Osborne Says Husker Players Pass Drug Test

Nebraska football Coach Tom Osborne said Friday that none of his fourth-ranked Cornhuskers tested positive for drugs and all will be eligible to play in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl against third-ranked Florida State.

Osborne said “about 135 to 140 players” made the Christmas Day trip here--”just about everybody who practiced this season on the varsity level.”

Drug tests were taken on campus earlier this month, per National Collegiate Athletic Assn. mandate for bowl-bound teams.

“We had no one positive,” Osborne said. “The day before yesterday, somebody called from the NCAA in Kansas City and told our trainer that no one tested positive. I don’t have a signed and sealed document from the NCAA saying this. I’m getting this information second-hand. Don’t put it in bronze yet.

“But I hear we’re clean and that’s good. That’s two years in a row for us. Last year, they were testing just for steroids, This year, they were testing for street drugs--marijuana, cocaine and the whole ball of wax.”

Meanwhile, Osborne said Florida State (10-1) “should be undefeated” and should not have lost, 26-25, to second-ranked Miami. The Hurricanes will match 11-0 records with top-ranked Oklahoma, the team that beat Nebraska (10-1), in the Jan. 1 Orange Bowl for the national championship.

“This is my 15th bowl,” added Osborne, who is 8-6 in post-season games. “Florida State ranks as one of the best teams we’ve ever played in a bowl. We know that we’re facing a very tough opponent.”