The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 83

jt I 4 0000000 0 000 0 Sf TuesJan2 1973 THE MIAMI HERALD 7-D ORANGE BOIL I97G Parseghian: No Excuses i No Comparison see how you can ask such a thing (if Notre Dame might consider reverting to a no-bowl policy again) 1 would suggest to you that it would be just the opposite That we would want to come back and prove we are a better team than we looked tonight Coach Ara Parseghian down with their heads and in stunned silence NOTRE DAME By LUTHER EVANS Herald Sport Writer Nebraska 40 Notre Dame 6 And Ara Parseghian said it just like the scoreboard said it when the 39th annual Orange Bowl game mercifully ended: was no comparison between the two teams on the field Wincing at the thought of Nebraska absolutely humiliating the Irish team that wanted very much to put on display here Parseghian added offering no excuses was an excellently prepared football team They played an outstanding game Their attitude and their execution was super We have nothing but respect and praise for them They just did a heck of a WAS HE surprised by Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers operating for the first time as the deep back in I really shown up everywhere this year for them in the backfield as a wide receiver split end everywhere He hurts you no matter where they use Rodgers hurt the Irish to the extent of scoring an Orange Bowl record four touchdowns and passing for a fifth COACHES il -T'T 'WU Wy s' te vs4- '4 4' fV'v vV '-fr" cyv -4 were surprised by that pass but not by the way Rodgers threw Parseghian said managing a wan grin was right there ASKED to compare the Cornhuskers with Southern California 45-23 conquerors of the Irish in their regular season finale Parseghian said shortly compare Parseghian and his athletes all went into the dressing room the same way Deminerle Clulches 5-Yard Pass for Noire Lone TD Young Irish Absorb Big Lesson NOTRE DAME PLAYERS would be hard for me to compare them with Southern Cal until after I had some time to really think about it but obviously a good SOPHOMORE Eric Penick the leading runner who ran only twice in the first half then ended as the top ground gainer with 48 yards in nine carries said he was not being disciplined by Coach Ara Parseghian Penick and Art Best had ridden in the Orange Bowl parade on the City of Miami lose many players and we have great replacements for the ones we Townsend said Mike and his brother Willie the split end have long to fret over the loss They will soon report to the Irish basketball team which is suffering through a losing start SOPHOMORE quarterback Tommy Clements praised execution "They do anything we expected but they knew how to stop us However we play anywhere near our capacity when Rodgers passed down-field It was just a perfectly executed play I wish I could have recovered in time to go RUDNICK also believed the Irish might have been keying too much on Rodgers In the first half Rudnick explained Notre Dame defenders concentrated so much on Rodgers that other Cornhusker backs were able to rip off big gains changed our defense in the second half but I guess it was too late by thing they did was right and everything we did was wrong Even when we were behind 20-0 at the half I thought we could still win because our offense is one of the best year is going to be tremendous for us We don't DEFENSIVE back Mike Townsend like his teammates seemed more dazed than angered by the rout was embarrassing But better than what people saw on that scoreboard tonight Nebraska played a hell of a good game Every float Saturday night to surprise Penick laughed I held out because of he said "I scheduled to start because of our game Penick dismissed the humiliation as a case of us playing a bad game We had too many inexperienced players in there be a contender for the national championship next year because a sophomore and junior PENICK who had to decide between Nebraska and Notre Dame for a football scholarship is going to his home in Detroit today Nebraska offensive tackle Marv Crenshaw is going with him have to report back to school until Jan 17 Marv and I are going to buddy around in Detroit a few Penick revealed not mad at them just because they beat us have our Fi'af 4 1 That sight prompted somebody to ask the haggard looking Parseghian you tell me what you told your football team in the dressing Ara said wanted you to know I would have invited you HE CONCEDED that Ne-braska was better than expected expected their offense to be excellent But I realize their defensive unit was so quick defensive ends have speed They have quick reacting linebackers and also quickness in their secondary not taking anything away from Rich Glover All-American middle guard) But they have a lot of other defensive assets to go with A SYMPATHETIC listener made a painful point: