That the Cornhuskers have been so dominant during a period inwhich NCAA-mandated football downsizing has tended to createparity is remarkable. The limit of 85 football scholarships perschool (down from 95 in 1991 and 105 in '76), in conjunctionwith the raising of admission standards and the tightening ofrecruiting rules, has helped programs such as Kansas State,Oregon, Virginia Tech and, most famously, Northwestern, rise toprominence.
Nebraska has flourished as a superpower during that time because the Cornhusker program benefits from the convergence of many supporting structures. The Huskers have a smart, stubborn coach with 23 years of experience; unshakable faith in a football system built on the option and the running game and brutal,fast-paced practices; and facilities that include a30,000-square-foot weight room, which is advertised as thelargest among NCAA schools. The only major public university in the state, Nebraska has virtually an open admissions policy and low tuition (less than $3,000 for in-state students), which brings in walk-ons by the dozen. (Nebraska had 141 players on its Fiesta Bowl roster, a number reminiscent of Bear Bryant's days at Alabama but unusual in 1996. By contrast, Florida had 94.) Nebraska also willingly accepts athletes who represent academic and/or social risks. Finally, there comes an occasional gift, a once-in-a-generation talent like Frazier, who arrived in Lincoln from Bradenton, Fla., in 1992.
"It's a machine up there," says Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel admiringly. "I know because I've got to beat them."
Still, Osborne dourly stumps. And with good reason. The loss of Frazier, the team's undisputed leader, is almost immeasurable--"Half an offense, by himself," said Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick. Without Frazier, Nebraska wouldn't have been competitive in its loss to No. 1-ranked Florida State in the '94 Orange Bowl; the Huskers probably wouldn't have beaten Miami inthe '95 Orange Bowl to win the national title; and there wouldn't have been talk of a dynasty coming out of the Fiesta Bowl. And for those who thought that Cornhusker freshman I-back Ahman Green was as good as Phillips, the Fiesta Bowl should have proved that Green is good, but Phillips, who rushed for 165 yards and scored three touchdowns against Florida, is exceptional.
Still, what most threatens Nebraska's championship streak is the Big 12's policy on accepting partial and non-qualifiers under NCAA freshman eligibility guidelines. (A partial qualifier is a prospective athlete who meets only one of two minimum academic requirements--grade point average or standardized test score. The minimums are a 2.0 GPA with a 900 on the SAT or 21 on the ACT;or a 2.5 GPA with a 700 SAT or 17 ACT. A non-qualifier meets neither standard. If a school accepts a partial or non-qualifier, the athlete is ineligible for athletics for one year). On Dec. 20 the Big 12 presidents voted unanimously to limit each school to four partial qualifiers per year (two men,two women) and no more than one in a single sport.Non-qualifiers were excluded entirely.
In the Fiesta Bowl, Nebraska started four partial or non-qualifiers (cornerback Michael Booker, defensive tackle Christian Peter, cornerback Tyrone Williams and defensive end Jared Tomich), and two others, wideout Reggie Baul and outside linebacker Jamel Williams, played almost as much as the starters. According to Nebraska officials there were at least 12 partial or non-qualifiers in the program last fall. "Among elite schools Nebraska is a true haven for partial and non-qualifiers," said the coach of another elite school.
Osborne's view on partial and non-qualifiers--he calls them"Props," harking back to Proposition 48, which created the aforementioned eligibility guidelines that affected incoming freshmen in 1986--is similar to his reasoning for reinstating Phillips, who was suspended from the team after he was arrested for assaulting his former girlfriend on Sept. 11. (Phillips eventually pleaded no contest and was restored to the team on Oct. 24.) In both cases, the argument goes, kids were given academic opportunities they might not otherwise have found. And Nebraska landed impact players.
"I hope [the Big 12 presidents] will take a look at the fact that the Big Eight has four teams in the top 10 [Nebraska, No. 5 Colorado, No. 7 Kansas State and No. 9 Kansas]," said Osborne,after the Fiesta Bowl. "We did it with Big Eight rules."(Actually, the Big Eight has no policy on partial and non-qualifiers.) If the Big 12 does not amend its rules, Osborne could threaten to pull Nebraska out of the conference. But it is unlikely that the Big East, Big Ten or Pac-10, the other major conferences that have no policy on partial and non-qualifiers,would welcome Nebraska because of its modest academic standards or remote location.
Prop 48--which is scheduled to be replaced by Prop 16 this summer--is still one of the hot-button issues in college sports:Who deserves an athletic scholarship? But in Nebraska's case,consider this: Two of the four partial or non-qualifiers who started in the Fiesta Bowl (Tyrone Williams and Peter) were among the five Cornhuskers charged with crimes in the last 22 months. Yet, if there have been occasional problems with partial and non-qualifiers at Nebraska, there has also been a significant athletic benefit. Both Williamses, Booker and 1994 cornerback Barron Miles (also a partial qualifier) were among the players who upgraded Nebraska's defense from the plodding bunch that couldn't keep up with Miami and Florida State in the late 1980s and early '90s to the swift, attacking unit that crushed Florida.
Osborne is no fool. Nebraska's hold on greatness is tenuous;that large gap between the Cornhuskers and everybody else could close quickly. Take away Frazier, Phillips and the partial and non-qualifiers, and Nebraska's 12-0 record this season could have been 10-2, which might have put the Huskers in a meaningless Cotton Bowl match up instead of in a showdown for the national championship.
