I COLLEGE FOOTBALL The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, September 9, 1996 - 58 Spartans lef green with envy LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska's defense provided a lot of offense for the top-ranked Cornhuskers in their season opener Saturday. Safety Mike Minter and defensive end Grant Wistrom scored on interception returns, and cor- nerback Mike Fullman scored on a 62-yard punt return as Nebraska began its bid for a third con- secutive national championship with a 55-14 vic- tory over Michigan State. "We like to be a big play defense," said Wistrom, who made a one-handed interception in the third period and returned it nine yards for a touchdown. "The last couple of years we've been scoring a lot of points. That can break a team" Wistrom said he and Nebraska's other defen- sive end, All-American Jared Tomich, have been working on catching passes. "Maybe it's starting to pay off," Wistrom said. "I'll keep doing it if this is the result." Minter scored on an 84-yard interception return after picking off a pass by backup Gus Ornstein in the second quarter. He also set up Nebraska's first touchdown by picking off a pass from Michigan State starter Todd Schultz, who strained his left knee in the first period and did- n't return. Nebraska's defense didn't appear to miss star linebacker Terrell Farley, who was suspended after being charged with drunken driving. Michigan State's only scores came on Ornstein's 1-yard pass to Josh Keur in the third quarter and Sedrick Irvin's 3-yard run with a few minutes left in the game. "Obviously Nebraska has anoher xery. en, very good footbal team" Sparas coach Nick Saban said. "I think the most impressive part ot their team today was their defensive team, which is probably as good as i e ever seen. Scott Frost, making his firt sart at quarter- back for Nebraska, comp eted S of I I passes for 74 yards, including a myr T to irenda n Holbein. Frost also ran t imes for 58 yards and one touchdown an Il-ard dash two plays after Minter's first intercepti on. "The coach's play-caling a very conserva- tive and the reason for thai is because I am a new quarterback,' Frost said. We kept it real basic today. I think I executed prety goo ' Now; we need to open it up and execute those plays Nebraska didn't look that impressive on offense, but it didn'tl mater because the defense had a big day. "We could haie played better olensively, but they had a good densL and w didn't have the ball very much," Nebraska coach Thm Osborne said. "Every time w sc rC on defense, we just go back on defense. 1t just takes you out of an offen- sive series' Michigan State (1-I) which opened with a 52- 14 victory over Purdue last week, was routed by Nebraska for the second saight year. The Spartans lost their opener to the luskers last sea- son, 50-10 at East Lansin Ornstein completed ii of 18 passes for 133 yards. AP PH010 errick Mason, who played despite a broken wrist, and the rest of the Spartans, found out just what it feels like to be Purdue. After whipping the ilerinakers 52.14 last week, Nebraska handed Michigan State a 5544 loss, thanks in part to this Michael Booker hit in the second quarter. Badgers dam up Eagles, 24-3 MADISON (AP) - Carl McCullough .derstands the fuss over fellow tailback Ron Dayne, a highly touted backup who drew the louder ovations and more of the attention Saturday. "Hey, that's the big cat coming in," McCullough said. "He's a great player who the fans want to watch him play." They liked what they saw from both Dayne and McCullough, who helped the Wisconsin Badgers overcome a poor first half to beat Eastern Michigan 24-3. McCullough, the Badgers' featured running ack, gained 107 yards on 16 carries and scored a 4-yard touchdown in the first half. But it was Dayne, a 260-pound freshman from Pine Hill, N.J., who excited the Camp Randall Stadium crowd of 74,279 when he gained the final 42 yards of a 74-yard drive that made it 24-0 early in the fourth quarter. Running over a few tacklers while dragging others with him, Dayne gained six yards on his first collegiate carry. , He then got the ball four straight times, gain- ing seven, 23 and four yards before taking it in around left tackle from two yards out. Dayne finished with eight carries for 53 yards. He received a tremendous ovation after the touchdown, along with a sideline hug from McCullough and congratulations from another tailback, sophomore Aaron Stecker. "That made me feel good," Dayne said. "Carl and Steck treated me like a brother as soon as I came here this summer." McCullough was in very much the same role in 1994 as Dayne when he was the freshman sensation behind future NFL running backs Brent Moss and Terrell Fletcher. Dayne could emerge more quickly than McCullough did. McCullough said he doesn't mind sharing the snaps and limelight. "It can only help us to have three running backs who can contribute," he said. "We all help each other off the field and help each other stay fresh on the field." McCullough's four-yard touchdown run was about the only thing that went right for Wisconsin in the first half as the sluggish Badgers (1-0) took a 7-0 halftime lead over the feisty Eagles (0-2). "It was a case of a fresh back and a lot of wear," said Eagles defensive tackle Kevin Kwiatkowski, who had two first-half sacks. "He's just a big, strong back. He dropped his shoulder and we were pretty worn out," Eastern Michigan coach Rick Rasnick said. "A lot of our first-stringers were out at that point." Badgers coach Barry Alvarez said: "It's always nice to go in when the other team is worn down a bit but it was good to get him in the game." "A lot has been written about Ron Dayne. I'm sure a lot of people wanted to see him play," Alvarez said. "I wanted to see him play." Badgers sophomore quarterback Mike Samuel completed 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in his first collegiate start. His primary target was Tony Simmons, who caught four passes for 47 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown in the third period. After a wretched first half, the 24-point- favorite Badgers struck quickly in the