because we couldn't get the, 'ball of our end of the field.

"Nebraska is a better team, and Jclose don't count" Nebraska broke the game open on a 15-yard touchdown run on a trap Iplay by fullback Jeff Makovicka and a 24-yard field goal by Erstad 10 minutes later. "There was no doubt we'd win, but twe did know we'd be in a dogfight at t7-6," said Dumas, who also intercepted May in the second quarter, We just didn't have the breakdowns on defense, and our offense took over 'where we left oft" May hadnt thrown an interception qn 148 attempts a Big Eight record Iurjtil Dumas stepped in front of a passwer the middle at the Nebraska 47-yard line and returned it 54 yards To the KSU 29 with 1:43 left in the first alL didn't seem the same after that interception," Dumas said. Erstad missed a 35-yard field goal after Dumas' interception. I Before the interception. May bad completed 12 passes for 173 yards and eemed close to repeating his league-record 489-yard passing; performance ygaixist the Cornhuskers last year.

After the interception. May was 10- Tyrone WHarne 2 KareemMoss 1 Interception returns No. Troy Dumas 1 Defense Tackles UT AT 16 12 8 7 7 6 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 Ed Stewart ,3 6 Dome Jones 3 4 Troy Dumas 3 3 Christian Peter 3 3 Tyrone Williams 3 1 Barron Milee 2 1 Phil Efts 2 1 lerry Connealy 1 2 Dwavne Hams 1 2 Eric Stokes 1 2 Oant Wtstrom 2 0 DouoColman 1 1 KareemMoss 1 1 Jason Pesterfiekl 1 1 TonyVetand 1 0 PHILLIPS CM THE RUM Lawrence Phillips' Same-by-game rushing Alt Yd TO x-West WgWa 24 128 0 at Texas Tech 10 175 2 UCLA 19 178 1 Pacific 9 138 1 Wryoming 27 168 3 Oklahoma State 33 221 3 at Kansas Stata 31 117 1 Total 162 1123 11 Career 244 1621 16. NOTE 1 0 Ryan Terwoer 1 0 K-State had given up just seven sacks in four games but gave up six Saturday. Dam Erstad 1 0 JonVsoVat 1 0 Jon Hesse 1 0.