Frankenstein's Season - piece together the best season you can from the past 13 years

[Branno]

Spring game: 2014 (Pelini cat tunnel walk)

Game 1: 2013 vs Wyoming, W 37-34

Game 2: 2007 at Wake Forest, W 20-17

Game 3: 2016 vs Oregon, W 35-32

Game 4: 2014 vs Miami, W 41-31

Game 5: 2012 vs Wisconsin, W 30-27

Game 6: 2011 vs Ohio St, W 34-27

Game 7: 2006 at Kansas St, W 21-3

Game 8: 2017 at Purdue, W 25-24

Game 9: 2018 vs Bethune-Cookman W 45-9

Game 10: 2015 vs Michigan St, W 39-38

Game 11: 2019 at Maryland, W 54-7

Game 12: 2010 vs Colorado, W 45-17

CCG: 2009 vs Texas, L 13-12

Bowl: 2008 at Clemson, W 26-21

 

Tried to get a mix of important games (last big 12 game), comebacks, and fun moments. Added constraint of single game per year and opponent, except for the spring game 

[Branno]

The “Why do we even have a football team” season:

 

Game 1: 2018 vs Colorado, L 33-28

Game 2: 2017 at Oregon, L 42-35

Game 3: 2013 vs UCLA, L 41-21

Game 4: 2008 vs Virginia Tech, L 35-30

Game 5: 2015 at Illinois, L 14-13

Game 6: 2010 vs Texas, L 20-13

Game 7: 2019 at Minnesota, L 34-7

Game 8: 2007 vs TAMU, L 36-14

Game 9: 2016 at Ohio St, L 62-3

Game 10: 2014 at Wisconsin, L 59-24

Game 11: 2011 at Michigan, L 45-17

Game 12: 2017 vs Iowa, L 56-14

CCG: 2012 vs Wisconsin, L 70-31

Bowl: 2011 vs S Carolina, L 30-13

We played Wisconsin twice in a single season so I figure I can include them twice here. 
 

Not a lot of week 2 losses to pick from, led to a repeated year. Bowl ended up repeating a year too. 

[Hilltop]

6 hours ago, Branno said:

The “Why do we even have a football team” season:

 

Game 1: 2018 vs Colorado, L 33-28

Game 2: 2017 at Oregon, L 42-35

Game 3: 2013 vs UCLA, L 41-21

Game 4: ......

Makes sense.  Figured you or Kansas45 would find some way to cast a shadow on our good time.  

[TGHusker]

10 hours ago, knapplc said:

You guys must be the USPS because you deliver.  There's some really great choices here.

[Born N Bled Red]

9 hours ago, Branno said:

The “Why do we even have a football team” season:

 

Game 1: 2018 vs Colorado, L 33-28

Game 2: 2017 at Oregon, L 42-35

Game 3: 2013 vs UCLA, L 41-21

Game 4: 2008 vs Virginia Tech, L 35-30

Game 5: 2015 at Illinois, L 14-13

Game 6: 2010 vs Texas, L 20-13

Game 7: 2019 at Minnesota, L 34-7

Game 8: 2007 vs TAMU, L 36-14

Game 9: 2016 at Ohio St, L 62-3

Game 10: 2014 at Wisconsin, L 59-24

Game 11: 2011 at Michigan, L 45-17

Game 12: 2017 vs Iowa, L 56-14

CCG: 2012 vs Wisconsin, L 70-31

Bowl: 2011 vs S Carolina, L 30-13

We played Wisconsin twice in a single season so I figure I can include them twice here. 
 

Not a lot of week 2 losses to pick from, led to a repeated year. Bowl ended up repeating a year too. 

 

Couldn't squeeze 2009 Iowa State in there? 

