Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 16

11 ir i HUSKERS 4B JD SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1994 LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR QB says Cyclones one big play away (M 40.7 BY KEN HAMBLETON Lincoln Journal-Star TED KIRKAJNCOLN JOURNAL-STAR Nebraska fans celebrate the Huskers" victory and possible fourth straight berth in the Orange Bowl. said that the touchdown called back hurt and that his team ran out of gas in the final eight minutes. "That is a really good football team. I am proud of the way we played against that good football team," he said. "When you play a team that demands as much as they do, you must have everyone out there working hard." Iowa State not only gave one of its best efforts of the season but also provided one of its most emotional games.

"You could see our confidence grow as the game went on," said ISU linebacker Nitchie. "I don't think Nebraska overlooked us. I just don't think they expected us to play that hard for four quarters. "You can't break Cyclone spirit. The guys have played extremely hard all year, and it just about paid through today." Branch said emotion was a factor in ISU's favor.

"It was emotional in the locker room," he said. "We sang the fight song for Coach Walden for one last time. Next week, it'll be interesting without Coach." Walden, who has announced he is resigning at the end of the season, was suspended by the Big Eight for ISU's finale against Colorado because of complaints about officiating. "I haven't thought about what will happen here or what will happen without Coach Walden next week," Doxzon said. "This was a big drain on all of us.

and we'll get to that problem in a day or so." ISU defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow, a former Cornhusker defensive back, said one factor in favor of his team was the opponent. "We have all these Nebraskans (16 on the roster and eight starting), and they just love to play Nebraska," he said. "It's the test of playing against the best these kids love. "It was our best defensive effort of the year for a full four quarters. A few breakdowns and a couple of big plays, but Nebraska had to grind it out and work hard for what they got.

It almost worked." TED KIRKLINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR AMES, Iowa Quarterback Todd Doxzon knew there was a chance for Iowa State to upset No. 1-ranked Nebraska. He also understood that possibly no one outside of the Cyclone football team believed it was possible until Iowa State closed to 14-12 with 3:42 left in the third quarter Saturday. "When we got that touchdown, I thought we were one more big play away from getting the repeat of our 1992 win over Nebraska here," he said. "But give it to a great defense.

Theirs rose to the occasion." Doxzon passed and ran the wishbone well enough to help Iowa State keep close throughout the first half. Then, after taking over on the ISU 23-yard line, he ducked and dodged his way on a 13-yard run to the 36. One more play to the left side, and he picked up 6 more yards to the 42-yard line. "They brought their safety up to help stop my running, and that left the cornerback in a half coverage and Calvin Branch got behind him," he said. Doxzon lofted the ball to Branch, and the ISU receiver sprinted untouched 58 yards to score.

Doxzon was stopped on a two-point conversion try. On ISU's first possession of the fourth quarter, Doxzon hit Geoff Turner on a screen pass to the left sideline and Turner sprinted to the end zone. The play was called back on a holding penalty, and ISU never threatened again as Nebraska pulled away to win 28-12. "Nebraska adjusted to that kind of pass we scored on." Doxzon said. "They were getting to us on the options.

We had the one last chance, and that was the screen pass that was good enough to score. But I guess that's why referees are out there, and we didn't get anything going after that "I thought that was pivotal to what we were trying to do." ISU Coach Jim Walden agreed. He V-X Husker quarterback Brook Berringer (18) sprints away from ISU's Gabe Toft (47) on a 28-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Damon Benning scored a TD on the next play, giving NU a 21-12 lead. Berringer still going in sixth Husker start NU safety Kareem Moss, on the punt that apparently hit him and was recovered by ISU in the second quarter.

"I guess they thought it was me. It wasn't. I don't know what happened. But that's the way the refs saw it. It's good we only gave up a field goal on that turnover." Linebacker Phil Ellis, on his seven tackles and playing full tirrw after NU teammate Doug Colman suffered a sprained ankle in the first quarter: "We all had to step up our performance.

ISU has a good offensive team. They got 400 yards against K-State and a few others and they are dangerous. "Our kicking game left a lot to be desired, and I'm sure we'll get yelled at for that. It's a good thing the offense and defense picked up the pace." Tom Osborne on ISU Coach Jim Walden last game: "I feel Walden should be allowed to coach his last game. I do not see the logic in suspending him from his last game.

