Iceland12
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http://www.omaha.com/article/20131026/HUSKERS/131028820
Ever heard of Henry Williams and Bernie Bierman? In the first half of the 20th century, they coached Minnesota football for 38 combined years. They won 75 percent of their games — and combined for six national championships.
In 1960, the Gophers beat Nebraska in Lincoln and went on to win another national championship, their seventh. Then the damnedest thing happened.
A new football king emerged on the Great Plains. Devaney and Osborne became the new Williams and Bierman.
And for 36 years — from Los Angeles to South Bend, Ind., from Norman, Okla., to the Canadian border — there wasn't a program that could hang with Nebraska. The Huskers built an empire, winning 83 percent of their games and five national titles.
That's the era in which I was born — maybe you, too. Had you told me growing up in the '80s and '90s that Minnesota dominated college football during my grandfather's time, I would've thought you were talking about Hayden Fox's Screaming Eagles.
After 1960, the Gophers lost their way, momentarily at first, then permanently. Coach after coach (including Lou Holtz) tried to find the path back to the glory years until everybody just kind of forgot about 'em.
Just because it was doesn't mean it will be.
Minnesota and Nebraska met again Saturday. And for the first time in 53 years, the Gophers prevailed. The last 3½ quarters, they made NU look like the worst 5-2 team in the country. They stole Wisconsin's Big Ten championship game plan and pounded Nebraska's chin straps all day. NU looked like a program that believed it could show up, put on the uniform and win by default.
We can critique Tim Beck's play-calling* or Rick Kaczenski's defensive line. We can break down the offense's alarming lack of poise or the defense's stunning lack of backbone. We can study Taylor Martinez's tender toes and ask how a team coming off a bye week looked so embarrassingly underprepared. All are issues worthy of analysis.
(*The fact that Nebraska tailbacks had 21 carries versus Martinez's 30-plus dropbacks defies logic. Yes, Minnesota was playing NU receivers one-on-one, daring Beck to throw. But when Martinez is off target and Ameer Abdullah is averaging 8.7 yards per carry, give No. 8 the ball.)
But at the end of the day, I come back to this truth: If I had put Nebraska and Minnesota in shirts and skins, you wouldn't have known which one has decades of tradition and which one doesn't
Match up the same teams next Saturday and there's no reason to think the same thing wouldn't happen. The Gophers were better. More intelligent. More disciplined. More focused. More intense. Better..
Ever heard of Henry Williams and Bernie Bierman? In the first half of the 20th century, they coached Minnesota football for 38 combined years. They won 75 percent of their games — and combined for six national championships.
In 1960, the Gophers beat Nebraska in Lincoln and went on to win another national championship, their seventh. Then the damnedest thing happened.
A new football king emerged on the Great Plains. Devaney and Osborne became the new Williams and Bierman.
And for 36 years — from Los Angeles to South Bend, Ind., from Norman, Okla., to the Canadian border — there wasn't a program that could hang with Nebraska. The Huskers built an empire, winning 83 percent of their games and five national titles.
That's the era in which I was born — maybe you, too. Had you told me growing up in the '80s and '90s that Minnesota dominated college football during my grandfather's time, I would've thought you were talking about Hayden Fox's Screaming Eagles.
After 1960, the Gophers lost their way, momentarily at first, then permanently. Coach after coach (including Lou Holtz) tried to find the path back to the glory years until everybody just kind of forgot about 'em.
Just because it was doesn't mean it will be.
Minnesota and Nebraska met again Saturday. And for the first time in 53 years, the Gophers prevailed. The last 3½ quarters, they made NU look like the worst 5-2 team in the country. They stole Wisconsin's Big Ten championship game plan and pounded Nebraska's chin straps all day. NU looked like a program that believed it could show up, put on the uniform and win by default.
We can critique Tim Beck's play-calling* or Rick Kaczenski's defensive line. We can break down the offense's alarming lack of poise or the defense's stunning lack of backbone. We can study Taylor Martinez's tender toes and ask how a team coming off a bye week looked so embarrassingly underprepared. All are issues worthy of analysis.
(*The fact that Nebraska tailbacks had 21 carries versus Martinez's 30-plus dropbacks defies logic. Yes, Minnesota was playing NU receivers one-on-one, daring Beck to throw. But when Martinez is off target and Ameer Abdullah is averaging 8.7 yards per carry, give No. 8 the ball.)
But at the end of the day, I come back to this truth: If I had put Nebraska and Minnesota in shirts and skins, you wouldn't have known which one has decades of tradition and which one doesn't
Match up the same teams next Saturday and there's no reason to think the same thing wouldn't happen. The Gophers were better. More intelligent. More disciplined. More focused. More intense. Better..
