Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 14

14 Tuesday, January 2, 1979 Lincoln, Neb. Journal use White 'touchdown peps Huskers- From page 13 Reading the statistics would lead a person to believe Nebraska did very well, despite the apparent espionage. Oklahoma had the nation's most potent rushing offense, averaging 428 yards a game. Monday night, the Sooners managed 292. In lour of his last six games, Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims of Oklahoma gained over 200 yards per outing.

The two times he was held to less? Against Nebraska in Lincoln (153 yards on 25 carries) and in the Orange Bowl (134 yards on another 25 totes). Nebraska gained 100 yards in total offense! more than Oklahoma (437 vs. 339) and a whopping 10 more first downs 27 to 17. But Sorley threw two pass interceptions and the Huskers were penalized eight times. They all seemed to come at crucial moments.

Oklahoma fumbled 58 times this season lost 34 of them. The Sooners dropped the ball nine times and lost it on six occasions in the Lincoln game. In this Orange Bowl matchup, OU made only one major mistake a lost fumble and that didn't happen until the fourth quarter when the outcome w'as no longer in doubt. Nebraska opened 45th Orange Bowl Classic before a packed house of 66,365 and about 60 million more on national television, like it was going to re peat the victory (17-14) recorded in Lincoln. The Huskers took the game's opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in 15 plays to take a 7-0 lead.

More importantly, they used up six and a half minutes on the clock in the process. Starting I-back Richard Berns carried the ball on seven of the first nine plays the other two were Sorley passes and the march was climaxed by a 21-yard touchdown toss from Sorley to split end Tim Smith. The Nebraska Black Shirt defense roared on the field to take over. Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, Oklahoma was forced to punt. But, from then on at least from a Husker partisan point of view it was all downhill.

The Sooners tied it 7-7 before the first quarter was over on a two-yard run by Sims which completed a 69-yard drive in 12 plays, and held a 14-7 halftime advantage after OU quarterback Thomas Lott danced in from three yards out after throwing a rare Sooner pass (good for 38 yards when Nebraska defender Andy Means slipped and fell). Oklahoma just about settled the issue by racing 70 yards for a touchdown in just five plays with the second half kick-off. Sims scored it from 11 yards ou after Lott ran 38 and fullback. Kenny King another 15. OU kicker Uwe von Schamann and Nebraska's Billy Todd traded field goals to keep Oklahoma in front by 14 points, 24-10, before Lott tallied another Sooner TD.

got that nine-play, 60-yard march started with a 28-yard scamper. Nebraska rebounded with a touchdown of its own. Sorley passes to tight end Junior Miller and wingback Kenny Brown highlighted the march which covered 86 yards in 15 plays with Berns smashing ut from one yard out. That made it 31-17. That's when Oklahoma committed its only major error, a Lott fumble recovr ered by NU's David Clark at the OU 42.

I.M. Hipp got things going with a 15-yard run. But the drive bogged down at the Sooner seven when Criag Johnson, playing at. I-back with Berns -and fullbacks Andra Franklin and Jim Kotera sidelined by injuries, failed to gain on fourth and six inches. "That was very crucial," Osborne said.

"Our coaches upstairs thought we got a bad spot by the officials. It certainly looked like he' made a yard and we only needed a foot Over four muiutes.still remained. If we had scored right then and pulled within seven points, it might have gotten pretty interesting." By Bob Pllle (c) Chicago Sun-Times PASADENA, CALIF. Late in the first half-on the Rose Bowl there was an earth tremor felt by the more sensitive souls in the big saucer. It was later announced that the center of the vibrations was in the Pacific Ocean about four miles off Malibu.

"Earthquake? I didnt notice any earthquake," said Jerry Meter, who had been understadably distracted at the time, being a Michigan linebacker and co-captain. But Meter knew immediately what caused the quake. "It probably happened when they got that touchdown," he said. "The touchdown" was the most decisive disputed touchdown in "the Rose Bowl since Northwestern's Art Murakowski went into the end zone to beat California in the 1948 game but didn't have the ball with him at the end of his trip. Southern California's Charles White was blessed with the touchdown credit this time upptag the Trojans' lead to 14-3 with 7 minutes left in the first half in a game USC won 17-10.

