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8-12 to 8-30

HUSKER NEWS
This N That is where you will find Husker news,stories,and more.
I do not try to compete with ESPN but rather to have some interesting
stories and news about the Huskers available.

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  7-20 -00 to 8-11-00

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  7-1-00 to 7-20-00

  2000 Huskers

  6-1-00 to 7-01-00

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Division I-A Consecutive Sellout Leaders
1. Nebraska 233
2. Notre Dame 150
3. Penn State 55

 

     

 Top Stories:

  • Huskers first scrimmage was Saturday

  • Notes and Quotes

  • Two a day's are over for the Cornhuskers,but two weeks remain until
    the first game.8-20-00

  • Offensive Line analysis

Alexander dealing
with the heat .

In the Past Seven Years, the Huskers Have...

  • Posted an 81-8 record and played in four national championship games (1993, '94, '95, '97), winning three titles (1994, '95, '97)

  • Won five conference crowns (three Big Eight, two Big 12)

  • Posted a 49-4 conference record

  • Won 43 of 44 home games (seven straight)

  • Gone 23-7 vs. AP Top 25 teams (13-3 vs. AP top 10 teams) 

8-19-00 Huskers First Scrimmage Nebraska's first scrimmage of the fall brought both full contact and adverse weather to the players for the first time this season. The Cornhuskers scrimmaged for nearly two hours before about 20 fans at Memorial Stadium. While the rain lasted for the majority of the scrimmage and kept most fans away, it did give the players a good chance to practice hanging on to the ball.And the players showed that more practice will be needed. "We had some quarterback exchange problems with some of the younger guys," Coach Frank Solich said. "You are never pleased with that, but it was not an easy day for them with the weather, and it was the first scrimmage for them." The quarterbacks also struggled in the air, completing just six of 17 passes for 117 yards. Starting quarterback Eric Crouch completed one of four attempts, a 38-yarder to Matt Davison, while backup Jammal Lord hit on three of nine passes for 52 yards.

NU Football Scrimmage
Saturday, August 19, 2000

Rushing

No.

Net

TDs

Thunder Collins

9

56

2

DeAntae Grixby

9

55

0

Dahrran Diedrick

12

52

0

Dan Alexander

6

50

0

Kelly Cook

7

48

0

Eric Crouch

4

43

0

Josh Davis

18

41

1

Jammal Lord

6

29

0

Joe Chrisman

7

26

0

Paul Kastl

5

17

0

Steve Kriewald

4

17

0

Judd Davies

1

11

0

Correll Buckhalter

3

2

1

Totals

91

447

4


Passing

C-Att-Int.

Yds.

TDs

Jammal Lord

3-9-0

52

1

Eric Crouch

1-4-0

38

1

Kelly Cook

2-3-0

27

0

Joe Chrisman

0-1-0

0

0

Totals

6-17-0

117

2


Receiving

No.

Yds.

TDs

Troy Hassebroek

1

51

1

Matt Davison

1

38

1

Thunder Collins

1

22

0

Ben Cornelsen

1

9

0

DeWayne Long

1

5

0

Dahrran Diedrick

1

-8

0

Totals

6

117

2


Punting

No.

Yds.

Avg

Lg

Dan Hadenfeldt

4

191

47.8

51

Josh Brown

4

207

51.8

65

 

 

 

Punt Returns

No.

Yds.

TDs

Lg

Josh Davis

1

7

0

7

Bobby Newcombe

1

5

0

5

Terrell Butler

1

3

0

3

 Sacks: DeMoine Adams, 2-13; Casey Nelson, 1-9, Loran Kaiser, 1-5

Scoring Summary
Matt Davison 38 pass from Eric Crouch (Josh Brown PAT)
Correll Buckhalter 2 run (Josh Brown PAT)
Josh Davis 3 run (Sandro DeAngelis PAT)
Troy Hassebroek 51 pass from Jammal Lord (No PAT attempt)
Thunder Collins 35 run (No PAT attempt)
Thunder Collins 1 run (No PAT attempt)

New Injuries:
Tim Green -- right knee ligament (out for season, surgery required)

Quoting Coach Frank Solich:

"Some good things occurred today. It was a hard and physical scrimmage. The only injury was the knee injury to Tim Green, and that was unfortunate. But I saw a lot of good things to build on."

"The quarterback/center exchange with the young guys wasn't good, and we had way too many motion penalties."

Solich on the Defense:
"I think they have improved. They played well. The effort and movement was good."

Fall Notes: Saturday's scrimmage marked the end of two-a-day practices for the Huskers. Nebraska will take Sunday off and continue regular fall practices when fall semester classes begin on Monday, Aug. 21. Fall practices will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Three Huskers Earn Blackshirts
Lincoln -- The Nebraska football team began its regular practice schedule Monday with one practice in the afternoon on the grass practice field. Monday marked the first day of classes for the Huskers and the addition of several players to the 105-man roster that was used during fall camp.

We had our full roster of players out there today, and it was good to see a full team on the field, Head Coach Frank Solich said.We had a hard, long practice, and typically the guys are a little tired on the first day back to school. They worked hard today, even though it was hot and very humid.

The Huskers had Sunday off after their first live action in a scrimmage on Saturday. After watching the first scrimmage of the fall on tape, Solich remained optimistic but saw areas that needed improvement.

