Thinking about all the years a 4-team playoff might have helped us (NU).... '82, '84, '99

E

Eric the Red

Team HuskerBoard
CheeseHusker

Thinking about all the years a 4-team playoff might have helped us.... '82, '84, '99... may have had different paths to title in years we played Miami or FSU too. I think TO has possibly 5 or 6 titles under this system.

 
I just would prefer that the committee keep it's rankings to itself until the final one like the basketball selection committee.

 
Yeah, I made a thread last year about it too.... have a feeling it might have helped us in TOs era and perhaps Frank would have had a shot too. I still think we were the best team in '99. Would have pounded Vick-Tech and had a good shot at Free Shoes.

Where it would have been real fun is in the 80s, especially that 81-84 period where we were all around it but never won it.

 
CheeseHusker said:
Yeah, I made a thread last year about it too.... have a feeling it might have helped us in TOs era and perhaps Frank would have had a shot too. I still think we were the best team in '99. Would have pounded Vick-Tech and had a good shot at Free Shoes.

Where it would have been real fun is in the 80s, especially that 81-84 period where we were all around it but never won it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that Solich team that caught a bad case of fumblitis and was I believe Charlie McBride's last year was one of my favorite of all time. If you look up and down that roster, there was a ton of talent on that team.

 
Hayseed said:
CheeseHusker said:
Yeah, I made a thread last year about it too.... have a feeling it might have helped us in TOs era and perhaps Frank would have had a shot too. I still think we were the best team in '99. Would have pounded Vick-Tech and had a good shot at Free Shoes.

Where it would have been real fun is in the 80s, especially that 81-84 period where we were all around it but never won it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that Solich team that caught a bad case of fumblitis and was I believe Charlie McBride's last year was one of my favorite of all time. If you look up and down that roster, there was a ton of talent on that team.
Click to expand...
Yes, remembering that ’99 team keeps me from feeling too sorry for Baylor and TCU today. If I recall correctly, that was one of the years the alphabet series of playoff scenarios included a seemingly never-ending string of contributing factors…i.e. if a team you beat/lost to either beat/lost to someone else and that team either beat/lost etc. 5 or 6 degrees down the line, it impacted your position throughout the season. Midway through the year we were in great position to play Florida St. (We had gotten hosed in Austin by unbelievably bad calls…..so bad the rumor was those officials were not allowed to work our games again. In fact, the Mike Brown holding call on their winning drive was only 20 yards or so in front of me and it was so obvious……….but….but…etc.). Then, we got Bevo again in the championship game and dominated, so actually avenged our one loss.

But, the guy in charge (I think it was Roy Kramer) started conniving a way to get Va Tech and Mike Vick in ahead of us, so they literally changed the rules on the down-the-line impact games (which had been hurting Va Tech) and viola……….we were OUT.

Not only was that Frank’s best team, but it had a legitimate shot at a NC.

 
CheeseHusker said:
Yeah, I made a thread last year about it too.... have a feeling it might have helped us in TOs era and perhaps Frank would have had a shot too. I still think we were the best team in '99. Would have pounded Vick-Tech and had a good shot at Free Shoes.

Where it would have been real fun is in the 80s, especially that 81-84 period where we were all around it but never won it.
Click to expand...
I don't think NU would have made the top 4 in 1981. The only reason we had a chance at the NC in the Orange Bowl was due to all the other losses that occurred in the top 5 on New Years Day. I can't remember exactly where Nu was ranked before that game.
In 1984, NU lost to Syracuse early in the season, and then went undefeated until losing to Oklahoma in the final game. So, NU lost the Big 8 to OU and would have probably been outside the top 4 after the regular season.

 
Also think about the years it might a hurt us. 1970, 71, 94, 95,and 97. That extra game against a top 4 team is a tough deal. Even for our perceived invisible champions.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
CheeseHusker said:
Yeah, I made a thread last year about it too.... have a feeling it might have helped us in TOs era and perhaps Frank would have had a shot too. I still think we were the best team in '99. Would have pounded Vick-Tech and had a good shot at Free Shoes.

Where it would have been real fun is in the 80s, especially that 81-84 period where we were all around it but never won it.
Click to expand...
I don't think NU would have made the top 4 in 1981. The only reason we had a chance at the NC in the Orange Bowl was due to all the other losses that occurred in the top 5 on New Years Day. I can't remember exactly where Nu was ranked before that game.
In 1984, NU lost to Syracuse early in the season, and then went undefeated until losing to Oklahoma in the final game. So, NU lost the Big 8 to OU and would have probably been outside the top 4 after the regular season.
Click to expand...
We were 4th going into the bowls in 81, by the AP poll, so we would've been playing Clemson...who we lost to. In 82 we were as good as anybody but that early season screw job at Penn St kept us out.

I agree with the Count that we might not have won 2 games in those years where it was close like 70, 94, and 97.

I don't remember any rules being changed in 99. We lost early to Texas, FSU and VT stayed unbeaten, so we needed one of them to lose to get into the championship game. It didn't happen so we were left out.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nebraska was 4th going into the '82 Orange and I believe 4th going into the '85 Sugar.

I guess in the former case we would have drawn Clemson anyway.

'84 was much more complex but I think that Florida was on probation so I don't know if they were eligible. That was the year BYU kind of won it by default... Oklahoma would have been in there too. That's a game (OU '84) that I would have LOVED to avenge.

 
Here's an interesting one, in the '83 season/ 84 orange we still would've played #4 Miami, so you might think, we lost that one anyway. But in a playoff, we probably go for the tie and send it in OT (assuming we keep Kosar from passing Miami into FG position in the final :48 or whatever was left). So it could've turned out differently.

 
While all the playoff games will be held in warm climates or indoors they aren't necessarily home field advantage for any team. All those years we had to play Fla teams in Miami might have been in AZ or Calif. We know how Fla teams travel.....especially long distances.

 
With the playoff, I think we win 99, 97, 95, 94 83, 82, 71,

I think we were clearly the best team at the end of the year (although playing OU again in the playoffs in 71 would have been a challenge)- 83 may have been the most difficult because of our weak defense.

Also, we would have been in the playoffs during the sooner magic year of 1984 - we were ranked # 4 going into the bowl game and we won it against LSU.

toss up: 70 We were ranked 3rd going into the bowl game against # 5 LSU. # 1 Texas and # 2 Ohio State both lost which opened the door for us to claim the championship.

doubtful 81

Regarding the 84 game we were ranked # 1 going into the game and OU# 4.

Oklahoma scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, while the Sooner defense twice stopped Nebraska inside the OU 10 in the second half (the second time just inches away with 5:32 left in the game), and came away with a 17-7 win over the Huskers.

The loss ended Nebraska's 27-game conference win string and the Huskers' 21-game homefield win string and kept NU from clinching a fourth-straight outright Big Eight title. The Huskers won the stats handily — 19 first downs to nine, 373 total yards to 201 — but four key turnovers gave the Sooners the breaks they needed.

OU went on to beat Oklahoma State the following week to share the conference title with Nebraska.

 
That OU game was a killer. It was basically 10-7 until they got an easy TD in the last 30 seconds.

NU outgained them by 200 yards but kept messing up drives. Not only did they fail to score twice inside the 10 but they missed three FGs as well.

They show clips from this game in that 30 for 30 on Bosworth.

Frustrating year was '84.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top