I'd support anybody who could change that." Walden was suspended by the Big Eight from coaching next weekend's ISU game at Colorado. Walden criticized Big Eight officiating in public and was fined $5,000 and suspended for his last game. He earlier announced his resignation effective at the end of the season. BY KEN HAMBLETON Lincoln Journal-Star NU-I0WA STATE NOTES Nebraska (11-0) has had seven 11 -win seasons in school history, Including five under Coach Tom Osborne. The Cornhuskers have won 24 straight regular-season games and 15 straight in the Big Eight Conference.

Brook Berringer, 6-0 as NU's starting quarterback, had 254 total yards of offense against ISU (193 passing, 61 rushing). Berringer has completed 45 of 66 passes for 754 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. I-back Lawrence Phillips became the 16th Cornhusker to break the 2.000-yard career rushing barrier. He now Is 12th on the all-time list with 2,180. Butkus Award semifinalist Ed Stewart added 1 1 tackles to his team-leading total.

Stewart had three of Nebraska's six sacks. NU's offensive line drew two holding calls, equal to its total for its first 10 games. Wingback Abdul Muhammad, who had two catches (one for a 38-yard touchdown), has 56 career grabs (10th on the all-time chart) for 841 yards (1 5th on the all-time list). Former Lincoln Southeast standout Matt Nitchie led Iowa State with 18 tackles, and he forced a fumble into the Cyclones' end zone. Damon Benning scored his fifth touchdown of the season, a 6-yarder in the fourth quarter that put NU ahead 21-12.

"The touchdown felt great. It kind of ensured the game," Benning said. "We knew we would get their best effort." Iowa State senior defensive tackle Troy Petersen was satisfied with the Cyclones' effort. "We had nothing to lose today," he said. "If we mees up, we mess up.

We just had to play hard." Iowa State held Nebraska to 285 yards rushing, 80 below its nation-leading average. Ed Stewart, on his 1 1 tackles, including three sacks on blitzes: "I guess they just screwed up the blocking on me. I think we did a good job of stopping them in the second half, and we played with as much enthusiasm as they did." SCORING SUMMARY AMES. Iowa Somehow, no matter what the circumstances, it just (teepS getting better for Nebraska Quarterback Brook Berringer. his sixth start and sixth victory i a starter.

Berringer threw for 193 yards, a touchdown and ran nine times for 61 yards including a 20-yard loss on a bad pitch. "Brook has shown his athletic ability more and more every game." said NU I-back Damon Benning. "Today, we saw something more, something different. Today, he was the leader. The poised, composed leader in the 1 Buddie every play, no matter what the score was." When Nebraska's offense struggled to move with its usual running attack, Berringer took off on option plays of 0, 8.

5 and 28 yards. He lofted a 38-yard touchdown pass to Abdul Muhammad, who dove and caught the (ootball as he was horizontal above I the end zone. Berringer also converted on a fourth-down quarterback sneak. He became the 19th Cornhusker to pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season with his effort that boosted this season's totals to 1.129 yards. 10 touchdowns and 81 of 128 completions.

"He was in charge, and that's all we can ask for from a quarterback." said NU senior offensive tackle Zach Wie- lC "mJ I1'-'' tf Before his last game as Iowa State head coach, Jim Walden (left) shakes hands with NU Coach Tom Osborne. Both men were Husker assistants under Bob Devaney. NUTop-ranked Huskers avoid repeat NU-ISU How scored Time left FIRST QUARTER 7-0 I jwrence Phillips 1 run 7:34 Drive: 80 yards in 15 plays. Highlighted by Phillips 8, 9. 4 runs, Brook Berringer 20 run on second-and-16.

Cory Schlesinger 4, 4 runs, Berringer 16, 27 passes to Phillips. Conversion: Tom aeler kick. SECOND QUARTER 7-3 Ty Stewart 35 Held goal 10:58 Drive: 17 yards in 8 plays. Set up by NU personal foul penalty on Mike Horace punt return. Highlighted by Troy Davis 7, 4 runs, Artis Garris 3 run on thtrd-and-1.

