Nebraska and Fresno State Will Play in Pigskin Classic

Nebraska, which is expected to have one of the nation’s top college football teams next season, and Fresno State have agreed to play in the Pigskin Classic Aug. 29 in Anaheim Stadium.

Don Andersen, executive director of the Orange County Sports Assn., said athletic directors from both schools have accepted invitations to the game. But, according to Andersen, Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Byrne wanted to get final approval from Cornhusker Coach Tom Osborne this morning before making an official announcement, perhaps as early as today.

“One last contact with Osborne (this morning) and it should be all set,” Andersen said. “This matchup is in keeping with the high quality of teams we’ve had in the game, and it’s also attractive from a gate standpoint.”

Fresno State, which has won back-to-back Western Athletic Conference co-championships, brought some 40,000 fans to Anaheim for the 1992 Freedom Bowl against USC. The Bulldogs beat the Trojans, 24-7, in front of a Freedom Bowl-record crowd of 50,745.

Nebraska, which lost to Florida State, 19-17, in the Orange Bowl, also has a strong alumni base in Southern California, and Andersen believes the fifth edition of the Pigskin game could draw more fans than last year’s USC-North Carolina game, which attracted a Pigskin high of 49,309.

“Gary Cunningham, the Fresno State athletic director, said he thought they could sell 30,000 tickets, and Byrne said he thought Nebraska could sell 15,000,” Andersen said. “If we go in with 45,000 tickets sold by the teams, we could exceed 60,000.”

Nebraska probably will be a heavy favorite. The Cornhuskers return seven starters each on offense and defense from a team that went 11-1 and fell just short of the 1993 national championship.

Junior quarterback Tommie Frazier, who rushed for 704 yards and nine touchdowns and passed for 1,159 yards and 12 touchdowns, will lead the offense, and four of the Cornhuskers’ top five running backs return.

Outside linebackers Danta Jones and Dwayne Harris return to lead a defense that held explosive Florida State to its lowest offensive output, in terms of yards and points, of the season in the Orange Bowl.

Fresno State, which lost to Colorado, 41-30, in the Aloha Bowl last season, must replace quarterback Trent Dilfer, who declared himself eligible for the NFL draft after passing for 3,799 yards and 30 touchdowns in 1993.

Adrian Claiborne, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Riverside North High, and Richie Donati, a 6-3 sophomore from Santa Barbara Bishop Diego, are battling for the quarterback job. The Bulldogs also lost talented tailbacks Ron Rivers and Anthony Daigle, but they do have six returning starters on defense.