HUSKER HISTORY: THE 25 MOST IMPORTANT GAMES FROM THE SPORTS WRITERS OF THE
HUSKER HISTORY: THE 25 MOST IMPORTANT GAMES FROM THE SPORTS WRITERS OF THE
HUSKER HISTORY:
THE 25 MOST IMPORTANT GAMES FROM THE SPORTS WRITERS OF THE
EDITORS
Thad Livingston and Chris Christen DESIGNER, PHOTO EDITOR & IMAGER
Christine Zueck-Watkins
Title page: The Huskers celebrate the Orange Bowl win against Miami at the end of the 1994 season. BILL BATSON/WORLD-HERALD
Left: Bob Devaney talks with his team after its final practice in Miami before the Orange Bowl matchup with LSU at the end of the 1970 season. WORLD-HERALD ARCHIVES Copyright 2020 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of the publisher, the Omaha World-Herald. Omaha World-Herald, 1314 Douglas St., Omaha, NE 68102-1811 owhstore.com First Edition ISBN: 978-1-7345923-2-0 Printed by Walsworth Publishing Co.
FOREWORD
THESE GAMES CLEARED THE HIGH BAR OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE BY THAD LIVINGSTON
It’s a mouthful: Husker History: The 25 Most Important Games. How can 25 be picked from among all those games? Culling the list becomes easier if the guide is historic significance.
HUSKER HISTORY:
THE 25 MOST IMPORTANT GAMES WRITERS
Tom Shatel Dirk Chatelain Sam McKewon Evan Bland Thad Livingston Kristin Donovan Zach Tegler Mike Patterson Alia Conley Stu Pospisil Adam Ziegler Jon Nyatawa Henry J. Cordes Gene Schinzel
Sure, there are lots of great games — games that left Husker fans satisfied and happy — but most only leave a small dent in terms of historic achievement. For instance, think back to the Gator Bowl at the end of the 2008 football season. Nebraska played Clemson and won a close, hard-fought game, 26-21. Nebraska fans felt good about the win. It gave coach Bo Pelini his ninth win of the season. And as far as games go, it was a good one. But was it considered for the Top 25? Not even close. Neither team was ranked. Clemson was not yet the Clemson it is today, and Nebraska was not the team it once was. Historically, it might have ended up as a page in a few players’ scrapbooks, but other than that, it is a footnote. Now, consider another game that did not make the list but was close: The 2009 Big 12 football championship, also known around Nebraska as the “one-second” game that ended in a 13-12 loss to Texas. Nebraska, led by ferocious defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, thought the game was won until time (rightfully) was put back on the clock allowing Texas to kick the winning field goal. It fueled public sentiment that Nebraska was getting a raw deal in the Big 12. Two seasons later, Nebraska was playing in the Big Ten. That’s significant. Through that prism we picked our 25 games. Most bring back good memories for Husker fans, but not all. And there were a few other things we wrestled with. Realistically, aren’t there 25 football games that are more important to Husker fans than any games in other sports? Yes, probably. But ignoring the significance of several other sports would be a disservice to the sports culture in Nebraska. The men’s basketball team at times — particularly from 1990 through 1994 — has captured the state’s interest like nothing other than Husker football.
6
Similarly, what would have seemed unlikely when football went big time in the late 1960s, the NU volleyball team has helped turn Nebraska into a volleyball state. NU draws top recruits from around the country, and the state’s high school and club programs produce top prospects not only for NU but for schools elsewhere. Plus, NU sells out an 8,000-seat volleyball arena for each home game. It’s the kind of thing most schools hope their men’s basketball team can do. Women’s hoops has spiked at times, too. Ironically, none of the games played by the program’s best-ever team — the 2009-10 squad that went 32-2 and made the Sweet 16 — made the Top 25. An important win in 2004-05 did, however. Baseball began to break through in 1999, and for a time generated a huge amount of interest, spurring the construction of a new baseball stadium and giving Big Red fans something other than spring football to cheer in the spring. Clearly, baseball needed to be on the list. And yes, you will find losses among the Top 25. NU lost in the 1984 Orange Bowl to Miami but gained national respect by playing to win. NU lost to Florida State in the 1994 Orange Bowl but sent a message to the rest of the country that the college football spotlight was going to shine on Lincoln for the foreseeable future. Likewise, a blowout loss at Colorado in 2001 signaled that the cyclical nature of college football was spinning another team to the top of the pile. It was a long day for Husker fans, but historically significant all the same. For optimists, another game is coming — not in time for this book — that will signal NU football’s rise back toward the top. And that game surely will land in the next tome of Husker history. The question is, what game will it be?
The Huskers pose for a team photo after their three-set win over Texas in the 2015 national championship match in downtown Omaha. MATT MILLER/WORLD-HERALD
7
14
#
VS. KANSAS
FEBRUARY 22, 1958 WIN, 43-41
1 12
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA NEBRASKA COLISEUM ATTENDANCE: 8,000
NU PULLS A SHOCKER AGAINST ONE OF GAME’S GREATS BY JON NYATAWA
The biggest Husker basketball win inside the NU Coliseum took place in 1958. Two weeks after suffering the worst loss in school history to Kansas, Nebraska avenged the lopsided defeat by securing a dramatic upset over the Wilt Chamberlain-led Jayhawks.
