What They Are Saying Now

Big Ten Network: Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns and ran for 130 yards on 35 carries, and No. 13 Nebraska defeated ninth-ranked Michigan State 24-3 Saturday to take control of the Big Ten Legends Division.

Burkhead, who went over 100 yards for the fifth time in six games, scored at the end of 80- and 89-yard drives in the third quarter to put Nebraska up 24-3. Taylor Martinez completed 6 of 7 passes for 80 yards in the third quarter after going 1 for 6 in the first half.

Michigan State (6-2, 3-1), coming off the incredible finish to its win over Wisconsin last week, managed just 187 yards against Nebraska’s improving defense. Kirk Cousins was 11 of 27 for 86 yards, with an interception that set up the Huskers’ first score.

AP: Rex Burkhead was flat on his back, writhing in pain and holding his left leg after the 31st of his 35 runs against Michigan State. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini rushed across the field to check on his star running back.

“I saw he was cramping up,” Pelini said, “and I was pretty relieved.”

After going to the sideline for one play, Burkhead was back on the field running a wheel route and catching the 27-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Martinez that sealed No. 13 Nebraska’s 24-3 victory over the ninth-ranked Spartans on Saturday.

“Unless he’s on crutches, he’s going to be out there,” Pelini said. “The guy is a warrior. You can’t ask for more than he gives this football team.”

ESPN Big Ten Blog:  In the locker room after a 24-3 win over Michigan State, Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini told his players that he had a present for them. Then he held up a black shirt.

As fashion goes, it isn’t much to look at. Just a plain, mesh black shirt that big men sweat through during practice. But the shirts are a proud tradition for the Cornhuskers’ defense, and they’re only handed out when the players earn them through performance.

For about as long in a season as anyone can remember, Nebraska had gone shirtless in 2011. The defense looked nothing like the one that has annually been one of the nation’s best. On Saturday, the Huskers finally found their form, holding Michigan State to a season-low 187 yards in a dominant effort.
“We turned the corner,” defensive end Josh Williams said. “Now we can actually say we’re Blackshirts.”

Michigan State looked lost in its first conference trip to Lincoln, confused by a Huskers defensive scheme that is both simple and complex at the same time. They play both their safeties deep to help in the passing game, leaving it to the linebackers to stop the run and the front four to get pressure. Carl Pelini said he called the same defensive play for almost the entire game.

Why change when it’s working so well? Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins couldn’t find openings in the zone and continually threw into double coverage. Nebraska made sure to give safety help all day on star receiver B. J. Cunningham, who finished without a catch for the first time since 2008. At the end of the third quarter, Cousins had just 35 passing yards — or nine fewer than he had on last week’s Hail Mary to beat Wisconsin. And while the Cover 2 look should in theory leave a defense open to the running game, the Spartans managed only 101 rushing yards, averaging a paltry 3.4 yards per carry.

Michigan State Athletic Web Site: Michigan State (6-2, 3-1), coming off the incredible finish to its win over Wisconsin last week, managed just 187 yards against Nebraska’s improving defense. Kirk Cousins was 11 of 27 for 86 yards, with an interception that set up the Huskers’ first score.

The win was Nebraska’s second in its last 17 against top-10 opponents. It pulled the Huskers (7-1, 3-1) into a tie with Michigan State for the Legends Division lead, but they own the tiebreaker against the Spartans.

Michigan State could have essentially locked up the division with a victory against its third straight ranked opponent. But Cousins, as he has throughout his career, struggled on the road.

After throwing for 290 yards and three TDs at home against Wisconsin, Cousins missed on 12 of his first 16 passes.

He was intercepted on the Spartans’ first possession, was nearly picked off three other times and often threw into double coverage.

The Huskers led 10-3 at half and put away the game with two time-consuming drives in the third quarter.

Michigan State Team: “They shut down some things we do well,” Head Coach Dantonio said of an MSU offense that got 101 rushing yards but just 11-of-27 passing and a career-low 86 yards from quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousins threw an interception on the third play of the game on a pass intended for B.J. Cunningham, whose streak of 41 regular-season games with a catch – tied for fourth-longest nationally among active players – ended against Nebraska.

Cousins said he tried to force some passes into coverage to get pass-interference calls. He had ample protection in the first half, but the Huskers got to him in the second half and finished with four sacks.

“It was a combination of everything,” Cousins said. “There were plays where there was nothing there, no matter how long the protection lasted. There were plays where protection broke down where I had something. There were plays where it was a combination. It was a total mix.”

The Husker’s road to Indianapolis isn’t an easy one. First up is Northwestern (1-4, 3-5) at home and then on the road against Penn State (5-0, 8-1) and Michigan (3-1, 7-1) and back home for a border line battle with Iowa (2-2, 5-3). Thats a collective win/loss of  23-10.

With three teams tied for the lead of the Legends, it appears that Michigan State has the easiest schedule with Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Northwestern whose combined record is 11-22 with Iowa the only one posting a winning season at this point. Michigan faces Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Ohio State who have a combined 23-10 record.

The Polls: In both polls, the Huskers moved to the top ten in ninth place and is the top B1G team with Michigan 13^th and Penn State and Michigan State sharing 15^th and 16^th while Wisconsin comes in at 17 and 19.

Be sure and read Randy York’s N-Sider article about Carl Pelini handing out the Blackshirts.

Over the weekend the Volleyballers split 1-1. First was a win over #23 Ohio State on Friday night. TOSU* put up a good fight in the first set. The Huskers took a 11-9 lead but then the buckeyes rolled of 6 straight points and then closed out the huskers 19-25.

(*Remember they are THE Ohio State University.)

From then on it was all Huskers as they won the next 3 sets 26-22, 25-19 and 25-17.

Morgan Broekhuis led NU on the night with 18 kills on 39 attacks (.359). Gina Mancuso had 14 kills, while Hannah Werth tallied 11. Werth also had a team-high 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the year. Lauren Cook had 47 assists, while leading the Huskers to a .281 hitting percentage. Ohio State hit .262 for the night.

Saturday night the team was hosted by # 8 Penn State and it wasn’t a good night as Big Red took its first conference loss of the year. The Nittany Lions found a Husker squad that just couldn’t get going in the first two sets winning 17-25 and 15-26. Our team won the third set 25-17 but the score was reversed in the final set with PSU winning 17-25.

Gina Mancuso led Nebraska with 14 kills, while Morgan Broekhuis had 11 kills. Hannah Werth guided NU defensively with 16 digs as Lara Dykstra had 13 of her own. Lauren Cook had 32 assists on the night, but the Huskers only hit .116. Penn State hit .194 and out-dug Nebraska 64-56. PSU boasted 14 team blocks as NU had eight.

Nebraska (18-2, 11-1) maintained their one win lead over Illinois who also suffered a loss but to Minnesota over the weekend.

The Huskers return home to welcome Michigan to the NU Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 4 and Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 5. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. and can be seen on BTN.com with a subscription.

The Nebraska cross country team traveled to Urbana, Illinois for the Big Ten Championships hosted at the University of Illinois Arboretum. Katie White’s 22nd-place finish (in 20:53) led the Husker women to a seventh-place finish in a 6K race, and Trevor Vidlak’s 35th-place finish (in 24:37) paced the men in an 8K race, as they finished last in the conference as a team.

Wisconsin won its 13th consecutive and 45th overall Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Championship, placing five runners in the top six. Michigan State won its second straight Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Championship, placing three runners in the top 10 to earn its fourth consecutive title all-time.

Women’s Basketball season opened Sunday afternoon with an 86-55 exhibition victory over Pittsburg State at the Devaney Center.

Alliance, NE sophomore, Jordan Hooper put up 24 points and 17 rebounds and was aided by Seward’s true freshman, Emily Cady who hit 5-8 for 14 points and three rebounds.

Redshirt freshman Rebecca Woodberry contributed double figures of her own with 10 points, including eight in the first half to help the Huskers jump to an 11-1 lead to open the game. Sophomore center Adrianna Maurer gave the Huskers four players in double figures with 11 points, including nine in the second half.

Junior point guard Lindsey Moore contributed seven points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal in just 19 minutes, after missing much of the first half with foul trouble. Senior guard Kaitlyn Burke also played a solid all-around game for the Huskers with four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Nebraska swimming and diving team finished fourth at the Holiday Inn and Suites Med Center Invitational in Houston, Texas on Saturday afternoon. The event’s third session ended with Arkansas winning comfortably with 1,135 points. The Razorbacks finished above Boise State and Rice, respectively.

