monday, november 10, 2002 the university daily kansan sports 7A Tires of several cars with Nebraska plates slashed The Associated Press LAWRENCE — Several Nebraska football fans woke up Saturday to find the tires of their vehicles had been slashed at hotels where they were staying on the eve of the Cornhuskers-Jayhaws matchup, authorities said. By just before kickoff Saturday afternoon, Lawrence police had received more than 30 reports of slashed tires. Most of the vandalized vehicles had Nebraska license plates Lt. Ed Brunt said. He said it appears most of the vandalism occurred Friday night or early Saturday morning. "It's really hard to believe," said Chris Anderson, the sports information director for Nebraska. "We've never had any trouble before down here." Terry Douglass, who is covering the game for the Grand Island (Neb.) Independent, thought a nail had left him with a flat tire until workers at an auto repair shop called him "It had a slash on the sidewall, about two inches," said Douglass, who had been a guest at the Ramada Inn. "They looked over at the other tire and there was a big bubble from a slash." over to take a closer look at the damage... Derek Felch, the general manager of the Hampton Inn, said he received the first vandalism report at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. All told, three vehicles with Nebraska license plates were damaged. "I feel bad anything happened to our guests." Felch said. "That's our primary concern." Ryan Randolph, who works at the Holiday Inn, said at least four vehicles there were vandalized. He said he assumed most of the vehicles had Nebraska license plates. "Most of our hotel is from Nebraska this weekend," he said. "Everyone is up for the football game." Staff at the hotels spent part of the morning helping fan arrange for towing and repai services. University of Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins said his department would assist the police department in its investigation. services. "We are very sorry to hear that several of our guests from Nebraska had their cars vandalized at various area hotels last night," Perkins said. "The few individuals who committed these senseless acts are not true Kansas fans, and certainly do not represent in any way the legions of outstanding fans that support KU." Sara Neuburger, the dispatcher for A&M Towing & Recovery in Lawrence, said the wrecking service towed about 10 vehicles with slashed tires. She said it was the first time something like that has happened in Lawrence. "KU has never acted like this before," she said, adding, "We don't think it was the KU campus. We think it was a group of kids. But if it was just one person who did it, they ruined our name." HUSKERS: Despite organizational problems, Cornhuskers' defense allows 'Hawks only one field goal CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A Lornell McPherson showed up to the game after it started because he was a pallbearer at a friend's funeral. Because he is the team's nickel back, the Huskers were forced to go with Jerrell Pippens. But Pippins didn't come to the stadium with the team because he was getting sick in the hotel room. Pippins did arrive on time, and Sanders said he played well. The end result was three interceptions for a defense that bent but never broke, allowing only a Kansas field goal for the entire game. Nebraska's offense was nothing if not consistent. The first half belonged to Jammal Lord, who wound up with 85 yards rushing for the game. The second half was owned by third-string running back Cory Ross who ran for 108 yards on 19 carries. Solich said he was one of the more consistent Nebraska "This is exactly where we want to be." Frank Solich Nebraska coach offensive players. "You got to see some of his moves," Frank Solich said of the sophomore. "He really showed his strength at times as well." Perhaps the biggest play was by wide receiver Isaiah Fluellen, who out-jumped John Randle to pull in a 39 yard pass on a key third down play which set up a Judd Davies touchdown run that would seal the game. Nebraska moved to 8-2 with the victory, and will take on Kansas State next week. Kit Leffler/Kansan "This is exactly where we want to be," Solich said. Junior safety Tony Stubbs and sophomore linebacker Nick Reid work to bring down Nebraska full back Steve Kriewald Saturday. Kriewald fumbled the ball which was then recovered by Stubbs with 3:44 left in the third quarter. Edited by Ashley Marriott TURNOVERS: Quarterback indecisiveness, fumble assists Nebraska CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A When Kansas got the ball for the first time in the second half, Barmann completed a series of short passes to get his team to the Nebraska seven-yard line. Kansas went to the locker room at the half in a 10-3 hole, and the combination of turnovers and a hefty dose of Nebraska's backfield kept the Jayhawks from having a chance. However, on the ensuing play, the freshman quarterback threw an interception