The Dothan Eagle from Dothan, Alabama • 21

The Dothan Eagle Sports THE DOTHAN EAGLE Sunday October 3 1982 section Huskers Plow Through Auburn Country By RON INGRAM Eagle Sports Editor AUBURN The Nebraska Cornhuskers gave Auburn a little test in agriculture yesterday with a 41 7 football victory before 73900 fans at Jordan Hare Stadium The farmboys from Nebraska taught the War Eagles about such things as defense offense tackling running and passing with a solid second half effort which broke open a close 14 7 game with 27 points after intermission think the final score was in dicative of the strengths or differences of the two said a pleased Husker coach Tom Osborne after the game was really pleased and rather surprised at the final Nebraska used a devastating ground attack and timely passes to knock Auburn from the ranks of the undefeated Osborne added key to the whole thing was our defense played so much better in the second half They seemed to be getting 15 yards at the clip in the first half on the arc option Our secondary made some ad justments in the second half and we took that away from He added were able to move the football pretty well all day long The momentum shifted late in the game and we just wore them Pat Dye was disappointed with the final outcome thought we still had a chance to win going into the second he said needed to score Neb Aub irst downs 31 13 Rushes yards 68 342 43 171 Passing yards 162 116 Return yards 13 18 Passes' 19 10 1 11 07 1 Punts 2 51 4 43 umbles lost 4 2 3 3 Penalties yards 3 45 3 15 Time of Possession 36:44 23:16 on that first possession Things kind of snow balled there at the Nebraska rolled up most of their 508 yards total offense in the second half In the first quarter the Cornhuskers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard With Turner Gill calling the plays the Cornhuskers marched 73 yards on 13 time consumingplays after the opening kickoff The drive was culminated when fullback Doug Wilkening bulled the final 15 yards up the middle After kicking through the initial line of scrimage he sped untouched to paydirt The score came with 9:54 left in the first quarter Auburn struck back quickly when Bo Jackson took the kickoff to the 29 On the first play from scrimage Lionel James went around right end and broke a tackle going for what looked like a 71 yard touchdown run The play was called back to the Nebraska 40 where officials said he stepped out of bounds The play was still good for 31 yards The AU offense could get nowhere until a flag for hitting quarterback Randy Campbell moved the ball to the Nebraska 32 On the next play Ron O'Neal tore through the middle of the Nebraska defense only to fumble at the 22 The Huskers appeared unstoppable going for two quick first downs to mid field Then on first down Gill passed deep but Mark Dorminey jumped high to come up with the interception at the 28 Clayton Beauford entered the game for the first time and quickly ran twice for a first down O'Neal crashed the middle for nine to the 50 With Campbell back in the lineup Auburn moved rapidly to the Nebraska 32 on a 20 yard pass to tight end Ed West On the next play Campbell went to the air again for a 21 yard gain to Chris Woods to the 8 After two plays netted but four yards Bo Jackson got the call for the first time and darted around left end He saw himself one on one with the Nebraska cornerback and leaped from the 3 yard line into the end zone for the score Al Del kick tied the game up with 1:51 remaining in the quarter The Cornhuskers marched right down the War Eagle throat once again until the Huskers stopped themselves at the 24 Staying on the ground Nebraska moved to a first and 10 at the 24 when Coach Tom Osborne decided to use a little trickery I Back Mike Rozier appeared sweeping left and only to draw up and pass back across the field toward quarterback Gill defensive pressure made him pass backward which turned out to be a lateral and a loss of 15 yards On third and 25 big Gerald Robinson got to Gill and sacked him back to the 48 Starting at the 6 after punt James quickly moved Auburn out to good field position with a 22 yard spurt to the 33 Campbell went to the air to Woods to the Husker 49 James went 9 yards to the 40 but came out with an apparent injury He injured his shoulder and return the first half Tim Jessie his replacement raced 8 yards for a first to the 32 The drive stalled and Al Del 46 yard field goal came up just a few feet short Nebraska appeared stalled on its next possession when an ineligible receiver downfield penalty pushed them back to the 42 On third down Gill went deep over the head of cornerback David King to Todd Brown for a 58 yard touchdown pass Kevin boot made it 14 7 Nebraska with 3:32 left in the first half With 18 seconds to go in the half Grant Campbell punted 59 yards and Chuck Clanton fumbled after a 17 yard return to the 31 Nebraska recovered and had time for one last