NU Notes, 9/4: Octavien to miss rest of season
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Nebraska weakside linebacker Steve Octavien will miss the rest of the season after suffering what Husker coach Bill Callahan believed was a broken fibula on Saturday night.
Following the game, Octavien was on crutches, his left ankle in a protective boot.
Octavien had seemed to be on his way to a big night in Nebraska’s season opener.
He made tackles on two of the game’s first three plays. He was chasing down ballcarriers and generally wreaking havoc, right up until suffering the injury to his leg 50 seconds into the second quarter.
The 6-foot, 235-pound transfer from William Rainey Harper College in Illinois, was helped off the field by trainers. He suffered the injury blocking on Cortney Grixby’s 15-yard punt return.
Octavien won his starting job following a spirited battle with sophomore Bo Ruud in preseason camp.
Freshman contributors
Nebraska true freshmen who played Saturday were linebacker Phillip Dillard, defensive end Barry Turner, receiver Chris Brooks, defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Zach Potter, safety Jeff Souder, I-back Marlon Lucky, offensive lineman Matt Slauson and kicker Jordan Congdon. Potter and Souder played on special teams. Lucky’s first carry, a 2-yard gain up the middle, occurred with 90 seconds left in the third quarter and drew a round of cheers from the fans. He finished with 13 carries for 44 yards, with a long run of 8 yards.
Spain update
Wide receiver Tyrell Spain, a touted member of Nebraska’s 2005 recruiting class, won’t play for the Huskers this season, he said after Saturday’s game. Needing to pass a class to become academically eligible, Spain ended up taking the wrong class — one that evidently didn’t fulfill eligibility requirements. He said he’s attending classes at Southeast Community College in Lincoln and will enroll at NU in January.
Hall of Fame
The Nebraska football Hall of Fame on Saturday night honored its 11 2005 inductees. Former Huskers honored were Aaron Graham (1992-95), Pat Tyrance (1988-90), Travis Hill (1989-92), Scott Strasburger (1982-84), Barron Miles (1992-94) and Dick Rupert (1970-71). Ted Connor (1952-53) was honored in the veteran’s division. In addition, former Husker assistant Jim Ross made history as the first assistant coach to be inducted. Meanwhile, former NU assistant Milt Tenopir received the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award.
Hill, a former outside linebacker who now lives in Houston, said being in Memorial Stadium felt like home to him. But he isn’t necessarily pleased with all that’s transpired in Lincoln the last few years.
“I was kind of upset they did Coach Solich that way,” Hill said, referring to the firing of Frank Solich after the 2003 season. “Now, they’re going with a passing game, and I’m a smash-mouth guy. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll see.“
Eye test
Former Nebraska tight end Jamie Williams (1979-82), who now lives in the Bay Area, said he came to Lincoln in part to show his support for Tom Osborne’s run for governor. He also wanted to check out the Huskers’ new talent.
“They look like they have a lot better athletes compared to when I was here two years ago,” Williams said as he watched warmups. “They have that swagger, that strut. Having played football as long as I did, I know an athlete when I see one. They have some athletes here.”
Pavelka back
Kent Pavelka, NU’s former football play-by-play voice, was the sideline reporter for the pay-per-view telecast of Saturday’s game. It had been a decade since Pavelka worked a Husker football game. “It feels great,” he said.
For openers
Nebraska now has captured a nation-leading 20 straight season openers dating to a 17-13 loss to Florida State in 1985. Kansas State and Florida have won 16 and 15 straight openers, respectively.
Here and there
Nebraska improved to 21-2 in night games at Memorial Stadium. ... Saturday marked the 269th straight sellout at Memorial Stadium. ... The streak began in 1962, Bob Devaney’s first season as head coach. ... Saturday’s game was the first between the schools.
QB on the spot
It’s no secret that NUs defense will have its ears pinned back for Maine quarterback Ron Whitcomb.
Black Bears coach Jack Cosgrove would take the same approach, too, if he had to defend the third-year starter who’s on track to become the school’s career passing leader.
“He’s not one of those guys that fails to demonstrate all the time — in the weight room, around campus, in our meeting rooms — his attentiveness to detail and his desire to be a great player,” Cosgrove said. “You like those guys out front and center.”
In two seasons, Whitcomb has completed 58.8 percent of his passes (399 of 679) for 4,746 yards and 43 touchdowns.
“He’s a part of our operation here that we expect is going to get much better. And he has to for us to be successful,” Cosgrove said. “He really has to take that next step this year.”
Against the big boys
Maine is 1-2 all-time facing NCAA Division I-A teams. Before last year’s 9-7 win at Mississippi State, the Black Bears lost to Rutgers 40-17 in 1991 and Hawaii 44-3 in 1990. Maine, which has Boston College on its 2006 schedule, has appeared in one bowl game, losing to East Carolina 31-0 in the 1965 Tangerine Bowl.
The cub factor
Maine’s 83-player roster includes 30 true freshmen, 8 redshirt freshmen and 16 sophomores.
Quotable
From Cosgrove: “The task? Well, it’s hard to measure for us, because we’ve never done anything like this. People want to point to last year and Mississippi State, but I think it’s an entirely different animal.”
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