Huskies Will Try to Keep Clicking

Leave it to television to pit this great game opposite Tennessee-Florida. There will be a lot of aching thumbs Sunday morning from punching the remote.

Washington is one team that hasn’t feared Nebraska in the past decade. The Huskies hold a 3-1-1 record lead in the series, have won the last two meetings and are the last team defeat the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, in 1991.

Nebraska has won 38 consecutive home games since.

Washington is the more balanced team at this point. Quarterback Brock Huard has completed nearly 70% of his passes while throwing for 598 yards and seven touchdowns in two games, and tailback Rashaan Sheehee is averaging 8.7 yards per carry.

Of course, those numbers were amassed against Brigham Young and San Diego State.

“This is the first chance for you to look and say, ‘OK, how do you compare?’ ” Washington Coach Jim Lambright said. “We’re happy where we are. We hope we can stay there. This is going to truly prove it.”

Nebraska wiped out Akron in its opener but struggled last week at home against Central Florida. The Cornhuskers trailed at the half, 17-14, before winning, 38-24.

Nebraska has been dominating on the ground, gaining 836 yards in two games, but the quarterback position remains suspect with senior Scott Frost, who was booed by his own fans last week.

The game is also important for the Big 12 Conference’s image, which took a beating last week.

“I’ve got enough burdens just keeping the people at Nebraska happy,” Coach Tom Osborne said.

* The Line: Washington by 3.

Game of the Week Part II

Tennessee (2-0) at Florida (2-0) 12:30 p.m., Channel 2

Call it what you want--”Peyton’s Last Stand” or the “War of the Words”--but this Southeastern Conference showdown in Gainesville might actually live up to the hype.

Tennessee senior quarterback Peyton Manning gets one last crack at Florida in this all-or-nothing shootout at “the Swamp.”

Florida has won the last four games, the last two in bizarre fashion.

Two years ago, the Gators rallied from a 30-14 deficit to score 48 unanswered points in a 62-37 victory. Last year, in Knoxville, it was Florida that jumped ahead, 35-0, and then held on for a 35-29 victory.

The last two years the quarterback position was a wash, with Manning and Florida’s Danny Wuerffel.

This year, it’s not. Tennessee is banking that Manning’s poise and experience will be enough to counter Florida’s Doug Johnson, who had thrown only 27 passes before the season.

“Time will tell if his experience is a key factor and our player doesn’t know what to do or makes a mistake,” Florida Coach Steve Spurrier said. “Inexperience is only bad if it comes out.”

Manning threw for a school-record 492 yards in last year’s loss, but his four first-half interceptions cost his team the game.

“It’s not good enough to get it done against the Florida Gators,” Manning said of his performances. “If you want to win that game, you’ve got to go out and play four full quarters.”

* The Line: Florida by 4.

The Rest

North Carolina (-23) at Maryland, 9 a.m.

Ga. Tech (-7 1/2) at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m.

Boston Col. (-14 1/2) at Rutgers, 9 a.m.

San Diego St. (+9) at Wisconsin, 11 a.m.

NE Louisiana (+29 1/2) at Georgia, 10 a.m.

Rice (+7) at Northwestern, 11 a.m.

Kentucky (+2 1/2) at Indiana, 11 a.m.

Arkansas (+17 1/2) at Alabama, 9:30 a.m.

Florida St. (-20) at Clemson, 12:30 p.m.

Arizona (+17 1/2) at Ohio State, 12:30 p.m.

Iowa (-26 1/2) at Iowa St., 12:30 p.m.

Fresno St. (+17) at Oregon, 2 p.m.

Stanford (-11 1/2) at Oregon St., 1 p.m.

San Jose St. (+29) at Wyoming, 1 p.m.

Missouri (-5 1/2) at Tulsa, 2 p.m.

Virginia Tech (-23) at Temple, 3 p.m.

Kansas (+3 1/2) at Cincinnati, 4 p.m.

Army (-6 1/2) at Duke, 4 p.m.

Minnesota (+1 1/2) at Memphis, 4 p.m.

Navy (Pick) at SMU, 5 p.m.

TCU (+7) at Vanderbilt, 5 p.m.

UTEP (+27) at Utah, 6 p.m.

Hawaii (+3) at UNLV, 7 p.m.

Ball St. (+15) at Purdue, 11 a.m.

SW Louis. (+38) at Texas A&M;, 2 p.m.

Nevada (+14 1/2) at Southern Miss., 3 p.m.

N. Illinois (+35 1/2) at N.C. St., 4 p.m.

N. Texas (+32) at Texas Tech, 4:30 p.m.

New Mexico (-1 1/2) at Utah St., 6 p.m.

On TV

* Penn State (2-0) at Louisville (1-2), Channel 2, 9 a.m.: The Nittany Lions won the in-state title with wins over Pittsburgh and Temple. Penn State owns the nation’s longest current I-A winning streak, seven.