1 7-6 Stewart 37 field goal 2:58 Drive: -2 yards in 4 plays. Set up by Jim Knott recovery of muffed punt. Highlighted by Todd Doxzon 8 pass to Geoff Turner. 14-6 Abdul Muhammad 38 past from Brook Berringer 0.57 Drive: 53 yards in 4 plays. Set up by Damon Benning 26 kickoff return to NU 47.

Highlighted by Berringer 14 pass to Muhammad on third-and-9. Corner- son: Sieier kick. THIRD QUARTER 14-12 Calvin Branch 58 pas from Doxzon 3:42 Drive: 77 yards in 4 plays. Highlighted by Doxzon 13, 8 runs. Conversion: run failed.

FOURTH QUARTER 21-12 Benning 6 run 12:09 Drive: 41 yards in 4 plays. Set up by Marc Harris 35 punt to ISU 41. Highlighted by Berringer 5, 28 runs. Conversion: Sieier kick. 28-12 Phillips 21 run 1:25 Drive: 60 yards in 10 plays.

Highlighted by Phillips 3. 9, 8, 3, 4 runs. Series- inger 3. 4 runs, Berringer 5 run. Conversion: Sieier kick.

gert. "He did a great job at quarterback, and you'd never know he was all that excited during the game. Maybe that's his best attribute. "Because sooner or later, we get to vintage Nebraska football and just wear people down. We keep coming after people and with Brook, it was just a matter of time." Berringer said ISU's defense caused a number of problems for the Nebraska offense.

"They were moving around a lot, and they were playing with a lot of emotion." he said. "I never panicked. If I panic then I'm no good, and it would hurt the offense. "I just tried to show everybody I was in control and that our team would eventually control the game," he said. Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said he was disappointed in NU's running game early and considered letting Berringer pass at will.

"They loaded up the line for the run. and we thought about throwing deep." he said. "But with the wind, you never know. And we always had enough of a lead, I didnt want to haul off and throw the ball a lot." Berringer said that was fine with him. "We threw it enough, and we ran enough to get the win," he said.

"And anytime you can come through a game like this, come through adversity, you can come through anything." PHILLIPS ON THE RUN Lawrence Phillips' game-by-game rushing An Yds TO x-West Virginia 24 -126 0 at Texas Tech 19 175 2 UCLA 19 178 1 Pacific 9 -138 1 27 5 3 Oklahoma State 33 "221. '-'3 at Kansas State 31 nr 1 at Missouri 22 110 1 Colorado 24 103 0 Kansas 21 153 2 at Iowa State 36 183 2 Total 265 1,672 16 Career 347 2,180 21 107 Division I-A teams, dug in and gave the Cyclones' offense a chance to keep things close. A 58-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Todd Doxzon to halfback Calvin Branch pulled ISU to 14-12 with 3:42 left in the third quarter. But Nebraska, with Phillips finding more solid ground, finally got its offense cranked up and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The first was a four-play, 41-yard march, all on the ground.

After another Cyclone punt, Nebraska took over at its 16. Phillips gained 11 yards on his first carry in Pruitt's shoes, and two plays later broke free in the middle and raced 61 yards. But he lost control while being tackled by former Lincoln Southeast star Matt Nitchie, and Russell Johnson recovered in ISU's end zone for a touchback. After, the Cornhuskers' defense forced another punt, Phillips redeemed himself on a 10-play, 60-yard drive that he capped with a 21-yard TD. During the drive, Phillips carried seven times for 48 yards.

"We felt that we should be able to run on them, but they were doing a lot of things (defensively)," Phillips said. They had a great scheme." Phillips added that he thought the circumstances entering Saturday's game made it more difficult for Nebraska to The Cornhuskers were ranked No. 1, and Iowa State was looking for its first win. "It's hard to get hyped up for a team that's 0-8-1," Phillips said. "We were lucky to get out of here with a win.

