Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 9

lincoln Jfournai, Saturday, November 26, 1977 9 Sports Oklahoma sends Nebraska to Liberty Bowl, 38-7 It's the beaches for Sooners, the river for Buskers records NEBRASKA (8-3) Washington St 10-19 Alabama Baylor 31-10 Indiana 31-13 Kansas St 26-9 Iowa State 21-24 Colorado Oklahoma St 31-14 Missouri 21-10 Kansas 52- 7 Oklahoma 7-38 Season OKLAHOMA (10-1) Vanderbilt 25-23 Utah 62-24 Ohio State 29-28 Kansas 24-9 Texas 6-13 Missouri Iowa State 35-16 Kansas St 61-28 Oklahoma St 61-28 Colorado 52-14 Nebraska 38-7 the time. "In the past they've played us as a passing team. This year they defensed against the run. We tried most everything we had. It just boiled down to people." And Oklahoma had the best of the matchup.

The Sooners extended their margin to 14-0 midway through the second quarter, driving 80 yards to score after a 50-yard Billy Todd field goal attempt fell short for Nebraska. After that, the Huskers seemed to come to life. Osborne's troops rebounded with an 80-yard drive of their own. Fullback Monte Anthony cracked up the middle for 11. Sorley passed to I-back Rick Berns for 10, then to tight end Ken Spaeth for 11 more.

Anthony plowed for 6 yards before Sorley found wingback Ken Brown wide open for a 36-yard pass gainer to the Oklahoma two. Berns dived over for a touchdown on the next play and Oklahoma's lead was cut to 14-7. Less than three minutes remained in the first half. But OU quarterback Thomas Lott engineered a drive to cover the needed 80 yards in 9 plays with 29 seconds to spare. What really broke Nebraska's back during that drive was a pair of third-and-long situations.

Shades of the Iowa State game. Elvis Peacock gained 11 yards on a draw play up the middle on third-and-eight. Fullback Kenny King rambled for 17 more on another third-and-eight. As a result, Oklahoma took a comfortable 21-7 lead to the dressing room at halftime. "That drive really hurt," Osborne admitted.

"We got some momentum rolling and got ourselves back in the ball game. We wanted to run at them and control the ball. We might have been able to do that in the second half trailing by just one touchdown." NEBRASKA continued page 11 those 13 defeats have been by two touchdowns (14 points) or more. The tough thing to swallow is the fact that all four of those 14-point-plus defeats have been at the hands of the Sooners 27-0 in 1973; 28-14 in '74; 35-10 in '75; and the biggest spread of all, 31 points, here Friday. You have to dig back in the records to the Sugar Bowl game against Alabama at the end of the 1966 season to find a team other than Oklahoma which has beaten Nebraska by more than 14 points.

And, it's been nearly two decades since a team other than the Sooners has beaten a Cornhusker club by more than 31 points. That came in the 1958 season when a Bill Jennings' team was thumped by Syracuse, 38-0. Nebraska had one chance to stay with Oklahoma's awesome ground-oriented wishbone offense which ranked second in nation in rushing productivity. The Huskers, with the No. 3 rushing offense in the country going into the contest, would need time-consuming, ball control tactics to match the Sooners touchdown-for-touchdown.

It didn't happen. Though the first quarter was scoreless, the outcome could be foretold from Nebraska's experience the first three times the Huskers had the ball. They were nailed with a 15-yard penalty on the first possession of the game to stop that drive; saw OU defensive back Zac Henderson pick off a Tom Sorley pass to foil the second; and then had Curtis Craig fumble after gaining the Sooner 35-yard line on their next possession. The third error proved to be one too many. Oklahoma, marched the necessary 65 yards to tally a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to take a lead it never lost.

Neb Okla First downs 27 Rushes-yards 47-19 68-417 Passing yards 132 36 Return yards 4 Passes n-23-3 3-6-0 Punts 4.43.5 Fumbles-lost 2-2 5-1 Penalties-yards 4-47 5-75 By Virgil Parker Sports Editor NORMAN, Okla. The stakes were high. There was more than a football game to be won. Even more than the Big Eight Conference championship. "I told my team we were playing to see who got the beach and who got the river bank," Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer joked after his Sooners swamped Nebraska before a partisan Owen Field sellout crowd of 71,184 and millions more on national television here Friday.

