Husker Century

[Flat Water]

I've been rewatching Husker Century, an excellent NET documentary on the history of Nebraska football since the beginning in 1890. I highly recommend it if your knowledge of Nebraska football doesn't go back beyond Devaney (or even Osborne). After a great deal of success early in the 20th Century, we were terrible in the 1940s and 1950s, with only a few winning seasons. Then the university hired Devaney in 1962 and everything changed. One of the things that struck me was how much the players liked playing for Devaney. I'm sensing that Rhule's players feel the same way. I'm not saying that Rhule will be the next Devaney, but I see some parallels and I think there's more reason for optimism than there has been in a long time.

One negative about the Husker Century documentary - Trev Alberts is the narrator. Listening to him speak about how special Nebraska is really stuck in my craw given his recent defection.

 

[Bigger Ed]

One negative about the Husker Century documentary - Trev Alberts is the narrator. Listening to him speak about how special Nebraska is really stuck in my craw given his recent defection.

Just not as special as a school with virtually unlimited funds, apparently.

 

[Lavaman]

Just not as special as a school with virtually unlimited funds, apparently.

I hope it was worth it.

 

[wcbsas]

Texas A&M is #1 team is college baseball. If they make the CWS you think we will see him in Omaha?

 

[TFrazier]

Texas A&M is #1 team is college baseball. If they make the CWS you think we will see him in Omaha?

Ask the guys on the baseball board.

 

[KSBV]

Trev is making a lot of friends at Texas A&M by firing numerous long time Athletic Department employees. He has to somehow find a way to fund the last football coach $70+ million severance pay.

https://footballscoop.com/news/texas-a-m-lays-off-a-number-of-high-level-staffers-in-preparation-for-paying-players

 

[TFrazier]

Trev is making a lot of friends at Texas A&M by firing numerous long time Athletic Department employees. He has to somehow find a way to fund the last football coach $70+ million severance pay.

https://footballscoop.com/news/texas-a-m-lays-off-a-number-of-high-level-staffers-in-preparation-for-paying-players

Here is an interesting article how they are paying it.



Total buyout: $77,562,500
Lump sum (25%) owed (within 60 days): $19,390,625
Eight payments, starting no later than March 11, 2024 and continuing annually through 2031: $7,271,484

Inside the numbers on Jimbo Fisher's eye-popping $77.6 million buyout

Fisher's buyout became a popular punchline, but one important detail is often overlooked: A&M won’t have to fork it over all at once.

theathletic.com

 

[Fort Husker]

I've been rewatching Husker Century, an excellent NET documentary on the history of Nebraska football since the beginning in 1890. I highly recommend it if your knowledge of Nebraska football doesn't go back beyond Devaney (or even Osborne). After a great deal of success early in the 20th Century, we were terrible in the 1940s and 1950s, with only a few winning seasons. Then the university hired Devaney in 1962 and everything changed. One of the things that struck me was how much the players liked playing for Devaney. I'm sensing that Rhule's players feel the same way. I'm not saying that Rhule will be the next Devaney, but I see some parallels and I think there's more reason for optimism than there has been in a long time.

One negative about the Husker Century documentary - Trev Alberts is the narrator. Listening to him speak about how special Nebraska is really stuck in my craw given his recent defection.

I've been enamored with Rhule's hiring since it was announced as I think the parallels with he and Devaney are there, including:

1. A 20 year streak of mediocre-to-bad play that doesn't jive with the previous decades
2. Following a former player who was heralded as the savior but ultimately produced 5 straight losing seasons.

Now Devaney had a big upset of Michigan in his first year and produced a winning season. That didn't happen with Rhule in his first year but I do think he's gonna be the guy to turn things around.

Also, Nebraska's win percentage by decade:

1900s: .76
10s: .78
20s: .71
30s: .68
40s: .37
50s: .39
60s: .70
70s: .80
80s: .83
90s: .86

I hate when people say "it's not the 90's anymore, Nebraska." We were dominant (outside of two decades) for the entire 20th century. Our success was not just the 90s.

