IFs & Buts: Steve Taylor and Sooner Magic

[TGHusker]

I still think Steve Taylor was one of our all time finest QBs - his problem - sooner magic. He often gets forgotten in the mix of great QBs because he was the best sandwished between Gill and Frazier.

2 years in the row, we got bit some Sooner Magic. He lost 3 out of 4 games to the sooners. He and NU finally beat them in 88 to win the CC.

If NU had not lost in the 2nd game of the century in 87 to OU, we would have played in the orange bowl against Miami - hopefully revenging the 84 orange bowl loss.

So my Ifs & butts question would be: Where would your rank Steve Taylor in the all time NU QB list if he and the team had won that 87 game and won the NCG against Miami.

Me:Currently I would have him: 6th behind Frazier, Gill, Tagge, Frost, Crouch, Steve Taylor If he had one out in 1987 he'd be 4th on my list.

1986 3 point loss to sooners

Tim Lashar's 31-yard field goal with six seconds left capped an Oklahoma rally from a 17-7 deficit in the final 11 minutes and enabled the Sooners to claim their second-straight undefeated Big Eight title and a third-straight Orange Bowl berth.

OU drove 94 yards on 11 plays in 1:26 to tie the game at 17-all on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jamelle Holieway to Keith Jackson with 1:22 left, forced a Nebraska punt, then got within field-goal range on a third-down, 41-yard pass from Holieway to Jackson with nine seconds to go.

1987 10 pt loss

"Game of the Century II" turned out to be less than memorable for Nebraska, which had moved ahead of Oklahoma into the No. 1 spot in the polls during the week of the game.

After the Huskers jumped to a 7-0 first-quarter lead when Keith Jones' 25-yard run capped an 84-yard drive, the game was virtually all Oklahoma as the second-ranked Sooners came from behind to claim their fourth-straight Big Eight title and reclaim the No. 1 ranking.

 

[VA Husker Fan]

I don't think he played in the 85 game until it was out of hand so I would say he really only lost 2 out of 3 to Oklahoma.

I always thought Taylor came in with a world of promise, beating ranked FSU in what I think was his first start, but never got much better. He never finished above 50% as a passer. You can say "what if", but he didn't. He threw 3 INTs in that OU game and averaged just over 3 yards/pass attempt. Had he managed to beat OU in 1987 in a game they dominated, I think we'd have been crushed by Miami just like we were the next year. Sure, if he somehow would've won both those games, he'd rank higher among QBs, but not among the best.

At the end of his career in 1988, he went 12-42 with 121 yards and 4 INTs and we scored a total of 17 points in his final 3 games, though did manage to win 2 of them with defense. Perhaps unfairly, that's how I remember his career, not as a victim of Sooner magic that only hit him in 1986. To me, the question sounds like "What if Taylor had been a great quarterback, would he be considered a great quarterback?" Sure, but he wasn't a great QB, so he isn't.

Strike the last sentence, it really isn't fair. But I think he looked good playing on a strong team when the Big 8 wasn't very deep at all.

 

[OH HSKR FAN]

One things to keep in mind. His "greatness" was helped by playing in an era that is much less QB centric like it is today.

 

[husker07]

Believe Damon Benning once said Taylor along with Gill had the most talent of any quarterbacks to play at NU. He talked about how good they both were throwing the football, as well as running, and made a point how most of their passes were play action or fake option where they would often turn their back completely to the defense, turn around, set their feet, and have to relocate their target, as well as throw a good ball. He really stressed how difficult that was, especially in comparison to today, where everything is shotgun and spread. Was born after Taylor played, but I was shocked at how good he was from games/highlights I've seen. He was fast, strong, smart, and had a very good arm.

 

[HUSKER 37]

Never noticed this before, but I LOL'd at the ~1:24 mark where Taylor tricks Coach Osborn into drinking his backwash..

 

[zoogs]

Haha! And Tom takes a sip and immediately goes, "hey wait a minute, you git back here!"

 

[CheeseHusker]

We were thoroughly outplayed in that '87 game. I think we scored our TD really early, possibly on the opening drive, and then did absolutely nothing.

'86 is the killer. Had a lead for 58 1/2 minutes, had OU stopped on fourth down in their own territory and somebody grabbed Holieway's face mask.... then they score 10 points in 70 seconds and beat us. Yes, this is the infamous all red game. Along with the '84 OB, the two most stinging Husker losses of my childhood.

 

[HUSKER 37]

Haha! And Tom takes a sip and immediately goes, "hey wait a minute, you git back here!"

I don't really think it was intentional..and probably Tom didn't even notice...But this was before plentiful (Bottled) water IIRC...And any time a player came out after a series and took a sip of water..more times than not he left a loogie behind...But Ozzy's expression afterward was hilarious. (Probably just remembered he forgot to mention something).

 

[TGHusker]

We were thoroughly outplayed in that '87 game. I think we scored our TD really early, possibly on the opening drive, and then did absolutely nothing.

'86 is the killer. Had a lead for 58 1/2 minutes, had OU stopped on fourth down in their own territory and somebody grabbed Holieway's face mask.... then they score 10 points in 70 seconds and beat us. Yes, this is the infamous all red game. Along with the '84 OB, the two most stinging Husker losses of my childhood.

Agree - those were 2 of the 3 hardest. - along wt the 94 OB against FSU

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Taylor was a smooth drink of water and definitely deserves to be in the Husker great conversation. Very close in style and ability to Gill, who was surrounded by a slightly better team.

Interesting in that clip to hear them talking about how complicated it was to learn Tom Osborne's system. Some posters here seeking a return to the glory days seem to forget that Osborne offenses were incredibly "multiple," they didn't rely on doing just a few things well, and Tom also played "take what the defense gives you" in games like this where Taylor was allowed to pass for 5 TDs.

 

[hskrpwr13]

Me:Currently I would have him: 6th behind Frazier, Gill, Tagge, Frost, Crouch, Steve Taylor If he had one out in 1987 he'd be 4th on my list.

He's been in my top5 since I can remember behind Tagge, Gill, then later Frazier. Not 100% sure I would put Frost ahead of Taylor. No way should he be behind Crouch, Heisman Trophy be damned. Crouch was similar to Martinez in that they were unstoppable on the ground (when healthy), but left a lot to be desired as a passer.