The Minneapolis journal., 1902-10-20
FOOTBALL
GOPHERS, GO DOWN
Husky Nebraskans Score q Touch
down on Minnesota After Fierc-
est Kind Of a Fight.
Van Valkenburg Has Two Ribs Bro
ken and Is Permanently
Out of the Game.

Out of the Game.
SATURDAYS SCORES.
WEST.
Nebraska 6. Minnesota o.
Wisconsin 81 Beloit q.
Michigan %, Notre Dame, o.
Chicago 12, Northwestern 0.
Illinois 20, Purdue 5.
Ohio Wesleyan 1s, Oberlin TO-
Indiana 10, Depauw s.
North Dakota "Aggies' %. Carleton 0.
Ames %, Grinuell 0.
Haskell Indians 40, Missouri 0.
Harvard Il, West Point 6.
Yale H. Pennsylvania State 0.
Princeton 23. Washing ton and Jefferson 5.
Brown 10, Pennsylvania g.
Carlisle Indians 10. Cornell 9.
Columbia 35. Hamilton o.
Dartmouth Is, Williams 0.
Annapolis s. Lehigh 8.
For the first time In three years Min
nesota was defeated on Northrop field at
football Saturday afternoon. A bunch Of
men alluded to as "cornhuskers'' by the
light minded were responsible for the
tragedy.
Nebraska came to Minneapolis with the
intention Of winning, and she won. 1t
was q fair and square defeat, and Min
nesota has no excuses to offer save in the
injuries to some of her men. The gophers,
every point were outplayed In enough
departments Of the game to let Nebraska
score one touchdown, from which Bene-
dict kicked a goal
From the standpoint of the average
spectator the game was uninteresting in
many ways. Nebraska took time for in
juries to her men so frequently that dur
Ing the first half it was freely predicted
that the visitors would weaken before
the end Of the game. In the second half
Minnesota also showed the effect Of the
fierce struggle, and the constant delays
made the contest slow and tedious.
To the student Of the game the contest
was most interesting. 1t was fought to
a finish from the beginning of the second
half to the end Of the seventy minutes
of play. The teams were matched even
ly enough to prevent a score by either
eleven until in the last five minutes of
play. During most Of the first half Ne
braska was on the defensive; during the
whole of the second half Minnesota was
fighting hard to protect her goal line.
oophers' Line inferior.
The gophers' line showed up poorly by
comparison with their beefy opponents
Captain Westover was tower Of strength
on the right side of Nebraskas line,
breaking through repeatedly and stopping
plays directed at the tackle or end. He
IS one Of the strongest, If not the strong
est, tackle in the west. Minnesota's CEN
ter failed to hold against the fierce rushes
Of the oornhuskers, especially in the Sec
ond half. True. Captain Johnnie Flynn
was bothered with a stiff knee, which pre-
vented him from playing his usual strong
game at guard. Still, it must be ad-
mitted that Minnesota's line all through
did not show up as strong as the visit
ors. Webster, pitted against man who
outweighed him by many pounds, was un-
able to stop the fierce plunges Of Nickel
! through center Strathern played a
gritty but not an aggressive game.
Another great point Of weakness shown
by Minnesota was in her tackling, partic-
uarly in a broken field. Much instruc-
tion must be devoted to this point Of the
game II Minnesota is to make a showing
against Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Michigan.
In play in broken field, the Nebraska
men showed UP better all around. Their
runners got good protection from the
other members of the team, and their
tacl<ling was superior
In short Nebraska won because Of bet
ter physical condition, by superiority In
play in broken field, and by the greater
strength Of her line The defensive work
of Minnesota's s backs was fairly good, and
their ends were little inferior to Ne
braska's although Rogers was not able to
play his best game, and Gray sometimes
overran his man on punts. Nebraska s
ends sometimes blocked off Rogers and
Gray from following down Knowlton's
kicks, but after Umpire Allen had penal
lied the visitors fifteen yards for holding
the Gopher ends got down we'll, and more
than once downed Benedict in his tracks
On the whole Harris managed to gain
more ground returning punts than Bene-
dict
Nebraska Has Strong Team.
Nebraska showed up strong. Their at.
tack was slow, but the team is very even
1yy 10 Sho irfo lD1cl
er we'll. the line charges hard on the de-
1ens1ve, and there Is no point Of materia
weakness In the team. Nebraska probably
would have been beaten Saturday by Wis.
consin and Michigan, but she would have
held her own against any other member
Of the big nine" ",..
oophers Below Champion ship Form
Minnesota Is far below championship
form. There are many openings for crit.
icasm. but there Is still no reason to be-
Neve that the Gophers will not make E
splendid showing before the end Of the
season. The criticism was made by one
of the Nebraska players that Minnesota
quit during the second half. but this hard
~ appears justified. Webster, Flynn
Van Valkenberg. Rogers and Knowlto1
were really not in shape to play, and tn,
Saot that Nebraska scored at the last min
ute was apparently due to the fact tha
the Gophers were sore and stiff and un
able to get into the palys.
Admitting the defects in Minnesota: ,:
play, there Is no reason for despair OF
the part Of the Minnesota rooters. On tn,
contrary there is every ground for hop
that the Gophers can win all Of thei
games from now on, save those with Wis
consin and Michigan, and in the latte
two even Minnesota still has good fight
Ing chance. 1t Is evidently no time TO-
knocking" but for united work. and tn,
team and coaches need and deserve heart,
support and cooperation.
Outside Of Westover, Nickel, Benedic
and Bender were the stars for Nebraska
MickeIs line plunging was a feature, anc
Benedict's work in returning punts wa
high class. For Minnesota, Harris gained