at the goal line. The turnover deflated the Kansas offense and gave Nebraska control of the game. Compared to one Nebraska turnover, Kansas had four giveaways, with Barmann throwing three interceptions, and John The Cornhuskers would stick to their no-nonsense style of play, and two more short-yardage touchdown runs would cap off the team's eighth win of the season. Now that Mangino has made his adjustments on defense and special teams in recent weeks, the focus now has to shift back to avoiding turnovers and capitalizing on long drives. Randle fumbling the ball deep in Nebraska territory. "You don't get points for running it down to the ten or the one," Mangino said. "You've got to get the ball in the end zone. They knew how to do it, and our kids didn't." For Barmann, even though the game was a harsh reality check in his home debut, he is not discouraged as the Jayhawks are still in need of one win to become bowl eligible. Two of his three interceptions came on situations that young quarterbacks have to learn to adjust to. To go along with his pick at the goal line in the third quarter, his interception in the first quarter was the result of throwing the ball on the run instead of taking a sack. "The first one I was kind of indecisive," Barmann said. "I just threw it up in the middle of nowhere, which was ignorant." Even though Barmann's three interceptions hindered the Jayhawks ability to get in the endzone just for the second game all season, his supporting cast said the blame should not be on the freshman. "I think we're going to look back on our fundamental play." junior receiver Brandon Rideau said. "I don't put the loss on the turnovers at all. Both sides of the ball we didn't do what we expected to do, and we didn't come out on top like we should have." Kansas football notebook Watkins close, but not there yet — Junior defensive tackle Travis Watkins still has yet to play this season after suffering with a broken right foot. However, for the first time this year, Watkins was in uniform on Saturday. Weekley and Jones saga beginning to unfold — For the second straight weekend, defensive linemen Monroe Weekley and Chuck Jones were not in uniform. As a matter of fact, they were not even present on the sideline. The reasons for their absences are still yet to be completely disclosed, but the two don't appear to be out of uniform for the same reasons. Mangino said he has been tinkering with the idea of using Jones, a defensive tackle, on the offensive line because of a lack of depth at the position. As for Weekley, Mangino said the junior must learn the proper way the team prepares for each game on the practice field. Mangino also said Weekly was still on the team, but it remained to be seen whether he would play again this year. Randle and Gordon's loads to be lightened — John Randle and Charles Gordon both saw a rather large number of snaps on offense and defense this weekend, but the change will not be permanent. Mangino said yesterday that regular starting cornerback Remuise Johnson missed Saturday's game with an injury, but will rotate with Gordon and Randle on defense next week. Brooks alive and kicking — For Kansas' lone field goal opportunity, it was junior Jerod Brooks, not Johnny Beck, who got the nod. After having his 25-yard attempt blocked, Brooks was awarded another shot because of a Nebraska offsides penalty. Brooks was one-for-one on the day, having hit the 20-yard try. Mangino said last week that Beck will still be used for kickoff BREAKDOWN NEBRASKA-24 KANSAS-3
NebraskaKansas
First Downs2719
Rushes-Yards53-29029-88
Passing Yards110204
Total Plays-Yards65-40063-292
Kickoff Ret.-Yards2-483-50
Punts-Avg.2-38.54-42.0
Fumbles-Lost1-12-1
Penalties-Yards8-878-78
Time of Possession28:2431:36
NEBRASKA Passing Comp. Att. Yards TD INT Jammal Lord 7 12 110 0 1 Rushing Att. Yards TD Avg. Cory Ross 19 108 0 5.7 Jammal Lord 13 85 0 6.5 Josh Davis 7 36 0 5.1 Steve Kriewald 6 27 1 4.5 David Horne 5 22 0 4.4 Judd Davies 3 12 2 4.0 Receiving Rec. Yds. TD Long Mark LeFlore 3 39 0 14 Isaiah Fluellen 2 45 0 39 Matt Herman 1 16 0 16 Ross Pilkington 1 10 0 10 Passing Comp. Att. Yards TD INT Adam Barmann 24 34 204 0 3 Rushing Att. Yards TD Avg. Clark Green 13 49 0 3.8 John Randle 7 31 0 4.4 Brandon Rideau 1 5 0 5.0 Adam Barmann 8 3 0 0.4 Receiving Rec. Yards TD Long Charles Gordon 6 47 0 20 Brandon Rideau 5 41 0 12 Mark Simmons 3 19 0 15 Clark Green 3 19 0 9 and longer field goal duties. Gordon in the books Freshman receiver Charles Gordon, aside from playing both offense and defense this weekend, broke into the Kansas record books. His six receptions gave him 41 catches on the year, which surpassed the school's old freshman record set by Willie Vaughn in 1985. Gordon is also now eight all-time on the school's single season reception list. ■ Jayhawks a sellout-knockout — The Jayhawks' sellout crowd was the second of the season at Memorial Stadium. The first sellout came on Sept. 27 against Missouri. — Edited by Erin Riffey