The Line: Penn State by 21.

* Baylor (1-1) at Michigan (1-0), ESPN, 9:30 a.m.: The Wolverines lost to Houston in 1993, Minnesota in ‘94, Memphis in ’95 and Purdue last year. Sandwiched between Colorado and Notre Dame, Baylor is the kind of game Michigan has choked in in recent years.

The Line: Michigan by 26.

* Washington State (2-0) at Illinois (0-2), ESPN2, 9:30 a.m.: After wiping out the L.A. teams, the Cougars take aim at the Big Ten. Washington State could be unbeaten entering a season-ending showdown vs. Washington.

The Line: Washington State by 10.

* Michigan State (2-0) at Notre Dame (1-1), Channel 4, 11:30 a.m.: The Spartans built 42-0 halftime leads against Western Michigan and Memphis in early-season wipeouts. If Michigan does the same to Notre Dame, NBC may cancel the Irish.

The Line: Notre Dame by 2 1/2.

* South Carolina (1-1) at East Carolina (1-1), FSW, noon: This is a credibility game for East Carolina and Conference USA. South Carolina is trying to explain a two-point win over Central Florida and a 31-15 loss to Georgia.

The Line: Pick ‘em.

* Tulane (1-1) at Syracuse (1-3), ESPN2, 3 p.m.: Tommy Bowden already has one more win than Mike Ditka in the Big Easy; who says Tulane can’t make it two the way Syracuse has collapsed after winning its opener?

The Line: Syracuse by 22 1/2.

* Oklahoma (1-1) at California (1-0), FSW, 3:30 p.m.: While Oklahoma can’t seem to decide on a quarterback, Cal appears to have found a good one in junior college transfer Justin “the Shredder?” Vedder. The schools meet for the first time since 1976, when Oklahoma pounded out a 28-17 win.

The Line: Cal by 4.

* Auburn (2-0) at Louisiana State (2-0), ESPN, 4:30 p.m.: A great game that takes a back seat to Tennessee-Florida and Nebraska-Washington. This is the key matchup in the SEC West and a game LSU should win at home if it wishes to challenge Florida.

The Line: LSU by 5 1/2.

* Air Force (3-0) at No. 23 Colorado State (2-1), ESPN2, 6 p.m.: Don’t touch that dial. Last year, Colorado State rallied from a 41-14 deficit to pull out a victory in a game in which tempers flared.

The Line: Colorado State by 11.

* Brigham Young (0-1) at Arizona State (2-0), FSW, 7 p.m.: Since the start of last year, the schools have a combined 27-3 record--not too shabby--although this looks like a rebuilding season in Provo. Arizona State’s win at Miami proved last year was not all snake oil.

The Line: Arizona State by 8.

5 Things to Look For

How about an apology from the Big 12? The second-year “Super Conference,” which last year did not have enough eligible teams to fill its six bowl berths, is coming off a humiliating weekend. UCLA routed Texas, 66-3; Michigan pounded Colorado, 27-3, and Central Florida nearly shocked Nebraska at Lincoln. The conference can save face this weekend if Nebraska can win at Washington and Baylor can upset Michigan in Ann Arbor. We’re also guessing Texas A&M; can handle Southwest Louisiana.

An official with a clue to work the Arkansas-Alabama game. Last weekend against Southern Methodist, an Arkansas receiver caught a nine-yard pass on second down in the front of the end zone and was pushed back into the field of play. The officials marked the ball at the three. Arkansas threw an incomplete pass on what it thought was third down, only to be informed it had just failed on its two-point conversation. The officials had ruled the second-down play a touchdown, but Arkansas never saw the signal.

This is supposed to be the year Missouri posts its first winning record in 13 seasons, but the 1-1 Tigers didn’t further their cause by losing a 15-7 decision to Kansas. Missouri faces a must-win situation this weekend at Tulsa, because the rest of the schedule includes built-in losses to Ohio State, Kansas State, Texas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Saturday’s game between Nevada at Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg will be a solemn affair after the death of Kristen Bower--the 17-year-old daughter of Golden Eagle Coach Jeff Bower--who was killed in an auto accident last weekend. Assistants John Thompson and Larry Kueck have taken over this week and try to get the team through the game while thoughts are elsewhere.

Good thing North Carolina Coach Mack Brown has two good quarterbacks. Junior Oscar Davenport has had to bail out senior starter Chris Keldorf in each of the Tar Heels’ two wins. North Carolina visits Maryland this weekend and it will be interesting to see how Brown handles the situation. Keldorf was first-team ACC last season, but has been slow to recover from a broken ankle and off-season back surgery. Keldorf and Davenport are good friends, so they probably could co-exist in a platoon situation.