The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 39

(i StarTouch codesC-15 Dog racingC-16 RadioTVC-16 OutdoorsC-17 C-18 SUNDAY November 8 1992 Section THE JL KANSAS CITY STAR Huskers find KU to be harmless GIB TWYMAN Nebraska exposes KU flaws Nebraska wins 49-7 as defense is overpowered at line By BLAIR KERKHOFF Staff Writer LINCOLN Neb The more things change Seventh-ranked Nebraska paid no respect to the best team Kansas offered in years winning 49-7 and treating the I3th-rated Jayhawks as if they were Middle Tennessee State or Utah Actually those lesser Nebraska victims put up a better fight The Cornhuskers ended this one early in the usual manner pounding away with a vicious ground attack take a very good football team like Nebraska and you take a good team like capable of being and perform well control the line of scrimmage and you get Kansas Coach Glen Mason said Nebraska 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight piled up rushing yards behind I-backs Derek Brown and Calvin Jones who combined for 163 in the first half Brown had his 1 00 by the end of the first quarter and finished with a season-high 156 yards in 15 carries Jones passed 100 in the third quarter and wound up with 107 yards in 13 carries and two touchdowns All Nebraska regulars were out by the end of the third quarter The running attack opened the passing game behind freshman quarterback Tommie Frazier Although he win many style points effective play faking had Kansas rated first in the big Eight in rushing defense before Saturday biting throughout the game Frazier tossed three first-half touchdown passes including two to tight end Gerald Armstrong Those were his fifth and sixth receptions all for touchdowns this season The first score was a 36-yard CRAIG SANDSThe Star Nebraska running back Derek Brown (right) followed a block by Will Shields through a hole for a big gain Saturday night against Kansas Brown finished with 1 56 yards rushing in the 49-7 rout of the Jayhawks in Lincoln Neb for a comeback were dashed on its first possession of the second half Nebraska free safety Tyrone Byrd stepped in front of Douglas and returned an interception 30 yards fora touchdown The triumph puts the Cornhuskers in the scat for the Big Eight title and Qrange Bowl berth More on KU C-8 Eight The Jayhawks were off to their best start since 1968 the last year they defeated Nebraska Kansas was never in the game From the outset quarterback Chip Hilleary had trouble communicating over the crowd noise and said the offense never got in sync seems like every game this year we set the tone by scoring Hilleary said happen today We got taken out of it Kansas cut lead to 21-7 on Maurice 4-yard touchdown run with 6:14 left in the second quarter The Cornhuskers answered immediately Fullback Lance Lewis on his only carry of the first half gained 34 on first play Thirty-six seconds after touchdown Nebraska matched it with a 5-yard run by Jones Whatever hopes Kansas held pass to Armstrong on the fifth play Ninety seconds had elapsed For the game Frazier completed six of 1 1 passes for 1 6 1 yards was just a bad effort on our Kansas defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said very disappointed in the way we played Everybody expected us to play Kansas 7-2 overall and 4-1 entered the game leading the Big No letting go Oklahoma runs past MU easily LINCOLN Neb No debate about it this was a James Stockdale moment in the Kansas Jayhawks football season Who are we? Why are we here? Both questions seemed to loom large as the Jayhawks were rendered helpless by Nebraska 49-7 Saturday night Kansas did not play like a 7-1 team that was No 1 3 in the nation And KU seemed to forget that (he reason it came here was to prove its readiness to challenge for the very top rung of Big Eight supremacy Coach Glen Mason put it this way: is a great team but I was very disappointed because we did not play very well We embarrassed ourselves on national TV I was surprised we got beat by the score we However the fact is this game did much to reveal true identity fleshing out the portrait sketched in by its best start in 24 years What this rout means simply is that Kansas is not as good as it seemed to be nor hoped it was It has made impressive strides but it is not ready for prime time orange blossoms or top 1 0 Once the Big Eye turns on KU blinks It faced California on ESPN It lost 27-23 It played Nebraska on ESPN It played worse than the first time Kansas in fact has not been up to beating the truly strong teams on its schedule It has beaten teams with combined 23-33 records It has defeated only two teams with winning records Ball State and Oklahoma a faded facsimile of the teams of Sooner lore This game means that Kansas fans needn't bother throwing oranges on the field anymore Alligators maybe The Declaration of Independence Copies of If the Jayhawks can best Colorado next week they may still go to the Gator John Hancock or Blockbuster bowls Outside shot: the Fiesta If they lose to Colorado it's Aloha time unless the unthinkable happens and they lose to Missouri So as fine as season has been so far it is not destined to be the stuff of wildest dreams our goals were the Orange Bowl and the conference We sell ourselves center Dan Schmidt said a setback But still bowl-bound see where the stop is Now in the And even though Mason may think KU could have