When the Sooners registered a resounding 38-7 victory, Oklahoma got the beach Miami Beach, that is and a berth in the Orange Bowl. Nebraska got the river bank along the muddy Mississippi at Memphis and a Monday night date to play North Carolina in the Liberty Bowl, Dec. 19. The Liberty Bowl won't be hard for, the Cornhuskers to take. Memphis prides itself as one of the most hospitable cities in the country.

But first, the players and coaching staff have to recover from the sting of the worst defeat suffered by Nebraska in the five seasons since Tom Osborne took over the Husker reins. Osborne's personal record shows just 13 losses in the 60 games he's coached certainly a fine mark. And, just four of "We had to play error-free football to win," Osborne observed, "but we didn't. Oklahoma was outplaying us and that drove us out of our game plan what we wanted to do pretty early. Physically, they were controlling the line of scrimmage." The Husker head man said he knew his club would have to score "four or five times to win," but was unable to keep pace with the Sooner output because of its own errors.

"Their defense played well," Osborne noted. "We needed to take advantage of some turnovers. But they didn't have any and we did." Osborne said he still feels his Huskers are "a fine team, but right now Oklahoma is playing as good as any Oklahoma team I've ever seen. "Up front they may have been stronger when they had the Selmon brothers, but in the latter part of this season they're playing just great on offense. Besides the good ball careers, their offensive line started to blow us off the line of scrimmage.

They were making four or five yards on any play." Osborne said the Sooners used an eight-man front much of Long afternoon turns NU dreams into nightmares By Dave Sittler Staff Sports Writer NORMAN, Okla. His ribs aching, his pride hurting, Tom Sorley quietly summed up the feelings of thousands of Nebraska football fans here Friday -Or I Vim mh mi lHlllllBitri- IH MrTtlfifVwA STAFF PHOTO BY RANDY HAMPTON This score by Richard Berns (35) in the second quarter was all that kept Nebraska from being shut out. Even the outstanding defensive play of OU's George Cumby (28), who had 14 tackles in the game, couldn't keep Berns from paydirt. tackles were playing in the seams (instead of straight up) and would just take off to the outside on every play." Hipp, who had gained a bundle of his yards this season on pitch plays to the outside, said "they were just flowing from sideline to sideline all day." While talk of Oklahoma's defense was a major topic in the Nebraska quarters, the Husker defenders had praise for the Sooners' high-powered offense which rolled for 417 yards rushing. "They just kicked the hell out of us, what else can you say?" monster back Jim Pillen said.

"We felt confident we could stop them, but we missed some tackles and blew some assignments." Monte Anthony, the Huskers' veteran fullback who has suffered through four defeats to Barry Switzer's high-rolling Sooners, said Oklahoma's latest defensive unit didn't compare to the 1975 Sooner defenders of the Selmon brothers (Leroy and Dewey) and Jimbo Elrod. "This defense isn't even close to that one," Anthony said. "They don't hit as hard. Quickness is their key, and they took advantage of it by stopping our outside game." With the Orange Bowl hopes crushed, the Huskers started focusing on the Dec. 19 Liberty Bowl date against North Carolina.

Asked how he thought Nebraska might approach a bowl they had hopes of not even playing in, Anthony recalled the Huskers 1975 game with Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl. "We were hoping to go to the Orange Bowl that year, too," the Bellevue senior said. "Then we ended up getting beat by Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl. When Arizona State turned around and had a terrible season the next year, it didn't make us look very good. We don't want to look bad like that again." As he slowly wound the pocket watch which was dangling from the vest of his suit, Nebraska's center Davis said, "I'm looking forward to the Liberty Bowl.

Nebraska's Hipp named top newcomer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI) Earle Bruce of Iowa State and Terry Miller of Oklahoma State were repeat winners as UPI's Coach and Player of the Year awards in the Big Eight while I. M. Hipp was the near unanimous selection as newcomer of the year. Bruce received 10 votes from UPI's 24-member selection panel, which consisted of three balloters from each conference city.

Bruce nosed out Barry Switzer of Oklahoma who had eight votes and Tom Osborne of Nebraska who had six votes. Hipp, a walk-on from Chapin, S.C., who was thrust into the starting I-back spot the third game of the season when Rick Berns suffered a hip pointer, finished as the second leading rusher in the conference behind Miller. Oranges a real feast for 'papa' Switzer The OU coach used the day's national By Randy York afternoon as he greeted an old tnend. As his former Big Spring, High School Coach Bob Burris approached him following Nebraska's 38-7 licking at the hands of Oklahoma, Sorley said, "it was a long afternoon, coach. Much too long." For the multitude of Husker patrons among the sellout crowd of 71,184 at Owen Field and the legion of Nebraska fans who watched the nationally televised game on the tube, Sorley was telling it like it was.

