Football '98:
vs Alabama-Birmingham, September 5, 1998

(4) NEBRASKA 38, UAB 7

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Aside from a few cramps on a hot day and the occasional punt by his offense, it was almost a dreamy debut for Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch. Making his first college start, Crouch ran for two touchdowns and passed for one to lead No. 4 Nebraska to a 38-7 victory over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.

Crouch said he prepared by imagining a solid performance.

"All week, I would lay in bed before going to sleep and think about what it would be like," Crouch said. "I tried to visualize big plays and visualize the idea of getting it done."

Crouch broke free for a 59-yard TD in the fourth quarter, but the redshirt freshman did most of his damage in the first half. Playing for injured Bobby Newcombe, Crouch threw a 15-yard TD strike to Sheldon Jackson and scored on an 11-yard run to help the Cornhuskers (2-0) to a 21-7 halftime lead.

Now coach Frank Solich has two experienced quarterbacks. Newcombe was effective in Nebraska's victory last week over Louisiana Tech but didn't play Saturday because of a slight knee ligament tear.

"We have used two quarterbacks in our first two games, and I think that experience will make us a dangerous team at the quarterback position," Solich said.

There were times when Nebraska looked punchless on offense and porous on defense. Before scoring 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points, the Huskers allowed Alabama-Birmingham (0-1) to put up a good fight.

"We tried to execute the game plan that we had but we ran out of gas," Blazers coach Watson Brown said.

With Nebraska leading 21-7 late in the third quarter, the Blazers, aided by penalties against the Huskers, drove to the 11 and appeared ready to make it a game. But the crowd of 75,921 got noisy for the first time all day, and UAB stumbled back to the 40 after procedure and pass interference penalties on four of the next five plays. The series ended with a punt.

The Huskers outlasted the Blazers on a hot and humid day, scoring in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Kris Brown, Crouch's 59-yard TD and a 63-yard pass from reserve quarterback Monte Christo to Tracey Wistrom.

Brown became Nebraska's career scoring leader, kicking five PATs and the field goal to surpass Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier's school record of 312 points from 1981-83. Brown has scored 315.

"It's nice to have the record, but I'm out there for the team," Brown said. "When I'm out there, it's not for me."

Crouch was 11-of-17 for 127 yards and ran seven times for 69 yards. He left briefly in the third quarter after gripping his knee on a broken play but returned in the fourth period.

Joel Makovicka's 3-yard TD put the Huskers on the board. The Blazers made it 14-7 after a 2-yard run by Ortavious Miles.

(4) NEBRASKA 38, Alabama-Birmingham 7

               1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH  FINAL
               --- --- --- ---  -----
UAB             0   7   0   0     7
Nebraska        7  14   0  17    38

First Quarter
      Neb-Makovicka 3 run (K.Brown kick), 4:37.
Second Quarter
      Neb-S.Jackson 15 pass from Crouch (K.Brown kick), 11:27.
      UAB-Miles 2 run (Arians kick), 3:45.
      Neb-Crouch 11 run (K.Brown kick), :09.
Fourth Quarter
      Neb-FG K.Brown 27, 10:13.
      Neb-Crouch 59 run (K.Brown kick), 5:47.
      Neb-Wistrom 63 pass from Christo (K.Brown kick), 2:19.
	
	
                        UAB      Neb
                        ---      ---
First downs              16       22
Rushes-yards         46-154   43-236
Passing                  56      208
Return Yards             12       51
Comp-Att-Int         8-18-0  15-21-0
Punts                7-39.1   3-47.7
Fumbles-Lost            4-0      2-1
Penalties-Yards       11-81     8-68
Time of Possession    33:59    26:01


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
	
RUSHING-Ala.-Birmingham, Dixon 16-50, Miles 8-33, Anderson 7-30,
Rea 3-15, Foster 4-13, Coleman 1-10, Gallery 1-2, Jolly 6-1.
Nebraska, Buckhalter 19-96, Crouch 7-69, Makovicka 8-27,
Alexander 3-23, Wiggins 2-12, Christo 3-11, London 1-(minus 2).

PASSING-Ala.-Birmingham, Dixon 8-15-0-56, Jolly 0-3-0-0.
Nebraska, Crouch 11-17-0-127; Christo 4-4-0-81.

RECEIVING-Ala.-Birmingham, Troupe 2-20, Anderson 1-15, D.Johnson
1-9, Crosby 1-7, Arrington 1-4, Foster 1-1, Miles 1-0. Nebraska,
Cheatham 4-37, S.Jackson 3-33, Buckhalter 3-18, Wistrom 1-63,
Wiggins 1-29, Makovicka 1-17, Haafke 1-6, Davison 1-5.

A-75,921.