[knapplc]

All right. This has been well covered so far, so I went in a few different directions. I've got six cobbled-together seasons for you. I ***think*** I haven't used any of these games twice, and I think I have pretty good explanations for all of them.  So here we go:

 

The Most Fun Games

 

1    2009    Florida Atlantic - The first home game of what could have been a championship year if we'd had much of an offense. Huskers win 49-3.
2    2013    Southern Miss - The Huskers lead throughout the game, including two first-quarter Pick-Sixes for the Blackshirts. 56-13
3    2010    Washington - Taylor Martinez RIPS the Huskies en route to a 56-21 win.
4    2012    Idaho State - NU's 73 points represent the highest score from 2008-2019. Everyone scored & we cleared the benches early.
5    2010    Kansas State - Bill Snyder's birthday in Manhattan. Martinez & Roy Helu run roughshod over Snyder's defense, 48-13.
6    2013    Purdue - Nothing worked for struggling Purdue as NU scored at will. Only a last-second TD prevented the shutout. 44-7
7    2011    Minnesota - Kenny Bell scored on an 80-yard reverse & NU led 34-0 at halftime on their way to a 41-14 blowout.
8    2010    Missouri - Roy Helu's record-setting game & a thrilling goal-line stand highlighted this romp. Huskers win 31-17.
9    2013    Michigan - A defensive struggle early until Ameer Abdullah's late heroics, going Superman into the end zone, earned a 17-13 win.
10    2015    Michigan State - NU was 3-6 when undefeated & sixth-ranked Sparty came to town. NU scored two TDs with under two minutes to play to shock Michigan State. And Brandon Reilly was forced out of bounds. NU wins 39-38.
11    2019    Maryland - There hasn't been much to like in the last two years, but this trouncing of Maryland was a welcome respite in the midst of three rotten seasons. Huskers triumph 54-7.
12    2010    Colorado - The Rex Burkhead Show as he runs & throws for TDs, and NU bewilders the Buffs, 45-17.
13    2008    Clemson - Dabo Swinney's Clemson team had a late lead on the Huskers, but the firm of Swift, Peterson & Henery pulled NU ahead - and late heroics by Eric Hagg & Matt O'Hanlon sealed the win. 26-21.

 

The Worst Games

 

1    2018    Colorado - Frost's first* game. NU trailed early 14-0 but fought back for a 28-20 lead. Then the offense broke down & the hated Buffs scored the game-winner with a minute to go. NU loses 28-33 at home.
2    2018    Troy - The very next week, again at home, Nebraska plays an ugly game marred by turnovers to lose to Troy, 24-19.
3    2018    Michigan - THE VERY NEXT WEEK, this time on the road, Nebraska is 0% competitive against a fired-up Michigan, losing 56-10 in a game that wasn't even that close. 
4    2008    Virginia Tech - The defense collapsed in the middle of the game, and a garbage late penalty helped snuff out any chance Nebraska had to defeat Tyrod Taylor and the Hokies. VT wins 35-30
5    2019    Ohio State - One of the only games I've ever left early. NU wasn't remotely competitive as the Buckeyes avenged a close game in 2018, leaving no doubt in a 48-7 win. Not even College Gameday's visit could take the stink off this turd.
6    2010    Texas - A personal tragedy - this was my mom's last game. "Red Out Around The World" and "Wear Red, Be Loud" were the rallying cries as a better Nebraska team hosted Texas. But once again it was Texas prevailing in a mistake-filled, poorly-called game, 20-13.
7    2019    Minnesota - Nebraska didn't even show up to play. Rumors of a locker room revolt preceded this debacle as Minnesota reclaimed possession of The Chair, 34-7.
8    2015    Northwestern - Nebraska led 23-20 but couldn't hang on, allowing NW to score ten unanswered points, then run out the clock to lose The Battle for NU, 30-28
9    2008    Oklahoma - OU scored on their opening drive, then picked off NU's first play of the game for another TD. It went downhill from there. Nebraska trailed 35-0 at the end of the first quarter & 49-14 at half. Sooners win a laffer, 62-28
10    2013    Michigan State - Five turnovers on NU's side of the field were turned into 24 Sparty points, and Michigan State embarrassed the Huskers on their home field, 41-28.
11    2017    Penn State - The Nittany Lions scored at will against a weak Blackshirts defense. PSU led 56-24 before three garbage-time TDs pulled NU a little closer. The final score definitely did not reflect the ineptitude, 56-44
12    2017    Iowa - One week after the Penn State beatdown, Iowa came to Memorial Stadium and dropped another 56 points on the Blackshirts. Nebraska led 14-7 midway through the 2nd quarter before allowing seven unanswered Iowa touchdowns. 56-14
13    2012    Wisconsin - The Big Ten Championship Game. The only two NU highlights were Kenny Bell's totally legal hit and Taylor Martinez' amazing TD run. The rest of the game was completely non-competitive, as NU once again gets blown out on a national stage, 70-31.