play a 50 yard field goal attempt by Seibel which was partially blocked by King as the horn sounded the end of the first half Nebraska mounted the first threat of the third quarter after holding the Tigers to nothing on its first possession Moving to the 18 and facing a fourth and 1 Jeff Smith went two yards for a first to the 17 Gill passed for a first down at the 7 to Shane Swanson and two plays later Mike Rozier eased into the end zone from the 2 for the third Nebraska touchdown of the day With 7:03 remaining in the third period Seibel kicked the PAT to make it 21 7 Auburn's offense move on its second possession but got a big big break when Jim Bone knocked Dave Burke from the football on Lewis Colbert's punt at the 15 Auburn took over at the Cornhusker 13 but the good break turned sour when James fumbled at the 12 and Nebraska recovered The War Eagle defense rose up and stopped the Huskers on the ground for two plays but a Gill pass to Brown moved the Huskers out of the hole to the 33 Two plays later Rozier fumbled and Ronny Bellew recovered at the Auburn 41 The War Eagles mounted a mild threat which came to an end on fourth and 1 at the 35 Campbell made a bad pitch on the fourth down play and Nebraska took over at the 43 as the quarter ended Mike Rozier put the points on the board on the 11th play of the following drive by sidestepping one Auburn defender on his way to a 12 yard toucndown run The score came with 10:57 left in the game Seibel's PAT made it 28 7 before a very quiet Auburn crowd The Auburn defense plaqued by fatique due to Nebraska's ball control offense began to falter as Gill dissected the War Eagles with pinpoint passes and perfectly executed I plays The falter became a fade when Mark Schellen went down the right side line for a 41 yard touchdown run with 7:27 left in the game Seibel kicked his fifth straight extra point and Nebraska's lead mounted to 35 7 Nebraska added one more touchdown later in the game when third team 1 Back Tim Brungardt went 13 yards for a score around left end with 1:24 remaining The PAT was missed when Nebraska snuffed the snap The Cornhuskers completely dominated play in the second half 209 yards rushing to just 33 for Auburn Nebraska finished with 342 yards on the ground and another 162 in the air for total offensive output of 508 yards Auburn had 171 yards on the ground and 116 through the air for 287 Rozier was the game's leading rusher with 88 yards on 24 carries James led Auburn with 69 on eight runs Ron O'Neal had 40 on eight and Bo Jackson ran the ball surprisingly only five times for 18 yardsand the Auburn touchdown The difference was Nebraska's 68 rushing plays and 19 passing plays a total of 87 offensive snaps Auburn had the ball for just 54 snaps Sports Editor Tigers Only Average Nebraska Much Better Auburn was only average because a wishbone team is supposed to control the football Instead Coach Tom exciting I formation kept the ball for 36:44 of the Ron Ingram Than Ever Expected Ntfcddy has to tell me to eat crow? Besides taste all that bad On paper Auburn may have been equal to the task of stopping Cornhuskers but on the field it was a completely different story The fact is Auburn may be just an average football team and Nebraska may be a great team Maybe the secret to Auburn's success is keeping them out of the top twenty The last time Auburn was in the top twenty prior to last week was in September of 1980 It was a hot day at Jordan Hare Stadium when Tennessee ripped the War Eagles 42 0 before a packed house The house was packed again yesterday dotted with only a few bright red Nebraska rooters When the final horn had sounded only those bright red Cornhusker fans cared to remain The 41 7 score was not the real indication of the game Auburn was average yesterday average because Bo Jackson had only five carries all day for 18 yards and one touchdown A 'i HBJB JU 1: ao A 1 irtrir zrur" No About It AU Whipped By RON INGRAM Eagle Sports Writer AUBURN Jim Bone made no bones about it Auburn was just whipped by a better team Bone an Auburn specialty team member who is still waiting for his chance to become a regular at linebacker didn't figure the final score told the entire story But he admitted after the 41 7 loss to Nebraska yesterday just beat usdown They were a better football team It was Bone that gave Auburn its only break of the second half a break that almost made a game out of it Auburn was trailing 21 7 midway through the third period when Lewis Colbert unleashed a beauty of a punt which was taken in by Dave Burke at the 15 Bone who raced untouched down the field on the kick hit Burke at the same time the bail got there and caused the punt returner to fumble the ball Auburn got the ball at the 13 but fumbled back to the Huskers one play later when Lionel James fumbled at the 14 thought at the time it might give us some said Bone we lost it on the next play I was surprised that he fumbled