Thread by @Autumn_Eleven

Since the much anticipated 30 for 30 got scrapped, I’ll do my best to explain what Nebraska football was in the 90’s. This will be a large thread released in 5 parts over the next several days. Scroll down through and enjoy
THREAD⬇️

Before we begin I want to make it clear that I don’t own the videos, no copyright intended etc.

It wouldn’t be right to skip to the domination by Nebraska in the 90’s without looking at the years preceding them.

Bob Devaney was the head coach of the cornhuskers from 1962- 1972, winning 2 national championships in the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Recently ESPN called the 1970 team the best ever in CFB

“I’d like to win just enough to keep the administration happy, but not warrant an NCAA investigation”
-Bob Devaney

Tom Osborne joined the staff as a grad assistant in 1964 & then promoted to OC in 1969 before being handpicked by Devaney to be the next head coach after the 1972 season. The two were the first major cfb coaches to reach 100 wins in consecutive careers at the same school

Between Devaney and Osborne they were head coach for 36 years. Since then Nebraska has had five coaches in 22 seasons. Osborne was at Nebraska for his entire career. Staying with one school is unheard of now. However he did try unsuccessfully to be the head coach elsewhere...

Osborne did not want to follow Devaney at Nebraska because it would be a struggle to live up to that success. He interviewed for the HC job at South Dakota and later Texas Tech. Both denied. He was offered the job at Augustana in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and almost took it.

Side note:
Tom Osborne and Barry Switzer were the offensive coordinators for Nebraska and Oklahoma in the 1971 “Game of the Century”

Let’s call Tom Osborne TO for short. He would end up reaching 250 wins faster than any coach before him going 60-3 in his last 5 seasons including 3 national championships

TO Nebraska teams had at least 9 wins every year and ranked in the top 25 for 304 of 307 games, winning 13 conference titles. The only mediocre stat from the TO era was a 12-13 bowl game record.

Osborne put together some great teams. He said his best was the 1983 squad nicknamed “The Scoring Explosion”. In the 3rd qtr of their game vs Colorado they scored 41 points in 9 minutes ten 10 seconds with time of possession being 2 minutes 55 seconds.

They also hung 84 on Minnesota, scoring 21 every quarter and put up 790 yards. Mike Rozier won the Heisman. Blew out most teams...

Until the Orange Bowl vs Miami. Nebraska was down 17-0 in the 1st quarter then down 31-17 in the third. Nebraska famously ran the fumblerooski with G Dean Steinkuhler to get their first score.

At this time there was no BCS national championship game or playoff, there were bowl games and a vote to determine a champion. There was also no overtime. Nebraska scored under 1 minute to make it 31-30. They could kick the PAT to tie and would almost certainly be named champion-

or go for 2 to win outright. A loss would mean no championship. Osborne decided to go for the 2 point conversion

TO on going for two “I don’t think I could have gone in the locker room and looked at those players with the idea we didn’t try to win. I guess hindsight is always 20-20 but I think it was the right thing to do. There’s no question in my mind that if we had to do it over again, -

we would do the same thing.” Journalist Milton Richman “They lost the game but not their dignity. For that they can thank their coach. No other coach embodied good coaching principles more or served as a better model of correctitude to his players.”

Most of the next years also ended in a disappointing loss. During this time people were saying TO can’t win the big one, which was true for a while. Starting with the 1987 Fiesta Bowl vs FSU, Nebraska lost seven straight bowl games. 2 to Miami & 3 to FSU.

Other missed opportunities were:
-1981 Clemson*
-1982 Penn St* regular season loss after a controversial sideline catch
-1989 Colorado regular season
-1990 Georgia Tech*
-1991 Miami*
*resulted in a championship for the opponent

But Nebraska always played well against LSU. TO had four wins and a tie against the Bayou Bengals. Nebraska won twice in the Sugar Bowl and once in the Orange Bowl.

The difference between Nebraska and their bowl opponents seemed to be speed. Miami was always faster. After 1991 Nebraska changed from a 5-2 to a 4-3 defense. They became an attacking defense instead of a read and react philosophy.

With this change Nebraska was able to recruit faster players who fit this defense & understand how to play offense against a 4-3. Recruiting was still difficult for Nebraska because the state and border states low population and blizzards in Lincoln during recruiting season.

The weather in February for Tommie Frazier’s visit was unseasonably warm. “I told him it was unusually cold for this time of year” -TO

Despite not being ranked among the the top 10 or 20 recruiting classes nationally, they developed players and consistently ranked in the top 25 teams for 30 consecutive years from 1969-1998 and 21 times in the top 10.