I thought offensively it was pretty good at times, but we had a problem with stopping ourselves on drives, Solich said. The offensive line looked real good and had a good surge coming off the ball. We just need to work on getting a little more consistent in several other areas offensively. The defensive look really good. Weve had guys step up and show great promise for the upcoming season. We still need to add some depth at the linebackers spot. All in all, things went really well, and the players continue to have a great attitude towards working hard at practice.

The Husker defense continued a time-honored tradition Monday, handing out blackshirts to defensive players who are performing at a first-team level. New blackshirts include rush end Demoine Adams and linebackers Randy Stella and Scott Shanle.

Nebraska will continue with a normal practice schedule Tuesday and may go through short station scrimmage on Wednesday.

Notes and Quotes:

CROUCH THROWING: After off season surgery "He's back to where he's throwing the ball really well," Solich said. "He feels real comfortable where his shoulder is at, with his arm strength. We feel he's over the injury and the surgery." MCBRIDE WAS THE MAN: McBride, down-to earth, throwback coach,was universally loved by his peers and former players.More than 600 people including almost every former player he coached attended a retirement party for McBride.And, as evidenced by The Black Shirts' weekly destructionof opposing offenses, he knew a thing or two about defensive game planning. BY THE NUMBERS: 889 -- Eric Crouch's 889 yards led the Huskers in rushing last season, making him the first Nebraska quarterback to lead the team in rushing since 1955. QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're gonna have good athletes in those spots, but we'll be relatively inexperienced on defense. We've all heard it before: Defense wins championships. If that's true, we've got some things to prove defensively." -- Nebraska coach Frank Solich. CONSISTANCY NEBRASKA'S TRADEMARK: Nebraska is in the Top 25 for a record 309th consecutive time, with Florida State second in consecutive polls at 183. Since 1969, the Huskers been ranked in an AP poll 483 of the last 486 polls.Nebraska was last ranked No. 1 to open the season in 1996, the year after winning its second consecutive national title. The Huskers finished No. 6 in '96.

POSITIONS and PERSONNEL SHANLE MAKES BIG STRIDES: Sophomore Scott Shanle alleviated some of the defensive coaches concerns by turning in a stellar spring at strongside linebacker. The Huskers lost Tony Ortiz and Brian Shaw, who had alternated as starters the past three seasons, and returned only Shanle and Rod Baker, both walk-ons. But Shanle may have solidified a position where coaches were considering moving in a player from another position to shore things up. WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER REMAINS A QUESTION: Eric Johnson and Julius Jackson are now NFL free agents, leaving the Huskers with a huge hole to fill at this position. Mark Vedral and Randy Stella did little to distinguish themselves in the spring, though both remain front-runners for the starting job this fall. Vedral and Stella are undersized at 210 pounds each.

 

Schedule on their side:

The schedule appears to set up well for the Huskers. Nebraska opens at home against San Jose State, then has an eye-catching date at Notre Dame on Sept. 9. Home games against Iowa and Missouri, followed by road games at Iowa State and Texas Tech make up the first half. Then, there's a home game against Baylor followed by a dangerous road game against Oklahoma on Oct. 28. The Huskers are home against Kansas on Nov. 4, then travel to Kansas State on Nov. 11 in a game that should decide the North Division title. If it doesn't, then the season-ender at home against Colorado on Nov. 24 will.

If the Huskers are undefeated and 11-0 heading into the Big 12 championship game, remember that the game will be played Dec. 2 in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. Arrowhead is less than a 3-hour drive from Lincoln, so it will be Memorial Stadium South for the Cornhuskers. If they need a boost in that league title game, it should come from a majority of red-clad fans. And, if the weather is poor, the Huskers will know what to do to make the most of the situation.

 

Nebraska's 2000 Offensive Line

Constants in college football: Joe Paterno's high pants. Steve Spurrier's visor flings. Pac-10 defenses spending the season in local burn units. Nebraska's earth-moving offensive line.

For the Huskers, it's always been what's up front that counts. The national champions in 1994 and 1995 were anchored by talented, veteran blockers up front. This year's group has the same look.

"Our offensive line coaches feel really good about the potential of this line," Solich said. "A lot of the guys who are going to play a lot either started or got a lot of playing time last year. That's really encouraging. They're a physical group and they've developed a lot of confidence.

"Coming down the stretch last season, we played an outstanding group of teams and our offensive line played really well in those games."

Junior center Dominic Raiola (6-2, 295) is drawing comparisons to former Nebraska great Dave Rimington. The Honolulu native set a school record with 140 pancake blocks last season as he was voted the first-team center on the coaches' All-Big 12 team.

Senior guard Russ Hochstein (6-4, 290) is drawing comparisons to former Nebraska great Dean Steinkuhler. Hochstein, who plays on Raiola's right, was second on the team with 126 pancake blocks.

Junior Dave Volk (6-5, 300) started 13 games at right tackle last season but in 2000 will move to the left side. Sophomore Toniu Fonoti (6-4, 330) and junior Jon Rutherford (6-3, 300) are likely to share the left-guard spot. Neither has starting experience.

Nebraska's line got a boost in January when senior Jason Schwab (6-1, 300) was granted a sixth year of eligibility. The former walk-on, who also missed the 1996 season with injuries, started 13 games in 1998. However, during spring practice in 1999, he tore two ligaments in his left knee. His return gives Nebraska another veteran lineman. Schwab enters the fall the starting right tackle.

Here's the biggest problem on the offensive line: Coach Milt Tenopir has to figure out who to push for the Outland Trophy -- Raiola or Hochstein.

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