Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 33

SEPTEMBER 8, 1985 8UN0AY J0URNAL-8TAR huskers 37D Turner's concerii is to win V'- i i -i L-if )h 1 ts, .21 pstssw---- 1 tWAMkM fa.r,w.-iH',. n.wjiininj,lmiiiWW-iiflli i imnmiin i i 1 By Ryly Jane Hambletorn Travis Turner is prepared for I the inevitable discussion about the Nebraska quarterback situation. "I expect people may say McCa thorn (Clayton) should start the next game," Turner said of NU's No. signal caller. "He played well today and I'm proud of him.

He handled the team well and I thought I played poorly. "I've been here at Nebraska five years and I want to win football games. If Mac can win games and I cant, then we should go with Mac I thought he outplayed me today," he said after Florida State defeated NU 17-13 Saturday, "111 just go back to practice and work as hard as I can and I am going to contribute to this team." The two quarterbacks were in agreement about Nebraska's play. There wasnt anything the Huskers did they couldn't have done better. "There were bright spots.

We had some good ball control and some good drives, but mistakes stopped us," Clayton said. "I was pretty pleased with my running, but I know I can pass better." "We hurt ourselves. We did everything we wanted to do. It just didnt al- ways work out," said Turner. "You can't blame any one mistake for the loss because there's not one play that can change a whole game.

Other than a few mistakes that cost us, we did some good things," One of the brightest moments for the Nebraska offense came on the fifth play of the game when Tom Rathman broke up the middle for a 80-yard touchdown run. "It was a '38 trap' and it's supposed to break left. But I broke it right because the pursuit was flowing hard the other way," said the Husker fullback. "A guy kind of got ahold of me by the shoulder pad, but after I broke loose from hurt, it was clear sailing." But Rathman wasnt able to savor the longest run of his career. The memory of a fourth-quarter fumble blurred the previous triumph.

Nebraska mounted its first serious drive of the second half late in the third A 31-yard option run by Von Sheppard gave the Huskers a first down at the Florida State 14. On the next play, Rathman went over left guard for six yards, but the ball popped loose and the Seminoles' Stan Shiver recovered to stop the Huskers. "I just wasnt taking care of the ball on the fumble. I got hit pretty good," Rathmansaid. "Nobody slapped it away, I just got hit hard But I really wasnt concentrating on keeping the ball tucked.

"We showed a lot of potential we just beat ourselves. But everything can be ironed out. With a pme under your belt, there's a lot you can correct I think Florida State was able to iron out some of their problems because they'd played a game." "I think Florida State might have been better than we expected not that we underestimated them. They had just improved," said Turner. Clayton is looking for similar improvement by the Huskers.

"We know we're capable of winning the Big Eight and going to a major bowl if we just play the type of ball we can." HARAU3 OREIMANISSUNOAV JOURNAL-STAR Nebraska's Mike Carl (42) unsuccessfully tries to intercept an Incomplete pass intended for the Seminoles' Darrin Holloman. imrdi7emefit comes too late Udef substituted less, relying on more experienced players. thing you do," Thornton said, refusing to use that as an "In the second half, we went away from our 'Hawk' defense, and in- "We didn't play well enough (defensively) to win 1310, because we stead of bringing new guys in, we left the same ones in there," said didn't win. We let down. We didn't play well on the goal line.

That's the Carl way it goes." 1 "We went with experience." in the second half, "I thought the defense played really wen," said The- Cornhuskers' "Hawk" defense is comprised of faster players, junior safety Bryan Siebler, who started for the first time in his career and it's used in apparent passing situaLuns. at Nebraska. There were plenty of those. "We improved as the game went on." Florida State used the pass to take control of the game, finishing Dennis Watkuis, a senior cornerback. agreed with Siebler.

By Mike Babcock Nebraska's defense got markedly better asthe game went along. Everyone seemed to agree. "We really lost it in the first quarter," Mike Carl said after the Cornhuskers' 17-13 loss to Florida State on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Farly on, "we had first-game jitters," said the junior cornerback from Gretna. By the time those jitters had begun to diminish, Florida State had 17 points.

The Seminoles scored for the last time with 3:27 remaining in the first half. Based on what happened the second half, "I know defensively we can hold a good offensive team," said NU defensive backs Coach Bob Thorntoa "Florida State is a good offensive team." The Seminoles managed 91 yards of offense after the intermission, 52 rushing and 39 passing, and they had only.five first downs. "We did a good job of shutting them down," Thornton said. The second-half improvement was, in part, a result of defensive adjustments by the Nebraska coaches, who simplified the schemes and with 176 yards through the air. The Seminoles completed 18 of 31 passes.