 

The Weirdest Games

 

1    2018    Akron - Cheating a bit here, but I was in the stands and watched the opening kickoff. Then the lightning started and, three hours later, the game was completely canceled. An odd omen for the start of the Frost Era.
2    2016    Wyoming - The final score, 52-17, belies the fact that this was a very tight game heading into the fourth quarter, as NU clung to a 24-17 lead. The Huskers scored four fourth-quarter TDs to pull away, but this was a nail-biter.
3    2013    UCLA - Nebraska led 21-3 in the second quarter and looked ready to avenge 2012's close loss in Los Angeles. Then UCLA ripped off 38 unanswered points in what is one of the most baffling turnarounds in any game I've attended. NU loses 41-21.
4    2018    Purdue - 1-3 Purdue, including a loss to Eastern Michigan, spanked Nebraska from the start, leading 20-7 at halftime. The Boilermakers cruised to a 42-28 win thanks to sloppy play by the Huskers.
5    2009    Missouri  - Suh & the Blackshirts were dominating, but NU still trailed 12-0 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to Zac Lee's inept offense. But then that offense exploded, starting with a long TD pass to Niles Paul, and the Huskers cruised to a 28-12 come-from-behind win.
6    2009    Texas Tech  - One week later the offense was in slumberland again, including letting a backwards pass get scooped up for a score while in the TT red zone. Every pass their QB threw up was caught despite having Prince Amukamara, Eric Hagg & Alphonso Denard in the defense. Suh was handled one-on-one by Brandon Carter & was largely ineffective.
7    2009    Iowa State  - The Fumble Game. One of the most baffling losses in Husker history, including Niles Paul's no-contact fumble that bounced along the sideline before turning into the field to be recovered by a Cyclone. Craziest game I ever saw.
8    2012    Michigan - Billed as a battle between Taylor Martinez & Dennard Robinson, it turned into a FG battle dominated by the defenses after Robinson left with an injury. Nebraska scored the game's only two touchdowns en route to a 23-9 win.
9    2011    Northwestern - The Wildcats seemingly knew every play we called (there were rumors of sign-stealing) and we could not stop their little dump pass over the middle. All game long the better team looked inept, and Northwestern eked out a 28-25 win.
10    2011    Penn State - Penn State's first game after the firing of Joe Paterno in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. The atmosphere was eerie, but was helped by Ron Brown's profound pre-game prayer. Nebraska pounded out a 17-0 lead against a sleepwalking PSU, but the Nittany Lions woke up and Nebraska had to hold on for a 17-14 win.
11    2010    Texas A&M - The Big XII's most egregious "F-U" to a departing Nebraska. An ugly game marred by a 16-2 disparity in penalties, featuring zero touchdowns, five field goals and one sexual assault caught on film (for which the offended NU player was penalized). Ten years later it's still hard to believe this game really happened.
12    2019    Iowa - I really thought we had this game. Tied it up late, heading to overtime where I thought we had momentum, only to see the most conservative coach in college football, Kirk Ferentz, turn on the Air Raid offense, starting their final drive at their 26 with 41 seconds to go. The defense couldn't stop Iowa and, for the second straight year, they beat us with a walk-off field goal as time expired. Prevented Nebraska from going to a bowl game, too.
13    2015    UCLA - The Foster Farms Bowl, a game in which 5-7 Nebraska backed in, had the Huskers down 21-7 midway through the 2nd quarter and the announcers crowning UCLA QB Josh Rosen the Next Big Thing... only to see Nebraska come roaring back and score the game's next 30 points for a hugely unexpected come-from-behind victory, 37-29.

 

 

 

 

I got three more of these, which I'll share a little later.