Hayley Martin finished third in the 200-yard freestyle for Nebraska. It was the Huskers’ best finish on the day. Martin’s time of 1:52.77 was less than a second off of first place (1:51.81). The Nebraska 400-yard freestyle relay team finished fourth in the 18th event of the invitational. Bailey Pons finished sixth in the 1,650-freestyle relay.

The Huskers placed in the top ten in fourteen different events on Saturday. Payton Michaud finished sixth in the three-meter dive event (269.35), while Kaitlan Walker finished tenth. Michaud also placed eighth in the one-meter dive.

Kristin Strecker notched two top-ten finishes on the day, along with Hayley Martin and Katie Davis.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

A Little Bit About Lots Of Things

The Last time the Husker’s Volleyball team was ranked #1 was October of 2007. Monday the AVCA Coaches pool again picked Coach John Cook and the Husker Ladies as the #1 team in NCAA rankings.

The Huskers are not a stranger to this kind of ranking. The ranking represents the 82nd week that Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 in the poll. Since 2001, the Huskers have been ranked No. 1 for 49 weeks, including holding the top spot nationally for the entire 2006 season and for 15 weeks during the 2005 season.

And you can bet your best Big Red shirt that this will give added incentive to this weeks matches against the No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio on Friday at 4 p.m., before heading to University Park, Pa., for a showdown with the No. 8 Penn State Nittney Lions on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Huskers’ match with Penn State will air live on BTN.

Can the Volleyballers make it three in a row?

This past week Gina Mancuso earned her second Big Ten Player of the Week. The week before, Hanna Werth earned the same title. Now which Husker is going to win it this weekend.

Wrestling hasn’t even started but here is some news of former Husker two-time NCAA champion, Jordan Burroughs.

Just over a month after winning a World Championship, former Husker Jordan Burroughs captured another international gold medal by winning the 74kg/163 pound title at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Burroughs won a pair of tightly contested matches in the semifinal and final rounds to become the first Pan American champion from Nebraska since Ryan Tobin captured gold in 1996.

Women’s Gymnastics true Nebraska freshman Jessie DeZiel helped the USA women’s gymnastics squad win the 2011 team title at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. USA (219.750) edged our neighbors to the north, Canada (217.450), by over two points and was a full five points ahead of third-place finisher Mexico. The title marked the 14^th team title for America in Pan Am Game’s history.

In Men’s Tennis there is a doubles team that is having a great season this fall. The Husker’s men doubles team of Christoper Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim were defeated by the top seed in Tulsa’s squad of Adhley Watling and Clifford Marsland, 9-7. Tulsa’s duo is the No. 4 doubles team in the country, while the Huskers are ranked 13^th.

The Huskers doubles squad of Aumueller and Lindheim will now wait and see if they receive and at-large bid to the 2011 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The Indoor Intercollegiate Championships begin on Nov. 3.

Soccer: The Nebraska soccer team (6-8-1, 3-5-0 Big Ten) will host its final two home games of the 2011 season this week when Iowa and No. 25 Illinois visit the Nebraska Soccer Field. The Hawkeyes will make the trip to Lincoln on Thursday, Oct. 20, for a 2 p.m. kickoff, while the Fighting Illini and Huskers will square off on Sunday, Oct. 23, for Senior Day at 11 a.m. Both games will be streamed live on BTN.com (premium account needed) and live stats will be available on Huskers.com.

Swimming: The Nebraska swimming and diving team defeated the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State, 193-99 on Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Natatorium. It is the Husker’s eighth win all-time against the Jackrabbits. The Huskers have never lost to the Jackrabbits.

Ten different Huskers contributed wins on the day. Payton Michaud won both the 1-meter and the 3-meter dive (265.95, 290.40), while Hayley Martin won the 50-yard freestyle (24.94) and the 500-yard freestyle (53.41). Bailey Pons, Kelly Dunn, Rebekah Land, Shannon Guy, Natalie Morris, Morgan Flannigan, Kristin Strecker and Ellan Dufour also added wins for the Huskers on the day.

Ashley Valdez and Morgan McLain of South Dakota State won the two final individual events of the day for South Dakota State before the Jackrabbits took the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Football: This is the big game of the year for the Huskers as they take on the Michigan State Spartans, the current leader of the Legends Division.

With the Spartans win over previously undefeated Wisconsin MSU moved to 11^th in the BCS ratings, 9th in the AP, and 10^th in the USA. Nebraska garnered 14 in BCS, 13 in the AP and 13 in the USA poles.

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio described the upcoming game as such, “”Big game, big environment,” said Dantonio. “Again, it’s why you come to Michigan State and play in this conference. It’s a national-type game that has a national ramification as well as Big Ten Conference ramification. It’s a good thing that we are involved in it, and the winner will continue to move forward.”

OK, so there you are. Our loss to Wisconsin was hard to take. Our win over Ohio State was rejuvenating in coming from behind. Our win against Minnesota, while not a big factor gave us a chance to view other players who can add lots of power to the offense as well as the defense.

With a win, the Spartans have a very good chance to just roll into the December Championship game. So its now time for the Huskers to serve up their best. After this game MSU will face Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Northwestern while the Huskers have Northwestern, Penn State, Michigan and Iowa.

Another point from coach Dantonio, “”I think the environment at Nebraska is fueled by the tradition that they have there, the fan support. I think they have 316 straight games of sellouts dating back to ’62, which is incredible. It’s a program that has seen national prominence really through my lifetime.”

As to their big win over Wisconsin, Dantanio added, “Obviously big, big win against Wisconsin this past weekend. I thought the highlights of the football game to me were how we really responded, a lot of players having a big day, and then QB Kirk Cousins becoming the all time winning quarterback in terms of this program at Michigan State. But we had big plays throughout the entire football game and I think it showed.”

The Spartans are not known as a high powered offensive team. Their trademark is their defense which has only allowed an average of 222.86 yards of offense and is 2^nd in the nation. They are also rated 2^nd in pass defense and have had 24 sacks which is 6^th in the nation.

I hope all of you will read Randy York’s article about Jared Crick. Its about Jared being selected for the Good Works Team. You can also vote for him to become captain of this national honor group.

We all know Jared for his football but most of us probably did not know about Jared Crick’s other side. Read it. Its very good and introduces us to the whole Jared Crick that I am sure you will love.

Twenty-two college football players have been named to the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®. The players awarded this prestigious honor were selected by a committee from 132 nominations submitted by colleges and universities across the country. This team recognize players that embody the true spirit of giving back through selfless contributions and commendable acts of kindness. To learn more about the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® visit ESPN.com and search “Good Works”.

Men’s Golf: At Las Cruces, New Mexico, Scott Willman fired a 1-under-par 70 in the final round of the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate on Tuesday, guiding the Nebraska golf team to a 12^th place finish.

The Huskers, playing in their fifth and final tournament of the fall season, posted 287 in the final round. The score marked the Nebraska’s best third-round score of the fall campaign. NU’s 54-hole total was 884, which was three strokes shy of its best this season. The 12^th-place finish marked the Huskers’ fourth straight 12^th-place result after winning the season-opening Fairway Club Invitational.

Willman earned his fifth straight top-20 result with a tie for 14^th, leading the Huskers. The senior recorded his sixth subpar round of the season along with his opening-round 70 on Monday. His 212 total finished 13 strokes off the pace.

Neil Dufford carded his best round of the tournament on Tuesday, shooting an even-par 71 at NMSU Golf Course. That score marked his lowest of the season as Dufford tie for 57^th. The junior carded rounds of 75 and 79 on Monday for his 225 total after 54 holes.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

A Big Red B1G Week for the Huskers

It was one great week for the Huskers in their new home, the Big Ten. Just a quick thumbnail of activities: Football a win, Soccer a win that could put them into the B1G tournament, Volleyball a win over the #1 ranked team., Swimming a win and Men’s and Women’s Tennis, just starting a tournament but showing wins, the fans, always are winners. So lets start with the biggest win.

Volleyball:

The Illini ranked #1 in both the Coahes and the AVCA polls came to town Saturday to take on the AVCA #4 ranked Huskers but #2 ranked Coaches poll. The visitors were looking to maintain their first time top spot. The Big Red was looking to extend their 31 home game winning streak.

Everything pointed to one great night of volleyball and it was. But unfortunately, the Big Ten Network was replaying the match Sunday afternoon, just as I was writing this. So time out. I just have to watch this match. Hope you remembered to watch it too. Oh do I love this Big Ten Network.

