junior4949
New member
Unfortunately, now beating KU or Mizzou will be considered a signature win. I would think having Va Tech, Mizzou, KU, and hell maybe even CU at home should give us a pretty good opportunity for a signature win.
Signature Win
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HuskerTrucker
New member
I don't think one signature win will make a big enough impact on the pollsters, I think it will take a string of them...beating three of the four would be fantastic, but even if we won 2 out of the four you mention, and do well against the southern division, I think we still will make some impact.
Husker Fans will not be satisfied with mediocrity...we have had too much of that in the past 4 years...we have to not only have a winning record, but we need to beat a couple good teams this year...not that Colorado is that good...but it is just fun to kick their butts...and would go a long way :nutz to take a bad taste out of our mouths from what has gone on over the past 4 years.
chamrocck
New member
That three week stretch in there of Virginia Tech, Missouri, and @Texas Tech is going to be tough. Our team from last year loses each of these games by 3 TD's or more. I am hoping we can beat one of these teams and compete in all of these games at least. We need to be 3-0 going into this stretch.
HUSKER 37
New member
Still having trouble wrapping my mind around the term "Signature Win"..That and Cy using the term "We".
If you mean "Signature" to represent the style of Football we became known for, the 1st one that came to mind (in retrospect) for Osborn's teams was the one other fans would bring up to me at parties when they found out I was from Nebraska...
(In a loss) Dr. Tom going for Two against Miami...I got so much vicarious respect for that one..It may not have been a "Win" on the scoreboard, but we won a lot of hearts by the way we lost.
I guess you could consider finally beating Miami in their (home) Orange Bowl 11 years later, not because it was finally a win for a MNC, but the Fullback Traps in the final quarter that Cory Schlesinger scored on ("Rumbling, Bumbling")...Illustrated our penchant for wearing down an opponent, then overpowering them.
Maybe going 4-0 against SEC Champions in MNC games during my lifetime?
I can't think of any Signature Wins with the last two Head Coaches..Maybe Michigan or Michigan State in Alamo Bowls..But I guess you could credit the Michigan State win to Bo..
I look forward to the friendly rivalry between Stoops and Pelini..We should get a few Sig(nificant) Wins there.
If you mean "Signature" to represent the style of Football we became known for, the 1st one that came to mind (in retrospect) for Osborn's teams was the one other fans would bring up to me at parties when they found out I was from Nebraska...
(In a loss) Dr. Tom going for Two against Miami...I got so much vicarious respect for that one..It may not have been a "Win" on the scoreboard, but we won a lot of hearts by the way we lost.
I guess you could consider finally beating Miami in their (home) Orange Bowl 11 years later, not because it was finally a win for a MNC, but the Fullback Traps in the final quarter that Cory Schlesinger scored on ("Rumbling, Bumbling")...Illustrated our penchant for wearing down an opponent, then overpowering them.
Maybe going 4-0 against SEC Champions in MNC games during my lifetime?
I can't think of any Signature Wins with the last two Head Coaches..Maybe Michigan or Michigan State in Alamo Bowls..But I guess you could credit the Michigan State win to Bo..
I look forward to the friendly rivalry between Stoops and Pelini..We should get a few Sig(nificant) Wins there.
huskerswrkhavoc
New member
if you're going to consider last two coaches as solich and cally.. and you'd even say possibly michigan state...
how is OU in 01 not a signature win?
HUSKER 37
New member
How IS it a "Signature win"?
Don't remember much about that game..other than our Hypsman QB catching the winning TD pass.
Neither Offense seemed to be able to get on track.
I guess Mich St. is the only win by a Bo coached team so far, so it's the closest to a signature win he has.
Solich having a team beat #2 OU was a great win, though...Just doesn't stick out as being "representative" to me I guess.
motorboatjonesNU
New member
A "Signature Win" is the most prominent/notable victories within a coaches tenure at a specific team. Over time, they may change.
I'd call OU in '01 a signature win for Solich - I believe it's his only victory over a Top 10 team while at NU. I'd also put the OT wins vs. ND and CU in there too.
Cally: '05 Colorado, '05 Alamo, and '06 TAM.