[Nebfanatic]

22 minutes ago, knapplc said:

3    2013    UCLA - Nebraska led 21-3 in the second quarter and looked ready to avenge 2012's close loss in Los Angeles. Then UCLA ripped off 38 unanswered points in what is one of the most baffling turnarounds in any game I've attended. NU loses 41-21.

This game really sucked to be at. It was so fun until it wasn't, and it was hot. 

[Landlord]

49 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

This game really sucked to be at. It was so fun until it wasn't, and it was hot. 

 

Especially because we were wearing black.

 

UCLA had like a 3rd and 17 or something before halftime. We got great pressure and should have had a sack, but Brett Hunley escaped and got a first down en route to a score before half. I predicted in that moment we were about to fold and lose that game. 

[Nebfanatic]

5 minutes ago, Landlord said:

 

Especially because we were wearing black.

 

UCLA had like a 3rd and 17 or something before halftime. We got great pressure and should have had a sack, but Brett Hunley escaped and got a first down en route to a score before half. I predicted in that moment we were about to fold and lose that game. 

Ugh forgot it was a blackout! Whose idea was it to have a blackout for an afternoon game early in the season? 

 

That was the worst part about it and kind of sums up Husker football over this time frame in general. We had them beat it seems and then we fold after a backbreaking play. There were a few of those late in that first half it seems like. 

[Landlord]

5 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

Ugh forgot it was a blackout! Whose idea was it to have a blackout for an afternoon game early in the season? 

 

That was the worst part about it and kind of sums up Husker football over this time frame in general. We had them beat it seems and then we fold after a backbreaking play. There were a few of those late in that first half it seems like. 

 

 

 

IIRC, the blackout was because of the black alternates, decided well in advance of the time slot of the game being decided. Everyone was pretty outraged and surprised it ended up as an 11:00 kickoff, especially since it was a top 25 matchup.

[Guy Chamberlin]

22 hours ago, Nebfanatic said:

 

 

Whats crazy is I was actually building around the 2010 KSU game at week 5 

 

That was the very first game that came to mind. Not only was Nebraska back, we were the most exciting team in football and looking at four years of Taylor Martinez, who had just destroyed a good K-State team in every way imaginable. 

 

Individual games may have been equally fun and others were more dramatic, but that was the best I've felt about Nebraska football in the last 15 years. 

[Branno]

7 hours ago, Hilltop said:

Makes sense.  Figured you or Kansas45 would find some way to cast a shadow on our good time.  

 

It was obviously in good fun, come on man. Don't take things so seriously.

[Jason Sitoke]

On 7/29/2020 at 1:30 PM, Nebfanatic said:

Game 1-2007  W Nevada 52-10

Game 2-2010  W Idaho sloppy game

Game 3-2016  W  Oregon at Memorial

Game 4-2009  W LLU 55-0

Game 5-2012  W Wisc wild comeback

Game 6-2011  W OSU wild comeback 

Game 7-2018  W Minn first of the year

Game 8-2017  W Purdue by a hair

Game 9-2014  W Purdue

Game 10-2015 W #5 MSU 

Game 11-2019 W Maryland

Game 12-2008 W Colorado Henery kick, Suh pick 6

Game 13-2013 W Georgia bowl game

 

I had to change a few around to make sure there were no losses on here so I didn't get all of the best wins but I feel like this is pretty good 

Good list. Still pretty sad that our dream season includes 2 wins over Purdue. 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I'm seeing some pretty crappy Game 4s, and some uninspired choices from 2014.

 

I think Branno's the only one to list Nebraska vs. Miami, Game 4, 2014, when Miami came in like the arrogant s#!t-talkers of old and Nebraska gave them a satisfying beat down at Memorial Stadium to go 4-0.  

 

How does thrashing Idaho compete with that? 

[Nebfanatic]

1 hour ago, Jason Sitoke said:

Good list. Still pretty sad that our dream season includes 2 wins over Purdue. 

I should have tried harder with that because I could have made a way more exciting season by going 2014 week 2 Mcneese state Abdullah heroics and 2010 week 9 31-30 OT win over the Cyclones of Iowa State. Back to back to back 1 point wins!