Recruiting the right players was key but they never got away from the walk-on program. Most of these non-scholarship players were from small towns in the state and by the time they were seniors, were contributing or starting. Usually 6 to 8 of 22 starters began as walk-ons

To walk-ons from Nebraska, playing football for the Cornhuskers meant more. The coaching staff treated them the same as scholarship players and unlike other schools, reserved 3 to 5 scholarships a year for walk-on players. Athletes would turn down smaller scholarships in favor...

of a walk-on spot because they knew they’d be given a fair chance to show he could play at the top level and represent the state. Usually 2/3 of the roster was from Nebraska. Three of five starters on the 1994 O-Line were from Nebraska.

Players loved TO because they could tell he genuinely cared about them and was straight forward. LB letterman Jon Hesse recalled being on an elevator with some other veterans, TO and a walk-on who they didn’t know. TO acknowledged the walk-on by name, congratulated him and...

his high school team for beating its rival the previous week. The coaching staff was the same way. DT Kenny Walker was deaf so Nebraska assistants learned sign language to communicate with him.

A future NFL player visited Nebraska as a recruit. He wanted to study petroleum engineering, which wasn’t offered by UNL. TO advised him to not attend UNL for that reason. He attended Oklahoma and played well against Nebraska. Ironic in a time known for illegal recruiting methods

It was great that TO had the players best interests but people wanted championships. TO was judged by his failures. They still said he couldn’t win the big one. That would change after 1993

No true freshman had ever started at QB for a TO Nebraska team until six games into the 1992 season when Tommie Frazier started against Missouri. He made the most of the opportunity

TO on Frazier “I don’t want to give the impression this is a one man program in the last four years but if I were to choose one player who had the most impact on the outcome of the greatest number of games over the longest period of time since I’ve been here, it would be Frazier”

An early season loss to Washington and an upset by Iowa St put Nebraska on track for another bowl game loss to FSU. That 1992 ISU loss would be their last in the regular season until 1996. 25 straight regular season wins

For players and fans, the 1993 season was a championship or bust year. Winning it all was the only thing left to achieve. One advantage the walk-on program provided was the ability to have first and second team offense and defense getting reps against scout team simultaneously.

Most programs only had first team offense and first team defense going while everyone else stood around. Nebraska’s offensive units ran 85-100 plays every practice which was almost twice as much as most teams. This was great conditioning. Most programs had the numbers to run-

-these kind of intense practices but didn’t have confidence in their coaches to split into more than two groups. TO did because his staff was around forever. To name a few

George Darlington 30 seasons
Milt Tenopir 29 seasons
Charlie McBride 23 seasons

The loyalty was there because TO didn’t blame the staff when the team struggled. He only dismissed two coaches in 25 years. They turned down head coach and NFL jobs which would’ve resulted in a higher salary.

Nebraska went undefeated through the 1993 regular season. Then they got paired with Florida State in the Orange Bowl. This time the game would determine a national champion.

Another chance to see if Nebraska could finish the job. FSU was lead by Heisman winner Charlie Ward. The young Cornhuskers were 17 point underdogs

Injuries were a factor. LB Trev Alberts had dislocated his elbow in the previous game but still sacked Ward 3 times. The teams leading receiver Abdul Muhammad bruises his ribs on the second play of the second qtr and had to leave. Leading rusher Calvin Jones hurt his shoulder -

- and only got 9 carries. There were also some major penalties that didn’t go Nebraska’s way. A punt return called back.

Roughing the passer penalty. What appeared to be a fumble at the goal line by FSU was ruled a TD

Despite this, it’s still anyone’s game in the 4th. Nebraska kicks a field goal to go up 16-15 with 1:16 left. It feels like they’re going to win. FSU drives down to get a field goal to go up 18-16. They think they’ve won.

But Nebraska barely gets in range. A second is added onto the clock after players poured Gatorade on Bobby Bowden. This set up a 45 yard try to win...

Wide left. What a game. Another unbelievable loss by Nebraska. Coming into the game FSU averaged 548 yards on offense and 43.2 points per game. They were limited to 333 yards and 18 points. Nebraska proved they could keep up with these teams. Redemption would have to wait a year

The 1993 FSU loss was used as motivation for the players entering the 94 season. The stadium clock read 1:16 4th Qtr through winter conditioning, spring ball and fall workouts. The national perception was that Nebraska lost again, will it be any different next year?

The players were determined to finish the job. “Our players always worked hard; however, this year was different...in 1994 they were going to make sure that they won it. This team was on a mission.” -TO. During the 93-97 run the teams voted to abstain from alcohol in season.

The team motto was “Unfinished Business”. Twice a week in practice, the top offense and defense would practice against each other. This helped them play a more physical and aggressive style and opponents knew this coming into a game vs Nebraska.

