BRIAN ROSENTHAL, STEVEN M. SIPPLE and KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2005 6:00 pm
Nebraska offensive tackle Matt Slauson was in a break during his astronomy class Monday night when he received a call on his cell phone from Husker graduate assistant Angus McClure.
McClure wanted to see Slauson immediately after the class.
“I was expecting him to yell at me or something,” Slauson said. “I walk in and he says, ‘Slauson, sit down.’ He goes, ‘You’re starting at right tackle. Seppo (Evwaraye) has a broken foot. I believe in you.’”
The 6-foot-5, 340-pound Slauson, of Colorado Springs, Colo., admits he’s nervously anticipating Saturday’s game against Kansas State, when he will replace Evwaraye, Nebraska’s regular starter on the right side. Evwaraye, a two-season starter, injured his foot in the fourth quarter of last week’s 40-15 loss at Kansas.
With Slauson now in the lineup, the Huskers will start freshmen at both offensive tackle spots. Redshirt freshman Lydon Murtha will start his third straight game at left tackle in place of Cornealius Fuamatu-Thomas, sidelined with a chipped bone in his shoulder.
“I’m really proud of those two young kids stepping up,” said Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, referring to Slauson and Murtha. “They’re tough guys. They’re willing. They’ve put in a lot of hard work. They’re two guys who want to step up and help this team.”
Chris Patrick and Newton Lingenfelter are the top backups to Murtha and Slauson, respectively.
In other official depth chart changes, Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn are listed ahead of Brandon Jackson at running back, Harrison Beck is No. 2 at quarterback, Josh Mueller is No. 2 at tight end and Isaiah Fluellen is not listed on the two-deep at wide receiver.
* ERRORS HAVE DECREASED … : Believe it not, Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said his players have been making fewer mental errors in recent games than they did at the beginning of the season. NU’s recent performances on the field may indicate otherwise, but Cosgrove said the errors have really decreased. So why does it seem as though the errors are more magnified now? “It comes with definition of technique, more than anything,” Cosgrove said. “They’ve been playing a little hesitant at times, and you can’t do that. You’ve got to go hard, because you know what you’re doing, so don’t be hesitant. … We’re not doing anything new. We’ve tweaked things here and there, but concepts stay the same.” Cosgrove said his team had a “great practice” with a “great attitude” on Tuesday. “We’ve got to keep on pushing,” he said.
* … AND FOR THE OFFENSE, TOO: Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said mental errors weren’t the reason for the offense’s poor performance against Kansas. NU managed a season-low 138 yards of total offense. “The problem was poise and the problem was winning individual battles,” Norvell said. “That was the problem. Until we start winning those individual battles, we’re not going to have a whole lot of success offensively.” Norvell said last week’s game plan was the simplest game plan of the season. “We felt like we had a great game, we felt like we practiced well enough to execute it, and we didn’t do it on the road. When it got tough, we didn’t execute.”
* TUNING OUT: When asked if he realized how upset fans have been, Cosgrove said he’s been concentrating on other things, like preparing his team. “I haven’t looked at a (news)paper. I can’t,” he said. “I’m focused on my kids and what they think of me and how they respond to me. That’s all that matters to me. The most important thing to me is our team and how we perform.”
* SOLD … FROM PEDERSON’S DAD: Yes, it’s true. The father of Steve Pederson, Nebraska’s embattled athletic director, has sold two tickets to the Nebraska-Kansas State game. “It’s no story,” said Sen. Don Pederson of North Platte. “It’s no big deal. I had two tickets in a different location in the stadium, so I sold my other two I had for this game to a colleague for face value ($130). I will be wearing red and cheering for Nebraska as loud as ever.”
* TIRED OF LOSING: Norvell didn’t wish to compare this year’s slide with last year’s, when NU lost its last three games and finished 5-6. The Huskers are looking to end a three-game losing streak with two games remaining. “The only thing you learn from losing is that you don’t like it,” Norvell said. “That’s the only thing we take from last year or this year or the last couple of weeks. We don’t like to lose, and we won’t tolerate it. We’re going to do everything in our power not to do it.” Norvell said he was “absolutely sick” about the way the offense played on Saturday against Kansas. “We’re not making plays and we’re not blocking people and we’re not executing the way we should,” Norvell said. Nebraska now faces a Kansas State team that has lost four straight games. “We’ve got to muster up a great effort. We’ve got to do run the ball better, obviously, and we’ve got to sustain drives and score points,” Norvell said.