Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-20
PRAISE FOR CORNRUSEERS
Nebraska Rooters Give Rally in Theil
Honor Today.
WORK OF LINE PLEAsEs COACH
Loss of PuntinE BeItser in Game
Probably Cost Nebraska De-
sired Victory over
GOphers.

LINCOLN, Oct. 10. go Especially 90 Coach
Cole and his squad of Cornhuskers re-
turned yesterday from the scene Of their
great struggle with Minnesota at Northrop
field yesterday. much elated over the out
come of the game. Only a few supporters
met the team at the depot, but a big rally
was given in its honor at Memorial hall
this afternoon, when the students showed
their appreciation OF the remarkable fight
made by the Nebraska players against the
strong Gophers.
The game is considered a victory for
the Cornhuskers. They were outweighed
five pounds to the man and yet really out
played their opponents. Coach Cole is Of
the opinion that the only thing that kept
his pupils from scoring was the absence Of
Beltzer from the lineup in the second half.
The left half, whose shoulder had been
injured in the Grinnell game, was hurt
again in the first half of the game Sat
urday and had to retire. His retirement
left the Cornhuskers without a good
punter and all the work Of defending their
goal fell on the line and backfield men
during the second half.
Coach Cole said on the train while re-
turning from Minneapolis that with Beltzer
playing in the second half the Gophers
never would have come as close to the
Nebraska goal as they did. When Mime
sofa punted the ball to Nebraska's thirty
yard line in the second half, and Birkner.
who was doing the punting for Nebraska,
was unable to send the ball more than ten
yards on each kick, the great struggle of
the game began and Nebraska was forced
to play on the defense.
BIrkner's Punts Too High.
It was not because the Cornhuskers were
weak on the offense that they did not ad-
vance the ball far in the second half. 1t
was due entirely TO the inability of Birk-
ner, who took charge of the kicking when
Better retired, to punt the spheroid a safe
distance from the Nebraska goal. His
punts went straight up in the air, and the
Cornhuskers gained no more than twenty
yards on three of them. This kept Min
nesota within dangerous distance Of the
Cornhusker goal for twenty minutes of the
second half and threw practically the whole
work Of defending the goal on the line
and backfield. 1t was during that time
that King Coles men showed the re-
markable stuff of which they are made.
There was not a weak place in the line
from end to end. Three times with the
ball on Nebraska's two and three-yard
lines the Gophers directed plays against
the tackles and guards that looked as
though they would be good for a touch
down; but they we're not. The Nebraska
line held and twice Minnesota gained no
more than an inch. Once the man carry
ing the ball was thrown back for a loss.
"Bill' Chaloupa, Nebraska's star tackle,
was a big factor in saving the day for his
team at this time. He threw himself
against. these plays andsprevented ADVANCE
ment. Collins at eehter fIrId against the
big Captain Stafford Young, last seasons
all western tackle for Minnesota, had a
good match in Frum. Ewing demonstrated
his hard work when he broke through the
line and blocked one of McGovern's punts.
Harte blocked a tandem play sent at his
guard position on Nebraska's three-yard
line by hurting himself against Flankers,
who was carrying the ball and pulling the
Gopher giant down for no gain.
Defense on the Three-YRrd Line.
Nebraska's great defense on its three-yard
line has never been equalled by a Corn
husker team since 1903 when Kansas was
played at Lawrence and the visitors were
forced to defend their goal on the five and
ten-yard line during the greater share Of
the game. The entire Minnesota press and
football experts praised the work of the
Nebraska line yesterday as the best seen
this season.
The line showed a complete reversal of
form since the Grinnell game. At thai
time the men were so weak that they were
given the name of human sleeves" Dur
ing the week Coach Cole drilled the men
every afternoon in the most grueling scrim'
mage against the scrubs until the line
became a stone wall. Not even last year
when playing against Ames did the men In
the line do as well as yesterday.
; Nebraska's work on the offense was
superior to that of Minnesota. The visi'
tors had great success with the forward
pass and worked 1t several times for gooc
gains. Minnesota's pass was a miserable
failure and never gave the Gophers over a
} five-yard gain. The C~ornhuskers inter-
cepted two or three of the passes and re-
covered others that the Minnesota players
fumbled.
The C~ornhuskers were able to gain fairly
we'll through the Gopher line and during
the first half made more ground than theil
opponents. For the entire game both theil
offensive and defensive work was superior
to Minnesota's, and but for the poor punt
ing in the second half would, as Coacl
Cole believes, have won the game.
On the whole the showing of the Corn
|, huskers is very satisfactory to their root
ers who are celebrating the 0 to o score as
a victory. The students did not expec'
; their team TO win and were glad to get
a tie result.
IOWA HAS LITTLE To SAY
"