There is an old saying that offense wins games but defense wins championships. If that adage holds true after Saturday afternoon's annual Red-White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium, the Cornhusker football team may need to build an addition to its trophy case. The red team (No. 1 offense, No. 2 defense), despite being held without an offensive touchdown, pulled out a 20-17 victory over the white squad (No. 1 defense, No. 2 offense) in front of a spring game record crowd of 48,659 fans. Coach Tom Osborne said he was proud of the effort put forth by his team, especially on the defensive side. "We've got a decent offensive football team, but I think we may have an outstanding defense," Osborne said. "If you play good defense and have a good kicking game, you have a chance." The defense shined as the red team surrendered 231 yards and the white team held the red offense to only 209 yards. The red team, featuring I-backs Ahman Green and Damon Benning, was held to 93 yards rushing on 46 carries. No. 1 quarterback Scott Frost led the red team with 50 yards rushing on 19 carries. Fullback Ben Kingston of the white team led all rushers with 56 yards on 10 carries. Green, the No. 1 I-back, was held to 25 yards on 11 carries. Benning carried the ball six times for 16 yards, and No. 1 fullback Brian Schuster gained 4 yards on three carries. Neither team had a run longer than 15 yards. Jon Hesse was the game's leading tackler with 12 stops, including 2 1/2 behind the line of scrimmage. Chad Kelsay added eight tackles, including two for losses. Frost, who completed only 4 of 14 passes for 44 yards, said the defense might single-handedly win a few games for the Huskers next fall. "I don't think the offense has to put up great numbers because of the way the defense plays," Frost said. "The rush ends put their ears back and really came after us." One of those defensive lineman, Jeff Ogard, said stopping the No. 1 offensive line was the key to the defense's dominance. Ogard forced two Frost fumbles on the afternoon. Matt Turman's 59-yard pass to Brendan Holbein in the second quarter was the longest offensive play of the game. That play helped set up a 25-yard Kris Brown field goal. With the lack of offense, special teams played a key part in the red squad's win. Benning returned a Brian Morro punt 87 yards for a touchdown with 4:22 left in the third quarter. Frost's pass to Jon Vedral on the two-point conversion tied the game at 14. Brown made field goals of 26, 25 and 23 yards. His fourth field goal of the day, another 25-yarder with three seconds left in the game, gave the red team the victory, avenging a 40-34 loss last season. Brown, who also punted once for 58 yards to the 1-yard line, said he welcomed the chance to kick a field goal that decided the game. Last year, Brown's freshman season, no team came within 14 points of the Huskers. "It builds my confidence up a little bit," Brown said. "If the situation warrants itself next fall, I can say I've been in a pressure game and kicked the game-winning field goal. It's tougher pressure kicking against your teammates than kicking in a game." The white team took a 7-3 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by James Sims with 6:42 left in the first quarter. The white team went up 14-6 on a fourth-down-and-3 play from the 18 when Monte Christo threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end T.J. DeBates in the second quarter.
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