The 1994 team returned 13 starters. QB Tommy Frazier and solid backup Brook Berringer directed the offense.

The O-Line was nicknamed “the pipeline”. Four fifth-year seniors and one fourth-year junior. Pictured L to R: Zach Wiegert*, Brenden Stai, Aaron Graham, Joel Wilks**, Rob Zatechka*
*player from Nebraska
**former walk-on

Their first game was The Kickoff Classic vs West Virginia. WV was also coming off an undefeated regular season but only gained 15 yards in the 1st qtr, & finished with 8 rushing yards out of 89 total yards. 8 sacks. Their highlight of the game was a 90 yard punt. For the brand.

West Virginia head coach after the game, “Personally, I just want to get out of here.”

Game two was at Texas Tech. Nebraska rolled them but S Mike Minter injured his knee and was out for the season. Final 42-16

No.13 UCLA was the home opener. Nebraska won 49-21 in Lincoln in which a different player scored each touchdown.

Game 4 was a tune up against Pacific. Yes, a team manager played QB for Nebraska. Final score 70-21

The very next day Tommie Frazier got his leg checked out and discovered he had a blood clot which would probably sideline him the rest of the season. Here’s Nebraska having a championship season & suddenly your Heisman candidate QB is out for the year.

Backup Brook Berringer stepped in the following week vs Wyoming. Nebraska was unimpressive in the first half: down 14 after the first qtr and 7 at halftime. Berringer suffered a collapsed lung right before halftime. He played through it, rushing for 3 touchdowns on the day.

Lawrence Phillips added three touchdowns and Nebraska finished the comeback. Final 42-32.

The following week vs Oklahoma State was also problematic. Berringer’s lung collapsed again before halftime with a six point lead. Sophomore walk-on QB Matt Turman was thrown in. The defense stepped up and Nebraska won 32-3, holding OSU to 136 of their 358 average yards.

Play of the game

OSU had not beat Nebraska since 1961. The next week was at No.16 Kansas State who had plans to break their 25-year losing streak to Nebraska. Turman (the Turmanator) started and played a majority of the game.

It was a run heavy day featuring the fullback lead about 40 times. The Husker O-Line started telling the K-State D-Line where the play was going before the snap but it didn’t make a difference. Nebraska outgained KSU 134-5 in the 4th quarter, winning 17-6.

Brook Berringer was back for the 42-7 road win at Missouri. The defense held the Tigers to 198 yards. The next week Nebraska was ranked No.3 and were hosting No.2 Colorado who had 16 returning starters, QB Kordell Stewart and that years Heisman winning RB Rashaan Salaam.

Nebraska’s defense held Colorado to just 7 points. The offense played just as well, TO-“Brook played a nearly flawless game” scoring 24.

Nebraska was now ranked No.1 and won the next two games beating Kansas 45-17 and Iowa St on the road 28-12. The only game left between Nebraska and a perfect regular season record was Oklahoma. A win meant a trip to the Orange Bowl. Huskers won 13-3. Miami would be their opponent

The Orange Bowl was Miami’s home field where they won more than 60 previous home games with one loss. The same stadium where Nebraska lost three games that would’ve resulted in a championship. Tommie Frazier was cleared to play and got the start despite not playing since Sept.

Nebraska started slow. Brook lead the Huskers only scoring drive of the first half. 10-7 at the break.

Miami scored early in the 3rd. Nebraska forced a safety to make it 17-9. After a red zone interception, Frazier went back in at QB.

Miami wasn’t thinking the fullback was going to get the ball, being used as a lead blocker most of the game. Cory Schlesinger ran one in. 2-point try tied it at 17. Schlesinger scored again with 2:46 left in the game.

When Frazier came in, Warren Sapp asked “Where you beeen Tommie?” Frazier responded “It’s not where I’ve been fat boy it’s where I’m going.” Later in the game the Miami defense was worn down. Nebraska was in better shape in the 4th quarter.

Miami had one last chance to win but threw an interception. Nebraska won TO his first national championship.

Bob Costas did Tom Osborne justice by describing how big that moment was.

Nebraska finally got it done in ‘94. Now the question was if they could do it again. The Huskers were the team to beat. The 1995 team is considered to be the best CFB team ever by many people.

The 1995 team would only have 8 starters returning from last season. Center Aaron Graham was the only one returning on the pipeline. The backfield was loaded with potential Heisman candidate Lawrence Phillips and in-state talent Ahman Green, Clinton Childs and Damon Benning.

The defense was stacked once again. They were called the Blackshirts. This wasn’t just a name, it was a reputation they gained with the style and attitude of their play.

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