One for ten The defeat made it nine losses in the last 10 Rose Bowl visits for Big Ten teams. Michigan has lost five straight after being all-conquering in four tries from 1902 to 1965. The last four of those five defeats have been applied to clubs coached by Bo Schembechler. White's disputed touchdown was a three-yard dive over the middle. When the USC tailback landed on the Rose' Bowl's own natural grass, he wasn't in the end.

zone, the ball wasn't in the end zone, and the ball wasn't in his possession, being nestled under Michigan's Meter. Umpire Don Mason was pointing upfield with the fumble awarded to the Wolverines. Line judge Gilbert Marchman of Chicago was running in from the sideline with his own signal. Then referee Paul Kamanski raised his arms with the touchdown sign. Same referee For Kamanski, it was his second controversial call in a USC game this season.

Both calls went in favor of the Trojans. In USC's 27-25 come-from-behind win over Notre Dame Nov. 25 in Los Angeles, Kamanski ruled in the Trojans' winning field goal drive that an apparent fumble by quarterback Paul McDonald was an incomplete pass. Notre Dame coach Dan De-vine bitterly disputed the cafl. For a touchdown, the ball has to be in the scorer's possession only until it breaks the geometric plane of the goalline.

Nothing thereafter makes any difference. "The line judge saw the ball break the plane and ruled the touchdown and signalled immediately and very emphatically," said Kamanski, a Pacific-10 representative on the split officiating crew. "The umpire was ruling the fumble he saw." UNL chancellor welcomes crowd Marchman and Mason work for the Big Tea Tve got nothing to say talk to Herm Rohrig," said Marchman. "He was in position and he made the 'call," said Rohrig; chief of the Big Ten officials. White saw TD signal The most interesting interpretation came from White, next years Heisman Trophy favorite and apparently possessed of exceptional eyesight.

"The ball never went loose when I was hit," said White. "I released it when I saw the official hold up his hands. Of course, it was a good calL What do you think I'm going to say?" "He wasnt across the goalline, and he definitely didn't have the ball," said Ron Simpkins, the Michigan linebacker who belted the ball loose. Meter was charitable. "I was on the outside playing said Meter.

"I saw the ball all on the 1-yard line and I fell on it. The officials have a hard job to do and they do it to the best of their abilities. And USC is one helluva football team." Schembechler was likewise as charitable as he could be. "I don't want to talk about the officiating," said the Michigan coach. "If I do, it will sure as hell get me in trouble.

Obviously, from what everyone says, it wasn't a touchdown. It was an important play." Bo 'bitter' But on the way from his dressing room to the press conference, Schembechler spoke rapidly and sharply to Wayne Duke, commissioner of the Big Ten, about the quality of officials Duke sends to the Rose Bowl "Bitter" was one of the words Schembe-. chler used to describe his own feelings. The importance of the play was more than the seven points on the scoreboard, although those were the final difference. Down by 14-3 instead of 7-3, Michigan quarterback Rick Leach tried some catch-up passing before halftime and threw an interception that USC turned into Frank Jordan's 35-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.

With a 17-3 lead, the Trojans bothered to throw only four passes in the second half, didn't complete any, and worked at killing the clock on the ground as White and fullback Lynn Cain ran for 116 of their combined 189 yards in the final 30 minutes. The running and the USC defense kept Michigan at the far end of the field, and the Wolverines managed only Leach's 44-yard touchdown pass to No. 2 tailback Roosevelt Smith in the third quarter. Leach had a 10-of-21 passing day for 137 yards as Michigan outgained USC 236-157 in total yardage. But an interception of an overthrown pass on his second scrimmage play set up Paul McDonald's nine-yard flip to tight end Hoby Brenner for USC's first touchdown with only 4:13 gone.

End Tom Seabron's sacking of McDonald forced a fumble that set up Gregg Winner's 36-yard field goal for the Wolverines' only frist-half points. "Give credit to our defense," said John Robinson, coach of the No. 3 Trojans (12-1). "Our defense was exceptional against one of the greatest players (Leach, 82 career touchdowns passing or running) I've seen. "And Michigan did a sensational coaching job on defense the best I've seen against USC.