got more than 500 yards against Parseghian shook his graying head and mumbled a lot of yards I remember us giving up that much yardage like for that kind of thing to happen But had dark days before can remember that we wound up with minus yard- age minus 12 yards in 1965 against a great Michigan State team and even get a touchdown (in a 12-3 loss) At least we got a touchdown A man really got under his skin by asking if Notre Dame might consider reverting to a no-bowl policy in view of the one-sided licking see how you can ask such a Parse- ghian bristled would suggest to you that it would be just the opposite That we would want to come back -and prove we are a better team than we looked HE DID not insert sopho- more running back Eric 1 Penick his top breakaway threat until late in the second quarter with Bob powerhouse al ready ahead 20-0 was because Penick 'has developed a kind of a psychological problem He fumbled such an abnormal number of times that really got him pysched into a lack of confidence I want to throw him in there right at the start and put undue pressure on him Even on one kickoff after he got in Eric just began hobbling the ball for no apparent Parseghian hesitate to admit that thought the Irish would do better offensively thought take pressure off our own defense by getting the ball and holding on to it more When moving the ball the defense get exposed to talented people like Johnny Rodgers so CENTER DAVE Drew who drew the unenviable chore of having Glover playing i on his nose suffered a dislocated shoulder got it reset right away and in a Ara said do you know what? Drew wanted to get back into the game He was trying to show me how he could move his arm I take the chance of it popping right out Parseghian paused and for the first time he managed a faint smile He said no more but his expression told what he was thinking that the spirit of young men such as Dave Drew will enable him to build more winning teams at Notre Dame Nebraska By RAY CRAWFORD Herald Sporti Writer Notre Dame All-American defensive tackle Greg Marx was looking for a silver lining in the gloom that pervaded the dressing room after Monday 40-6 loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl game Marx peeled away layers of protective tape off his elbows and spoke in a low sol-emn voice: 1966 Southern Cal lost the final game of the season to Notre Dame 51-0 and the next year won the national the Irish captain and one of the few seniors said team will come back strong next season Nearly everybody returns were playing Nebraska with a lot of second-teamers Injuries cut into us heavily in the second half of the season You give up first team players on defense and win against a team like MARX PLAYED with a badly bruised leg after Ne- first series He said the injury me but slow The Marx offered were as good as No 1 ranked Southern Cal although he thought the Irish played better against the Trojans Nebraska had a great game plan Marx pointed out plays were perfect It that they did anything drastically different from anybody but they were more effective "Somebody did a great job of studying our films and breaking down our weaknesses They used every play that had worked against us in the Nebraska often pulled a guard and started motion flowing in one direction then ran the play back across the grain anticipated Marx said or three other teams we faced did the same SAFETY Tim Rudnick called Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers the best he had seen all season deserved the Heisman Rudnick said Rudnick explained why he deep when Rodgers threw the 52-yard halfback touchdown pass to Frosty Anderson read all the keys 1 watched the guard and tackle pull out and that indicated a screen I came up six or seven steps then I believe what wbs happening RUSHING Art Yds TD LD 15 81 3 17 1 36 0 13 9 69 11 52 6 27 Rodgers Dixon Goeiier Bahe Damkrooer Olds Humm Runty Moran Garson Powell Westbrook toC 5 Humm Runty Rodgars Sanger Bahe Rodger PASSING Alt Comp Inte Yds 19 13 0 1SS 4 3 1 23 32 PUNTING No Yds Avg LG 4 1S3 38 44 PUNT RETURNS NO Yds 1 4 1 -3 receiving No Yd TD LG 3 42 0 29 2 67 1 3 25 0 14 0 1 2 0 3 71 1 2 13 0 2 16 0 INTERCEPTIONS NO Yds 1 0 1 0 1 0 Notre Dame RUSHING fa" A Revelle Anderson List Longwell Goeller Rodgers Damkroger Garson Blahak Pills Thornton I Art Yds TD LO "Mt --Wp -I 8 48 7 15 11 22 7 18 1 2 0 21 0 7 0 3 0 5 0 2 Penick Best Huff Dewan Diminick Clements Samuel Cieszkowkl 4 6-22 0 11 10 0 0 "07 3 21 Clement Oewan f-WStjy- 1 A Doherty Rudnick Zanot PASSING Alt Comp Inte Yd 22 9 3 103 10 0 0 PUNTING No Yds Avf LG 6 223 37 44 PUNT RETURNS No Yd 1 13 1 3 RECEIVING No Yd TD LG 2 28 0 3 44 0 29 13 0 3 14 0 4 1 3 I 1 IS 0 15 INTERCEPTIONS No Yds Creaney Dewan Diminick Hull Demmerl Rooll I i' Si if vvv Balllc-Torn Penick Leaps lnlo Arms Afler Irish Score I Townsend.