third quarter. Stecker returned the kickoff 37 yards to the Eagles' 48. Seven plays later, Simmons posted up cornerback Phil Franklin and hauled in Samuel's eight-yard pass for a 14-0 lead.John Hall's 23-yard field goal with 3:09 left in the third period made it 17-0 before Dayne's touch- down. AP PHOTO Trojan wide receiver Chris Miller leaps over Illinois's Rameel Conner in the first quarter of No. 19 Southern Cal's 55-3 annihilation of the lilni. Illinois has yet to score a touchdown in two games. Legendary coach Cozza calls it quits NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Carm Cozza, the football coach at Yale for more than three decades, confirmed today that he will retire when the season ends. Cozza, 66, who guided the Elis to 10 Ivy League titles, made the official announcement this morning, ending months of media speculation about his retirement plans. Cozza's last game will be Nov. 23 at Harvard, which is the annual season-ending rivalry for the two schools that dates back to 1875 and is known as "The Game." "It has been a privilege to work at a prestigious university with uch quality people. I've had the good fortune to work with the best young men this country has to offer" Cozza said at a news conference before his team's first scrimmage. Cozza was surrounded by all of his senior team members. He had told players of his plans in an emotional speech before prac- tice Thursday. "He has given everything to football and to this school and we follow and respect him as someone who has devoted his whole life to coaching and teaching young men,"' said Paul Tryon, a senior linebacker from Wellesley, Mass., told the Yale Daily News. Cozza, who is entering his 32nd season, has compiled a 177- 11-5 record andYale, making him the school's winningest coach. "Carm Cozza is a Yale legend," president Richard Levin said. "He has really very few equals in the coaching profession in Yale history" BIG TEN ROUNDUP Illini's end-zone troubles peiti 553 os toS CHAMPAIGN (AP) - LaVale Woods ran for two touchdowns and Southern Cal's defense kept Illinois out of the end zone as the No. 19 Trojans swamped the Illini 55-3 Saturday. The Trojans (I-1) scored on long passes, short runs, field goals and a blocked punt on the way to giving the Illini (0-2) their worst loss in the 1990s. Southern Cal corrected the pass protection prob- lems which contributed to the season-opening loss to Penn State and exploited a multitude of miscues from a young and overworked Illini defense. Trojan quarterbacks Brad Otten and Matt Koffler were 15-of-23 with no interceptions and 428 yards for the game, the most against Illinois since 1985, when Purdue had 464 yards in the air. WAKE FOREST 28, No. 13 NORTHWESTERN 27 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Northwestern's bid for another captivating season fizzled at the gate Saturday night as long-suffering Wake Forest blew a pair of 10-point leads before ral- lying for a 28-27 victory over the 13th-ranked Wildcats. Brian Kuklick hit Desmond Clark with a pair of fourth-quarter scoring passes, including a 30-yarder with 51 seconds left, as the Demon Deacons snapped their 30-game losing skid against ranked teams. Bill Hollows' extra-point kick provided the winning margin in Wake Forest's first triumph over a Top 25 opponent since October 1979. The Demon Deacons killed Northwestern's last' chance with an interception by Tom Stuetzer with 34 seconds remaining, giving Wake Forest its first vic- tory over a Big Ten opponent in nine tries. Many in the crowd at Grove Stadium stormed the Iowa, which also gav up te sacks, fell behind early, but jumped out to a 4-7 halfimne lead thanks to two Arizona fumbes in: id minute midway in the second quarter. No. 10 Omo Sr 7), R 7 COLUM BUS (AP) Pp pe r. n ran for three touchdowns and freshman Mchael Wiley scored three times on plays of 49 yrds or longer as 10th- ranked Ohio State scoreid itns mog pois i an open- er since 1933 with a 70-7 v 'tory over Rice Saturday. Seven times th= Buckey s nd, d to drive less than two minutes to score. Backup quarerback Joe Germaine passed for three touchdowns as Ohi tate piled up 632 yards of total offense while holding th Owls to 218. The loss was th" most opried in an opener in Rice's 85 years of football MINNEStlA 30, NE Lot i a N. 3 MONROE. La. (AP) Frhman Thomas Hamner ran for 154 yars io Iad Minnesota to a 30- 3 victory over Northeast Louiina Saturday night. Minnesota (1-0) was the Big Ten's No. 2 passing team last year and in the op 25 nationally. But against Northeast (I - I). the Gophers cranked up their ground game, running r 283 yards while passing for 15 1. The Gophers held Northeast to 30i total yards, and held a team without a toucihdown ir the first time since a 6-3 win over Purdue mi 1991 The game was the irst regular season contest in Louisiana for Minnesota. The Gophers played in the 1985 Independence Bol in Shreveport. beating Clemson 20-13. AP PHOTO Sixty-six-year-old Yale legend Carm Cozza anounced he would resign at the end of his 32nd season as head football coach at Yale. Nitay Lions roar over Louisville, 24-7 STATE COLLEGE (AP) - Curtis Enis broke *hrough a tackle for a 25-yard gain on his first carry of the game. It would be his longest run of the day. And while there was no repeat of his 241-yard game in the season opener, Enis did get 104 yards and a touchdown as No. 7 Penn State took an early 21-point lead and held on to beat stub- by recovering a fumbled punt. In its 38-17 season-opening victory over Kentucky, Louisville blocked two punts, return- ing one for a touchdown. Penn State kicker Brett Conway said that performance motivated Penn State's kicking teams. "We came into this game with an attitude that we were going to be just as good or better," said with the Lions' final score, Conway's field goal. Enis started strong, running over several tack- lers during a 25-yard burst on Penn State's first possession, a 49-yard drive that ended with Enis' 4-yard touchdown run. Penn State was up 7-0 four minutes into the game. The Cardinals did a pretty good job of limit- ing Enis and the Lions offense for the rest of the