Big Ten Countdown: 95 - The Greatest Team Ever

by Ricky Smith on Mar 28, 2011 8:53 AM CDT in Husker Fans Guide to the Big Ten

Yesterday, Corn Nation went in the Way Back Machine and taught us about the inception of the Big Ten.

Today, we'll move on to 1995. '95 was a good year for the Huskers. We had that one team that ran over everything in their path, and then we had the football team. Did you know that those guys won a national championship team, too?

Before we jump into that, '95 was also the year that the Husker Volleyball team won their first national championship. They had always been a powerhouse, but Terry Pettit and the ladies just couldn't close. That was until Allie Weston, Christy Johnson and company brought the hardware home.

Now, back to that football team. At the time, I never considered them to be the greatest team ever put on a football field. I knew they were good, but I didn't know they were that good. That was, however, until that fateful night in Tempe. Nebraska ran roughshod through their regular season. They ran through teams like Charlie Sheen ran through, ahem, briefcases. Washington State was the only team that gave them any trouble, by winning a 35-21 "squeaker" which, really, wasn't even that close.

Let's just recap who tried to get in their way (final AP rankings in parentheses):

Kansas State (7) - 49-25
Colorado (5) - 44-21
Kansas...yes, Kansas (9) 41-3
Iowa State (not ranked) - 73-14

Sorry, just had to write the fact that the Huskers hung 73 on ISU. That never gets old.

The Huskers, even without Lawrence Phillips for most of the season, they still could not be stopped on offense. Frazier, Green, and the Pipeline was just too much for everyone. The best part of it was that everyone knew they were going to run the option and they still couldn't stop it.

On the other side of the ball, the Huskers were just as dominant. Booker, Farley, Wistrom, the Peters, etc. The list goes on and on. No one....no one....outplayed them. They were fast and fierce and when they took the field, the battle was practically over.

Back to the Fiesta Bowl. On the national landscape, virtually no one gave the Huskers a chance. Florida's Fun-n-Gun was going to be too much for the Huskers. The Huskers will be slow on grass. I'd even bet that a lot of Husker fans were sweating it before kickoff. After the Big Red's first touchdown, though, we breathed a sigh of relief. They were playing their own game and you could tell they were already dominating. And, by early in the second quarter, Spurrier, his offense, his ego, and his visor were a footnote in college football history as the Most Lopsided National Championship Game.

The best part was of course, Tommie's Run. I was at that game and just couldn't believe what we were witnessing. What we were watching was the most dominant performance by The Greatest College Football Team of All Time.

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95 was a great year. I was a senior in High School and got to see the Huskers win a NC and Eric Crouch play for my Mustangs.

In the deed, the glory.
Corn Nation!

by Aaron Musfeldt on Mar 28, 2011 1:28 PM CDT reply actions

I was in the band that year.

We were down on the field getting ready for halftime when Booker took that INT in for a touchdown. Watching the Florida players at that moment told me they were 100% absolutely and completely beaten: heads down, no energy, just get me the hell outta here done.

There have been a lot of great teams over the years, but I’ve never seen a team as powerful and passionate as the ‘95 Huskers. They’re the greatest in my mind, at least.

"Wer viel Bier trinkt, schläft gut. Wer gut schläft, sündigt nicht. Und wer nicht sündigt, kommt in den Himmel!" Martin Luther

by Go Big Rev on Mar 28, 2011 1:37 PM CDT reply actions

Fiesta Bowl

My most favorite game in Husker history (given that I was 16 at the time). Watched the game with my dad, and we did not want to see it end. I will never forget the pure domination, which was welcome after the two previous nail bitters in ’93 (barely lost that one) and ’94 (Cory was the man!). After that Fiesta Bowl, my dad and I bought 25 Sports Illustrateds, along with 25 World Heralds. I took one of each and made a nice collage (still hanging in the house). My two favorite pictures in that collage: one of Spurrier with his head in his hands with the look of utter defeat and the other of Weurffel being sacked by Jamel Williams in the endzone. Priceless! I have a baby boy on the way and I hope one day he gets to experience something similar to the magic of the Huskers in the 1990s, specifically ’94 and ’95.

by CCE718 on Mar 28, 2011 2:21 PM CDT reply actions

The halftime scores of those games

May be even more reflective of how dominant that team was, since they were playing with second- and third-stringers throughout the second half.

Oklahoma State: 36-7
Michigan State: 20-7
Arizona State: 63-21 (not a typo)
Pacific: 35-0
Washington State: 20-7
Missouri: 28-0
Kansas State: 35-6
Colorado: 31-14
Iowa State: 38-7
Kansas: 14-3
Oklahoma: 13-0
Florida: 35-10

No team was even within 10 points of Nebraska at halftime all season. That’s an average halftime score of 31-7.

by Cheeseandcorn on Mar 28, 2011 3:24 PM CDT reply actions

53-14

Take the 12 games played that year, and that was our average winning score.

53-14.

That is dominance.

They're 18 to 22...how perfect were you at that age?
The Power of Red begins with the Passion of Walk-Ons.

by redvalley on Mar 28, 2011 3:24 PM CDT reply actions

Bak in those days.

I can remember the media freaking out if we only won by a 42-13 score.

In the deed, the glory.
Corn Nation!

by Aaron Musfeldt on Mar 28, 2011 9:07 PM CDT reply actions

Thoroughly enjoyed the game - no doubt

but Spurrier during the post game press conference was just as entertaining. When questioned on his play call that ended up as a safety, he smugly replied something like, “I thought that was a pretty good play, they only scored 2 there!” Man was I was rolling at that, and still nearly laughed out loud today thinking about it.

It was a magical game and one helluva way to punctuate the season.

by aka_slim on Mar 28, 2011 9:35 PM CDT reply actions

For all that I hated Spurrier back then,

I kinda like him now. Guy is absolutely 100% B.S. free.

"Wer viel Bier trinkt, schläft gut. Wer gut schläft, sündigt nicht. Und wer nicht sündigt, kommt in den Himmel!" Martin Luther

by Go Big Rev on Mar 28, 2011 10:29 PM CDT up reply actions

Best Husker memory, hands down.

My dad was a die hard from Beatrice, so that’s how I came to be a Louisiana native bleeding Husker Red in Tiger country. That game was so great, not only for the ass whooping that it became from the 2nd quarter on, but for all the years of getting close and losing to the GD schools from Florida every year! GBR!

I'm your huckleberry.

by Brizzle T on Mar 28, 2011 10:58 PM CDT reply actions

"The best part of it was that everyone knew they were going to run the option and they still couldn't stop it."

That is true dominance right there, when you know what is going to happen and you’re powerless (or nearly so) to stop it.

One of the founding members of The Super Duper Matt Cassel Fanclub.
We all have the right to our own opinions, its just that mine are right.
My quest for soberiety is an ongoing struggle.

by nateforchiefs on Mar 29, 2011 12:33 AM CDT reply actions