Editor’s note: This story appeared in the Oct. 4, 1970, editions of the Lincoln Journal and Star.
MINNEAPOLIS — Nebraska linebacking coach John Melton expressed concern Friday night here that the big Husker problem against Minnesota Saturday afternoon might come (if) Minnesota were able to control the football against the Big Red outfit.
A couple of hard-running Nebraska I-backs, Joe Orduna and Jeff Kinney, running behind a hard-charging line of center Doug Dumler, guards Dick Rupert and Donnie McGhee and tackles Wally Winter and Bob Newton took care of that, controlling the ball themselves as the Huskers continued their domination of Big Ten teams with a 35-10 triumph over the Gophers.
The Huskers set the tempo for the contest early in the game, running 29 plays in the opening quarter to only 11 for Minnesota and after letting up a bit in the second quarter, resumed the ball control tactics in the second half.
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The victory boosted NU coach Bob Devaney's record to 9-0 against Big TenÌý opposition and pushed Devaney's record in non-league road games to 10-0-1. It also was the Huskers' 11th game without a loss, dating back to last season.
The last setback suffered by Nebraska was to Missouri, the Husker foe for this week in Lincoln. A game that will match up last year's Big Eight co-champions.
If there was one thing that could be termed disappointing in the Husker victory here Saturday, it would have to be the way the Gophers were able to move the ball on the ground against the Husker defense, tops in the Big Eight against rushing going into the contest.
But after giving up 143 yards on the ground to the Gophers in the first half while building a 23-10 lead, the Nebraska Black Shirts stiffened their defenses and allowed only 53 rushing yards in the final 30 minutes for a total of 196, well below the 489 Minnesota gained on the ground last week against Ohio University.
And 45 of those yards came on one play when the Gophers Ernie Cook scored on a draw play that tied the game at 7-7 with 7:09 in the first quarter.
The Huskers, who went on more long marches than a Boy Scout troop during the afternoon, put an 80-play, 11-play effort together to go out front by 14-7 with 2:38 left in the opening period and 48 seconds later had another tally and that was the ball game.
Despite what appeared to be an off day for him, Jerry Tagge still managed to hit 12 of 21 for 148 yards before giving way to Van Brownson in the fourth quarter.
His two tosses that kept the go-ahead TD drive alive were an 11-yarder to little split end Guy Ingles on a third and seven from the NU 49 and a 21-yarder to fullback Dan Schneiss on second and nine from the Minnesota 39.
But before Minnesota got to run another play from scrimmage, Nebraska had a 21-7 lead and there still was 1:50 left in the first quarter.
But the rest of the 80 yards was gobbled up on the ground with Kinney and Orduna running through huge holes opened by the NU line and Kinney dived over for the score from two yards away.
On the ensuing kickoff, Joe Blahak grabbed the ball for the Huskers after the Gophers fumbled Paul Rodgers' squib quick, a tactic used by the Huskers when kicking into a strong wind.
That gave Nebraska the ball at the Minnesota 24 and Orduna's 18-yard scamper on the next play was partially nullified when officials charged Ingles with clipping.
But two plays later, after a Tagge to Johnny Rodgers pass had put the ball at teh 14, Orduna and Ingles teamed up on a TD pass and the Huskers had a lead that proved too much for Minnesota.