There is only one thing to say about this 3-1 win by the Huskers. Domination. It was domination in every way. Well except surveying since the Illini out served the Huskers with 5 aces to 4. But this was relinquished with the visitors committing 9 serving errors to the Huskers 2.

Lauren Cook, the setter for NU had a big 54 assist game. This player is a wonder to watch and very difficult for the opponents to determine which way she will set. And perfection is her style. Many times she is facing to the left and then sets the ball behind her in perfect position. It is up to her on each set to determine which way she should go. To left or to right or just a flimsy little offensive tip and that makes it very difficult for the defense to set blocks.

Yes Lauren is the Coach’s daughter. But like Coach Cook says, on Sunday night we get to maintain the daughter/father relationship and the rest of the time it is coach/player. Now I am sure there is more to it than that. But she is a mainstream of the Husker attack. Can you imagine the constant pressure she is under, being the coaches daughter? But she performs without a doubt.

When the Huskers lost the first set 24-26, you could tell this didn’t set well with the team. They came out in the second set saying, “Not in our house you wont?”

They took a quick 10-4 lead but then it dropped to 12-9 and then point by point they kept building the margin 16-11, 18-14 , 22-17 and closed it at 25-18.

The third set was a little tighter with the score tied 8 times and 4 lead changes. With the lead bouncing back and fourth, the Huskers finally took the lead 14-7 and then kept moving on to win the third set 25-19.

Now up 2-1 in sets the crowd of 4,198 didn’t bother to sit down’ They were standing through out the whole fourth set, smelling an upset. Quickly the Big Red women took an 8-3 lead and never relinquished their dominance as they upset the favored Illini 25-11 and won the set and the BIG Ten leadership with a perfect 10-0 conference and 17-1 standing for the year.

Tomorrow the new standings will be posted and it will be interesting to see how the Huskers fair, particularly in the American Coaches Volleyball Association ratings that had the Huskers at fourth, while the Coaches poll had them #2.

Another very strong factor in this game was the spread of the active force the Huskers displayed. For kills the Huskers had Morgan Broekhuis with 17, Gina Mancuso, 15, Hannah Werth, 14 and Brooke Delano with 11.

Also on defense, digs, diving for the ball, showed Hanna Werth with 17, Mancuso 15, Cook 13, Lara Dykstra 12 and Broekhuis with ll. Now you can’t have it any better than everyone on the team contributing. By the way Hanna, or as she is known by her fans “Hanna the Hammer”, was selected defensive player of the year last year.

In comparison Illinois had two players with kills, Michelle Bartsch with 22 and Colleen Ward with 17. And only three with digs , Ward 10, Annie Luhrsen 10 and Jennifer Beltran with 15.

That’s the difference between winners and losers. One last comparison, the Huskers hit 72% to the Illini 54%. that’s a big margin in a game like this.

Next weekend the Huskers travel to Columbus, Ohio to face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday, Oct. 28 and then head to University Park, Pa., for a showdown with the Penn State Nittney Lions on Saturday, Oct. 29.

Soccer:

With the win over Iowa, the Husker positioned themselves into an invite position for the B1G tournament. But then they lost the match with a tough 3-1 decision to the No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field on Senior Day. Junior Morgan Marlborough scored her 20^thgoal of the season in the second half, but NU was unable to turn any of their other 18 shots into goals.

Nebraska, who falls to 7-8-1 overall and 4-6-0 in Big Ten play, will have to win there game next week at Minnesota to have any shot at the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska will now head on the road to Minneapolis, Minn., for a Friday night showdown with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 5 p.m. on BTN.com. It will be the final regular-season game for each team and the Huskers will be able to jump ahead of the Gophers with a win as Minnesota currently leads NU by two points in the Big Ten standings after each team lost on Sunday.

Football:

Well we did face an undersized opponent this weekend. But maybe it was beneficial that we got to see some players who have not received some attention in the first games. This game had little effect on the rankings as the Huskers remained around 13 place in poles.

Nice to see Rex Burkhead, “The Machine”, plugging up 117 yards for an average 5.1. Kenny Bell with his big reception for a TD. Rex led the Huskers by producing his second straight 100-yard rushing effort with 117 yards and one score on 23 attempts. Burkhead’s fourth 100-yard performance of the season and eighth of his career powered a Husker ground game that rolled for a season-high 346 yards. That total bettered NU’s previous season best of 333 yards at Wyoming, while giving the Huskers their third 300-yard rushing effort of the year.

Has the offense been waiting for this? The redshirt freshman, Kennie Bell on his first career rushing attempt, ran 82 yards for a second-quarter touchdown Saturday in Nebraska’s 41-14 victory against Minnesota.

“I told Kenny after he ran that for a touchdown, I said, ‘That’s all coaching,’” Nebraska receivers coach Rich Fisher said with a smile. “Actually, at one point, I thought that guy had the angle on him and was going to knock him out of bounds, and the next thing I know he’s stiff-arming him and taking off to the house.

Next up is the square off with he Michigan State team who just defeated the Wisconsin Badgers to take on the undefeated lead in the Legends division of the B1G. This game is scheduled for 9:00 PM Saturday and we will be in action at our two watch sites, Fox and Hounds and Touchdown. Be there we need you support that will raise to Lincoln our support of the Huskers.

I attended the last game at the Fox and Hounds, and there was only like 30+ people there for Nebraska. Iowa had our allotted space before our game and they outnumbered us by a hand full. Now let me ask you is that Nebraska Pride?

Yes I know of some of the complaints. Cant hear the commentators. The screen is obsolete and not sharp, but yet the excitement of being together can sure beat you sitting at home with only you and your better half. I mean, how many times do you clap out “There is now place like Nebraska” at home and then yell Go Big Red and drift from table to table doing a high five”. At our watch sites it is always happening and leads to the enjoyment of being together.

Tennis:

Both the men’s and the women’s team are in action over the weekend. So lets go ladies first.

The Nebraska women’s tennis team finished its time at the USTA/ITA Division I Women’s Central Regional on Sunday. Patricia Veresova and Madeleine Geibert advanced as far as the tournament semifinal before falling to opponents. The Huskers completed the weekend with an overall singles record of 13-6 that included 4-1 records from Geibert and Veresova.

In quarterfinal action, Geibert put away No. 3 seed Katerina Morozova of Kansas, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the semifinal. Veresova also made quick work of her opponent, downing Oklahoma’s Marie Pier-Huet, 6-3, 6-2.

Teammate Mary Weatherholt was edged by Tulsa’s No. 4 Sam Vickers, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Vickers would capture another win over a Husker on the day, defeating Veresova, 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinal. Geibert was also unable to advance to the tournament final, falling to No. 2 Sonja Molnar of Iowa, 6-1, 6-3.

The Huskers finished the tournament with a 13-6 singles record and a 4-3 record in doubles play. The team logged three singles victories over seeded opponents, including Patricia Veresova’s victory over No. 1 Natallia Pintusava of Minnesota on Saturday.

On the men’s side, Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim both won their singles match on Sunday in the USTA/ITA Regional Championships and with the wins, the Nebraska men’s tennis team will have two players in the quarterfinals.

Nebraska’s No. 3 Aumueller defeated Oklahoma State’s Rifat Biktyakov, 6-4, 7-6(4) to advance. Aumueller will play another Cowboy on Monday in OSU’s Chris Hayworth.

No. 8 Lindheim defeated Minnesota’s No. 11 Phil Arnot, 6-2, 6-2. He will face Oklahoma’s No. 14 Tsvetan Mihov.

“It was a very good day for the Huskers,” Nebraska head Coach Kerry McDermott said. “Bene and Aui are both in the quarterfinals in singles as they both won matches today and played very well. I was impressed with their professionalism in regards to taking care of details in the warm up and throughout their matches today. These guys are senior captains who are showing this team the correctsteps to what it means to get things done and improving the program.”

Swimming:

The opening dual of the season is also promoting breast cancer awareness, as the wore pink suits and pink caps, while the coaches will be wearing pink polos for the event.

The Huskers are 7-0 all-time against the Jackrabbits, who opened their season last Saturday with a loss at Green Bay. Last year, the Huskers defeated the Jackrabbits in Brookings, S.D., 175-91.

The Nebraska swimming and diving team defeated the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State, 193-99 on Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Natatorium. It is the Husker’s eighth win all-time against the Jackrabbits. The Huskers have never lost to the Jackrabbits.

