Best Osborne Team not to win a Championship

[HuskerExpat]

'82 game

 

Paterno just got in trouble for commenting about Big 10 officials intentionally making bad calls and referred to one game where he won. PSU wasn't in the Big 10 in 1982, but I suppose that game could have had Big 10 officials (trying to find what he said). Anyway, Paterno said:

 

If he were leaving the game, however, he'd go after presiding over 487 games, and only two in which he believed officials

intentionally

made bad calls.

 

"One we won and one we lost," Paterno said Wednesday at the Big Ten football media days. "I won't get into it, because I don't think it's fair. You guys can look up who the officials (were)."

 

But Paterno did elaborate somewhat, saying, "The one we won, the coach who lost the game -- that was way back -- he walked off the field and wouldn't talk to me. I called him and he said, 'You've got a bunch of hired hoods,' and he blamed it on me."

 

Paterno Story

[bethelbacker]

Yea, i remember the clipping penalty in '93, Osborne even mentioned it in his book and how they couldn't find it on any replays. Should have been three in a row for us. actually, if we don't screw up in the Big XII title game in '96, coulda been 5 in a row. Man those teams were loaded.

[Overland Park Husker]

Yea, i remember the clipping penalty in '93, Osborne even mentioned it in his book and how they couldn't find it on any replays. Should have been three in a row for us. actually, if we don't screw up in the Big XII title game in '96, coulda been 5 in a row. Man those teams were loaded.

At least WE lost that game. The worst play from that 93 game was the phantom clipping call on a huge punt return. We had all the momentum after that.

[gamecocks]

UGGGHHH. '93. I thought my emotional wounds had finally healed.

 

I don't know if I can pinpoint the WORST call in that game. Was it Warrick Dunn's "touchdown"? Was it Corey Dixon's punt return TD that got called back on a "clipping penalty"? Those two stick out as having blown my 10 year old mind the most at the time.

 

At least that was a good first-hand lesson on never giving up despite having the odds (and the rules) stacked against you. The 'Skers were RELENTLESS in that game. No matter how many calls went against them, they STILL CAME BACK and almost won that game. Seeing Bennet's FG hook left made me cry for hours. I felt sorry for those guys.

 

TO should have had 3 in a row.

 

Wasn't it William Floyd that fumbled at the one yard line but the ref gave him a touchdown?

[maryland husker]

83 Huskers hands down. Scoring Explosion. The 82 team was a sign of things to come, but that 83 team! WOW! 84 pts against Minnesota! GBR

[FriscoTXHusker]

83 Huskers hands down. Scoring Explosion. The 82 team was a sign of things to come, but that 83 team! WOW! 84 pts against Minnesota! GBR

 

Think I remember that year. The last time we played the Gophers I think it was the coach that said "We have Nebraska right where we want them; off our schedule."

 

I also recall opponent fans claiming we ran up the scores, but heck I think even the girl cheerleaders were playing in the fourth quarters!

[rkhufu7]

99 WAS SOLICH. Refs helped Texas win in Austin, but were paid back in SA.

[husker rob]

what was it, '99 that lost 1 game and beat Tenn. in the Fiesta Bowl?

 

that was the best TO team that wasnt coached by TO, to not win it all

 

 

99 WAS SOLICH. Refs helped Texas win in Austin, but were paid back in SA.

hopefully that makes it a little easier for you to understand

 

let me know if you need any more help understanding sarcasm

[California Husker]

Yes, as gamecocks said earlier, it was William Floyd that fumbled in the 93 game. It was a good yard to yard and a half BEFORE he made it to the goal line. We recovered in the end zone but alas, the reFLORIDAree had already called it a TD.

 

Also, the phantom clip was awful. The Huskers had only the return man back and the reFLORIDAree threw the flag and made the call. I mean give me a break. It’s one thing to make a questionable call when a guy is back blocking. The game is fast and sometimes it is tough to see if the defender got his helmet in front of the guy’s pads, or if his shoulder hit on the front of the guys thigh or on the back. But on that punt return THERE WAS FREAKIN NOBODY BACK THERE. NOBODY!! WHO IN THE f#*k WAS HE CALLING CLIPING ON?