the ball when I hit him I didn't really hit him that Bone is a sophomore linebacker from Hardaway High School in Columbus Ga He has visions of being a great War Eagle linebacker in his collegiate career But he had another vision prior to Saturday's game had a vision before the game of making a big hit on a receiver the ball rolling loose towards the goal and 1 would pick it up waving it high above my head in the end zone" admitted Bone "I guess part of it came true" Lionel James had no real explanation why he fumbled on the next play despite going out of the game in the first quarter with a bruised shoulder "It wasn't my shoulder" said a dejected James after the game "I really don't know what happened I know it took the wind out of us" Bone did admit that he secretly had hoped his hit would turn the game around try to make at least one tackle a garni'" he said 1 get to do is play on specialty teams so I try make them notice me as much as I can" He shook his head would have been nice if that had sixty minutes Auburn was average too because the defense just match up with the strong offensive line of the Huskers Dave Rimington was awesome on offense at center and proved to this writer that he may just be the best offensive lineman in the nation the best seen since Hannah Rimington completely pulverized Dowe Aughtman at nose guard but did have a tougher time with freshman Gerald Williams The game could have been closer say one or two touch downs difference Had the War Eagles punched into a touchdown when they recovered a fumbled punt in the third quarter at the Nebraska 13 things might have been different But the fourth quarter belonged to Nebraska The double trouble duo of I Back Mike Rozier and Quarterback Turner Gill kept the War Eagle defense scattered across the field And the Auburn offense just get going after in termission Whipping Pat Dye was in no frame of mind to explain when the final horn sounded no need for me to do a lot of he said could see what was taking place on the field out there It was one of those (whippings) that we got today The maturity and pride of the Nebraska football program showed Dye continued know when a quarterback has been so effective as Turner Gill was I thought that if we could keep it close going into the fourth quarter we could have a He said now I know how good or bad we are But Nebraska is the finest football team seen Their defense dominated our offense in the second half I just hope not that Tom Osborne felt like Auburn was much better than the final score showed1 were 10 maybe 14 points betterthats he said just got the momentum in the second half and wore them down defensively Pat Dye has done a good job Auburn is a better team than they were last year I thought it was 50 50 at the half All Is Not Lost The 41 7 loss mean that Auburn be a great football team In 1972 took it on the chin 35 7 at the hands of LSU in Baton Rouge and came back to win six straight games on the way to a 10 2 season and Gator Bowl victory Maybe it was an omen maybe just a coincidence But as I entered the elevator to head to the dressing room in the fourth quarter standing outside with his lovely wife (who is ob viously expecting) was Randy Wously expecting) was Randy Walls the quarterback of the 1972 team Randy looked older but the hurt still showed in his face He knows one game does not make or break a season And fans can be thankful for that Nebraska QB Nate Mason (8) Works The Option Against Dennis Collier happened But it didn't And my vision didn't come true" Bone doesn't have to feel too alone 73900 Auburn fans didn't see their vision of a big Auburn win come rue either Not Sugar Bowl But Bama Win Nice By KEVIN WILKERSON Eagle Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM It was not the Sugar Bowl being played for the national championship Nor was it the final seconds of an important Southeastern Conference confrontation It even a last ditch effort to turn away a fierce rival but for the Alabama defense the goal line stand at the 2:31 mark of the third quarter was all of the above and more The Crimson Tide used the series to light up the Legion ield scoreboard here by downing the Arkansas State Indians 34 7 Saturday night After both teams fumbled away the last half of the second quarter and the first part of the third period Arkansas State sought to take advantage of one of the miscues and made a 27 7 game seem much closer Alabama coughed up the ball for the second time in the third quarter and lost the ball at their 30 yard line On the next play Indians quarterback Tim Langford raced around left end for 26 yards and a first and goal at the Tide 4 Two plays got ASU down to the 2 but on the next two plays the defense rose up the way it has done in recent years when the opposition is threatening to score On third down Langford was sacked at the 7 and on fourth down Russ Wood from Elba chased him back to the 19 The threat ended and