Switzer: '74/'75 Texas. '75 Michigan (for MNC in OB), '78 Ohio St. (at the Shoe, coming back from 21-0 at half) '86 NU, '87 NU.
I'd call OU in '01 a signature win for Solich - I believe it's his only victory over a Top 10 team while at NU. I'd also put the OT wins vs. ND and CU in there too.
Cally: '05 Colorado, '05 Alamo, and '06 TAM.
Switzer: '74/'75 Texas. '75 Michigan (for MNC in OB), '78 Ohio St. (at the Shoe, coming back from 21-0 at half) '86 NU, '87 NU.
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huskeraddict
New member
I don't think NU fans will need for Bo to have a signature win but for people outside of the fanbase, Bo needs to prove something to them. Does it need to happen this year? Probably not but going 0-7 against anybody in the Top 10 certainly did not help Coach Callahan. If we come out with at least 2 wins out of that 3 game stretch of VT, Mizzou, and TT, then I think that would help Bo out among the media, fans, etc.
A win against Mizzou will mean a great deal to NU fans. Nationally however, Mizzouri is a newbie that no one necessarily believes is legit. That is, Missouri does not register on most general college football fans radar --- and the in-depth fan , while they might acknowledge Missouri (and Kansas) they will be skeptical until they beat several top programs. Thus, for the nation as a whole if NU beats Missouri or Kansas it will gain Nebraska little and simply enable them to say that "there you go, Missouri and/or Kansas really are no good --- they even lost to Nebraska."HuskerJosh82 said:
As for VT --- if we beat them, well people will again just say that VT is really down.
Thus, only if NU beat OU (and then only if OU really looks good against everyone elae) will anyone take notice of NU.
For NU to gain national stature they will need at least two victories (and likely three) to come from the five bigger games against Missouri/Kansas/OU/VT/TTech --- anything less will mean, well... less.
Guy Chamberlin
Well-known member
I think Bo absolutely needs a "signature" win, probably two of them this season.
Every weekend of the fall a couple teams are going to go out and beat a team that is more talented than they are. It will be the result of motivational coaching, creative gameplans, luck and perhaps biorhythms. Nebraska is not used to these because we have so rarely been the underdog. But the notion you have to surrender to a USC juggernaut like Nebraska did the past couple years is ridiculous, because both seasons some very mediocre teams stepped up and knocked USC flat. For a major college program - or hell, for Appalachian State & Western Michigan - there is no reason to accept defeat until the game is over. Those wins are signature wins. That same logic dictates the Huskers might lose one we've already stuck in the win column.
For me Osborne's signature win was '94 over the Colorado team that boasted Salaam, Westbrook and Kordell Stewart. That was a great Husker team and I doubt we were the Vegas underdog, but Osborne teams often played tight in big games and did not adjust well. That year they came out with a brilliant but risky defensive strategy: hit Kordell Stewart on every play. Even after he's pitched to Salaam. Even if Salaam rips off a long run or two. Pretty soon Stewart is visibly skittish, the high powered Colorado offense is stymied and the Nebraska offense takes it's cue from the defense and plays cool and fearlessly. That convinced me this was a special team.
Every weekend of the fall a couple teams are going to go out and beat a team that is more talented than they are. It will be the result of motivational coaching, creative gameplans, luck and perhaps biorhythms. Nebraska is not used to these because we have so rarely been the underdog. But the notion you have to surrender to a USC juggernaut like Nebraska did the past couple years is ridiculous, because both seasons some very mediocre teams stepped up and knocked USC flat. For a major college program - or hell, for Appalachian State & Western Michigan - there is no reason to accept defeat until the game is over. Those wins are signature wins. That same logic dictates the Huskers might lose one we've already stuck in the win column.
For me Osborne's signature win was '94 over the Colorado team that boasted Salaam, Westbrook and Kordell Stewart. That was a great Husker team and I doubt we were the Vegas underdog, but Osborne teams often played tight in big games and did not adjust well. That year they came out with a brilliant but risky defensive strategy: hit Kordell Stewart on every play. Even after he's pitched to Salaam. Even if Salaam rips off a long run or two. Pretty soon Stewart is visibly skittish, the high powered Colorado offense is stymied and the Nebraska offense takes it's cue from the defense and plays cool and fearlessly. That convinced me this was a special team.