The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 41

g)HgMmprti October 12, 1975, Lincoln, Sunday Journal and Star 5D KU Defensive Head r- zd' yz. vj2i I iw? I I v- I YYy iY I l-f I' -frlLl 1- tut) If r- J- i 7f Blocked ,11 1 Y.iiJitv J' "at ivf if I Vr Earns Compliments By Randy York Lance Van Zandt Remember the name. It may be too early to put him in the same category as Nebraska's Monte Kiffin and Oklahoma's Larry Lacewell, but Kansas' Van Zandt could be one of the best defensive coordinators around. The Cornhuskers know only too well. Last year, the 35-year-old Van Zandt was defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, which shut Nebraska's offense down in a 7-3 Cowboy loss.

'Proud of Our Kids' "Darn right, I'm proud of our kids' effort today," Van Zandt said in the Jayhawk locker room after a IN loss Saturday. "But don't get me wrong. This is no moral victory. We expect to beat everyone we play." If Van Zandt needs endorsements to embellish his reputation, he got them Saturday in both locker rooms, Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne offered one. "Kansas played a gambling defense," he said.

"You've got to give their defensive coordinator a lot of credit. He guessed right most of the time." Kurt KU's twice all-Big Eight safety, is next up. "I give all the credit to our coaches," he said. "Coach Van Zandt is one of the great ones. We've got a good, solid defense now.

It's just a matter of a year or two before it's excellent and rates among the best in the country." Goal Line Defense If the reference is only to goal line defenses, KU may be in that category now. "Maybe we should have used our goal line defense all over the field today," joked Van Zandt. "It seemed to get the job done." Mike Butler, Kansas' 255-pound junior defensive tackle, can't understand why the goal line defense is so much better. "I guess when we get our backs to the wall, it makes us really play," he said. "I know one thing.

We play it too easy in the middle of the field. Today, Nebraska just kept hitting our young right side. They really tested us. Sooner or later, that side is going to handle the challenge and our defensive backs aren't going to have to make all those tackles." Man-to-Man Used Van Zandt credits his success against Nebraska to the fact that "we stunt a lot more than most teams. We also used more man-to-man defense today than we have and that took away the dump passes they were getting to the fullback last week against Miami." Although Kansas is excited about its defense, the ultimate salute went to Nebraska's shutout effort.

"Nebraska had a good defensive plan," Kansas head coach Bud Moore said. "I don't know if we could have played a much tougher team than we did today. "Of course," he added, "any defense is as good as its people. There are several good defensive schemes against the wishbone. But regardless of what you play, it's who you play it with.

And Nebraska just has excellent defensive personnel all around." NU Black Shirts Cited According to Moore, "Nebraska didn't play anything we haven't seen before. They just go out there and execute. They're every bit as good as I thought they would be on defense." The first-year KU head coach said his team's missed field -goal just before halftime "didn't make or break us at the time and had no bearing on the final outcome. "I'm not proud of this loss," Moore emphasized. "But I think our young people learned and showed a lot of character.

I'm not going to let them fold the tent We intend to be right in the thick of things." 4 III! When Kansas threatened to score, Nebraska's defense rose to the occasion. The Jayhawks had a chance at a short field goal on the final play of the first half but Ray Phillips (80) broke through, leaped high and blocked the attempt. Fumb iiroirlA I Photos By Bob Gorham Willis Van Sickle Web Ray Randy Hampton Harald Dreimanis Frank Varga Dave Kennedy if 3 "i a i '4 'It i s' VV ill" RS 14s8tt2fc 'Ai'rl Come back here! A 14-yard dash by Monte Anthony (49) goes for naught as the pigskin pops loose. Kansas recovered the fumble to stop a i vj Nebraska march at the Kansas 32-yard line. Curtis Craig (33) leaves two Kansas defenders sprawling behind as he sprints for several of the 77 yards he gained rushing on just eight carries.

If' H- 'Xi ITi1 it lliPly -'rtA-v a L.LLi.A ,7 1 fwX ju'i VC wj 1 i With a Little Help Tony Davis remedies an equipment; problem for Bobby Thomas. I Linebacker Qete Pillen (61) got his first good taste of a wishbone Saturday and responded with smacks like this one on Nolan Cromwell (9). Pillen paced Nebraska's defensive statistics with 15 total tackles, four of them unassisted. He also recovered a fumble. A piece of the ol' schnoz Nebraska's Jerry Weid (93) charges toward Nolaa Cromwell (9) and gets a fistful of the face of KU tackle Dave Scott (75).

i.