Ten different Huskers contributed wins on the day. Payton Michaud won both the 1-meter and the 3-meter dive (265.95, 290.40), while Hayley Martin won the 50-yard freestyle (24.94) and the 500-yard freestyle (53.41). Bailey Pons, Kelly Dunn, Rebekah Land, Shannon Guy, Natalie Morris, Morgan Flannigan, Kristin Strecker and Ellan Dufour also added wins for the Huskers on the day.

Ashley Valdez and Morgan McLain of South Dakota State won the two final individual events of the day for South Dakota State before the Jackrabbits too the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Rifle:

The Nebraska rifle team lost to Ole Miss on Saturday and Kentucky on Sunday, putting their record at 0-4 to start the 2011-12 campaign.

The Huskers fell to the Rebels in Saturday’s match, 4650 – 4610. In the air rifle portion of the match, Janine Dutton led NU with a score of 582. Kelsey Hansen and Sheena Mahloch added 579s to the Husker total, while Katelyn Woltersdorf and Joyce Kim each added 573s.

Kim went on to lead Nebraska in the smallbore competition, shooting 580. The second-best Husker score in smallbore was Dutton’s 576. Hansen added a 574, while Woltersdorf had 567 and Mahloch shot 556.

Against the Wildcats on Sunday, the Huskers were defeated, 4669 – 4626. In air rifle, Dutton led the Huskers once again, this time scoring a 587. Hansen showed improvement as well, scoring 584 against Kentucky. Mahloch had 581, while Kim scored 579 and Woltersdorf shot 573.

Woltersdorf responded in the smallbore competition to lead the Huskers with a 585. Meanwhile, Dutton shot 574 and Kim scored 573. Hansen scored 563 and Mahloch shot 560 for the Huskers.

Next Saturday the MSU game will be on TV at 9:AM. Hope to see you at the watch sites as this is the big game of the year. Michigan State is leading the Legends divisions with no losses. A win by Nebraska will tie the two schools but give them the edge on face to face games. Be there and lets Go Big Red.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert.

This Is A Big Husker Sports Week

The first “Heroes” match up was Thursday afternoon and it was a humdinger. The Heroes match between Iowa and Nebraska, the Big Ten Boarder States took place in Lincoln and it was soccer instead of football.

After stopping a five game loosing streak last week the Husker Ladies added another win to go 4-5 in conference and 7-8-1 in all kickeroos for the year. (You say you never heard of kickeroos before? Well that’s what we call poetic license.)

It had to go to into overtime after the defenses kept each other off the scoreboard for over 98 minutes, Morgan Marlborough was able to put in the game winner on a beautiful cross from Kate Goetzmann, who was just across midfield. Marlborough received the ball at the top of the box with three Iowa defenders around her, but the All-American was able to make a few nifty moves and find an opening. Once she was free, the junior from Lee’s Summit, Mo., pinpointed a low shot at the left corner of the net at 98:56 to send the Huskers to victory. The goal was Marlborough’s sixth game winner of the season, her 19^th goal of the year and her 58 career goal as a Husker.

With the win, the Huskers move closer to a bid to the Big Ten Tournament, as their record now sits at 7-8-1 overall and 4-5-0 in conference play. The win also moved the Huskers ahead of the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten standing, as Iowa had a two-point lead over NU entering Thursday’s game.

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Huskers now turn their attention to No. 25 Illinois. The Fighting Illini will visit the Nebraska Soccer Field on Sunday for a 1 p.m. CT game, which will be streamed live on BTN.com. So tune in Husker fans. A double header for all of us, football in the afternoon and soccer on Sunday.

And speaking of the Illini, they are rated #1 in volleyball and guess who is coming to town to battle Coach John Cook’s Huskers. Oh you guessed it, Saturday night is the big pear off between the two teams tied for 1^st in the Big Ten. Nebraska plays host for Illinois. This will be the battle royal of Big Ten Volleyball. This is the only match between these two VB giants so it will be a big, big match off and it could be a winner take all.

Now lets switch to another sport involving a ball , but one much smaller and that is Men’s Tennis. The Nebraska men’s team had a tough opening day at the OU Invitational. On Friday of last week as the Huskers went 2-3 in singles play and 0-1 in doubles play.

“It was a tough day for our team, and it just shows that from one week to the next anything can happen,” Nebraska Head Coach Kerry McDermott said. “We keep telling our guys that you have to be ready when you step onto the court and be ready to compete. The level in college tennis has improved so much and there are no easy matches.”

The Nebraska Huskers men’s tennis team finished the final day Sunday at the OU Invitational on a great note winning the doubles championship.

“It was good to see our doubles teams finish strong today and dominate on the last day of the tournament,” Mcdermott said. “Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim had two solid wins against Oklahoma State in the semis and Arkansas in the finals. It’s nice to take home the doubles championship and bring home a fall trophy for the Huskers. Hopefully, we go back home and bring this type of confidence with us next week to the Regional Tournament.”

The Huskers will be back in action next week when they head to Tulsa, Okla., for the Regional Tournament. The tournament begins on Thursday, Oct. 20 and runs through the weekend.

Football. Yes we are getting all prepared for Saturdays game against the Golden Gophers. Will it be the same in the last meeting? I doubt it.

Go back to Minneapolis on Sept. 17, 1983, when Nebraska scored 21 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second quarter, 21 in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth quarter to beat Minnesota, 84-13. By the end of the third quarter, every person, all 60 who came for the trip, had already played a lot that day. But the restriction on travel size set the day.

That season the Huskers were the scoring dynamo. The players, Mike Rozier, Turner Gill and Irving Frier were dubbed, Earth, Wind and Frier. And they produced as such. A scoring machine that couldn’t be stopped..

This year it is different. First off Nebraska has lost its #1 defensive tackle, Jarod Crick, out for the remainder of the season. If you want to look at it this way, it’s a good game to try out the replacements. Terrence Moore, Thad Randle and Chase Rome all figure to play significant roles in replacing the Crick Action in past games.

“After you get some game experience, your view of everything changes,” the 6-foot-3, 295-pound Rome said. “It’s like, ‘OK, now I understand why they say this, or why we do this.’ You have a perception of the whole defense as opposed to, ‘OK, what am I doing? Or what is my technique?’ You have a better understanding of how what I do affects everybody else, and vice versa.”

In general, Carl Pelini said, he’s looking for more consistency from the defensive line. Entering Saturday’s game at Minnesota, the Huskers rank 116th nationally in tackles for loss and 90th in sacks. They’re also allowing 4.5 yards per rush. And now, the season continues without a two-time all-conference player to lead the way up front.

Borrowing some info from Lincoln Star, there are 70 players going to Minnesota, 32 of them are underclassmen with 8 of them red shirt frosh and also 6 true frosh. Also of note is the senior bunch. 15 seniors are going on the trip too and 8 of them are walk ones. Yes, I would say we have a young team.

You know Ameer Abdullah is one of those true freshman. Currently he is 6^th in the nation on kickoff returns with 638 yards. Now that averages out to 36.9 per carry and that is the leading average for all.

In rushing stats for the Big Ten Nebraska has two in the top five. Rex Burkhead is 4^th with 635 yards and Taylor Martinez is 5^th with 584. How many times would you find a Quarterback leading a conference in rushing. Well Michigan’s Dennard Robinson is with 762 yards.

Maddie Shields is having a ball playing golf for the Huskers this fall. Two weeks ago she picked up a tournament win against a number of top Pac 12 players and was also picked as the Big Ten Player of the Week.

Well she just turned around and did it again this past week. She didn’t win the tournament but she did finish 4^th and from that picked up her second Big Ten Player of the Week.

Sheils joins Michigan State’s Caroline Powers as the only two women’s golfers so far this season to win the conference’s weekly award on two occasions

.In the Hoosier Fall Invitational, the Huskers finished in fourth place shooting 924. True freshman Shelby Martinek added the first top-20 finish of her career with a career-best three-round total of 230 (80-71-79). The Tempe, Ariz., native’s tournament included a career-best 71 in Monday’s second round. Martinek finished in a tie for 18th as Nebraska’s No. 2 finisher in her second career appearance in the Husker lineup.

Sophomore Steffi Neisen added a tie for 26th with a three-round score of 234, including Nebraska’s second-best round of the day with a 76 on Tuesday. Fellow sophomore Katelyn Wright tied for 55th with a score of 245, despite settling for a final-round 84.