played Nebraska closer he said a telling thing when he pointed out do not stop Nebraska People stop Nebraska had better people Far more quickness on both sides of the ball Better speed Better on the lines of scrimmage Better people in the backfteld And since freshman Tommie Frazier took over at quarterback three games ago the Huskers have been superhuman In his first four passes Saturday night he completed three For 93 yards And three TDs Tailback Derek Brown had 1 10 yards the first quarter He finished with 1 56 Calvin Jones his backup had 107 Both against a KU defense ranked No I in the Big Eight against the rush both looked like Heis-man guys to Mason said This night does not mean that KU needs to hang its head in shame Nebraska slaughtered Colorado last week 52-7 And the Huskers lose at home once a century or so The Jayhawks already have taken a major stride forward by cracking the Big Big Three They thrashed Oklahoma They have seven victories They are 4-1 in the conference And there is no reason to believe they beat Colorado especially at home Top 1 5 to top 20 Nice bowl payoff Eight nor nine victories A good year A very good year if it turns out that way But not the best of the best either Not in a class like Nebraska's Sooners win 51-17 when three of its backs gain at least 100 yards By MIKE DeARMOND Staff Writer NORMAN Okla Not even Rock Knutne could save the Missouri Tigers on Saturday Knute Rockne that legendary coach and inspiration of Notre Dame? the guy Victor Bailey was referring to after Missouri sank to a 51-1 7 loss to Oklahoma are only so many Rock Knutne speeches and all that kind of stuff that can be Bailey said before issuing an embarrassed correction of the tongue twister Unfortunately for Missouri that was only the last thing that came out backwards A bad snap and blocked punt set up' Oklahoma quarterback Steve Collins for a 4-yard scoring run with only 3 minutes 6 seconds gone With 7: 1 9 left in the first quarter Albert Hall hauled in the first of four pass completions for an 8-yard score that put Oklahoma up 1 4-0 Then after Missouri rallied within a touchdown on Jeff 20-yard toss to Bailey the Tigers lost what could have been a tying score when back judge David Ames overruled side judge Phil call that Bailey held another pass long enough before the ball popped loose The Tigers settled for a 36-yard Jeff Jacke field goal 1 1 :04 before the half but then quickly fell out of wishful-thinking range because of an Oklahoma running game that even in the high days of the wishbone never seemed more effective Three Sooners ran for 1 00 yards or more: tailback Earnest Williams 157 in 18 carries tailback See OKLAHOMA C-3 Col 4 TAMMY UIUNGBLADThe Star Bareback competitor Beau Mayo of Dublin Texas stretched out his ride as long as possible Saturday afternoon staying on Yellow Valey for 8 seconds at the American Royal Rodeo at Kemper Arena Results C-15 Chiefs are hungry for edge in second half Running game still vital Playoffs to be factor today Kansas City San Diego Chiefs Chargers By KENT PULLIAM Staff Writer Bill Walsh as a television analyst poked fun at the offense last year He called it Fact is the Chiefs are at their best wearing an animal skin and wielding a club If you want to check the Chiefs' health there is no better thermometer than their running game That the Chiefs rank only 1 1 th in the NFL in rushing yardage would tell you they are under the weather even if you had no clue they lost three of their last four games Offensively the personality has been formed by their running game since Marty Schottenheimer took over in 1989 They have not since finished out the Chiefs San Diego has won four straight albeit three against Seattle and Indianapolis twice They have confidence but must prove even to themselves they can beat a good team on the road The Chiefs have lost three of four Confidence is not shaken but they must break from the downward spiral if they hope to reach the playoffs for the third straight year game from here on out will be a huge game for this said Chargers quarterback Stan Humphries who was traded from Washington to San Diego on Aug 1 3 had an oppor-See CHIEFS C-11 Col 5 Neither the Chiefs nor Chargers will be eliminated from the playoff chase this afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium But make no mistake this game has heavy playoff implications for both teams Chiefs Coach Marty Schot-tenheimer made that point to his team after its Friday practice team that plays well the second half of the season is the one going to get into the Schottenheimer said Now the only thing that is important is the second That begins at 3 pm today for SWHENWHERE: 3 pm today at Arrowhead Stadium WEATHER: Partly cloudy high in the low 50s NEAR 300: Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery needs three more field goals to reach 300 in his career More on Chief sC-10 1 1 JONATHAN RAND of the top 10 in rushing and twice have been in the top four Like any team hitting some bumps in the road the Chiefs 4-4 need to get back to basics today against the San Diego See CHIEFS C-11 Col 1 TOMORROW in The Star INSIDE Hockey: Atlanta whips the Blades C-14 College football: No 1 3 Arizona upsets top-ranked WashingtonC-4 Sports extra: Charlie Spoonhour faces a new challenge in St Louis C-2 A new team likely will move to the top of the Associated Press football poll.