Spartness

Hardly anyone comes back from THAT big of a deficit. You can't use that as a measuring stick when only a few teams have ever done it. In fact Osborne's teams rarely had to come back, but despite the notion by the "experts" that Osborne's offense couldn't do it, we did come back a few times. Notably in the 1984 Orange Bowl we were down 17 early and 14 in the 4th quarter and did everything but win. And as mentioned, we came back from 10 down twice in the 1995 Orange Bowl. And people remember the flea kicker in 1997 against Missouri, but we had to move 67 yards in a minute to score. I think those 95 and 97 games were the best comebacks because of the importance. I was at both the 02 and 06 A&M games and they were great, and the 02 did keep us from a losing season, but in some ways I wonder if there would've been a bit more harmony in the fan base for firing Solich after a 6-7 season and no bowl. I understand what you are saying. But I have seen passing teams a number of times come from behind more than three touchdowns and come back to win. Those years when we got behind more than two touchdowns against top-10 caliber teams, before we had those great teams in the mid-90s, Osborne's teams just didn't have the passing ability to come back.

Ahhh, good one. Another big KU upset was back in 1969. I remember reading an article a few years back about the significance of the ’69 KU game. It was Devaney’s 9th year, and in his last couple of years his teams had fallen off a bit with 6-4 records after great successes the first few years. KU had beaten us twice in a row in ’67 and ’68. NU started out 2-2 in 1969. Devaney was actually worried about losing his job if NU dropped the KU game and slid into a losing season in 1969. KU led 17-6 halfway into the 4th qtr in the 1969 game. NU scores two unanswered TDs in the 4th qtr, with a 2 pt conversion on the first one. NU wins 21-17. Devaney’s job is safe. The rest is history. I was there that day in '69. Actually we were ahead 14-0 in the first quarter and Kansas can back to pull ahead 17-14. In the last minute of so -- I don't remember what yard-line we were on -- NU faced fourth and long. Jerry Tagge dropped back under heavy pressure and was being chased. He finally threw a long ball way over everybody's heads. But a Jayhawk DB knocked down our intended receiver and was called for pass interference. (Those were the days when the ball was placed where the receiver was knocked down, and it didn't matter how uncatchable the football was.) We gained another 15 yards as Kansas was called for un-sportsman-like conduct. We were then pretty deep in their territory and went in to score the winning TD.

Wow, this is a hard one. Because of our style of offense in most of the Osborne years, the Solich years, and the crappy teams of Callahan, we never had that game where we were behind -- for example 35-7 -- and came back and won. OK, I found one. This is going way back, but the most dramatic memory I have. I was at the Kansas game in 1970. This was Devaney's first NC team. We pulled ahead 10-0 early in the game. All of a sudden, the Jayhawks exploded for 20 points! And I mean lightning fast! Us husker fans were in shock. Kansas fans were going crazy. The score 20-10 -- Kansas. But then came one of the biggest plays in Husker history. The first play from scrimmage after Kansas' last touchdown, QB Van Bronson dropped back and threw an eighty-yard T.D. bomb to Guy "The Fly" Ingels. He beat a DB who ran a faster 100-yard dash. That touchdown took all the fire out of Kansas and its fans. Final score: NU 41-KU 20. That was the greatest comeback I remember. I never seen another play that turned a game around like that eighty-yard bomb. Do some of you older posters remember that game?

More appealing academically? More appealing economically for the state of Nebraska? ??????????

I must admit I wasn't that crazy about the Big 10 and initially had a negative feeling when I first heard about the possible move. But to be honest with you, I did not have any good reasons, like the poster, for my past feeling for the Big 10. Once I understood the whole story about how it will help NU academically and perhaps Nebraska's economy, I was in. I have had the impression in comparing the Big 10 to the Big 12 South Division, that the Big 12 South had more speed overall. But even though OSU looked slower against LSU in that NC game a few years ago, they did defeat Miami in that NC game some years back. One out of three isn't too bad. With Pelini making Nebraska into a fast team again, like Osborne's later teams, that maybe would help inspire more Big 10 teams to get faster -- but I think the Big 10 teams are already improving on that.