"He (Burris) is an old Sooner so he doesn't mind," Sorley said as he shook the hand of his old coach. But Sorley minded. Very deeply. As he gingerly removed the extra padding from around his tender ribs, the gritty junior painstakingly rehashed the loss. The pain was from the defeat, not the ribs.

And the realization Nebraska's chances for a share of the Big Eight title and an Orange Bowl berth had been killed by the rugged Sooners. Headed with his teammates to the Liberty Bowl instead, Sorley said, "We had some unfortunate things happen to us. Usually we have been able to overcome the unfortunate things, but we couldn't today. We were too inconsistent." After spending several minutes by himself at the far end of the deathly-quiet Husker locker room with his head buried in his hands, Sorley faced the press. "I was confident we could move the ball," the 6-2, 200-pounder said.

"And we were moving the ball until we started making too many turnovers." The deeds of misfortune and the mis-cues that played a major role as Nebraska's dreams of spending the holidays in Miami died, included: Sorley's first quarter interception. Curtis Craig's first quarter fumble. Isaiah Hipp's third quarter fumble. The three players involved, all struggling with the realization that Oklahoma had bumped the Huskers for the sixth straight time, spoke of their trio of mistakes. "I just lofted my first pass and led Curtis (Craig) too far," Sorley said of the pass which was picked off by Oklahoma's safety Zac Henderson.

Craig, whose fumble halted Nebraska's second possession of the afternoon, said, "the guy that hit me (linebacker Daryl Hunt) just happened to be in the right place at the right time. So was his helmet. It hit the ball and popped it loose." A terse I. M. Hipp, whose third quarter bobble put the skids to Nebraska's first possession in the second half, said the play was designed to have him pitch the ball back to Sorley who would then pass.

"I just took my eye off the ball too soon, that's all," Hipp said. While the turnovers were indeed damaging, a lightning quick Oklahoma defense was also highly instrumental in shutting down Nebraska's vaunted rushing attack. Ranked third in the nation (behind No. 2 Oklahoma) with a 313.8 per game rushing average, the Huskers were able to muster just 190 yards against the Sooners. To a man, the Husker offensive players pointed to Oklahoma's ability to flow to the outside, shutting down Nebraska's bread-and-butter pitch plays.

"They were flowing everybody guard, tackles, linebackers, everybody," Nebraska's all-Big Eight center Tom Davis said. "And their nose guard and "Everyone on this team respects him the same way just like a father. Most head coaches spend their time with their assistants. He spends his time with us. Whenever any of us has a problem, we go right to him.

His door is always open." Ironically, Miami will also be a homecoming for Sooner noseguard Reggie Kinlaw, who was named the defensive player of the game. "This is what I've worked for to go home and play in front of my family," Kinlaw said. "I miss my mama. I hope we do just as well against Arkansas, so my parents can put their arms around their son and hug him at home. That'll feel even better." The way Switzer talked in the locker room following an unbeaten Big Eight season, an Orange Bowl win is almost with Peacock.

It ended with a hug and Switzer planting a kiss on Peacock's face. OU quarterback Thomas Lott got the ABC-TV offensive player of the game award, but Peacock got the game ball from Switzer, "because he's such a great person and I'm just as happy for him." Peacock said Switzer was happy that he had played with such inspiration, "so I could go home and play in front of my family in Miami. The team will come first down there, but that is going to be a real thrill to play at home again." Peacock, however, has always felt at home in Norman. "Coach Switzer and I are real close," he said. "It's been a father and son type relationship since he recruited me.

Even if he says something bad about me, I'll respect him because he'd probably just be telling the truth. Staff Sports Writer NORMAN, Okla. Holiday weekends are supposed to be occasions for family celebrations. And Barry Switzer, who runs his Oklahoma football team like a family unit, spent Friday afternoon feasting on oranges hurled onto Owen Field, a of sorts for a 38-7 win over "Ncbrasks "At Oklahoma, it's just like one big, happy family. The team is the family.