Saturday’s Minnesota game will be on ABC at 12:30. That’s a perfect time to be camped out at our watch sites, washing down a big burger with a cold beer. Come on gang lets get together this and the following Saturdays at our watch sites. What better way to spend the afternoon with fellow Husker fans and cheering on our former Bugeaters.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

Another Big Ten weekend but it seems that the Husker ladies grab all the highlights.

At State Park, PA the Huskers took on 15^th ranked Penn State who is the leading team in the Big Ten Soccer. The ‘Skers had lost the last 4 conference matches and were looking to end that streak against a very tough Nittney Lions.

Three minutes into the game, Penn State took a 1-0 lead and then at the 22:04 mark Nebraska’s Jordan Jackson tied it 1 all with her first conference goal with an assist from Blair Slapper.

With three minutes left both teams found goals to enter half time at 2-2. The Huskers took a 2-1 lead when Maddie Hanssler and PSU goalie Erin McNulty collided, leaving an empty net for Mayme Conroy to score the first goal of her Husker career.

Penn State scored two goal in the second half to take a 4-2 lead. The Huskers didn’t give up and cut into the Nittany Lions’ lead at 71:01 with Caroline Gray’s first career goal. Gray took a pass from Hanssler at the top of the box and found an opening low on the left side of the net. With the momentum on the Huskers’ side, Maddie Hanssler produced her second goal of the season at 75:52 on a header off of Morgan Marlborough’s corner kick. On the night, Hanssler produced a career-high three points.

This tied it at 4-4 but four goals wouldn’t be enough though for the Huskers, as PSU’s Whitney Church answered with a header off of Ali Schaefer’s corner kick at 78:31 to put in the game winner.

Going into Sundays Soccer match against Ohio State, the team had lost five straight matches after starting conference play with 2 wins. In this match, goalie Emma Stevens had a career high 11 saves as the Huskers nipped the Buckeyes 3-2.

The Huskers, 6-8-1 and 3-5 in conference have 3 more conference matches to try and finish above .500 in their first year of Big Ten play.

TOSU team fired on goal all day long with 25 attempts and the first Husker score came on a rare miscue for the Bucks. Nebraska put the ball into the box but in trying to divert the shot, the ball was deflected into the goal for the first Big Red score.

Morgan Marlborough got back into the scoring game when she nailed her 17^th goal at the 50 minute mark to give UNL a 2-1 lead. Then 20 minutes later she scored goal 18 to make it 3-1 Nebraska. A late goal by OSU closed the score to 3-2.

The Huskers will return home for their final home games of the year this week. Nebraska will welcome Iowa to the Nebraska Soccer Field on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 4 p.m. CT before Illinois visits on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m. CT. Both games will be streamed live on BTN.com.

Back on the road, the Volleyball team took on Wisconsin and Minnesota in Big Ten matches. They entered the weekend 6-0 and went back home 8-0 and still tied for 1^st with the Illini.

Thank the girls for giving us a little “saved face” playing in Madison by taking the Badgers in three sets, 25-21, 25-15 and 25-21.

Hanna Werth is back in stride as she led the Huskers with 17 kills on 28 attacks for a .536 hitting percentage. Gina Mancuso added 13 kills and Morgan Broekhuis had another eight kills. Lauren Cook led NU with 36 assists and 11 digs for the night for her second double double of the season.

In the first set Nebraska started off fast taking leads of 9-5, 14-9 and 17-11 before the Badgers woke up and caught up making it 19-15, 21-20 and then tying it at 21 all. Enough of this, the girls said, and racked of 4 straight points to win the first set 25-21.

The second set was pretty much all Big Red as the girls racked up leads of 10-6, 14-9 and 19-12 before closing the set at 25-15. Serving errors and other errors plagued Wisconsin through out the set.

The third set found the Badgers matching kill for kill with the Huskers as there were four lead changes and nine ties. Tied at 10 all UN came back to make it 16-13 and after a timeout the lead was 20-16. Not done the Badgers came back to make it 23-21 before our team closed it out at 25-21.

In Minnesota the Williams Arena was packed with 9,334 Golden Gopher fans for the big night between 5^th ranked Nebraska and 11^th ranked Minnesota. And the fans really got their moneys worth as the match went the full 5 sets.

Gina Mancuso led NU for the match with 18 kills on 46 attacks. Morgan Broekhuis and Hannah Werth both had 15 kills, with Werth notching her second double-double of the weekend with 17 digs. Mancuso also tallied a double-double as she had 15 digs. Lauren Cook tabbed 45 assists for NU while Lara Dykstra had a team-high 23 digs.

The opening set saw the score tied 15 times and seven lead changes. Nebraska started with a lead of 3-2 on a service ace by Mancuso, but Minnesota came back to tie it six different times before taking a 12-9 lead and forcing Nebraska to call a timeout. Broekhuis cut Minnesota’s lead to 15-12 on a kill, but the Gophers answered to take an 18-13 lead. Nebraska then posted a three point run led by back-to-back kills from Werth and Mancuso to make it 18-16, Minnesota. The Huskers took a 23-20 lead, but Minnesota would not back down. The Gophers and Huskers tied four different times before Minnesota took the first set 30-28.

The second set kept the Gopher fans on their feet as their team took a 9-8 lead and then went up 15-11 and then 19-12. The Huskers, in spite of being error prone, fought back to make it 20-17 and then the Gophers closed it out 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead before the break. You could just hear the Gopher fans saying, “Again, we welcome you to the Big Ten, Nebraska”.

In the third set you could here our team saying, “Yes, we like it in the Big Ten and take this and that,” as they completely overpowered their hosts winning 25-10. But still the fans recognized they only need one more win to take the match.

The fourth set was no different as the Huskers took commanding 10-4 and 14-6 leads and then closed it out at 25-12 tying the match at 2-2. Now the home town fans had quieted down but had their fingers crossed.

The Gophers had their page of glory in the first two sets as the Big Red continued on that game winning streak as they pounded out leads of 4-1, 9-6 and 11-8 before winning 15-11 for their 5^th five set victory of the year and continued their tie for 1^st place.

The Huskers return home on Wednesday, Oct. 19 to host the Iowa Hawkeyes at the NU Coliseum at 7 p.m. CT. The match will air live on BTN.com.

It looks like this Husker Huddle is all about the women’s teams as now we welcome the women’s Rifle team as they opened their season. In a tight season opener against the Air Force, the Huskers were on the short end of a 4,602 to 4,570 match.

Sunny Russell led the way for the Huskers in the smallbore competition, scoring a 573 on Friday. Katelyn Woltersdorf and Janine Dutton each added 570s to the NU score, while Katie Kostal shot 567. Freshman Kesley Hansen, in her first competition as a Husker, scored 563 in the opening match.

Individuals for the Huskers included Sheena Mahloch, Joyce Kim and ReAnn Wilson. Mahloch shot 566, Kim scored 574 and Wilson had a 557.

In the air rifle portion of the match, Kostal led the way with 580. Meanwhile, Dutton added 579, Hansen shot 574 and Russell scored a 565.

Little short on news this weekend with football drawing a bye. But hang on, more is to come later this week.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

Who Flipped the Light Switch On?

You come home and open the door, there is only one little light on in another room so the front room is all dark and gloomy. Not the welcoming kind and well you just don’t feel right standing there. Then some one flips the light switch on and yells “Surprise”. The lights go on and every thing is fun and we’re happy.

Well that’s the way it was last night for like two and half quarters: dark and gloomy. And nobody was having any fun and nobody was happy. Actually Husker fans were booing at the end of the half.

The Husker List is a Lincoln chat site I joined in ‘97 and is a good one. Very knowledgeable football fans. There are a number of people on here from Lincoln who attend games with their I pods or are at home watching the game and sitting next to their PC. So early  in the game you get all kinds of e-mails like:

 “Last week someone took me to task for claiming that the 2011 Nebraska defense was the worst since Cosgrove was in charge of the blackshirts. Do you still disagree? This is pathetic and you are kidding yourself if you think different.” Or,

“I am really amazed at how bad this team can play. How can they be ranked?” Or,

“I will withhold my opinion until Ohio State hangs 50 on us. However, I agree with your analysis that this is pathetic. I actually see this as worse than last week.” Or,

“Pass on 3rd and 1.5. Really?” Or,

“This is not a good team we’re playing….embarrassing is the only word that comes to mind. This is 2007 all over again,” or,

“Trying to be politically correct. The winner can boast about being the worlds tallest oompa loompa . Clearly something is missing on defense. Is it Marvin Sanders? Is it just a young D? I don’t know but the product on the field is wildly up and down. Strangely I don’t feel quite as bad about the offense. I’ve never seen a fundamentally unsound Pellini defense so this is new ground.”

