Our Last Big Upset

[Spartness]

When was the last time NU has beaten a better team before the Michigan victory -- I still think Michigan was clearly the better team. True MU's record wasn't that great, but they lost to very good teams by the smallest of margins, and they defeated Penn State. This was a very talented team.

 

Thus, this is the first time in a long time we have beaten a better team. At the time we defeated Colorado this year, we might have felt we had beaten a better team, but the way CU was playing during the last four games, I can't really classify them as better.

 

Some say CU in 1994 had more talent than NU, but you really can't say the Buffs were better. You can point to Pittsburgh last year, but that was a different team later during the year -- again I can't say they were better.

 

So looking back, the last time I remember we beat a team that was clearly better was Oklahoma (17-14) in 1978 when we knocked the ball out of Billy Simms hands before OU could score the winning touchdown. (That was the year we had to play OU again in the Orange Bowl -- that really sucked!!!) That was OU's only lost that season.

 

The year before in 1977 Alabama was clearly better, but we handed UA its only lost that season. That was a great win after NU got upset the week before at Washington State. That was the year IM Hipp ran wild until he got injured.

 

So there you have it. What are your thoughts? Am I pretty close to what I'm writing?

[HuskerFaithful]

"Our last big upset" can be interpreted two ways. Either you're thinking it's the last time that we can pull off an upset (meaning we're either favored or pretty even with our opponents), or you can read that to mean from an historical perspective. Looking forward to next season and taking on USC and Texas. We'll be underdogs in both, which is just the way we want it. I think it's a little unfair to look back on the Colorado game and say that win wasn't as big because of what happened to CU after it. Before the game, everyone was expecting Nebraska to get rolled, including the oddsmakers. Obviously what happened to that team after NU beat them had something to do with losing to Nebraska. Barnett would not have lost his job if they had beaten NU and then lost to Texas 70-3.

 

I couldn't agree with you more though that Michigan was far more talented and should have won, especially with an 11 point lead in the 4th quarter. I have to give the NU coaches and players all the credit for taking the game to the fourth quarter and believing that they could come back to win it. Callahan showed the team the Ohio State comeback video from the game earlier in the year before the got to the AlamoDome. Proved to be a very good selection. I'm stoked for next season already. Sure will be a lot easier anticipating after a victory, especially over a team as good as Michigan.

[Spartness]

Thanks for your reply. Actually I'm looking back at teams at a historical sense -- teams that were clearly better and more talented. Osborne during his three national championship years was so successful because he never faced a team that overall was better. Miami was the only team that you could say was equal. The teams that gave us a scare -- Wyoming in 1994 and Missouri and Colorado in 1997 -- were clearly not as good as NU.

 

As good as Osborne was, after those great wins against Alabama in 1977 and Oklahoma in 1978, I don't recall T.O. winning against other teams that were clearly better. He almost pulled it off againt FSU -- a better team -- in the 1994 Orange Bowl game. The final play was Bennet's(Sp?) missed field goal.

[formerfan]

Thanks for your reply. Actually I'm looking back at teams at a historical sense -- teams that were clearly better and more talented. Osborne during his three national championship years was so successful because he never faced a team that overall was better. Miami was the only team that you could say was equal. The teams that gave us a scare -- Wyoming in 1994 and Missouri and Colorado in 1997 -- were clearly not as good as NU.

 

As good as Osborne was, after those great wins against Alabama in 1977 and Oklahoma in 1978, I don't recall T.O. winning against other teams that were clearly better. He almost pulled it off againt FSU -- a better team -- in the 1994 Orange Bowl game. The final play was Bennet's(Sp?) missed field goal.

I would say that CU from 94 probably did have more talent than NU, even former NU players have said so (I think ).

 

Lets not forget, Florida and Tennesse were both, very, very good teams, who had many future NFL players.

[Touchdown Tommie]

Lets not forget, Florida and Tennesse were both, very, very good teams, who had many future NFL players.

 

I would have to agree with former.....did I just say that???

 

Those two teams were loaded with talent that year, but NU proved to that you don't need all of the best players in the nation to win....no big surprise.

[DJR313]

Florida and Tennessee were loaded, yes, but was Nebraska a 2 TD underdog to either of them? When you have #1 playing #2 or #3, I think it is hardly an upset if the #1 team wins.

[StuckinChicago]

DJR has a point. The game was not who could run the fastest or lift the most weights, but who is the better football team, and saying that we should have been two touchdown underdogs to anyone in those years is just plain insane. Those were better wins, but not bigger upsets. I think you have to go all the way back to upsetting Oklahoma to find a bigger one, and all the way back to beating the four horseman to find the biggest.

[formerfan]

DJR has a point. The game was not who could run the fastest or lift the most weights, but who is the better football team, and saying that we should have been two touchdown underdogs to anyone in those years is just plain insane. Those were better wins, but not bigger upsets. I think you have to go all the way back to upsetting Oklahoma to find a bigger one, and all the way back to beating the four horseman to find the biggest.

I probably should have clarified, NU winning those games werent upsets, but someone made the point that NU has rarely beat teams with more talent. I was just pointing out that said teams were very, very talented

 

I would have to agree with former.....did I just say that???

Yes, and you should more often

 

but NU proved to that you don't need all of the best players in the nation to win.

Agreed. NU did it for years.

[HuskersGJ]

I probably should have clarified, NU winning those games werent upsets, but someone made the point that NU has rarely beat teams with more talent. I was just pointing out that said teams were very, very talented

"very talented" indeed!

but not necessarily "more" talented i think.

 

if we're using the NFL as a talent gauge (personal pet peeve) then certainly Tenn and Florida were more "talented" in that respect. but some of those years we had the better players as they fit for our system.

Peyton Manning may very well be a future NFL Hall of Famer someday but I'd certainly take a Frost or a Frazier over Manning in an option offense!

 

the Pro gauge doesn't really work with defenses either IMO. you end up leaving out guys like Barron Miles and Ed Stewart as "untalented" simply b/c they didn't really go on to the NFL.

 

now Miami 1994. they may have had the talent advantage over Nebraska i think. as far as an upset though, wasn't NU 3 pt underdogs or something in that game?? so maybe an "upset" in that respect but any win by a #1 team shouldn't be considered an "upset" IMO.

[Eric the Red]

Possibly A&M under Solich in '98?