It was like pulling teeth all game to get our offense going. We were never allowed any rhythm." McDonald, the brainy quarterback, called the No. 5 Wolverines (10-2) "the toughest team we've played tougher than Houston party turns into wake think we had it won. I was concerned, especially after that blocked punt." Montana had returned to action, having shaken off what was called "the shivers" when Tony Belden blocked a Jay Wyatt punt. Steve Cichy grabbed the ball and raced 33 yards for a touchdown.

outstanding effort. "May this be a positive- experience for all students involved in the Orange Bowl ceremonies tonight, and for all those watching, and may good sportsmanship prevail." Alabama DALLAS (AP) kept celebrating and we kept coming," said Dave Huffman, Notre Dame's center and team philosopher after the Irish came off a 34-12 deficit with a last-second touchdown for a 35-34 win over Houston Monday in the ice-laden Cotton Bowl, Dallas was hit with its worst ice storm in 30 years, and the wind chill factor had slipped to eight degrees below zero. There were 39,500 no-shows and an estimated attendance of 32,500. But there were only a handful of diehards who saw Joe Montana hit Chris Haines with an 8-yard touchdown pass as time ran out. Joe Unis, a Dallas native, was then pressed into twice kicking what proved to be the winning point, and the 10th-ranked Irish had culminated what might go down as one of the greatest comebacks in Notre Dame history.

Montana, Notre Dame's comeback kid, had been fighting the flu bug and was shivering so much that he couldn't come out of the dressing room immediately aafter the intermission at halftime. In fact, Montana didn't return until late in the third quarter, at which time Houston, Southwest Conference champion, was beginning to celebrate what appeared to be a runaway victory. "No, no, no," said Houston Coach Bill Yeoman. "We didn't MIAMI, Fla. University of Nebraska Chancellor Roy Young was selected by the Orange Bowl committee deliver the invocation prior to the start of the 45th annual Miami Classic here Monday night.

The head of UNL asked the Orange Bowl's fullhouse crowd and nationwide television audience to "please join me in expressing gratitude for the privilege of participating in this tribute to university football at its finest, as exemplified by the teams and coaches competing here tonight and by all those who contribute time and energy to this Orange Bowl Pageant. "May all of those competing in the game tonight perform to the best of their ability and derive from this game the satisfaction that comes from a truly Michigan State cagers No. 1 By United Press International With the sudden and surprising abdication of Duke as the nation's premier college basketball team, Michigan State has assumed the top spot in the UPI Board of Coaches weekly ratings. Duke's Blue Devils, who dropped back-to-back games to Ohio State and St John's in New York's Holiday Festival, fell to seventh place in the ratings. United Press International Team Points 1.

MlchlgonState(7-l) (531 487 2. Notre Dame (6-1) (3) 405 3. Illinois (IJ-OM1) 385 4. North Carolina (8-1) 13) 375 5. UCLA (7 2) M7 6.

LSU (8-0) (II 7)6. 7. Duke (6-2) (1) 271 8. Kentucky (5-2) 205 9. Indiana Stale (9-0) 174 10.

North Carolina St. (8-2) 150 11. Long Beach St. (8-0) 130 12. Michigan (5-2) 113 13.

Mississippi SI. (8-0) 108 14. Texas A8.M (11-2) 104 15. Arkansas (7-0) 91 16. Louisville (8-3) 67 17.

Kansas (8-31 64 18. Georgetown (10-1) 63 19. Marquette 19-1) 49 20. Maryland (9-2) 46 If ii if 1 i 1 1 ji 9f frmiifeliHs JSSi iff1 i. fREE MULTI-CHECK.

2414 TONIGHT and every Tues. nite 8 Ball Tournament 7:30 pm SNOOKER BOWL 48th Dudley 464-9822 This Week Only! Complete Cornhusker quotes Head Coach Tom Osborne "I wish Richard Berns had been able to make that last attempt on the fourth and one situation with 4Vi minutes left. He couldn't so because of a sore shoulder. It would have been nice because he can go up and over the pile. Craig Johnson really drilled in there and I thought he had it, but we didn't get the spot." On Nebraska's propensity to run, even in the closing minutes: "Oklahoma was dropping off eight or nine guys and we lust felt we could run it farther than we could throw It.