Since we are heading to more of a running offense, this is a position where we may have to switch a QB or two to the WR spot and recruit that diamond in the rough. While I think we will throw a bit more and will be more sophisticated than Osborne's and Solich's offenses, a four-star, five-star WR will not generally be that excited about the direction we are going. So in the future while we perhaps will see four-star types (I am including those that the coaches rate high, not Rivals or Scout.) at any defensive position, the OL, QB and RB positions, the recruiting will probably be a lot tougher at WR.

How's this dude's footwork? How his sideline to sideline speed? Has he played on the other side of the ball? I would think his height could cause a lot of problems for QBs.Perhaps Pelini and staff will look at him at DT?

Remember folks that Nebraska was once one of the country's very best universities. (Go to Omaha.com archives to find the article.) In 1910, NU was number 12 by some rating service -- can't remember which one. It was after World War I when the university started to unravel because of the Agricultural Depression. NU was nearly forced to close shop and lost many of its faculty members. Also, according to the Omaha World-Herald, the Republican-leaning Board of Regents turned down FDR's New Deal funding. (Not trying to make this into a GOP bashing or anything -- just stating the facts.) Academics were not the same at NU. It was about 10 years ago when the university again started to take academics more seriously, and has given it a much stronger academic standing among other universities. Even though Delaney said he has had Nebraska on his mind for about 20 years, I have my doubts NU would have been accepted in the Big Ten if the academic situation would have been the same today, as it was 20 years ago. I notice that OU has improved quite a bit, too. If I recall, I think NU and OU were like number 7 and 8 in the Big 8 Conference at one time or another. I'm just glad that NU is striving as hard in academics and they always have been in Husker football. It's a great time to be a Big Red fan -- and to be a new Big Ten fan.

None of above, since they all voted against us. But I was looking forward to the series with KU because of Turner. That's my only regret.

Sorry, I meant to post this on the main Husker Football board. Can you please move it? Thanks!

We all share the belief that Nebraska is on the way back and could be a top-10 team next season. While it's still a little bit of an unknown how good we will be -- and I am perhaps dreaming -- wouldn't it be totally awesome if we took the the Big 12 Championship on our way out of the Big 12 and into the Big 10? Especially if it included a butt kicking of Texas and defeating OU in the CC game? And to top it off, playing Ohio State in the BCS Championship? Perhaps the Husker players are on a mission to make something like this happen. OK, I realize this probably won't happen, but I still can dream about it. It would be a great going-away party, slamming the door in Beebe's and Texas' face.

Just thinking about representatives from Northwestern University, Chicago University, etc. visiting Nebraska's academic facilities and making suggestions is a big WOW! to me. We can now -- once and for all -- bury the "N for nowledge" forever.

Yawn! I think it's time for me to take a nap.

If you take away that fumble TD return, take away that batted pass that was luckily caught by the TTU receiver on third and long in the opening drive, and we at least had some offense, it would have been a close game. Our defense played good enough to win -- if we just had some offensive production. We didn't stop TTU's offense -- nobody ever does -- but we slowed them down. I mostly blame our offense for that loss.

Sen. Pat Roberts -- R. Here is a politician who before his last election victory was probably doing the usual campaigning about "limited government." Now that his beloved Wildcats are being threatened into becoming a mid-major, it's okay for government to step in.

Actually I wouldn't mind playing Texas every year if both team end up joining the B 10. I know some don't like the word rivalry, but since there is some history between the two programs ... well, let's back up. If Texas is the only South Division school joining, and the Aggies aren't included, then I could see the "possibility" that Texas would "eventually" look at us as their second biggest rival, and Texas possibly being Nebraska's first. But that would depend if they both play every year. Even though Texas owns us right now record-wise, they don't own us as far as the competitiveness of the games. I'm 99.9 percent sure that no matter what would happen, UT will continue to play OU. There was a big debate in another thread over whether Iowa would be a rival -- I think most Husker fans on this board said "no" because of the lack of history. I do agree that Texas perhaps could develop into a faster and bigger one.

The only bad thing is this came after a more serious offense a year ago. This in itself is probably no worse than a first-time speeding ticket. I think many of us one time or another have tried to find an isolated spot where one no could see us and gone if there wasn't a nearby facility. It appears reading between the lines that perhaps he wasn't so careful and could easily be spotted.

