COLLEGE FOOTBALL : ORANGE, SUGAR, COTTON BOWLS : Nebraska Gets Downright Hostile, 30-15 : ‘Husker Defense Catches Up With LSU in the Second Half

Abiding by Coach Tom Osborne’s edict, Nebraska players stayed away from the decadent French Quarter here this week after nine players were arrested for disorderly conduct. But nobody said anything about the Superdome being off-limits on Thursday, and the Cornhuskers did some serious damage to Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl.

Charges against the Nebraska Nine were eventually dropped, amid claims by Osborne that his players were being harassed by New Orleans’ police, but the Cornhuskers’ 30-15 win over LSU before 76,234 in the 53rd Sugar Bowl stands. Nebraska, which cultivated an us-against-the-city-of-New Orleans attitude all week, let out its pent-up frustrations against the Tigers in the second half, which it almost dominated. The win gave the sixth-ranked Cornhuskers a 10-2 record, while fifth-ranked LSU finished at 9-3.

“This was a hostile environment for us,” said Nebraska nose guard Danny Noonan, one of the nine players involved in the incident. “But a lot of us like hostile places like Norman, Okla., (home of the Sooners) and Boulder, Colo., (home of the Buffaloes), where they throw beer on you.

“Walking down the street, people would yell at us. We weren’t treated kindly at all. But that only helped us in the long run.”

Added Nebraska defensive tackle Neil Smith, a native of New Orleans: “I wasn’t too pleased coming home and seeing the way we were treated. A lot of guys said they didn’t want to come back here. We figured this game was a going-away present for the fans and (LSU).”

The bad feelings translated to the field. Nine personal fouls were called, LSU winning that statistical category, 5-4. At one point late in the game, Nebraska’s red-clad supporters started repeating a new chant: “No more personal fouls.”

Said LSU linebacker Tony Caston: “They were bigger than us, but I think we were every bit as physical as they were, if not more. There was a lot of late hitting in the trenches, but that happens.”

The difference was that Nebraska’s defense also did some heavy-duty hitting before the whistle.

Even though running back Tyreese Knox rushed for 86 yards and scored 2 touchdowns, and quarterback Steve Taylor jump-started the offense with passing and option running, it was the bruising Nebraska defensive unit that was the real star.

Should that be a surprise?

The Cornhuskers, second in the nation in total defense, clamped down on LSU and allowed only 73 yards total offense and four first downs in the second half. The Tigers, behind freshman quarterback Tom Hodson, managed to score a late touchdown and two-point conversion after Nebraska had built a 30-7 lead and mercifully inserted its second-string defense.

When it mattered, though, Nebraska’s defense did not budge. LSU was held to minus-6 yards in the third quarter, and the Tigers did not get a first down in the second half until the game’s final two minutes.

Hodson, sacked just twice in the Tigers’ previous five games, was sacked three times Thursday and was constantly pressured in the second half. That resulted in either incomplete passes or LSU holding penalties, both of which came often.

“We were just incapable of holding their defense out,” LSU Coach Bill Arnsparger said. “And when we did, we were called for holding.”

Nebraska’s defense had several serious challenges in the second half but turned away LSU each time. The most serious Tiger threat came late in the third quarter with the Cornhuskers holding a 17-7 lead.

LSU nose guard Henry Thomas blocked a Nebraska field goal attempt, and the Tigers recovered the ball at the Cornhuskers’ 17-yard line.

On first down, Hodson was thrown for a 15-yard loss by defensive end Broderick Thomas. On second down, Hodson was sacked by Noonan for a nine-yard loss. Then, on third and 34 at Nebraska’s 41, Hodson completed a desperation swing pass to Wendell Davis for two yards.

The Tigers, by then declawed and out of fight, meekly punted on fourth down and weren’t heard from again until Hodson’s late 24-yard touchdown pass to Tony Moss with 2:01 to play.

Said Osborne: “That was the turning point, that we didn’t let them get any points after that blocked punt. The defense really shut them down.”

Nebraska linebacker Kevin Parsons said: “I don’t have any doubt that this was the best our defense has played. We were all aggressive and quick and all over their quarterback. And (LSU’s) linemen weren’t exactly fat and slow, either. After that first quarter, it was all us.”

Nebraska didn’t look aggressive or quick, or even interested, throughout most of the first quarter. The first time the Tigers had the ball, they scored. Hodson completed a 42-yard pass to Davis on LSU’s first play and, six plays later, Harvey Williams scored from the 1-yard line.

LSU’s quick-strike capability jarred Nebraska’s defense into action, but the offense didn’t awake until late in the second quarter, when Osborne briefly replaced Taylor at quarterback with backup Clete Blakeman. The Cornhuskers’ only points at that point came on Dale Klein’s 42-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

After Blakeman failed to sustain a drive, Osborne went back to Taylor, a 5-11 sophomore from San Diego. Suddenly discovering the passing game, Taylor drove Nebraska 72 yards in nine plays in a little more than a minute, culminating the drive by scoring on a keeper from the two.

That touchdown, coming with just 39 seconds left in the half, gave the Cornhuskers a 10-7 lead. Perhaps more important, it gave them confidence that they could score on LSU’s defense.

“I was a little upset when they took me out,” Taylor said. “We were struggling, and I like to be in the game when we are like that. But I sat down on the bench and got my composure and it helped when I went back in there.”

Said Osborne about the switch: “If we had moved the ball, I would’ve left Clete in. But I told Steve earlier in the week I might do that just to try something different. It wasn’t anything Steve did.”

That’s just the point. Taylor and the offense didn’t do anything for a quarter and a half. But Nebraska more than made up for it in the second half. All told, the Cornhuskers totaled 352 yards to 191 for the Tigers.

“Physically, we started wearing them down in the second half, and that’s why we were able to move the ball so well,” Taylor said. “The passing game opened it up and made them realize they couldn’t just play the run.”

Taylor, named the Sugar Bowl’s most outstanding player, rushed for 63 yards in 20 carries and completed 11 of 19 passes for 110 yards.

When Taylor wasn’t gaining yardage from the option, Knox rammed through the line in short bursts for 84 yards in 16 carries. Filling in at running back for injured starter Keith Jones (bruised right thigh), Knox scored twice from one yard in the second half.

The first touchdown, which gave the Cornhuskers a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter, was set up by Knox himself. He broke off left tackle for a 34-yard run to LSU’s one. He might have scored on the run, but Tiger safety Greg Jackson grabbed the back of his jersey at the five and eventually dragged him down.

Taylor’s only touchdown pass, set up by a fumble recovery, was a three-yard toss to tight end Todd Millikan over the middle midway through the fourth quarter. That made it 24-7, Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers’ defense wasn’t finished giving the offense good field position.

Cornerback Brian Davis intercepted a Hodson pass near midfield and returned the ball to the Tigers’ 36-yard line. It took Nebraska only five plays to cash in, Knox scoring on a dive from the 1. Klein’s extra point sailed wide left, but it didn’t matter. Nebraska had a 30-7 lead with 3:26 left, and Osborne started clearing the bench.

Arnsparger, who coached his final game at LSU and will become athletic director at Florida, said his team played well and gave all the credit to Nebraska.

“Tom Osborne said a few weeks ago that Oklahoma had the best personnel in the country, but that Nebraska was not far behind,” Arnsparger said. “I think they proved that today.”

That, most everyone agreed, was not surprising.

“This,” said Cornhusker offensive tackle Tom Welter, “was a typical Nebraska football game. We keep cracking at you and wearing you down and eventually we’ll beat you. We were the better team today.”