We also could stop the clock with a first down and most of our chances were better running for the first down." On Nebraska's never-give-up attitude: "This was a rough, tough, hard-hitting game. Our backs really got punished, but some of theirs did, too. I'm really disappointed, though. I'm disappointed for our players' sake and for our fans' sake. We wanted this and didn't get it.

Maybe that last touchdown didn't mean much, but it meant something to me. We never gave up and we never quit. That has to mean something." Defensive end co-captain George Andrews "They threw some different sets at us, and a lot of times we didn't get the defense changed in time because they were moving pretty quick. Their basic plays were the same but they were runningthem out of some different a alignments. They had a lot of shifting and motion." On Nebraska's final touchdown with no time remaining: "We didn't give up, and that's characteristic of this team.

It would have been easy to turn over and die." Quarterback and co-captain Tom Sorley On completing 18 of 31 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns: "Coach Osborne told me we would throw more on first down because we were expecting their defenses to be beneficial to passes." On Oklahoma's ability to "read" the Husker audibles: "They seemed to know what we were going to do when I oudibled. A lot of the time they were yelling 'sweep right' or 'sweep left', 'pitch right' or 'pitch left', 'iso right' or 'Iso left', 'pass right' or 'pass On his option keeps: "Coach (Barry) Switzer always gives me a bum rap about my running, so I guess that's why I got to run a little." Kicker Billy Todd On his missed field goals, one wide right, the other wide left: "I was consciously thinking about getting extra distance, and when I try that, they come out lower. I get the distance but not the good height. On the first missed field goal, a 44-yard attempt In the first half: "It was close. Since it was 44 to 45 yards, I was thinking about hitting the ball in the middle, and when I hit it, it felt good, it took off good, but it shot to the right." Defensive Coordinator Lance Van Zandt "I'm not In the voting business, but I'd vote Alabama No.

1. Why? Because they beat us. I think we're one of the best teams, too. We're still the same team that won nine in a row. We iust didn't get the job done like we wanted to." Offensive Backfield Coach Mike Corgan "When Andra (Franklin) went out with a sprained ankle in the third quarter, that really hurt.

He tried, but couldn't go full bore. He'd really played well up to then. With Berns hurt, Hipp slammed around and Kotera banged up, we were about down to the nubbin." Sooner sayings Quarterback Thomas Lott "This was the fifth time we've played Nebraska in my four years. There Isn't a whole lot new that you can do. You lust have to execute.

That's the most important of all. Tonight we executed about as well as we ever have." On his fourth quarter fumble that put Nebraska back in the game: "It was the best defensive play vou can make. They hit me right In the middle of the exchange zone. There's nothing you can do in a situation Hke that. "Either vou make theexchange, or you don't." V' On If his white bandana luckier than the one he wore in Lincoln: "This is the one I wore the last time'.

If iust proves that anything can happen." On if this game make up for last years' Orange Bowl humiliation to Arkansas: "I forgot about that a long time ago. Nothing can ever make up for that. What we accomplished tonight took a lot of confidence and olot of determination. We had that going for us tonight." Head Coach Barry Switzer "Nebraska is a super football team well-coached and disciplined. We weren't able to stop them from doing what they wanted to tonight, but they couldn't stop us either." On the performance of Billy Sims: "I think Billy Sims looked like he might win the Heisman." On the choice of taking the football to start the second half: "We decided to receive the football when we usually would have taken the wind and kicked it.

I think that was a big difference. At the end of the half, the offense said, 'coach, we want the They did a pretty good iob with it." Halfback Billy Sims still think Nebraska plavs very good defense. They didn't shut us down, but then they didn't shut us down last time either. They're strong, and they hit hard." Fullback Kenny King "It wos a great night to play football. It couldn't have been better.

Even though we probably lost the national championship in Lincoln, beating Nebraska means that we've beaten every team we've played this year. It's as close to an unbeaten season as you can get. I thought Nebraska was a good football team the last time we played them. I still think they're good." Linebacker Daryl Hunt "We were using three linebackers tonight where we usually use two. We hoped it might mess them up a little bit with their play selection.

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