Sports				» Today » AP News » 21-Day Archive » Big Red Page » High School SportsZone

Published Tuesday October 31, 2000 NU Report - October 30 BY STEVEN PIVOVAR
WORLD HERALD STAFF WRITER

RELATED LINKS » Omaha.com: Big Red Page

What's new? Nebraska began the process of putting last Saturday's loss to Oklahoma behind it as the Huskers practiced two hours in sweatclothes Monday. "They came out with desire to practice well,'' Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. "Everyone associated with the program was hit pretty hard by the loss, but whether you sustain a win or sustain a loss, you need to learn from it and move on. They're ready to do that, and I was pleased to see that.'' Also, quarterback Eric Crouch and linebacker Carlos Polk are among semifinalists for Football News' offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.

Who's hurting? Defensive tackle Jeremy Slechta and offensive guard Toniu Fonoti both suffered broken hands in the Oklahoma game but practiced Monday. Defensive tackle Loran Kaiser, who played about 15 plays against the Sooners, practiced and reported that he's making progress from the arch injury that forced him to miss three games.

Worth noting: Nebraska utilized a unbalanced wing set, which featured one back set behind quarterback Eric Crouch and wingbacks John Gibson and Bobby Newcombe flanked to his left and right in the slots between the line and split receivers, with success in its opening two series against the Sooners. The Huskers then used the formation only occasionally the rest of the game. "It caught them off guard for a little bit,'' Solich said. "But it wasn't a deal where we felt we could just run it and have success with it play after play. You're somewhat limited in what you can do out of it. The things we did do out of it, we did well. As you get into the game, you need to get back to doing basic stuff. It looked good in those first two series, but Oklahoma is a team that you need to do a variety of things against.''

Worth quoting: "We can't point fingers. We win as a team, we lose as a team. We didn't get it done in all three aspects of the game. No one individual or group was to blame.'' - Crouch, on the team's mindset following the 17-point loss to Oklahoma.

What's next? The Huskers will switch to full pads for today's practice.