the Tide was ready to roll Bama took over the ball and in only six plays made the score 34 7 Ken Simon highlighted the drive with a spectacular tumbling 27 yard run but it was Craig Turner who scored the touchdown Turner took a handoff from the fullback slot and busted straight up the middle through a huge hole for a 12 yard score Terry Sanders added the extra point Alabama started the game exhorting the authority it had over' the visitors On the first play quarterback Walter Lewis executed the triple option on a pitch to running back Paul Ott Carruth for a 34 yard gain from the Tide 20 yard line to the Arkansas State 46 Only nine plays later the same call was made and Carruth ran 12 yards for the touchdown Peter Kim added the extra point and in only three minutes and 13 seconds Alabama held a 7 0 advantage Bama shut down the Indians on their first possession of the night but failed to execute properly on its next series and was forced to line up to punt With Tide punter Malcolm Simmons ready to kick at the 22 a flock of Indians charged in and swallowed up Simmons and the ball Defensive end Clyde Dumas blocked the kick and cornerback Bill Bowers recovered in the end zone for an Arkansas State touchdown Scott McDonald knocked the PAT through the uprights and the scored was suddenly tied 7 7 Sophomore quarterback Perry Cuda came in late in the first period to spark the Tide to two quick touchdowns Twice within 23 seconds Cuda threw touchdowns passes to split end Joey Jones who was running a pattern which placed him on the left sideline underneath the Indian' coverage The first pass found Jones in the end zone and the second one hit him at the 7 yard line One good move and Jones was in the end zone again Cuda made his first ap pearance of the game with 1:25 remaining in the opening quarter He used the running of Linnie Patrick to move down the ball from the Indian 43 to the 34 as time ran out in the initial period When the next quarter began Cuda with help from Lewis on one play maneuvered the ball to the 10 Two penalties pushed the ball back to the 20 on third down but Cuda dropped and fired to Jones for the go ahead touchdown PAT made it 14 7 Arkansas State ran only one play before Alabama was ready to strike again Indian quarterback Rick Spivey looked for a friendly receiver but found Crimson Tide defensive back Craig lorence instead lorence a sophomore from Enterprise returned the ball 20 yarcis to the 17 On the very next play Jones ran to the left sideline again and hauled in Cuda's pass for the second touchdown pass Kim's kick was suc cessful and suddenly Alabama leaped to a 21 7 lead with 12:05 remaining in the first half The rest of the period turned into the as both teams committed fumbles penalties and displayed generally sloppy play Alabama did have other opportunities to put two touchdowns on the Board but had to settle for two Kim field goals of 39 and 31 yards to give the Tide a 27 7 halftime lead The Alabama defense dominated the play in the first 30 minutes The Indians got their initial first down of the game with just eight minutes remaining before in termission They had only two first downs the entire half By contrast Alabama moved the chains 12 times rushed 35 times for 175 yards and completed six of nine passes for 74 more yards Arkansas State ran 23 times for 65 yards and completed three of eight passes for 7 yards Nine fumbles occurred in the first half with five them changing hands The Indians lost three of five miscues and Bama dropped two of four Bryant Happy With Defense In Arkansas State Game By KEVIN WILKERSON Eagle Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM Coach Paul Bryant was happy with his Crimson Tide defense after last 34 7 victory for Alabama over Arkansas State here at Legion ield defense played said Bryant allow them to As pleased as he was with his defense the legendary coach did not feel the overall effort of his team was up to par "You can pick out about every area of he growled we need to work on it A few times we played defense the way we should Offensively they kept us from doing anything much The Tide defense held the Indians to just eight first downs and 140 yards rushing The total Arkansas State output was 187 yards The Tide offense piled up 370 sluggish yards on 64 rushing plays Bama added 83 more yards through the air for a total of 423 The game was tainted by turnovers and penalties Alabama finished the game fumbling eight times and losing six The Tide also had four flags for 20 yards ASU had just one penalty for five yards but lost three of five fumbles and one pass was intercepted The Tide will have to eliminate the kind of mistakes it made against the Choctaws in a hurry since the next Alabama opponent is Penn State ranked third in the nation The two teams meet at Legion ield next Saturday afternoon The Arkansas State win was con vincing but left fans players and coaches wondering about next week.