Red 41
White 40

May 4, 1974 • 1:30 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE
1st2nd3rd4th F 
White02014640
Red13702141
First quarter
RED: Dave Humm 1 run (Mike Coyle kick failed) 11:19
RED: John O'Leary 5 run (Coyle kick) 6:30
Second quarter
WHI: Jack Kelly 6 run (Al Eveland kick) 9:17
WHI: Chester Tally 2 run (Eveland kick) 2:32
RED: Tony Davis 4 run (Coyle kick) 1:10
WHI: Dave Gillespie 2 run (Eveland kick failed) 0:32
Third quarter
WHI: Terry Luck 1 run (Eveland kick) 8:19
WHI: Earl Everett 1 run (Rick Lemerond kick) 3:45
Fourth quarter
RED: John O'Leary 8 run (Mike Houser kick) 14:05
RED: Tony Davis 4 run (Houser kick failed) 13:27
RED: Ritch Bahe 3 run (run good) 10:33
WHI: Jerry Wied 45 blocked punt return (run failed) 1:20
 
Attendance - 21,003
                            WHITE      RED
FIRST DOWNS .................. 23       20
  Rushing .................... 15       12
  Passing ..................... 6        7
  Penalty ..................... 2        1
Attempts Rushing  ............ 63       52
  Yards Gained .............. 257      291
  Yards Lost ................. 13        6
NET YARDS RUSHING ........... 244      285
NET YARDS PASSING ........... 125      148
  Comp-Att-Int ........... 9-18-2   8-17-2
TOTAL OFFENSE ............ 81-369   69-433
INTERCEPTIONS-RETURN YDS ... 2-43     2-47
PUNTS-AVG-BLOCKED ........ 2-36-0   3-47-1
PUNT RETURNS-YDS ........... 3-90      0-0
KICKOFF RETURNS-YDS ....... 7-159    5-101
PENALIZED-YDS .............. 5-51     6-74
FUMBLES-LOST ................ 2-2      2-2
RUSHING   Att. Gain  Loss  Net  TD Long
Everett    10    64    6    58   1   19
Justice     4    12    0    12   0    6
Kucera      1     3    0     4   0    3
Heiser      3    12    0    12   0    8
Luck        3     7    5     2   1    6
Gilllespie  8    29    0    29   1    9
Higgs      16    56    2    54   0    9
Kelley      8    26    0    26   1    6
Lemerond    3     9    0     0   0    6
Talley      7    39    0    39   1   11

PASSING   Comp.  Att.  Int.  Yds.  Long
Luck         5    10     2    74     22
Everett      3     6     0    36     15
Lemerond     3     2     0    15     15

RECEIVING    No.     Yds.    TD    Long
Thomas        2       41      0      22
Heiser        2       24      0      15
Folsom        1       13      0      13
Peterson      1       12      0      12
Malito        1       22      0      22
Kelley        1       15      0      15
Kucera        1       -2      0      -2

PUNTING      No.    Yds.    Avg.   Long
Lessman       2      72      36      46


RETURNS        Punts    K-offs   Intcp.
Thomas          2-44      3-89       - 
Wied            1-45       -         - 
Burrow           -         -        1-0
Eichelberger     -         -       1-49
Kucera           -        1-0        - 
Gillespie        -        2-50       - 
McWhorter        -        1-20       -
RUSHING   Att. Gain  Loss  Net  TD Long
Humm        6    44     0   44   1   28
Davis       9    33     0   33   2   13
O'Leary     9    56     0   56   2   10
Bahe        3    16     0   16   1   12
Moran       4    20     0   20   0    9
Westbrook   4    63     0   63   0   43
Zabrocki    7    21     2   19   0    7
Belka       4    16     1   15   0    9
Burns       3    12     3    9   0    7
Williams    2    8      0    8   0    6
Ray         1    2      0    2   0    2

PASSING   Comp.  Att.  Int.  Yds.  Long
Humm         6    13    2     88     29
Burns        1     1    0     16     16
Ray          1     3    0     44     44

RECEIVING    No.     Yds.    TD    Long
Shamblin      2       61      0      44
Davis         1       11      0      11
Bahe          3       51      0      29
Panneton      1       16      0      16
Moran         1        9      0       9

PUNTING      No.    Yds.    Avg.   Long
Ray           2      95      47      59
Team          1       0       -       —

RETURNS        Punts    K-offs   Intcp.
Nelson           -         -        1-0
Young            -         -       1-47
Bahe             -        2-37       - 
O'Leary          -        1-23       - 
Westbrook        -        1-24       - 
Belka            -        1-17       -

Coverage

Recap

1974 Nebraska spring game photo Jeff MoranJeff Moran carries the ball as Tony Davis blocks Percy Eichelberger. At right is Mark Heydorff. · Omaha World-Herald · Newspapers.com

Offenses rule in spring finale of ’74 squad

With 21,003 fans basking in the sun and whooping it up in anticipation of September, the Cornhuskers concluded spring practice with a rousing offensive show.

Thanks to a wild fourth-quarter comeback, the Reds – featuring the top players – stormed from an apparent upset to a 41-40 victory. All the Reds had to do was score three touchdowns in the final quarter and stop a two-point White conversion attempt with 1:20 left.

As the record All Sports Day throng trooped out of the stadium, rehashing the brilliant quarterbacking of Dave Humm, the bruising fullback play of Tony Davis, the shades-of-Johnny Rodgers kick returning of Bobby Thomas and some overall very fine defensive play, Coach Osborne observed: “The offense might be a little sounder than it was at the end of spring a year ago, while defensively maybe we’re where we were a year ago. And if we come up with the right people, it could be a real good defense.”

The No. 1 Reds scored the first two times they had the ball, but the Whites got back in the game for a 20-20 halftime tie. Quarterbacks Terry Luck and Earl Everett both plunged for third-quarter TDs, giving the Whites a 34-20 lead and solid upset hopes going into the final period.

But the Reds stormed back with touchdowns from John O’Leary, Tony Davis and Ritch Bahe to go up 41-34. That didn’t end things, however. With 1:29 left in the game, the Whites’ Jerry Wied blocked a punt and tore 45 yards to score. But the Black Shirts smothered the two-point victory try, and the exciting football afternoon came to a close.

Recap source: 1975 media guide

 

 

1974 schedule
05/04Red 41, White 40
09/14OregonW 61-7
09/21@ WisconsinL 20-21
09/28NorthwesternW 49-7
10/05MinnesotaW 54-0
10/12MissouriL 10-21
10/19@ KansasW 56-0
10/26Oklahoma St.W 7-3
11/02@ ColoradoW 31-15
11/09@ Iowa St.W 23-13
11/16Kansas St.W 35-7
11/23OklahomaL 14-28
12/31FloridaW 13-10
* Article may require subscription