And oh yes there were many more some of them, well better not say anymore.

But then someone flipped the light switch on. The room was flooded with a Husker team that was plowing ground like a jet fired Caterpillar tractor and a defense that had thrown up a barb wire fence around the Buckeyes.

I don’t know who flipped the switch on. Was it Bo, Beck, Martinez, David or Burkhead or maybe it was all of them but the game sure turned around and with the bright lights on Husker fans were having fun and everyone was happy.

Did you notice that T-Magic (after last night we will give him that name back) was throwing short passes last night. Yes, we do have receivers who are very fast and on the short run can get free quick. I think in the first of the game Taylor Martinez he hit 6 in a row. But realistically saying, the Huskers had flat tires through the first half. 19 rushes for 37 yards, ugh. Passing was a lot better, 7-10 for 80 yards but the one interception gave the Bucks 7 points. Meanwhile Ohio racked up 178 rushing and 68 passing. In the first quarter the Big Red had the ball for 3:36 seconds while TOSU had it for 11:24 minutes to make the score 10-3.

Yes the ‘Sker fans were booing when half time festivities started and the teams went to the locker room with the Huskers trailing 20-3. Burkhead only netted 10 yards on 11 carries and Martinez had a net 5 on 9 carries. True Frosh Ameer Abdullah was the big gun with 2 carries for 16 yards. Thank Brett Maher for the scoring with two FG of 50 and 34 yards.

Starting the second half Rex Burkhead about doubled his yardage on the first two carries totaling 8 yards, but sill it was 3 and out.

The Bucks took over and in 7 plays plus two big penalties against the home team, scored again to make it 27-6.

Then it was 3 and out again and we give the ball back to our guests on their 12 yard line thanks to Maher’s good punt of 50 yards. (Wow, if it wasn’t for this guy…)

Two runs netted Ohio 5 yards and the frosh QB Braxton Miller raced for 7 yards and a sure first down, expcept that when Lavonte David played take-away and the Huskers had the ball on Ohio’s 24 yard line.

They flipped the light switch on and in two plays Martinez went 18 yards, untouched, to make it 27-13 and more was to come.

Kickoff taken on OSU 23^rd but 5 plays only netted 12 yards so punt to the Husker 20.

First play for the Red, rush -7, the rush +8, pass +12, pass +20, rush +7, rush +4 and then a 36 yard pass to Quincy Enunwa to make it 27-20 after another PAT by Maher.

But the key turning point was the injury to starting QB Braxton Miller who left with an ankle injury. Senior Joe Bauserman came in but passing just wasn’t the same for the Buckeyes and he couldn’t match the intense running by Miller.

4^th Quarter .

OSU punts to NU 9. Husker 5 plays and punt to OSU 26. OSU 3 and out punt to NU 28. And now the lights get brighter and the crowd is really into it. They like what they are seeing.

Martinez rush 9 yards. Burkhead rush 8 yards, and then again for 14 yards to OSU 41. Nebraska false start – 5. Martinez rush 3. Pass to Reed 9 yards. Martinez rush 4 to the 30 yard line. Martinez 30 TD pass to the workhorse Burkhead. Maher split’s the poles and its 27 all. Nobody is sitting in the stands, except some Buckeye fans. Now there is 7:29 left in the game.

Ohio State takes the KO on their 21 and runs for 12 then 4 to their 37 and then StanelyJean-Baptiste makes a great interception on a deep pass to the NU 22. The noise is deafening as the Huskers take the field. They smell Buckeye Blood.

An OSU penalty puts the ball on NU’s 27, and then Martinez goes 18 and a personal file against OSU moves the ball to the OSU 40. Then it was three straight runs by Burkhead, 22, 1 and the ball buster 17 yarder diving into the end zone and followed by Mahers PAT its Nebraska 34 Ohio State 27.

Its still 4:02 left in the game and Mr. Burkhead isn’t done yet. Starting on the Nebraska 33 after a 3 and out for Ohio State. , Rex carried the ball 6 more times in the time killing strategy to round out a big night of 119 yards rushing and 59 yards in receptions. While Martinez added 191 yards passing and running for 109.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers pick up their first B1G football win. Each week the B1G fans, nationwide, pick the game of the week and the OSU-NU game is it and it is on at 5:00 PM our time tonight. So tune in Husker fans and enjoy this game all over again.

Now with a week off, (hey go to Bisbee next weekend for the stair race – see it on our Event page at the web site SOAZ4NE.Org), there is still plenty to work on for the defense. Notice that mobile Qbacks have been giving us trouble. There are still some good ones in the B1G, especially Michigan. So we do need to tighten up there.

Oh them Volleyball gals are doing it nicely. Two wins this week first knocking off the 11^th rated Purdue Boilermakers on Friday and then mistreating the Hoosiers of Indiana Saturday after noon to remain 6-0 tied with #1 rate the Illinois Illini

Friday was probably the best showing for our Huskers as they moved past Purdue with a balanced attack winning 25-22, 20-25, 25-14 and 25-22. Again the Coliseum was packed with 4109 fans in Red. Another sell out.

Gina Mancuso led NU on the night with 16 kills on 39 attacks. Morgan Broekhuis had 13 kills and three service aces, while Hayley Thramer had a career-high 12 kills for a .409 hitting percentage. Both Mancuso and Broekhuis tabbed double-doubles on the night, marking the seventh double-double for Mancuso and the third for Broekhuis. Lauren Cook accumulated 51 assists, as the Huskers also had six team blocks. Defensively, Nebraska out-dug Purdue 84-73, marking the most team digs for NU this season.

The first set was tight all the way as the Huskers went up 16-13 but the Boilers came back to make it 20-19 but the ‘Skers closed it out at 25-22.

Not so in the second set as the Huskers were out of it hitting a flat .000 as they fell behind 20-13 and then brought it to 22-18 before bowing 25-20.

I don’t know what Coach John Cook tells the gals at the break but they always come out roaring for the third set as they held Purdue to .111 hitting percentage and forced them for seven errors. Big Red won the third set walking away 25-14 and led now 2-1.

In the 4^th set Nebraska jumped out to a 7-3 lead but then it was tied at 13 all and then was 22-21 before the Huskers closed it out at 25-22.

In the Big Ten, volleyball matches are scheduled two days in a row so the gals were back on the court Saturday afternoon to play the Hoosiers. I guess they thought that with the big football game on at 7:00, lets do this quick and get some rest before going to the Stadium to see the TOSU and the UNL game. The Huskers swept Indiana 25-19, 25-14 and 25-13.

Another sell out this time but they did loose 18 fans as the attendance was only 4091. I guess those 18 were out tailgating already.

Junior Hannah Wright, an outside hitter, had some old eye injury problems last year and obtained new glasses which really helped her a lot. But early this year she wasn’t wearing them but now she is and she is back in the grove.

Hannah (44) paced the Huskers with a match-leading 13 kills on .550 hitting. Werth’s mark tied her season best for the third time this year. Lara Dykstra finished with 17 digs, while Lauren Cook had 33 assists and NU totaled eight team digs. The Huskers hit .330 for the match and held Indiana to a .022 hitting percentage.

Nebraska returns to action next weekend as the Huskers face Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in Madison, Wis. NU then heads to Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday, Oct. 15 to take on Minnesota at 7 p.m. The Huskers’ match with Minnesota will air via tape delay on BTN on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. our time.

The Big Ten is loaded with volleyball talented teams. Just look at the ratings. Illinois #1, Nebraska #6, Penn State #8, Purdue #11, Minnesota #14, Michigan #18 and Ohio State #25. So far we have played, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State and have won them all. In addition we beat Iowa State when they were #13 and our only loss was the first match of the year against Colorado State #15.

Baseball again, the Red-White three game series.

After winning the opener on Thursday the White team had to come from behind on Friday to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 7^th to win 4-3.

Following a leadoff groundout from Sam Stucky, Taylor Fish started the rally with a single that was followed by consecutive walks to Kevin Terry and Michael Siwa. Ty Kildow then reached a fielder’s choice, but no outs were made and Fish scored, while the bases remained loaded. Michael Pritchard came through with his first hit of the game on a single to left, scoring Siwa to tie the game. With one out and the bases still load, Bryan Peters came through with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Terry to win the game.

The third game of the series on Sunday saw everyone getting hits and runs but White again prevailed winning 12-7.