And Coach Switzer is papa," Sooner senior Elvis Peacock said after rushing for 123 yards' and two touchdowns in OU's tenth win in 11 games. Switzer must cherish the paternal role. During the fourth quarter, when victory was obvious, he spent five minutes on the sideline in an emotional conversation Arizona State tips Arizona USC gives Huskies helping hand television exposure as a perfect opportunity to launch a national championship campaign for his third-rated team. "What time does and Texas play tomorrow?" Switzer asked writers as he ducked into a crowded interview room. "Haven't our last two games on national television been awesome?" he asked.

"I'm not so sure this isn't the best offensive football team we've had here in five years. Super. We played super, super, super today." So super that Switzer observed "We're 10 times better than what we were when we played Texas." Switzer said, "There's no question that Thomas Lott pulls our trigger and makes us go." Lott, who rushed for a game-leading 143 yards, agreed with Switzer. "I'd say we're about 10 times better than we were against Texas, too," he said. "I'd say right now, there is no way anybody can stop us if we read and execute like we're supposed to," Lott said.

"We've broken out of the bone and it's made us a great offensive football team." Lott said it was obvious Nebraska "came out thinking stop Kenny King, our fullback, since he hurt Colorado so much. But he just went in motion and they had to go with him. That opened it up for someone else." "I'd just love to play Texas now," he said. "This offense is so much better. We've seen every kind of defense now, but there's nothing that can stop this one unless we don't concentrate or execute.

While OU's offense enjoyed rave reviews, the Sooner defense also vied for a tention in the locker room. Cornerback Terry Peters, puffing a cigar as if he had just closed out a million-dollar deal, approached to announce "I'm Hipp, too, because I've been Hipp to I.M. all year. "I think he knew I was out there today," Peters said of Nebraska's Hipp, who was checked to 33 yards rushing. give the USC team a lot of credit because and my holder (Mike Carey) told me to keep my head down.

But I did look up in Sports, Sunday By United Press International UCLA lost its Rose Bowl bid Friday night, while Southern Cal gained both self-respect and the debt of the Washington Huskies. Frank Jordan, who had previously missed two extra point attempts, booted a 38-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give Southern Cal a 29-27 victory over the Bruins. The loss gave Washington the Pacific 8 championship and its first trip to the Rose Bowl in 14 yearn. The Huskies will face Michigan in Pasadena, while Southern Cal plays in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. UCLA will not participate in post-season play.

"There wasn't enough time to get nervous," said Jordan, who kicked three field goals in the game. "It just happened so fast I didn't have time to think about anything. I just tried to relax they battled the clock on that last drive with no time outs. They did a tremendous job." In another key game Friday, Arizona State defeated Arizona 23-7. Quarterback Thomas Lott directed a 417-yard Sooner ground attack and ran 143 yards on his own as Oklahoma breezed into an Orange Bowl berth against Arkansas.

Safety John Harris ran back a punt 55 yards for a touchdown and took charge of a strong Arizona State defense to lead the Sun Devils to a Fiesta Bowl berth against Penn State. Harris intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles in the contest that assured ASU a share of the Western Athletic Conference title with a 6-1 record. Summaries, see Scoreboard time to see it go through. It was great." "The lesson learned is that the Trojans don't die easily," said USC Coach John Robinson. "It was an absolutely great football game for both teams.

I have great respect for both teams." UCLA climaxed a brilliant rally and went ahead 27-26 on a 1 a TD pass from sophomore quarterback Rick Bashore to tight end Don Pederson with 2:51 left. Southern Cal led 26-10 midway the third quarter on the strength of quarterback Rob Hertel's three TD passes, but had to march 52 yards in the final minutes to pull out the victory. "It was one of the classic UCLA-USC battles," said a downcast Terry Donahue, the UCLA coach. "You have to Football Notre Dame highlights, 8 a.m., (D; FL '77, 11 :30 a.m., CS; NFL Today, 12:30 p.m., am; Chiefs vs. Oilers, 1 p.m., Vikings vs.

Packers, 1 p.m., College Football '77, 1 p.m., (TC4; Colts vs. Broncos, 3 p.m., CS; Cowboys vs. Redskins, 3:30 p.m., rsng; Tom Osborne, 10:30 p.m., Tom Osborne, 10:45 p.m., Bowling Leisure Lanes, noon, f. Racquetball National pro-Am championships, 1 p.m., Jl..