The Third Worst Nebraska Football Moment of the Decade - the Death of Sam Foltz

Review the “worst” moments:

• 6-10 Worst Moments - Iowa, Texas, Ohio State, Bo Pelini recording, BYU’s Hail Mary
• #5 The 2017 loss to Minnesota
• #4 Losing the 2010 Big 12 championship to Oklahoma

Review the “best moments:

• 6-10 Best Moments - Miamia, Iowa (and DPE), T-Mart vs KSU, hiring Scott Frost, “10-men” tribute to Sam Foltz
• #5 - Upsetting Michigan State 2015
• #4 - Roy Helu, Jr. and 307 yards
• #3 - Hail Mary vs Northwestern - RK3 to 1

Where Was I?

I was at entry day for our county fair, trying to shuttle the ranchhands to their interview judging appointments and make sure all of the exhibits were brought in safely. I was also furiously trying to pull together a Flakes article.

Then, one of Brian’s “THIS STAYS HERE” messages came across my notifications.

At first, Brian’s information was that there had been a car accident involving Sam Foltz. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the terrible story came to light. Both Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler were killed when their car went off the road on a rainy Wisconsin night.

The 2016 Husker football season was an emotional one for the team, fans and especially for the Foltz family.

Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images

Below are a few of the tributes and gestures made by Nebraska and opposing teams throughout the 2016 season. (Also see Nate’s article about the #5 best moment of the decade which was the “10 men” tribute by Nebraska)

In the final portion of their halftime show, the Ohio State band honored Sam with a “SF 27” formation.

And the Buckeyes put a sign on the wall of the tunnel where Nebraska’s players entered the field. You can also see the #27 jersey that the team carried out for all games that season.

If you want to see more, the Lincoln Journal Star created a slideshow of all of the tributes throughout the season.

Rest in peace #27.

[Jon: We perhaps could have overruled, but note that this is #3 due to a fan vote we held on the worst moments of the decade. ]