Top 5 Nebraska Teams of All-Time

CheeseHusker said:
Unfortunately it will always be the legacy of those early 80s teams that they didn't get to ultimately bite the cherry.
Click to expand...


I have always admired the 1978 team. But anyway, I will gladly take a team that falls 1 game short of a NC instead of what we have had the past 15 years.  

 
Cdog923 said:
Here's a really hot take from someone who was born 2 years later: 1982 Nebraska > 1983 Nebraska. 
Click to expand...
Agree.  While the 83 team had the scoring explosion, the 82 team was more balanced - had a better D.  2 very bad homer ref calls at PSU kept them from winning the NC that year. 

My ranking:

1    95

2    71

3    94

4.   97

5.  70

honorable mention

6    82

7    83

8    99

9    96

 
Last edited by a moderator:
70' was the start of Nebraska football dominance but doesn't make the top 5 imo. 

71' can be no lower than no. 2 -- Rodgers, Kinney and Tagge, with the best D line in Nebraska history Glover, Harper, Adkins, Jacobson and Janssen. 

83' always a misconception IMO of having to be undefeated - to be the best yes, but not to be top 5. 1983 blasted people and came up 1 pt short against a really good Miami defense. Rozier, Irving, and Gill was the best QB, RB, WR trio in the history of Nebraska.

94' was the start of a winning dynasty after many great seasons and falling just short for Osborne.

95' is undoubtedly the best Nebraska team ever. Unfair backfield and a very very dominate defense. 

97' I think should be the highlight of a Nebraska team and a great way for Osborne to go out. Many Nebraska kids like Frost, Green, Makovicka, Davison, Kelsay, Anderson.

5. 1994 

4. 1997

3. 1983

2. 1971

1. 1995 

 
kansas45 said:
It is my opinion. And I was unaware that you are ultimate authority on all matters. I happen to think that the 1997 team was the best. They were unbeaten, won the NC, was not mired in controversy, defense was very good, offense had Ahman Green; in my opinion they were able to execute the offense with very good timing and precision. 

Heck, the guy who wrote the article put them at 3; going to diss him for that? Was he "high" because he chose that? But I defer to you since you are the "all knowing".  

source.gif
Click to expand...


No reason to be upset.  You may be the only person I know of or have read that would tout '97 > '95.  I watched every second of both seasons.  The '95 team was better at every facet, and that speaks volumes as '97 was great.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
kansas45 said:
It is my opinion. And I was unaware that you are ultimate authority on all matters. I happen to think that the 1997 team was the best. They were unbeaten, won the NC, was not mired in controversy, defense was very good, offense had Ahman Green; in my opinion they were able to execute the offense with very good timing and precision. 

Heck, the guy who wrote the article put them at 3; going to diss him for that? Was he "high" because he chose that? But I defer to you since you are the "all knowing".  

source.gif
Click to expand...
The 95 team trailed Wash St until early in the 2nd quarter (trailed for a total of ~9 minutes) and trailed Florida twice (for a total of about 5 minutes), until again, early in the 2nd quarter.  Other than that, the pretty much trashed everyone from the start of the game. Out of 12 games (48 quarters), Nebraska scored in all but 4 of those quarters.

The 97 team had 5 quarters where they didn't score (in a 13 game season), so very comparable.   The 97 team trailed for around ~20 min (~12 to Missouri, ~8 to Central Florida), against very comparable, considering the 97 team played one more game.

The 97 team had back to back shutouts, the 95 team had two (not back to back) shutouts.

I think there is evidence that 95 and 97 are more comparable than many people remember.  I think for most people, the reason for dropping 97 is due to the Missouri game.  The 95 team didn't have any game that approached that type of back and forth. 

Areas where I think '95 showed they were the best:

Only the Colorado game in 95 was closer than 14 points at any point in the 4th quarter (13 points at the start of the quarter). The Washington State came got exactly to 14 points at the end.  In '97, Central Florida, Missouri, Washington and Colorado were all closer than 14 points at some time during the 4th quarter (in fact each was a one score game or a Nebraska deficit at some point during the 4th quarter). 

I'd give a slight edge to '95 for that - they were never in a situation where one blown play in the 4th quarter would have meant the other team tied or took the lead.  However, '97 definitely showed they could play in a tight game late in the 4th, so I understand why they would be a favorite for you.  Couple that with the off field problems in '95, and I can see even more reason to have enjoyed '97 more.

The other reason I give a slight nod to 95 - every starter on defense (except Farley) played/started at least one NFL game.  And the only reason Farley didn't had nothing to do with talent.  97 had a lot of great players but I don't think they were quite that stacked. 

However, Ahman Green was possibly the most successful Nebraska player in the NFL from the 93-97 run of 60-3 (if NFL success is a consideration).  Wistrom, Minter, Stai, Wiegert, Williams all had good careers. I may have overlooked someone else, but Green was probably the most successful.

No matter, this is certainly a happier argument to have vs what is currently going on.

 
deedsker said:
I remember saying we should kick a field goal on 2nd down against Iowa State because I didn't trust our offense. We fumbled on that play.
Click to expand...
Ugh.  The game of a thousand fumbles.  

The one where Niles Paul was completely in the open and just fumbled it on the sideline..... :facepalm:

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top