 

But that is not the only problem. I once heard Trev Alberts say that that was the worst officiated game he was ever in. He said it was not just the obvious plays (I assume he was referring there to the phantom clip and the TD that was really a fumble) but he said there were things happening on every play that the reFLORIDArees would not call. He didn’t go into any more detail but I was a big fan and watched him as often as the camera had him in frame. I have seldom seen a guy held as blatantly as he was in that game, or as frequently. And I don’t think they called a single holding penalty on the O-lineman that was hog-tying him on every play. Most obvious was on the drive after we had taken the lead and Trev could have easily had two or three sacks had he not been wrestled to the ground on every play. And as FSuckU marched down the field toward what would be their winning TD, the reFLORIDArees mysteriously left their little hankies in their pockets tucked neatly beside the payola check from the NCAA for giving the good ol boy from Hickfuck Florida a national championship.

 

So, in a game where we lost by two points here is the math:

 

Fumbled TD: FSU +7 points

Phantom clip on Punt return: NU – 7 points

Numerous non-calls on FSU’s last drive: FSU +3 points

 

Total of a net 17 point swing in FSU’s favor in a game we lost by two.

f#*k the NCAA (I know those bastards were behind it)

 

 

Oh, and by – the – way, Karma is a wonderful thing. Every time I think about NU getting jobbed in the `82 PSU game (our only loss that year, thus the game that cost us a national title), I chuckle at all the PSU fans who THINK they should have shared our `94 national title. Of course they are full of it, we were obviously the better team in `94, but it is VERY funny when they whine and I just point out the irony.

[cornhuskers4ever]

I remember my parents and relatives upstairs watching the Nebraska Florida St Orange Bowl upstairs, and me with my brother downstairs with some of his friends, and the FSU guy dropping the ball and the Cornhusker falling on top of it, and I was going nuts yelling, "Husker ball on the 20!" That's when we saw the Ref signal a TD. On the replay we realized the Ref signaled a TD even before the hand off. Heck, it was ruled a TD as soon as the ball was snapped.

I thought the people upstairs were going to fall through the floor because they were jumping mad. There were a lot of bad calls that went against the Cornhuskers in that game.

I remember yelling at the top of my lungs when the Husker receiver went down and 1 second was left, and the clock went to 0, I was like, "OH NO!!!! WE GOT 1 MORE CHANCE!! DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY THE GAME IS OVER!!"

Then, Bowden gets Gatoraided, and Osborne takes the field staring that there is 1 second left and the clock stops for a first down. There's Bowden, soaked to the bone and Nebraska has a chance to win it.

Then, wide left. Even after the game, Bowden said, the better team didn't win the game. Nebraska had FSU's number. I'm just glad Nebraska took the disappointment into the '94 season to get fired up.

[California Husker]

I remember my parents and relatives upstairs watching the Nebraska Florida St Orange Bowl upstairs, and me with my brother downstairs with some of his friends, and the FSU guy dropping the ball and the Cornhusker falling on top of it, and I was going nuts yelling, "Husker ball on the 20!" That's when we saw the Ref signal a TD. On the replay we realized the Ref signaled a TD even before the hand off. Heck, it was ruled a TD as soon as the ball was snapped.

I thought the people upstairs were going to fall through the floor because they were jumping mad. There were a lot of bad calls that went against the Cornhuskers in that game.

I remember yelling at the top of my lungs when the Husker receiver went down and 1 second was left, and the clock went to 0, I was like, "OH NO!!!! WE GOT 1 MORE CHANCE!! DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY THE GAME IS OVER!!"

Then, Bowden gets Gatoraided, and Osborne takes the field staring that there is 1 second left and the clock stops for a first down. There's Bowden, soaked to the bone and Nebraska has a chance to win it.

Then, wide left. Even after the game, Bowden said, the better team didn't win the game. Nebraska had FSU's number. I'm just glad Nebraska took the disappointment into the '94 season to get fired up.

I agree about the Huskers using that game for motivation. The theme the next year was "UN-Finished Business"

I don't remember Bowden stating that the better team didn't win (not saying he didn't say it, I just don't remember), but if he did, that is the smartest thing that little hillbilly ever said. GBR!!!

[HUSKER 37]

I remember my parents and relatives upstairs watching the Nebraska Florida St Orange Bowl upstairs, and me with my brother downstairs with some of his friends, and the FSU guy dropping the ball and the Cornhusker falling on top of it, and I was going nuts yelling, "Husker ball on the 20!" That's when we saw the Ref signal a TD. On the replay we realized the Ref signaled a TD even before the hand off. Heck, it was ruled a TD as soon as the ball was snapped.