Michael Pritchard, Kash Kalkowski and Michael Siwa each had three hits for the Whites, including two doubles and two RBIs for Kalkowski, as well as a triple and double for Siwa. The Red’s Chad Christensen blasted the first and only home run of the series with a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning for his only hit of the game.

They will finish out their fall practice this week and remember the Huskers will return to Peoria, AZ for a three game run with Gonzaga Feb 17-19.

Football rankings just out. Split between LSU and Oklahoma for the top spot. (Hey how about that score against the Wronghorns and surprising they still stay in the rankings but down low.)

For the Big Ten with AP/USA rankings:

Wisconsin 4-4

Michigan 11-10

Nebraska 14-14

Illinois 16-15

Michigan State – -19

Penn State – -25

Remember, you have to check the Big Ten Schedule each day to make sure you see all the Huskers in action again and also get a real clue to all the other teams we will be facing. In case you didn’t know, I love the Big Ten Network.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

                  Nice To Be Back Home

It’s Homecoming time and the Huskers take on one of the defending champions of last years B1G battles. However, its not the same team. They have lost a number of players through I am sure you know what.

But with a depleted TOSU team and still a question of who will be the starting quarterback, that wont make it any easier. The halo of winning the Legends Division was somewhat chiped and cracked, but not broken, last week by the game in Madison. So the Buckeyes will be eyeing on an upset as their game plan. The Huskers are favored by 11.

There is also another thing that both of these teams will be looking to avert and that is to be 0-2 in conference play. Both teams have a record of never loosing the first two conference games. No, not ever. But late Saturday night there will only be one team who can say they never lost their two first conference games. TOSU lost last week to Michigan State 10-7, only scoring in the last minute of play.

Now you may have frowned a little when you saw TOSU. The Ohio school prides itself in being called THE Ohio State University. So that’s why I included the T.

Just between you and me I hope we don’t have to many other games on ABC. I just get tired of these timeouts for commercials. That’s what I like about the Big Ten Network. Far fewer commercials and more game showing.

And Husker Fans, if your not enjoying the programming of this network, you are missing out on something big. Replays of the games of all sports and that makes for a good way to get to know more about the quality of Big Ten Athletics.

A lot going on this weekend other than football and Homecoming.

First of the Women’s Soccer team will try to stop their three game lossing streak when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday afternoon. here is hoping that the girls redeem our name by beating them.

That’s followed by the 6^th ranked Husker Volleyball team taking on 11^th ranked Boilermakers of Purdue Friday night. Right now the Huskers are tied for 1st place with the Illini who at this point are 4-0 and 15-0.

They are even playing baseball right now. Yesterday was the first Red White game with the Whites winning 6-3.

Kash Kalkowski and Bryan Peters each had two RBIs for the White team, while their pitching staff gave up one earned run and struck out seven Red batters. Offensively for the Reds, freshman Austin Darby blasted a triple to right field and Richard Stock, a transfer from USC, accounted for the team’s two RBIs.

The second game is today and the third game tomorrow afternoon. Then its off until February but mark these dates down. The Huskers will be at Peoria, AZ Feb 17-18-19 playing Gonzaga. The first two games will be at 8:00 PM but the Sunday game will be at 1:00 PM.

Women’s Tennis had a good past week. Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein were edged in doubles at the ITA Riviera All-American on Thursday, ending their run just short of qualifying for the main draw. Their loss wraps up NU’s time at the All-American.

Geibert and Weinstein began their day with a strong 8-1 victory over Clemson’s Monika Kochanova and Klara Vyskocilove. The pair moved on to face No. 3 seeded USC, with the winner of the match moving into the main draw of the tournament. Despite a hard-fought match, Geibert and Weinstein fell to USC’s Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria, 8-5.

The Huskers completed the ITA All-American with an overall singles record of 6-4 and a doubles mark of 3-2. NU will take two weeks off before beginning their final fall tournament at the ITA Central Regional’s.

The Men’s tennis team had a great week. The men’s team followed up Tuesday’s two victories with three on Wednesday at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, OK. With those wins, they achieved something that’s never been done in the history of the program.

In the singles qualifying tournament, NU’s Benedikt Lindheim defeated Florida’s Spencer Newman, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, to advance to the main draw tournament. This will be the first time in Nebraska’s history that they’ve had two players qualify for the main draw tournament. The other Husker competing is Christopher Aumueller.

In the doubles qualifying tournament, Nebraska’s duo of Eric Sock and Andre Stenger won both matches to qualify for the doubles main draw tournament. In their third round match they defeated the No. 2 seed and 30th ranked doubles team in Daniel Cochrane and Dennis Lengsfeld from Auburn, 8-4. In their fourth round match, NU’s Sock and Stenger were down 5-7, 40-love, against the No. 9 seed in TCU’s Nick Chapppell and Orlando Superlano, but fought back to win the match, 9-7.

Friday is the big day for the Husker men as the will enter the final draw matches seeking the championship.

Senior Madeleine Sheils tied the Nebraska women’s golf individual record with a final-round 67 to capture her first collegiate title at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational at the Sahalee Country Club on Wednesday.

The 67 marked the lowest round Sheils has ever produced, and matched the Nebraska school record shared by Stephanie Ruiz (Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite, 2005), Kate White (Bronco Invite, 2007) and Natalie Gleadall (UNLV Spring Invite, 2009).

“It feels absolutely incredible to win this tournament,” Sheils said. “It has been one my goals now for more than a year – to get that first win – and there is really no better feeling.”

“Because of the talent in that field, the level of competition and the difficulty of the course, that has to rank as one of the top performances in Nebraska history,” Coach Robin Krapfl said. “Maddie really played solid golf on Monday (73)and Tuesday (74), and she was sensational today. I’m just really proud of the way she played throughout the tournament. She deserved to win.”

With this big win Maddie was also voted the Big Ten Women’s Golfer of the week.

In addition to Sheils’ school-record score, sophomore Steffi Neisen bounced back from a pair of tough rounds on Monday and Tuesday to shoot a solid 73. With Sheils and Neisen leading the way, the Huskers produced a final-round 302, which tied Oregon for the second-best team round on the final day of the tournament. Nebraska’s final-round effort propelled them three spots up the leaderboard into a tie for seventh.

One more thing. If your celebrating anything let the hosts at our Watch Sites know, so we can give you a Big Red Hurrah.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

          A WELCOME TO THE BIG TEN

Well  Saturday night  was a first  for me. “What, how so?”, you ask.  Well it’s the first time I have ever turned the TV off before the end of a Husker game. In my mind  when the Badgers  scored that  last  TD with  five plus  minutes, that  was enough for me. Actually I did enjoy the first quarter and half of the second and was really thinking, “We can win this battle.”

But then, interception and a score, interception and a score and then another one. From that point I was miserable. I mean like back when Crouch was a QB and we were in Boulder and CU was pounding us like 60+ to 30+, I stayed with the whole game. But not this time. I guess maybe it was because Sunday, at church, I would see one guy from Ohio State and two from Wisconsin.

Just some questions I have.

When our rushing was going so good, why all of a sudden change to passing? Rex Burhead was doing good rushing and making yards.

Why try throwing the ball all over the field when:

we have a QB who is not really a passer but a runner,

has a very bad throwing motion,

constantly follows his first choice receiver with his eyes tipping off the D Backs,

if that receiver isn’t open, doesn’t see the rest and takes off running,

can’t throw on the move and winds up throwing behind the receiver,

makes the same bad decisions in every game trying to force the ball,

tries so many long passes where the ball floats giving the defense time to cover?

When we were so far down after that last TD why not stick Brion Carnes in and give him some real life snaps? In the spring game this kid was good throwing the ball and did a good job running too.

Maybe, just maybe, Carnes could take over the spot and let Martinez be a running/receiver back.

Our defense was up against probably the best QB in the Big Ten and probably in the top 5 in the nation. The Badgers also have two great running backs, each of whom last year produced 1000 yards. Montee Ball, 151 yards, is one good runner and will head right at you and with his style of running twisting free and making the defense move for him. Of course that O line of theirs, averaging just over 300 pounds each certainly helps. And you might add we faced one of the best teams in the nation.

Defense, ok but look at it this way. All teams defend against  a third down conversion and the good defenses keep the success ratio low. Here is what our oppenents have accomplished against us.

Chattanooga      6 for 18
Fresno State      9 for 20
Washington       7 for 14
Wyoming           7 for 13
Wisconsin          8 for 12

Total           37  for 77  or 48%.

