Nebraska Husker Football History
Nebraska Husker football’s roots trace back to 1890, when the University of Nebraska defeated the Omaha YMCA 10-0 in a Thanksgiving Day game.
Back then, though, the team now known as the Cornhuskers weren’t called by that nickname. Nicknames such as "Bugeaters," "Antelopes" and "Old Gold Knights" were used before a Lincoln sportswriter tabbed them as the "Cornhuskers" (borrowing from a name used by the University of Iowa) around 1900.
Nebraska established itself as one of the top programs in the nation during the early 20th century. They defeated the likes of Minnesota and Notre Dame, two of the top programs of that era.
After making it to the Rose Bowl in 1941, the Nebraska Husker football program went through a two-decade era of frustration. The Huskers were perennial conference doormats throughout much of the 1940's and 1950's, with the only notable win coming in a 25-21 upset of Oklahoma in 1959. The win, coming on Nebraska's Homecoming Day on Oct. 31, 1959, brought Oklahoma's seven-year conference undefeated string to an end.
In 1962, the University hired a relatively-unknown coach by the name of Bob Devaney. He quickly turned the Nebraska Husker football program around, going 9-2 his first season and leading the Huskers to a dramatic 36-34 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Gotham Bowl, played on a frozen field at Yankee Stadium.
The Nebraska Huskers came close to winning a national title in 1965, and eventually went on to win back-to-back national championships in 1970 and 1971. They shared the title with current Big 12 Conference foe Texas, defeating LSU 17-12 in the Orange Bowl; then won the title outright the following season, highlighted by a dramatic 35-31 win over second-ranked Oklahoma in a game that will forever be known as the "Game of the Century."
Devaney handed the reins over to Tom Osborne after the 1973 season, and he continued the Nebraska Huskers' tradition of success throughout his 25-year run as head coach, capping his career by leading the Huskers to three national titles during an unprecedented four-year run that saw the Huskers win 49 of 51 games.
Osborne won his 250th game in 1997, beating longtime nemesis Oklahoma 69-7. After the Nebraska Huskers beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl for his third national title, Osborne retired and turned the reins over to longtime assistant and former Husker fullback Frank Solich.
Solich continued the team's tradition of success and posted a 58-19 record in six seasons, highlighted by an appearance in the Rose Bowl for the national championship and a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Eric Crouch. But it wasn't enough to satisfy Husker fans who had become accustomed to being at the top of the college football hierarchy and he was fired after the team's final regular-season game in 2003.
Bill Callahan was hired in 2004 and had the misfortune of being the first coach since Bill Jennings in 1961 to finish with a losing record. The team rebounded from that 5-6 finish, posting an 8-4 record in 2005; and winning the Big 12 Conference North Division crown to highlight a 9-5 mark in 2006.
The Nebraska Huskers did make history during Callahan's four-year run the 2006 season. The team's 21-3 win over Kansas State made Nebraska the fourth team in the history of NCAA Division I college football to post 800 wins in its history. The Huskers joined Michigan, Notre Dame and Texas as schools with over 800 wins in college football.
In 2007, the Nebraska Huskers again stumbled and finished 5-7. Callahan was fired and new coach Bo Pelini – who served as an assistant at Nebraska during Solich's final season in 2003, was hired to resurrect the Husker tradition of success.
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