I thought the people upstairs were going to fall through the floor because they were jumping mad. There were a lot of bad calls that went against the Cornhuskers in that game.

I remember yelling at the top of my lungs when the Husker receiver went down and 1 second was left, and the clock went to 0, I was like, "OH NO!!!! WE GOT 1 MORE CHANCE!! DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY THE GAME IS OVER!!"

Then, Bowden gets Gatoraided, and Osborne takes the field staring that there is 1 second left and the clock stops for a first down. There's Bowden, soaked to the bone and Nebraska has a chance to win it.

Then, wide left. Even after the game, Bowden said, the better team didn't win the game. Nebraska had FSU's number. I'm just glad Nebraska took the disappointment into the '94 season to get fired up.

I agree about the Huskers using that game for motivation. The theme the next year was "UN-Finished Business"

I don't remember Bowden stating that the better team didn't win (not saying he didn't say it, I just don't remember), but if he did, that is the smartest thing that little hillbilly ever said. GBR!!!

I remember seeing that in print somewhere, too.

 

Wonder if we would've had the "best college football team ever" the next season if we'd won this one.

[California Husker]

I remember my parents and relatives upstairs watching the Nebraska Florida St Orange Bowl upstairs, and me with my brother downstairs with some of his friends, and the FSU guy dropping the ball and the Cornhusker falling on top of it, and I was going nuts yelling, "Husker ball on the 20!" That's when we saw the Ref signal a TD. On the replay we realized the Ref signaled a TD even before the hand off. Heck, it was ruled a TD as soon as the ball was snapped.

I thought the people upstairs were going to fall through the floor because they were jumping mad. There were a lot of bad calls that went against the Cornhuskers in that game.

I remember yelling at the top of my lungs when the Husker receiver went down and 1 second was left, and the clock went to 0, I was like, "OH NO!!!! WE GOT 1 MORE CHANCE!! DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY THE GAME IS OVER!!"

Then, Bowden gets Gatoraided, and Osborne takes the field staring that there is 1 second left and the clock stops for a first down. There's Bowden, soaked to the bone and Nebraska has a chance to win it.

Then, wide left. Even after the game, Bowden said, the better team didn't win the game. Nebraska had FSU's number. I'm just glad Nebraska took the disappointment into the '94 season to get fired up.

I agree about the Huskers using that game for motivation. The theme the next year was "UN-Finished Business"

I don't remember Bowden stating that the better team didn't win (not saying he didn't say it, I just don't remember), but if he did, that is the smartest thing that little hillbilly ever said. GBR!!!

I remember seeing that in print somewhere, too.

 

Wonder if we would've had the "best college football team ever" the next season if we'd won this one.

 

Good point. I would like to think it would have been three straight. But sometimes you gain an edge when you have a chip on your shoulder. By the way, not to start an argument, but I think the `95 team was the greatest ever. The `94 team certainly pulled together after Tommie's injury, and the D was great, but I just think the way we dominated in `95 made that team the best (imho).

[HUSKER 37]

Dang..Yer right..What with the leap year, Pacific Standard time, a Swiss Cheese Memory, and the Fiesta bowl for the '95 season being played on Jan. 2, 1996...I forgot about the '94 season..

 

Way ta make me feel senile

[huskered17]

Mike Babcock is on 1620 and just said that he believes that the 1982 team was Coach Osborne's best team that didn't win a championship. He pointed to the backfield of Mike Rozier and Roger Craig and the line anchored by Steinkuhler and Remington.

 

I'd say it's very close between 82 and 83 because both came thisclose to winning it all. Then 93 follows those two.

 

The '93 team DID win it all. The refs just didn't let them advertise it on the scoreboard.

Same with 82 (see Penn State game)

 

 

That was the most blatant call on that reception by P.S.U. out of bounds that I have ever seen. That official should have been kicked out of that game and never have been allowed to work one again. If that wasn't bad enough he did it again against Ala in the back of the end zone later in the season. I'm sure he sits around with his buddies having a beer and bragging how he helped P.S. win a tittle.

 

 

GBR!!!