I cant believe this is acceptable to the Pelinis. Four out of five teams were connecting on about 50% of their conversions. Notice that the Badgers had the lowest number of attempts and remember they had the most time controlling the ball but still connected for 75% completion. I guess that means they were making first downs on their first and second plays.

Looking at the new ratings, Wisconsin moves up to 4^th and 5^th while the Huskers drop to 14^th and 15^th. Michigan moves up to 11^th and 12^th and Illinois is 16^th and 19^th and Michigan State picks up one 20th rating. We play all but Illinois and next week is Ohio State with their full squad back on line following their NCAA penalties.

Now lets talk about some good things.

Cross Country:

After staying in Nebraska for the first two meets of the 2011 cross country season, the Huskers traveled to Brookings, S.D., on Saturday for the South Dakota State Classic at Edgebrooke Golf Course. Junior co-captain Trevor Vidlak led the Husker men to a first-place showing with his 1st-place finish, while the women placed second behind senior Katie White’s third-place finish.

Entering the meet unranked in the latest USTFCCCA poll, the Husker women squared off against nationally ranked Minnesota. The Gophers handled the competition by placing all seven of their top runners in the top ten. The Huskers will see the Gophers again at the end of this month at the Big Ten Championships. The Husker women have ran without top runner, Martina Barinova for the third straight week but still managed to place five runners in the top 15. The Huskers finished with 46 points, led by senior Katie White with a third-place finish she was followed by senior co-captains Jessica Furlan (eighth) and Ashley Miller (ninth). Also placing in the top 15 were senior Erica Hamik placing 11th and sophomore Isabel Andrade who finished 15th.

Volleyball:

The Vballers hit the road and took on Michigan State Spartans and then played the Michigan Wolverines. This is a little different scheduling as they play first on Friday and then on Saturday. In our previous conference, the teams always had one day between matches.

Against Michigan State it was a tough night as both teams battled every point in the thriller with the Huskers coming out on top 27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 25-17 and then 16-14 to win in five sets. This is the sixth time this season the Huskers have had to go 5 sets, winning 5 and loosing one to 15th ranked Colorado State. The Huskers have moved up from 10^th to 7^th for these matches.

Morgan Broekhuis led NU with a career-high 22 kills on 33 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage. Hannah Werth tabbed 13 kills on 27 attacks, while Gina Mancuso had 12 kills of her own. Mancuso tabbed the sixth double-double of her career with an additional 10 digs. The Huskers hit .279 on the match, while Michigan State hit .296. Lauren Cook notched 50 assists for Nebraska, while Lara Dykstra had 16 digs on the night.

In the first set the score was tied 14 times with the Spartans taking a 23-21 lead before the Huskers fought back to tie it at 23 from which the Huskers won the match 27-25.

In the second set the Spartans took a quick 4-1 lead and after the Huskers closed to trail 7-6 MSU turned on the heat and rattled off a run of 8 straight points before closing it out 16-25.

The third set was another close one with the score tied 11 times and at 18 all the Spartans scored 3 straight points for a 21-18 lead and then closed it out 21-25.

Coach Cook must be getting a little tired of going in to the fourth set trailing 1-2. In the fourth set, the Huskers and Spartans once again fought for each point as the set was tied early at seven. MSU and Nebraska were all tied up at 13 when the Huskers went on a 3-0 run. That run catapulted NU to another 6-0 run to make it 22-14. The Huskers did not look back and took the fourth set 25-17, tying the match at two sets apiece.

Are you ready for another tight one? Well hang on.

The Huskers had to fight in the fifth set, going up early 3-1. Then the Spartans tied the match at seven-all. After a huge rally by both teams, NU went up 10-8, but Michigan State would not back down. MSU rallied to tie the set at 14 apiece. The Huskers finished outlasting Michigan State, winning the final set 16-14 and taking the match 3-2.

The next night it was Michigan but it was different with the Huskers sweeping three straight wins to run their record to 11-1 and 4-0 in conference play.

The Nebraska Volleyball closed out its first weekend of conference play on the road with a 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-16) sweep of the No. 17 Michigan Wolverines. The Huskers hit .268 for the match and held the Wolverines to a .157 hitting percentage. Nebraska saw Michigan commit 23 errors.

Morgan Broekhuis led all Huskers in the match with 13 kills. Brooke Delano tallied nine kills as Gina Mancuso had seven of her own. Lauren Cook tabbed 37 assists and Lara Dykstra had 12 digs defensively for NU.

Soccer:

The Husker ball kickers were also playing the two Michigan teams but at Lincoln. The results weren’t the same as the Ladies dropped both games 0-1 against Michigan State and 1-2 with Michigan.

Laura Heyboer’s 15^th goal of the season at the 24:05 mark ended up being the only offense Michigan State would need as the Spartans beat the Huskers by a score of 1-0. Nebraska had many opportunities to score throughout the game, but couldn’t find the back of the net. On the night, NU out-shot MSU 16-9 and had six shots on goal, compared to the Spartans’ three.

Nebraska’s Junior Morgan Marlborough, who entered the week as the national leader with 1.50 goals per game, had a pair of scoring opportunities, but was just a bit high on each attempt and hit the crossbar. Senior Molly Thomas also had a breakaway late in the second half, but was unable to put on a solid strike and shot wide of the goal.

The Nebraska soccer team dropped its third straight Big Ten Conference game on Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field by a score of 2-1 to the Michigan Wolverines. The Huskers have now fallen below .500 on the season at 5-6-1 and hold a 2-3-0 record in conference play after winning its first two Big Ten games of the season.

Junior Morgan Marlborough scored the Huskers’ lone goal of the game midway through the second half for her 16^th goal of the season on assists from Blair Slapper and Stacy Bartelsy . For the second straight game the Huskers outshot their opponent, but couldn’t turn the extra offensive opportunities into a win.  On Friday NU outshot Michigan State 16-9 and then outshot the Wolverines 17-13 on Sunday afternoon.

Men’s Golf:

Scott Willman fired a final-round 70 at the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate on Sunday and helped the Nebraska men’s golf team move up to 12^thplace after they shot 913.

The Huskers, who were in 13^th place after Saturday’s first and second rounds, shot 292 in the final round, bettering their 320 and 301 totals from day one. Only three of the 15 teams competing scored better than the Huskers in the final round. The 292 total also ties the Huskers’ low round on the season through three events.

Willman finished in 16^th place, 19 strokes off the pace. His three-round total came to 222 after his final round 1-under-par 70, which was the lowest round by any Husker during the 54-hole tournament. Willman carded five birdies and four bogeys on Sunday.

Manuel Lavin posted an even-par 71 in the final round, bettering his 81 and 78 on Saturday. Lavin’s 230 stroke total put him in a tie for 48^th. Lavin had three birdies on the front nine to fire a 3-under-par 33, but scored three bogeys on the back nine for a 3-over-par 38.

Softball:

The Nebraska softball team swept a doubleheader from Creighton on Sunday in the Huskers’ final competition of the fall exhibition season. NU shut out the Bluejays 8-0 in game one, before an 11-run fourth inning powered the Huskers to a 14-2 win in game two.

Nebraska’s offense totaled 22 runs and 24 hits in the two games. Senior Ashley Guile had three hits and four RBIs in the two victories, while classmate Nikki Haget had three hits and three RBIs. Freshman Jordan Bettiol totaled four hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, while sophomore Tatum Edwards had three hits, two RBIs and four runs scored. MDrakeM went 3-for-4 in game one, while sophomore Kylee Muir went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in game two.

Tucson native Freshman Mattie Fowler had a great Sunday going 4-8 and driving in 4 runs, two of them on her second game triple.

On the mound in game one Senior right-handed Ashle Hagemann tossed a three hit shutout. Sophomore Tatum Edwards pitched the second game just allowing 3 hits and 2 runs.

This is the final competition for the fall season. The softballers will get back in action February 9-12 when they journey to Mesa, AZ for games against Washington, Idaho State, Arizona, Oregon St., Cal State Northridge and McNeese.

Now don’t forget to keep checking the Big Ten Network. A lot of games, all sports, will be shown delayed a few hours or a day later. And by all means keep using the Big Ten Game Finder. If you are not familiar with these, let me know Huskerketel@aol.com and I will send you information on how to get connected. It’s a great programming.

Also if your at one of the watch sites, and your celebrating birthdays, anniversaries or what ever let the hosts know so we can help you celebrate Husker style.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert