Welcome to installment No. 8 of ‘The Cob’s Archive Dive’, where each week, I’ll share Associated Press headlines and excerpts from past articles printed in the Falls City Journal. No matter what your age, 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 5, 1970 – Headline: Huskers are Pointing Towards Missouri Tilt

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are pointing towards Saturday’s Big Eight football opener against Missouri after dropping Minnesota 35-10. Nebraska’s win Saturday was triggered by Jerry Tagge who scored one touchdown and passed for another. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 148 yards before leaving the game midway in the fourth quarter. The Huskers, who now have three wins and a tie, rolled up a 28-10 halftime lead to put the game away early. While Tagge’s passes kept the secondary loose, Nebraska’s fleet running backs ground out huge chunks of yardage. The ease with which the Big Eight power rolled past the outmanned Gophers dampened Minnesota’s hope of being a title contender in the Big Ten.

(For Nebraska fans this is what is so upsetting about PJ Fleck and Minnesota owning Matt Rhule and the Huskers. Nebraska trounced Minnesota throughout the 70’s and 80’s. It’s not that Minnesota grew superior, they are a solid team, but it just shows you how far the Cornhuskers have fallen. It’s time for that to change.)

September 27, 1980 – Headline: 3rd Ranked Nebraska Smacks State, 21-7

The spotlight followed Nebraska when it left Beaver Stadium Saturday evening, but Penn State had to leave by searchlight. The No.3 Cornhuskers found the bone-jarring defense it needed to complement its high-octane offense. The unit recorded seven turnovers and nine sacks in a convincing victory. The sacks totaled 89 yards in losses. A record crowd of 84,565 and a national television audience saw NU roll up 445 yards total offense, including 287 on the ground. PSU had 156 yards … total. A fumble recovery by Derrie Nelson in the opening quarter and Sammy Sims’s interception in the second led to the Huskers first two touchdowns. Coach Joe Paterno said the turnovers hurt his team badly.

(No matter how good a team is overcoming seven turnovers is next to impossible. I remember being excited about Sammy Sim’s interception as I played against Sammy in high school while in Texas.)

September 10, 1990 – Headline: Huskers are Progressing

Tom Osborne says his 10th ranked Huskers are coming along slowly, although Northern Illinois coach Jerry Pettibone says progress looked more like a blur from his point on the sideline after seeing his team fall 60-14. Pettibone was Osborne’s recruiting coordinator for three years and has said coming to play in Lincoln was a special event. After Saturday he wasn’t so sure. “I don’t think it’s worth it,” he said of playing the traditionally powerful Division I-A team. “It’s great if you can come in here and be competitive. It’s great for recruiting and its great exposure for your program. But what happened to us physically, I don’t think it’s worth it.”

(Pettibone’s comments are notable as this was a topic during the 80’s and 90’s. Teams liked coming to Lincoln for the payday but were so beat up afterwards that winning the next week was even more difficult for them. Several coaches over the years commented after losing a game that the game had been lost the week before due to playing Nebraska. The Huskers were known for their physicality, something that hasn’t been around since 2000. There may have been a flash during the Pelini years, but it still wasn’t the 80’s and 90’s teams.)

September 12, 2000 – NU Trying Not to Look at Lighter Side

After Saturday’s 27-24 draining win at Notre Dame, the schedule makers have given the Big Red what appears to be some serious exhale time. The Huskers are off this week. Then come back-to-back home games against Iowa and Missouri, visits to Iowa State, Texas Tech, and a home game against Baylor. Not until October 28 – when its off to Norman to face No. 20 Oklahoma – does NU play a team in the top 50. However, Frank Solich noted the team is still wary of the dangers regardless of the opponent.

The Associated Press college football poll’s Top 20 – 1. Nebraska, 2. Florida State, 3. Michigan, 4. Miami, 5. Wisconsin, 6. Texas, 7. Kansas State, 8. Florida, 9. Georgia, 10. Virginia Tech, 11. USC, 12. Tennessee, 13. Alabama, 14. Purdue, 15. Washington, 16. UCLA, 17, Clemson, 18. Ohio State, 19. Mississippi, 20. Oklahoma.

Notable coaches in the poll, Florida State-Bobby Bowden, Wisconsin-Barry Alverez, Texas-Mack Brown, Kansas State-Bill Snyder, Florida-Steve Spurrier, Virgina Tech-Frank Beemer, Tennessee- Phillip Fullmer, Washington- Rick Neuheisel, Oklahoma-Bob Stoops.

(There were still multiple polls in 2000 which made naming a National Champion even more convoluted. There are people who will tell you they don’t like the playoff system we have now, but it is a far better system than having multiple polls and a bunch of pollsters getting their heads together and voting for split national champions.)

Be sure to look for next week’s edition as the ‘Cob’ dives into each week’s headlines of the season 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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