Bob Devaney is a legend at the University of Nebraska, both as the head football coach and later as the athletic director. But for the first eight years of a coaching tenure that started in 1962, he was simply a good, but not legendary figure, making four major bowl games in that stretch. It was […]
Football in Nebraska was on a high in the early 1970s. The legendary head coach Bob Devaney had won back-to-back national titles in 1970 and 1971. In 1972, the Cornhuskers capped off another strong season by crushing Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. The 1973 Nebraska football season marked the beginning of a new era. […]
The Nebraska Cornhuskers cleared a big hurdle in 1988 when they finally defeated their archenemy, the Oklahoma Sooners after four straight years of losing, and won the championship of the old Big Eight Conference. When offseason turmoil hit Oklahoma, the Cornhuskers appeared ready for an era of dominance in this top-heavy league. But the 1989 […]
Tom Osborne had been the Nebraska head coach since 1973, and he came into 1987 having done most everything you could do in college football—except win a national championship. The 1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers had the look of a team that could fill in the last line of Osborne’s resume. But an all-too-familiar nemesis—Oklahoma and a […]
Nebraska had gone to nine major bowls since Tom Osborne became head coach in 1973. The last two years were marked by heartbreak at the goal-line—a legendary failed two-point conversion in the Orange Bowl that cost them a national title in 1983–and a failed fourth down at the goal line against Oklahoma that cost them […]
In the annals of great teams that never won it all—in any sport—the 1983 Nebraska football team is as renowned—even as revered–as any. They spent a regular season crushing all comers. In the Orange Bowl they played for the win when a tie would have been sufficient. And they missed a national championship by the […]
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were as consistent a winner as there was in college football. Unfortunately, there was also as consistent a loser as there was in certain targeted games. They overcame one hurdle in 1981 when they finally beat Oklahoma and won the old Big Eight outright. 1982 Nebraska football overcame another when they won […]
1981 Nebraska football was looking to get some separation from Oklahoma. Tom Osborne became the head coach in 1973 at a time when the program had two recent national championships (1970-71). Osborne continued to win at a high level, but not only were national titles not forthcoming, he couldn’t get past Barry Switzer’s Sooners in […]
The 1979 Nebraska football team flirted with greatness and settled for being really good. For better or for worse, the ’79 Cornhuskers fit the program profile during this era. READ GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Nebraska had been a consistent winner since Tom Osborne took over for the legendary Bob Devaney in 1973, but the […]
No one saw a serious run at a national title coming, but Nebraska still got respect for the running games it produced and for its defense. Trev Alberts, prior to a career in which he would be the worst ESPN analyst this side of Rick Sutcliffe, won the Butkus Award
It was business as usual for the 1992 Nebraska football team. Since Tom Osborne had taken over as head coach in 1974, the program had reached 13 major bowl games and were a consistent national contender. They also hadn’t won a national championship. Both patterns continued in ‘92. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. A […]
The 1986 Fiesta Bowl brought together two traditional powers, Michigan and Nebraska, who had narrowly missed being in position to play for a national title, but still had a top-five national finish on the line when they met. Here’s a look back on the road the Wolverines and Cornhuskers took through the 1985 college football […]