 

[Flat Water]

I've been enamored with Rhule's hiring since it was announced as I think the parallels with he and Devaney are there, including:

1. A 20 year streak of mediocre-to-bad play that doesn't jive with the previous decades
2. Following a former player who was heralded as the savior but ultimately produced 5 straight losing seasons.

Now Devaney had a big upset of Michigan in his first year and produced a winning season. That didn't happen with Rhule in his first year but I do think he's gonna be the guy to turn things around.

Also, Nebraska's win percentage by decade:

1900s: .76
10s: .78
20s: .71
30s: .68
40s: .37
50s: .39
60s: .70
70s: .80
80s: .83
90s: .86

I hate when people say "it's not the 90's anymore, Nebraska." We were dominant (outside of two decades) for the entire 20th century. Our success was not just the 90s.

I totally agree. Like I said in my initial post, a lot of Nebraska fans don't know much about the history of Nebraska football before Devaney (or in some cases Osborne). We have a long and proud history of football excellence. We had a couple of bad decades in the 1940s and 1950s and now have had a couple of bad decades to start the 21st century. Obviously, I don't have a crystal ball, but my hope is that Rhule will be the guy to accomplish now but Devaney did in the 1960s.

 

[huskernut]

Here is an interesting article how they are paying it.



Total buyout: $77,562,500
Lump sum (25%) owed (within 60 days): $19,390,625
Eight payments, starting no later than March 11, 2024 and continuing annually through 2031: $7,271,484

Inside the numbers on Jimbo Fisher's eye-popping $77.6 million buyout

Fisher's buyout became a popular punchline, but one important detail is often overlooked: A&M won’t have to fork it over all at once.

theathletic.com

They're going to need to sell a lot of beef jerky.

 

[Fort Husker]

I totally agree. Like I said in my initial post, a lot of Nebraska fans don't know much about the history of Nebraska football before Devaney (or in some cases Osborne). We have a long and proud history of football excellence. We had a couple of bad decades in the 1940s and 1950s and now have had a couple of bad decades to start the 21st century. Obviously, I don't have a crystal ball, but my hope is that Rhule will be the guy to accomplish now but Devaney did in the 1960s.

Agreed! I wasn't previously interested in pre-Osborne history but I got really into it in the last year or two. Some interesting facts from our illustrious history that you may or may not know:

Nebraska has 8 unclaimed national titles to go along with the 5 they do claim.

Between 1900 and 1916, Nebraska had five undefeated seasons and completed a stretch of thirty-four consecutive games without a loss.

They were winningest program of the 80s. Second winningest of the 90s behind Florida State.

They’re second all time in conference championships won with 46.

Only team to beat the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, and they did it twice.

Ended Oklahoma’s record streak of consecutive victories in 1959

In the 28 seasons spanning from 1970 to 1997, Nebraska had at least one all American on the offensive line in 25 of them.

Nebraska was one of the earliest programs to integrate, having a ballyhooed African-American player in George Flippin in the 1890s. They stopped integration when programs like Oklahoma and Missouri threatened not to play them anymore. They weren't too kind to the Catholics when Notre Dame visited though.

 

[treeplanter]

Agreed! I wasn't previously interested in pre-Osborne history but I got really into it in the last year or two. Some interesting facts from our illustrious history that you may or may not know:

Nebraska has 8 unclaimed national titles to go along with the 5 they do claim.

Between 1900 and 1916, Nebraska had five undefeated seasons and completed a stretch of thirty-four consecutive games without a loss.

They were winningest program of the 80s. Second winningest of the 90s behind Florida State.

They’re second all time in conference championships won with 46.

Only team to beat the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, and they did it twice.

Ended Oklahoma’s record streak of consecutive victories in 1959

In the 28 seasons spanning from 1970 to 1997, Nebraska had at least one all American on the offensive line in 25 of them.

Nebraska was one of the earliest programs to integrate, having a ballyhooed African-American player in George Flippin in the 1890s. They stopped integration when programs like Oklahoma and Missouri threatened not to play them anymore. They weren't too kind to the Catholics when Notre Dame visited though.

And don't forget that Nebraska essentially invented football weight training, walk-on programs, the practice of redshirting, and the AP Poll, too

College football owes a lot to Nebraska...