Some of what they did surprised Thornton. "Basically, I broke down every pass play they've run in the last two years, and they ran some that they haven't run during that time," he said Florida State's winning touchdown came on a possession at the NU seven-yard line, following a mishandled punt and aided by a penalty against the Cornhuskers for having 12 men on the field. Even though Nebraska's defense was sent onto the field in the shadow of its own goal posts, "the "goal line defense is as big as any-. After the intermission, "it seemed like we shut em down," watklns said. Junior linebacker Marc Munford, who was credited with a team-high eight tackles, found something positive in what was otherwise a negative afternoon for the Nebraska football team.

The Cornhuskers finished with 412 yards of offense. The mistakes "are something we can change," said Munford. "If we hadn't had the turnovers, we would have won the game." Munford would have been upset "if they had pushed us up and down the field for four quarters. But that wasn't the case," he said. From 1 Huskers- borne said, "I think the things we did wrong are things that are correctable.

We've got a lot of work to do. But I think we can still have a good football team. "The critical thing now," Osborne added, Is how the players react to this ference. "We lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted and they didnt have a single turnover," Osborne observed. "Ac-tuaUy, you've got to count the bad snap on the punt as another turnover, so it was four to none.

Usually, when you play a good football team with that kind of loss. They need to bounce back, Improve differential, you just don't tJhS it; agreed. If Nebraska had a game under its belt like we did," Bowden said, "Nebraska probably would have woa They had a lot of first-game mistakes." "If you watched their game at Tulane a week ago," Osborne said oT Florida State, "you saw. them do a lot of the same things we did today, particularly early in the ball game. Any time you have a lot of new people starting, people who are inexperienced in key spots, you.

are more apt to have some mistakes. "At times we didnt handle the ball very wen on offense," Osborne added, "but 1 thought, as the game went along, that we settled down a little bit I thought our defense played much better in the second half. We werent very good at times during the first half. I felt, if we played hard and substituted freely, that maybe by the end of the game we might be the stronger football team. I guess it's always debatable, when you lose, but I thought we showed signs of possibly being a better team as the game progressed: We just didn't get the baU in the end zone when we needed to." Osborne said he and Florida State's Bowden agreed before the game that turnovers would probably make the dif and get better.

I think we have some physical talent Well learn a lot about ourselves from this game. If we take that approach to it, we can still have a good football team." Lindslroiu oul for two weeks Roger Lindstrom will undergo arthroscopic, surgery Sunday oh a shoulder which continues to give him problems, NU head trainer and physical therapist George Sullivan said after the Huskers' 17-13 loss to Florida State. lindstrom wUl be sidelined for approximately two weeks, said Sullivan. Lindstrom, a first-team wingback, and second-team offensive, tackle Rob Memorial Stadium's 137th sellout crowd of 75,943 didnt take kindly to couple of decisions by the officiating crew. Just before halftime, Florida State tailback Tony Smith appeared to fumble a hanrtoff.

Nebraska's Kevin Parsons recovered at the FSU 41. after a long conference, the officials decided it wasnt a handoff but a short "shovel pass" forward which was ruled' incomplete and allowed the Seminoles to retain possession. Another crucial can came with nine minutes left in the game. Florida State faced a third-and-three situation at its own 27. An incomplete pass, which would have forced a FSU punt, turned out to be pass interference against NU comer-back Mike Carl, giving the Seminoles new life.

Maggard apparently were the only Cora- "I told the players it wasnt as though we got kicked ail over the field," Os-- 00 uai 6 day's season-opener. Scoring How scored FIRST QUARTER FS-NU Time left. Maggard was kicked the left leg, and "we may have to x-ray it," said Sullivan. "It was very tender. According to Sullivan, the players didnt appear to be bothered by the heat, which was measured at 133 degrees on Memorial Stadium's artificial surface.

"We had a few cramps, but it wasn't anything outstanding," be said. Rathman (0 run 0-7 7-7 Drive: 80 yards In four plays. Conversion: Kltln kick. Holloman is pass from McManus Drive: 79 yards In 14 plays. Highlighted by pass from toon McManus to Holloman for 21 yards and five T.

Smith runs for 17 yards. Conversion: Schmidt kick. SECOND QUARTER 10-7 4 Schmidt 20 field goal Drive: 69 yards In 12 plays. Highlighted by 20 pass from McManus to T. Smith, 11 poss to Holloman, 29 pass to G.White.

10-13 DuBoselrun Drive: 69 yards In 10 plays. Highlighted by 43 run by Clayton. Conversion kicked failed. 17-11 Jones 2 run Drive: 6 yards In thrM plays after bad snap on Husker punt. Florida St 7 10 0 Nebraska 7 0 Extra Point Qub luncheon on Monday j.M- The first Extra Point Club luncheon of the 1985 season is scheduled for noon Monday at Miner Paine.

1:27 Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne win -17 speak ami the film of the Florida State eu game be shown. TtO KIRKSUNOAY JOUWNAL BT7W Tom Rathman runs up the middle for 60 yards and the game's first touchdown with 13:20 left in the first quarter..