LINCOLN, Neb. -- Several University of Missouri defensive players may want to start working out with tailback Devin West. They have been carrying the ball a lot, too.
Defensive tackle Steve Erickson returned a fumble recovery 41 yards for a touchdown to lift MU to a 6-3 lead with 12:07 remaining in the second quarter of yesterday's 20-13 loss to Nebraska at Memorial Stadium.
Defensive backs Wade Perkins and Harold Piersey combined to return a blocked field goal 55 yards to set up MU's second TD in that quarter.
Erickson, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound junior, scooped up Correll Buckhalter's fumble. Erickson struggled to outrun the converted Nebraska tacklers, but he slipped down the right sideline.
"That wasn't too shabby," said Erickson, smiling. "I was in the right place at the right time. I was fortunate enough to have enough gas to make it to the end zone."
Piersey, however, didn't. Perkins fielded the loose ball caused when Jeff Marriott blocked Kris Brown's 38-yard attempt and darted 11 yards before flipping it to Piersey. He took off like a rocket but sputtered and was tackled by fullback Billy Legate on the Nebraska 25.
"I was already tired," said Piersey, who also plays on the kickoff return unit.
Perkins, who returned an interception 36 yards for a TD last week against Oklahoma, saw Piersey trailing him two yards behind.
"I heard him say, ŒPitch it,'" Perkins said. "I looked up and he was scooting down the sidelines. We never practice that."
TOSS UP: MU coach Larry Smith continued to experiment with his place-kickers.
With sophomore Tim Geiger out because of a pulled quadriceps muscle in his right leg, Smith said earlier in the week that true freshman J.R. Romine would be the place-kicker. But walk-on freshman Brian Long attempted the extra point ‹ which drifted wide left ‹ after Erickson's touchdown.
Smith said Long was kicking the ball higher and quicker than Romine in practice Thursday and Friday.
BENTON STARTS: Senior fullback Sean Benton started for the first time this season. He replaced Rob West, who had started five straight games.
"It's just something that presented itself," Smith said of his decision to start Benton. "We grade kids every week, and, if a guy grades out better than one guy, then he's going to start. That's pretty much an open door position."
Rob West entered the game in the second quarter but played sparingly.
STOPPED, AGAIN: Nebraska stopped MU in its quest to go 4-0 in conference play, again.
In 1980, the Tigers entered their Big 8 Conference game against the Cornhuskers on Nov. 1 with a 3-0 record but lost 38-16 here.
THE WATCH: Representatives from three bowls ‹ Sugar, Orange and Holiday ‹ attended the game.
Sugar Bowl representatives Dr. Leonard Burns and Rod West are touring the nation in search of an at-large bid to play the Southeastern Conference champion.
Burns said he is not going to speculate on which team might receive the at-large bid. The Sugar Bowl, however, clearly is interested in the top Big 12 teams.
"It's so early," Burns said during the game. "But both teams are prospects."
Bowl representatives also will attend the Nebraska-Kansas State game on Nov. 14.
NOTEWORTHY: MU continued its first-quarter scoring woes, tallying no points against the Cornhuskers. The Tigers have scored just 29 first-quarter points this season. Š Nebraska's NCAA-record sellout streak at Memorial Stadium improved to 225 games.
