Welcome to installment No. 13 of ‘The Cob’s Archive Dive’, where each week, I’ll share headlines and excerpts from past articles printed in the Falls City Journal. Hopefully you’ll find a piece of Husker football history that makes you feel the sights and sounds of gameday.

On this day in Cornhusker Football History:

October 31, 1970 – Headline: ‘Huskers Can Breathe Easier after Drowning Stubborn Coloradoans’

Head coach Bob Devaney commented after the game, “Colorado threw the strongest running attack at us that we’ve faced all season.” Devaney was right, as the Buffaloes rushed for 297 yards, almost twice the Cornhusker’s output. The turning point in the game came when Nebraska’s Larry Jacobson tripped up wing-back Cliff Branch a yard short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt and running back Jeff Kinney then returned the ensuing kickoff 76-yards for a touchdown. The Cornhuskers also scored on two long passes in the second quarter and finished the game with a 29-13 win.

The Cornhuskers have averaged 34.5 points a game and lead the Big Eight conference in scoring. Nebraska is also tops in scoring defense, having yielded only an average of 14.3 points a game. Nebraska also leads in total offense with a fat average of 410.4 yards per game. 

(How good were the Huskers, Cliff Branch was recognized as the fastest athlete in the Big Eight conference in 1970, and he eventually earned induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. In 1970 the Big Eight conference had future NFL players like Lynn Dickey, John Riggins, Larry Brown, Cliff Branch, Greg Pruitt, James Harrison, Joe Moore, Mel Gray, and Otto Stowe.)

October 22, 1980 – Headline: NU’s Good News CU’s Bad News

Coach Tom Osborne ran his ninth-ranked Cornhuskers through a two-hour drill Tuesday with some good news for Nebraska and bad news for Colorado. Jarvis Redwine is back.

“He seems to be pretty good. If he’s full speed he’ll start. If there is still concern about how well he is, and if he still has some concern, he won’t start but he will play,” Osborne said.

 Redwine has been sidelined for two weeks since cracking a rib against Florida State. Osborne has been accused of running up scores and accumulating game films in compiling his 5-1 record and top-ranked statistics.

“Actually, I’m kind of embarrassed by it all,” Osborne said. “We probably give more playing time to our second and third string more than any other team in the conference.”

(With Craig as Redwine’s backup and the leading scorer in the conference Osborne probably didn’t have reason to be concerned. Statistically Nebraska’s rushing offensive mark was 380.7 yards per game and their scoring offense was 41.5 points per game.)

October 5, 1990 – Headline: K-State Builds Self-Confidence

If anybody knows the way winning can build self-confidence, it’s Tom Osborne. Few men in college football history have won more than Osborne. That’s why the Nebraska coach approached Saturday’s game against Kansas State with possibly more trepidation than ever before. “Probably the biggest thing we’ll have to overcome this year is they have a belief they can win,” said Osborne.

“We will have to play perfect football, Nebraska has to make their share of mistakes, and the good Lord has to be in purple on that day,” said Bill Snyder. The purple-clad K-Staters are 29-point underdogs to the unbeaten 8th ranked visitors who spanked K-State a year ago in Lincoln 58-7. The Huskers (4-0) will be making their first road appearance of the season. They lead the nation in rushing offense, scoring defense and total defense.

(This was the beginning of the turnaround by Kansas State under Bill Snyder. Snyder instilled a belief in his teams that they could complete with Nebraska, and while he was there, they didn’t only compete but defeated the Huskers more than once. While I’m not a huge Bill Snyder fan, you must give the man credit, he accomplished amazing things.)

October 8, 2000 – Headline: Huskers Too Much for Cyclones

Roll-over-and-play-dead opponents are becoming more rare for Nebraska. Inspired Iowa State led at halftime and hung around for more than three quarters before the Cornhuskers pulled away for a 49-27 victory on Saturday. Teams the Cornhuskers used to grind into the turf are fighting back as if to make up for past atrocities. Iowa State quarterback, Sage Rosenfels racked up 346 yards and two touchdowns and had the best throwing game by a quarterback against the Huskers this season. The Cyclones led 14-13 at the half. It was the first time this season the Husker trailed at the half. The 2000 Husker defense was never going to be the best in NU history. Craig Bohl made no promises. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch rushed for a season-high 138 yards, including 98 in the second half when the Cornhuskers scored five of their seven touchdowns. The Huskers finished with 501 total yards, their best offensive performance of the season. A Nebraska defense that was shredded for 492-yards by the Tigers last weekend continued to have trouble against the pass. But Iowa State managed just 37 rushing yards.

(Defensive coordinator Charlie McBride retired at the end of the 1999 season. He had wanted to go out with Osborne, but Tom talked him into staying a couple of years while Frank got his feet on the ground. Defensively, the Blackshirts took a step backwards when McBride left.)

Be sure to look for next week’s edition as the ‘Cob’ dives into each week’s headlines as they once appeared in the Falls City Journal.

GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST VIOLENT!!

All headlines and excerpts were gathered from Associated Press articles, and most but not all were published in the Falls City Journal. Home - Falls City Journal - Falls City, NE

Photographs were gathered from multiple sources.

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