Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 38

NOVEMBER 1 6, 1 986 SUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR 1 IJUSItERS 1 1 rn rim mi 1 im rmi i I I i IS jl NU I l-back Keith Jones (6), with a cast on his right thumb, breaks loose between KU defenders Scott Carlson (52) and Rick Clayton (33) on Nebraska's first scoring drive. Jones finished with 1 17 yards. eturn to action thumbs up for NU I-back Jones By Mike Babcock But "I didn't feel any added pressure," he sakd After deciding it wasnt going to get any worse than that first play, Jones settled back into the lineup. He felt comfortable, both because of.tha. new cast and his offensive line, which "blocked really well;" he said.

Jones, who leads the conference with 13 touchdowns, never doubted he'd be back playing before a bowl game. "I couldn't imagine a thumb injury setting for the rest of the season," he said. He carried on the next play and gained 9 yards, which is about the way it went the rest of the afternoon for Jones, who finished with 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. By the end of the first quarter he had 93 of the yards and both touchdowns, on 2-and 20-yard runs, plays which came within 11 seconds of each other. Jones carried only twice in the second half before being given the remainder Nof the afternoon off.

'v It was a good day for someone with such a bad thumb. "I'm very thankful to God," said Jones, who suffered torn ligaments in his right thumb handle the ball," said Cornhusker Coach Tom Osborne. Based on the initial diagnosis of his injury, it appeared Jones might miss the final three games of the regular season. Now, however, he seems ready for Oklahoma, which comes to Lincoln next Saturday afternoon. "I needed a good performance.

All of us should be peaking then," Jones said. With Tyreese Knox, the No. 1 I-back a week ago, on the sideline for disciplinary reasons, Nebraska needed a good performance from Jones, who has remained the Big Eight rushing leader. two weeks ago, during a 38-0 victory over Kansas State. Jones also was thankful to the Cornhusker trainers who rigged up a special cast for the thumb on Thursday.

i The new cast was "a lot smaller" than the one he'd worn since undergoing corrective surgery. It also was less constraining because it didn't cover as much of his hand. "It left the palm of my hand open," Jones sail That's especially important in handling pitch-outs, according to Jones, who didn't mishandle any Saturday. "That was a concern, how well Keith would WRENCE, Kan. Keith Jones was tackled JoTa 2-yard loss the first time he carried the football in sixth-ranked Nebraska's 70-0 victory over Saturday afternoon.

I On the game's first play from scrimmage, the jbrnhuskers' junior I-back was taken down, hard. Obviously, Jones knew he was in for a long jight? Wrong. He. figured his right thumb couldn't hurt any pore than if did at that moment "I had some questions about it, but after the first play, I lhaught there couldn't be too much more happen" Jones said And Saturday, it was thumbs up. I I i 4 KA I tiffin Mf ffhs'- wr i i in in nwMiiii iV lZJt mww.

A jjLtil Immm' IT Nebraska tight end Tom Banderas (87) catches his second touchdown pass of the game from Clete Blakeman. This 11-yarder gave the Huskers a 48-0 lead with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter. tKe football bounces free as NU's Dante Wiley (24) tries to recover on the kickoff following the Huskers' first touchdown. Jeff Jamrog recovered at the KU 20 and Keith Jones scored on the next play. Huskers From Knox and reserve tight end Willie than any team has ever scored against Kansas, the old record being 69 by Missouri In 1969.

The Comhuskers gained a season-high 587 total yards, including 490 on the ground also a season best and Dale Klein kicked a personal-best 10 extra points. Nebraska's defense was no less impressive, allowing Kansas a minus 21 rushing yards, the second-lowest total in Jayhawk history the lowest was minus 42 yards against the Comhuskers in 1971. rThe shutout, Nebraska's second of the season, also. was the second biggest in at least 40 yards, Jon Kelley, the No. 3 I-back, carried four times, gained 55 yards and scored two touchdowns.

At the end, "we just blew some up the middle I didn't think would go (for touchdowns)," according to Osborne. Defensive substitutions were equally prolific. Nebraska's leading tacklers were back-ups Jon Marco, a defensive end, and Mark Blazek, a safety. Each was credited with five. It would have taken the tackle totals of at least three Comhuskers to equal Ziegler's total, which is really all that need be said about Nebraska's 10th vic Cornhusker history.

The only one worse was a 119-0 victory over Haskell Institute in 1910. So it went Superficial evidence to the contrary, Nebraska wasn't trying to run up the score, Osborne said. "We really expected a dogfight, that it would be a 60-minute struggle." When Jones scored twice in an 11-sec-ond span of the first quarter, it was apparent that wouldn't be the case. The not-so-superficial evidence supported Osborne's contention. Everyone who made the trip played except Taylor and 12 players car-Zried the ball; seven of them rushed for tory in 11 "From one point of view, at least, the last line of defense for Kansas won more battles than he lost.

But 14 tackles to 10 touchdowns still adds up to disaster. Ziegler couldn't stop enough. NU injuries minor- LAWRENCE, Kan. The Nebraska football team apparently came away from Saturday's 70-0 victory in ably good physical condition, according to Coach Tom Osborne. Todd Millikan, the No.

1 tight end, s-v fered a hamstring strain. t.tm not taking anything away from ipcte, But a lot of times a quarterback looks (good or bad) In correlation to how everything around hlm's going," said Osborne. "And everybody played pretty well today." I-back Keith Jones, for instance, rushed for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns, despite the discomfort of a healing right thumb that required a special cast was a concern, how well he'd handle the ball," said Osborne, who added to the concern by suspending Tyreese Knox, who became the No. 1 I-back by virtue of Jones' Injury. Griffin both had to sit out Saturday's game because they missed practice early in the week.

"They had excuses, but they weren't good enough," Osborne said. "It wasn't anything malicious." According to Osborne, Knox's suspension was a "nerve-racking thing" given the condition of Jones' right thumb. Knox stood on the sideline with Griffin and I-back Doug DuBose, who suffered a knee injury in the first major scrimmage of the fall and was lost for the season. Still Nebraska scored more points' i ft ft nlf flu, IK ft, ftm lti ttt ftii tinlf iffn ft i 1Vi iti.ifrfr -'T.