"The score might not indicate it was very close, but that's as close as it's been into the fourth quarter this season." j''-': Phillips, and Pruitt's shoes, had a lot to do with creating the difference. For Phillips, it's just gotta be the shoes BY CURT MCKEEVER tmcoln Journal-Star AMES, Iowa If Lawrence Phillips is named the Big Eight Conference Offensive Player of the Week, he should consider sharing the honor With senior offensive guard Bryan Pruitt. Pruitt didn't play a lick Saturday in Nebraska's 28-12 victory against Iowa State. But in crunch time, his shoes did the trick for Nebraska's I-back. Phillips, running in nobby-cjeated, wet-turf shoes, slipped and stumbled and was held to 63 yards on his first 27 carries against the Cyclones.

't "I think I was trying to do a lit-fle too much" SCHEDULE Nebraska (11-0) Aug. 28 Nebraska 31 West Virginia 0 sepi 0 neorasKa 4Z, lexas lecn it) Sept. 17 Nebraska 49, UCLA 21 Sept. 24 Nebraska 70. Pacific 21 Oct 1 Nebraska 42, Wyoming 32 Oct.

8 Nebraska 32, Oklahoma State. 3 v' Oct 15 Nebraska 17, Kansas State 6 Oct. 22 Nebraska 42, Missouri 7 Oct 29 Nebraska 24, Colorado 7 Nov. Nebraska 45. Kansas 17 Nov.

12 Nebraska 28, Iowa State 12 Nov. 25 Nebraska at Oklahoma, 1:30 p.m. (ABC) Iowa State Offense Rushing No. Yds. Rodney Guggenheim '6 32 Troy Davis 4 10 Jim Knott 3 8 Artis Garris 6 7 Todd Doxzon 20 4 Geoff Turner 1 2 Calvin Branch 3 -1 Passing No.

Co. Yds Todd Doxzon 13 8 151 Receiving No. Geofl Turner 3 Calvin Branch 2 Ivory Mhoon 2 MikeHoracek 1 Punting lo. Yds. Marc Harris 8 361 Kickoff returns No.

Geoff Turner 1 Punt returns No. Mike Horacek 3 Interception returns No. Cedric Unwood 1 Defense Tackles UT AT Matt Nitchie 1 17 Troy Petersen 3 11 Tim Sanders 0 14 Michael Cooper 0 12 Matt Straight 4 7 Marc Lbndge 2 8 Kevin Fulton 2 6 Russell 0 6 Daryl Hall 0 5 Anthony Scott 13 Marcus Allen 1 2 Jason Brown 0 3 B.J. Spyksma .0 3 Jim Knott 1 1 Kevin Fleecs 0 3 2 Mike Lincavage 2 0 Cedric Unwood 0 2 Ivory Mhoon 0 2 Sheldon Napastuk 0 2 BrandonGoodyk 0 1 AngetoProvenza 0 1 Jason Putz 0 1 Ave. 5.3 25 2 7 1.2 02 2.0 PI 0 Yds.

31 63 20 37 Ave. 45.1 Yds. 15 Yds 7 Yds. 'V- LtH 1 4 IAN OOREMUSfUNCOLN JOURNAL-STAR prised as he was scared all day. "When you look at the circumstances the last game for their coach," he said, referring to the fact Walden will resign at the end of the season and has been suspended for next weekend's finale at Colorado.

"It was senior day. Iowa State had nothing to lose. And for some reason they love to play us. It all added up to big trouble for us." The Cyclones, rated almost last in the country in rushing defense, held Nebraska's No. 1 rushing offense 80 yards under its average.

"I remember Coach (Tom) Osborne asking the linemen what was going on up front and everybody gave a different answer," said I-back Benning. "It took a few adjustments to get going the way we wanted." Nebraska took 16 plays to drive 80 yards on the opening series of the game. Phillips, who finished with 183 yards for his 11th consecutive 100-yard game, scored on a dive from the 1. Iowa State chipped away with field goals of 35 and 37 yards by Omaha Westside graduate Ty Stewart The second field goal followed a Cyclone punt that was ruled to have hit the leg of Nebraska's Kareem Moss and was recovered by Jim Knott at the Nebraska 18. The Cornhuskers responded with a quick scoring drive.

It ended with Berringer lofting a pass to the end zone that Abdul Muhammad dove to grab with his fingertips with 57 seconds left in the first half. "I figured we played a very emotional team, and I told the players that we'd have to go four quarters," Osborne said. "It was very reminiscent of two years ago here. We weren't flat The players understood, but Iowa State was very motivated." As a result Osborne said he was asking voters in the two major polls to consider the circumstances. "If you guys are voting, Think he told a postgame news con-ference.