Wilt Chamberlain, at 7-foot-1, scored 46 points against Nebraska at Kansas. In Lincoln, the Huskers held him to 18 points. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNL LIBRARIES
Facing page: A full house at the NU Coliseum. WORLD-HERALD ARCHIVES
17
#
OMAHA, NEBRASKA CENTURYLINK CENTER ATTENDANCE: 17,561
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP VS. TEXAS
DECEMBER 19, 2015 WIN, 3-0 1 32
HUSKERS FORCE FEED TEXAS A BITTER PILL — IN OMAHA BY ALIA CONLEY
In front of a roaring partisan crowd, Nebraska swept longtime rival Texas to clinch the program’s fourth title and spark a return to tournament dominance.
Justine Wong-Orantes (4), Kelsey Fien (14), Kadie Rolfzen (6) and Amber Rolfzen (5) celebrate a point.
Facing page: Justine Wong-Orantes serves in the second set. MATT MILLER/WORLD-HERALD
18
#
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA MEMORIAL STADIUM ATTENDANCE: 30,000
VS. NOTRE DAME NOVEMBER 10, 1923 WIN, 14-7
1 38
HUSKERS CORRAL NOTRE DAME’S FAMOUS FOUR HORSEMEN BY EVAN BLAND
Nebraska perhaps had fielded better football teams but never earned a sweeter victory to that point than when it beat a national power on the Plains. Notre Dame’s famed “Four Horsemen” remain legendary, but they weren’t enough that day for the Huskers and their relentless ground-and-pound style.
Above: Fans flood the west grandstand of Memorial Stadium for the Notre Dame game in 1923, the first season of Husker football played in the new stadium. The upper sections were still under construction. Left: The 1923 Nebraska football team. Circled are Dave Noble, front row; Ed Weir, second row; John “Choppy� Rhodes, back row. HISTORY NEBRASKA
139
22
#
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES VS. ARIZONA STATE JUNE 17, 2005 WIN, 5-3
164
OMAHA, NEBRASKA ROSENBLATT STADIUM ATTENDANCE: 24,904
ONCE UNTHINKABLE, HUSKERS PICK UP A WIN IN OMAHA BY EVAN BLAND
Everything seemed possible on a summer evening in Omaha as Nebraska finally won a game on college baseball’s biggest stage. This wasn’t the first CWS trip for the Huskers but it was the most joyous — a dizzying moment for the best team in program history.
HUSKERS EXTEND THEIR STAY AT COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Above: Joe Simokaitis tags out Arizona State’s Jeff Larish on a first-inning steal attempt. KILEY CRUSE/WORLD-HERALD
Top left: Pitcher Brett Jensen celebrates after the win.
Above: Joba Chamberlain pitches in the fifth inning.
JEFF BEIERMANN/WORLD-HERALD
KILEY CRUSE/WORLD-HERALD
Top right: Husker fan J.J. Wheeler of Lincoln feels the tension as the Huskers bat in the sixth inning.
Facing page: NU catcher Jeff Christy tags out Arizona State’s Colin Curtis in the sixth inning.
KENT SIEVERS/ WORLD-HERALD
JEFF BEIERMANN/WORLD-HERALD
165
WRITERS
Tom Shatel, Dirk Chatelain, Sam McKewon, Evan Bland, Thad Livingston, Kristin Donovan, Zach Tegler, Mike Patterson, Alia Conley, Stu Pospisil, Adam Ziegler, Jon Nyatawa, Henry J. Cordes, Gene Schinzel EDITORS
Thad Livingston, Chris Christen DESIGNER, PHOTO EDITOR & IMAGER
Christine Zueck-Watkins STORIES FROM OUR ARCHIVES
Wally Provost, Lee Barfknecht, Steve Sinclair, Steven Pivovar, Tom Ash, Elizabeth Merrill, Ralph Stewart, Chris Heady, Mitch Sherman, Jeff Sheldon, Gregg McBride, Frederick Ware, Chad Purcell PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE
Josh Caster, UNL Archives Lisa Hall, Photograher Julie Koch, Lincoln Journal Star Linda Linn, The Oklahoman Scott Matthews, University of Oklahoma Shamus McKnight, UNL Athletics Martha Miller, History Nebraska Amy Roh, Hastings Tribune
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE NEBRASKA On Oct. 29, 1994, Nebraska played its 200th sellout game at Memorial Stadium with 76,131 fans in attendance. The Huskers defeated No. 2-ranked Colorado 24-7, a game that ranks 15th in this book. Nebraska football has sold out 375 straight home games at Memorial Stadium entering the 2020 season. JAMES R. BURNETT/WORLD-HERALD
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Scott Hoeper MARKETING AND FULFILLMENT
Michelle Gullett, Sara Brownell A PRODUCT OF THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD
Julie Bechtel, Publisher Todd Sears, General Manager Randy Essex, Executive Editor
Copies of the book are available at www.owhstore.com. For more information call 402-444-1014. 1 91
ANNA REED/WORLD-HERALD
1 92
The University of Nebraska’s intercollegiate athletic program began with a baseball game that produced a football-like score. The Old Gold Knights defeated Doane 23-6 on April 12, 1889. On Nov. 27, 1890, an NU football team took the field for the first time. It rode the train to Omaha and beat the local YMCA 10-0. Thousands of Husker athletic contests, from Lincoln to Tokyo, have followed. From those comes Husker History: The 25 Most Important Games. The most important Husker games are documented in these pages by contemporary reporting from the time and bolstered by modern reflection by World-Herald writers, thus providing a thorough vetting of the games that will live with Nebraska forever. $29.95 ISBN 978-1-7345923-2-0
52995>
9 781734 592320 $29.95 | OWHSTORE.COM Š2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.