I'm not saying this would be an instant rivalry. Not at all. It depends on how it all plays out. It may take a number of years, or it may never happen. Ferenz (sp) has had some decent teams and a few poor ones. Last year he made a comeback, and this year in some of the preseason polls, they are in the top 15 if not the top ten. It just seems like IU is on the right track. And we know that NU is. I don't know guys. If both teams become consistent winners and if there are some real dogfight games between the two schools, then you would have some history and a rivalry could be born. But that could happen instead with Wisconsin, etc. I agree that MU, especially if they have some strong teams, could be a much faster rivalry with the history. I think they are somewhat already. And maybe there's way too many ifs with Iowa. Perhaps it won't happen -- and it may not happen at all -- until I become retirement age (good grief, that's a scary thought!) And we don't know if we will be invited to the Big 10, anyway. See you.

corncraze said: "We don't want to lower our standards to accepting a no title team as our main rival just because they are close geographically. Why lower our image in the national eye for a team that hasn't had really any success with us?" I respectfully disagree. Iowa has had some very good seasons with its current coach. I don't remember playing those teams, but only his worst ones against Frank's best. What if we had played them during those Callahan years? Don't you think we might had lost some of those games? I wouldn't go by the won/lost record with IU. Why should this be a forced rivalry? If both teams are highly ranked in most future years, it can naturally fall into a major one -- especially if we both would play every year. It may not become a big rivalry right away, but, as I said, the future appears bright for both programs. As for the name thing and being border states, that wouldn't itself create a rivalry, but perhaps help enhance it if both teams in the future are highly ranked most years. But who knows what will happen.

It's not just that Iowa is from a neighboring state. It's also the fact that Iowa was the original Cornhuskers. We were the Bugeaters (I hate that name!) So the "Battle of the Corn" would make sense. And it sure helps that both teams are coming back, and both could be top 10 teams next season. Thus, the future for both programs look bright. I see a lot of potential with NU-IU.

I last weekend saw this movie for the first time. I'm sure some of you have seen it. It's a typical off the wall Jim Carrey comedy that was filmed in 2008. What struck me was the scene where Carrey's character and his girlfriend were at a husker football game dressed in red chanting, "Go Big Red." Anyone know the history of this? Why was Lincoln, NE chosen instead of somewhere else? Please share.

I assume you are talking about UTs financial strength -- the have so much money. It will be interesting if the Big 10 does come calling, and what leverage NU would then have on the Big 12. Would Beebe bend over backwards to keep us, or would he just simply wish us well. I would think the loss of NU would be a huge blow to the Big 12, let alone MU leaving.

I agree that Texas has always been OU's number one rival, but after "The Game of the Century" back in 1971, the NU game was a close second. Each year this was the big game in the Big 8 -- it was always OU and NU and the little six. After Barry Switzer resigned and OU had that down-slide did the rivalry fell back.

One could say, why we wouldn't we have a another great defense. Obviously, we won't know until next fall, but there have been numerous college teams with great defenses, including the huskers '94 and '95 teams, that didn't have a DT as good as Suh. So, yes, I feel good about next season's D. We just have to rely more on all 11 players.

What do you guys think hurt the Dems the most: the bill passes or it doesn't pass? If you listen to Dick Morris on Fox news, it doesn't matter -- they are toast either way. Keep in mind that Dick is probably a bit bias since he has turn conservative since serving in the Clinton Administration. I keep hearing a sign of weakness if it doesn't pass or a sign of arrogance -- you are not listening to us -- if it does. It seems like the Dems feel they have gotten so deep into this that it would be too late -- a sign of weakness -- to try over again and find a plan that would get 60 percent approval from this country. It seems to be an all or nothing situation. According to Dick Morris, that was the mentality of Hillary when she and her husband try to pass a health reform bill. When Dick suggested she try smaller, her answer was it's either this or nothing. Now I also blame the Republicans for not being aggressive enough with their health plan, which includes interstate buying of health insurance, Tort Reform and putting people in high risk pools with pre-existing conditions. They have not been nearly as persistent as the Dems. So they haven't help themselves with the "Party of No" image. And where were they when Bush and the Repubs were in power?