"This was a tough situation, and there was nothing I could do about it" Continued from page 1B stopped the drive. Nebraska held Iowa State to one yard on its next possession and took over at the Cyclone 41. Two plays later, Berringer broke loose around the right end on a 28-yard run to the ISU 6. On the following play, I-back Damon Benning took the ball on a dive play and sped untouched through the middle of the line to boost the score to 21-12 with 12:09 left. "I knew something would happed on that drive because the offensive line was all fired up, socking each other around on the sidelines," Benning said.

Still, Iowa State refused to surrender. From the NU 32, Doxzon threw a sideline-screen pass to Geoff Turner. Turner slipped two tackles, dodged another and broke into the end zone. But the play was called back because of a holding penalty. "One big play could have changed this game dramatically," Doxzon said.

"I think that was the one. We didn't have the gas to hold up much after that" He was right After the apparent touchdown was called back, Iowa State managed 12 yards of offense and gave up 139 yards on defense. Midway through the fourth quarter, Nebraska threatened to score again when Lawrence Phillips, who had been limited to 62 yards on 23 ous carries, exploded through the line on a 61-yard run to the Iowa State 5. But ISU linebacker Matt Nitchie, a graduate of Lincoln Southeast ripped the ball away from Phillips. The ball went into the end zone and was recovered by the Cyclones for a touch-back.

That didn't halt Nebraska's momentum, however, as NU outside linebackers Dwayne Harris and Donta Jones slammed Doxzon for losses of 7 and 8 yards, respectively, to force a punt The Cornhuskers then marched 60 yards in four minutes to score on a 21-yard run by Phillips and drown the hopes of an upset Connealy said he wasnt as sur- INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Nebraska Offense Rushing No. Yds. Ave. Lawrence Phillips 36 183 5.1 Brook Berringer 9 61 68 Cory Schlesinger 7 24 3 4 Clinton CMds 2 9 4.5 Damon Benning 1 6 6.0 Jeff Makovicka 1 2 20 Passing No. Co.

Yds PI Bra 18 11 193 1 Receiving No. Yds. Lawrence Phillips 4 40 Reggie Baul 3 Abdul Muhammad 2 bz Mark Glman 1 Punting No. Yds. Ave.

Darin Erstad 6 208 41.6 Kickoff returns No. Yds. Damon Benning 2 51 Punt returns No. Yds. Reggie Baul 2 2 Kareem Moss 1 1 Defense Tscktes UT AT TT Terry Connealy 2 10 12 Ed Stewart 3 8 11 Christian Peter 3 6 9 PhdEHis 3 4 7 Kareem Moss 1 3 4 7 Donta Jones 1 3 4 Troy Dumas 0 4 4 Dwayne Harris 2 13 Tyrone Williams 2 1 3 Grant Wistrom 12 3 Eric Stokes 1 1.

2 JonVedral 1 12 Tony Veland 11- 2 Doug Colman 0 2 2 Barron Miles 0 2 2 Damon Bennng. 0 1 1 Leslie Dennis 0 11 Phillips said. "I Lawrence Phillips warmed up, and I knew it was slippery, but I still kept trying to make uys miss." the solution for Phillips came in the form of Pruitt's shoes, which although still short-cleated, provided him with a better grip, Think not? Phillips carried the ball iine times while wearing Pruitt's shoes, gaining 120 yards and scoring qne touchdown. i His yardage left him at 1,654 for the season, the most by a sophomore in Big Eight history and the third-best total, in one season at Nebraska. Only Mike Rozier with 2,148 yards in 1983 And 1,689 in 1982 has run for more yards in one season as a Husker.

r'Tm pretty calm. People sometimes wonder if I'm ready or not, but I was today," said Phillips, who credited the Cyclones' defense for causing most of his troubles. "They were hyped up. They weren't going to give Op after the first score." Nebraska drove 80 yards for a touchdown on its first series, but that wasn't the start of a Cakewalk. Iowa State '8 ranked 105th out of 1 --'i.