Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 34

4D Dec. 28, 1980 Lincoln, Sunday Journal and Star For Mississippi State, it was a day of mistakes "I'm not taking anything away from Nebraska, but we just shouldn't have been beaten like that." Bellard was in agreement with his players. Mistakes were the problem, he said. "I think anybody who was in attendance would make a similar judgment. The turnovers really killed us," Bellard said.

"We just flat out gave them too many opportunities. Our defense played well enough to win. We were tight and stiff on offense, and we didn't play as well offensively as we are capable of playing. "It's tough to end the season on a loss, but I just told our players to forget about it and look ahead," said Bellard. liams kept Mississippi State's running attack focussed on the inside.

"Their ends weren't overwhelming physically, but they were cutting off the outside lane," Bond said. As a result, fullback Donald Ray King was the busiest Bulldog ball carrier, rushing 23 times for a game-high 96 yards. According to Bond, who scored one touchdown and passed for another, "we weren't planning to give the ball to King that much, but the ends didn't leave me any choice." King was less impressed with Nebraska than he had been with Alabama, a team Mississippi State defeated 6-3 during the regular season. "I thought Alabama was just as good or better," said King. EL PASO, Texas The first mistake Mississippi State made Saturday afternoon may well have been electing to take the wind instead of the ball after winning the coin toss prior to the Sun Bowl football game.

Bulldog head Coach Emory Bellard explained: "We elected to take the wind in the first half because Nebraska had been averaging 35 or 36 yards per punt going into the game." It was a minor miscalculation on Bellard's part the Cornhuskers' Kevin SeibeL punting for the first time in his college career, averaged 42 yards on eight punts but it set the pace for Mississippi State, which was plagued by more grievous errors in the 31-17 loss. The Bulldogs' Ail-American wingback Mardye McDole made the first with 12:39 left in the first quarter when he fumbled a Seibel punt at the State 23-yard line. Nebraska's Steve Davies recovered and it took one play from scrimmage for the Huskers to go ahead 7-0. "Mistakes have been a problem for us all year. I thought we were over that stage, but I guess we weren't," said McDole.

Saturday's final tally showed Mississippi State losing four of five fumbles and having two passes intercepted. Nebraska, McDole conceded, "is good at capitalizing on mistakes. "I thought we were coming back in the second half, but we kept on making those silly mistakes," McDole said. According to offensive right tackle Alan Massey, the Bulldogs may have been tight. "That must've been it.

For some reason or other, we were dropping the football," he said. Mississippi State quarterback John Bond said before the game that the Bulldogs would have to play error-free football in order to win. "We could have gotten by with a couple, but we made too many," said Bond. The freshman from Valdos-ta, didn't complete a pass in eight attempts during the first half but finished 7-of-19 with the two interceptions. He was thrown for a net of eight yards in losses.

"I didn't feel tight at all Maybe I was, but I didn't feel like it," Bond said. Nebraska defensive ends Derrie Nelson and Jimmy Wil Big Red defense does it Mississippi State quarterback John Bond (13) found the going tough quarter. Despite their efforts, Bond scored on the next play from one-against the Nebraska defense. Here, Bond is stopped for little gain by yard out. Huskers Rodney Lewis (5) and Steve Damkroger (35) in the fourth Offense- Page ID.

From Page 1 teammates had cleared out. "There are so many things I won't forget. It's been five years of disappointment and happiness, of ups and downs every week," he said. Saturday, it ended on the upswing for Quinn and the other Nebraska seniors. In the warmth of a west Texas sun, the scoreboard at Sun Bowl Stadium proved it: Nebraska 31, Mississippi State 17.

scored from two yards out in the third quarter. "Andra deserves this, lie just played super." said Quinn. "lie's the best fullback in the country." Quinn thought back over his career at Nebraska and the emotion grabbed hold of him again. The excitement in the Husker lockerroom was beginning to subside, and most of his most believed belonged in Mississippi State's favor. "They were a spirited, emotional team," Jimmy said.

"You could see it on the buses, in the hotels and at the dinners. They had a lot of chatter. But we got the turnovers, not them. We're a team ith a lot of spirit and a lot of emotion, too." NU suffers Defense for Nelson and Williams, chose to gain yardage by other means. Two days before the game, Bellard said he thought Nebraska's defensive ends were as good as any in the country.

Nelson would like to believe Bellard's statement is more than idle talk. "We didn't get much action," he said. "Jimmy got a little more than me. I don't know why. I wouldn't run at a guy with :04.4 speed." "Our goal," Jimmy said, "was to hold them under 200 yards and we did." The Huskers did because they played with enthusiasm the second," said Quinn, who has been bothered the last couple of davs with a "touch of the flu." Nebraska didn't want to finish this season 9-3, he said.

"I won't ever forget this group of seniors." Quinn was ready to share the outstanding player award with "a lot of other deserving guys. The trophy should go to the seniors because of the way they've stuck together." Then he singled out one in particular, Franklin his big fullback from Anniston, who was seeing action in a fourth straight bowl game. Franklin carried 17 times, his longest gain a burst of six yards, and few i Clown antics treat crowd injuries Quinn most valuable Quarterback Jeff Quinn (11) was named the game's most "valuable offensive player after directing the Huskers to their first bowl victory in the last three years. Quinn threw 19 times, completing nine for 159 yards. Two of the passes were for touchdowns one to Jeff Finn, the other to Tim McCrady.

EL PASO, Texas One of sports' more familiar sights was on the field and in the crowd here Saturday for the 46th annual Sun Bowl game. The San Diego Chicken mas cot, here to entertain for the Sun Bowl Basketball Tournament beginning Sunday night, clowned for CBS television cameras before and during the game. KI. PASO, Texas Nebraska suffered the usual bumps and bruises here Saturday in the 31-17 Sun Bowl win over Mississippi State, but none appeared serious. miss.

st. miscues tell the tale Husker defense forces six costly turnovers; offense capitalizes on many opportunities i ill The Nebraska defense had one of it's finest days against the Bulldogs. Mississippi State committed six turnovers and the Husker offense jumped on every opportunity. Clockwise from left, Bulldog punter Dana Moore (7) was the first to feel the Nebraska pressure as Huskers Steve Davies (82) and Kris Van Norman (38) con: verged on a dropped snap early in the first quarter. Next, a swarm of Huskers converge on a fumbled punt return by Mardye McDole (88).

Davies was once again on top of the action as be recovered the ball which set up NU's first touchdown. Rte Lindqoist (15) picked up one of the turnovers on a second quarter interception. Sammy Sims (S) added assistance on one of the two airial robberies which the Huskers had in the contest Staff photos on pages 4-5 by Randy Hampton Humberto Ramirez.