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  • Bennett's miss cost NU more than a national title

    by
    Husker Dan
    Published on 03-13-2012 10:26 AM
    10 Comments Comments
    Mike Babcock (Huskers Illustrated) recently wrote a piece about Nebraska's record of consecutive football games without a loss (34) that began October 26, 1912, with head coach Ewald "Jumbo" Stiehm's Husker team beating Adrian 41-0 at home and ended with E.J. "Doc" Stewart's Husker team losing to Kansas 7-3 in Lincoln on November 16, 1916. Only a 0-0 tie with South Dakota in 1914 kept the record from being 34 consecutive wins.

    STACK UP?
    So I wondered how Tom Osborne's 1990s teams measured up to the Stiehm-Stewart record. Most Husker fans remember the amazing 60-3 record set by Tom Osborne's '93-'97 teams. That string included playing for an amazing four national championships in five years, winning three ('94, '95 and '97).

    And most fans remember that at the end of the '93 season, Nebraska faced heavily favored Florida State in the Orange Bowl, losing 18-16 on a missed field goal by Byron Bennett as time expired. Obviously, had Bennett's kick been good, Tom Osborne would have had his first national championship and the Huskers would have notched their third NC in school history.

    But no one could have known at the time that Bennett's miss also prevented Osborne's teams from breaking the record for consecutive games without a loss. Starting with the Huskers' '93 season-opening 76-14 win over North Texas State on September 4th, the Huskers would not lose another game until September 21, 1996, with a 19-0 loss at Arizona State.

    Had Bennett's kick been good, Osborne's '93-'96 teams would have shattered the Stiehm-Stewart record with 38 wins. Unfortunately, Bennett's miss was a kick in the pants for all Husker fans.

    HUNT WITH THE HUSKERS
    Last week, I wrote about the annual "Hunt With The Huskers" event, Saturday, March 31st at the Oak Creek Sporting Club near Brainard, Nebraska.

    This year's "Hunt" will give Husker fans a rare opportunity to hunt with former Husker head coach and current Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne. Joining Osborne will be about a dozen former Husker football greats. So if your Bucket List includes meeting Tom Osborne and hanging with former Husker greats, don't miss out on this great opportunity. And by attending, you can help Osborne's TeamMates mentoring program.

    For more about "Hunt," contact Gerry Gray at 402-393-0492 (office) or on his cell phone at 402-917-2219. Or for more information, go to www.greatplainsmktg.com.

    Tell him Groucho sent you.

    You may email me at HuskerDan@cox.net


    1. Categories:
    2. Football,
    3. Athletics
    Comments 10 Comments
    1. Expectorate's Avatar
      Expectorate - 03-13-2012
      Would have been quite a triumph, but I think we need to remember that the sting from that Orange Bowl loss was a HUGE factor in the '94 team's undefeated season. Would we have gotten by K-State that year, if not for the incredible resolve of the team to get back to the Orange Bowl, and finish the "Unfinished Buisiness?"
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-13-2012
      fun to think about, but not exactly apples to apples.

      Can't tell me that that 18-16 loss (btw great job, refs) didn't motivate the 1994 team to win. As I recall their motto was 'unfinished business.' Then the 1995 team was a wrecking ball of a team if there ever was one.

      Anyway, fun to speculate, but we could play the what-if game all day. Doesn't make it real. I'd rather focus on what the team needs to do and what we as fans need to do to return to those days. GO BIG RED!
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-13-2012
      Pretty rough on Bennett there. Obviously, the miss is the play everyone remembers, and it is the single easiest to identify play that would have changed the outcome. But no game is ever won or lost on a single play. And it really isn't Bennett's fault that NU never really placed any value on recruiting serious kickers until after that game. He was the typical NU pre-94 leftover who was there to wear red and kick extra points. Pretty much everyone in the stadium knew it would have been a miracle if he made that kick.

      So, to focus on him to the tune of six mentions in a half-column story, assigning him responsibility for NU's failure to win 38 in a row seems a tad unfair. FWIW...

      DHSmd
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-13-2012
      Funny story about Mr Bennett I happened to be good friends with Ty Stewart was a kicker at Omaha Westside I also had two sister who were Husker Hostesses and my father reached out to the staff and begged them to give Ty a scholarship, but he was told they had already offered a kicker that year in Byron Bennett. My dad's words to Dave Gillespie still ring in my ear. "I hope he doesn't beat you and I hope you don't need him in the orange bowl". Ty went on to kick at Iowa State and kicked 5 field goals to beat Nebraska and I have no doubt in my mind he makes that kick.
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-14-2012
      Bob Devaney's decision to make a young coach by the name of Tom Osborne his offensive coordinator in 1969 began an era of football at Nebraska that can not be matched by any other school in the last 43 seasons. Success came nearly right away. Starting on 10/18/69 with a 21-17 win over Kansas, There are only two very close three point losses (20-17 to UCLA 9/9/72 & 17-14 to Oklahoma 11/23/72) and a one point loss (13-12 to Missouri 10/13/73) that kept NU from having a streak of 54 in a row without a loss.

      Does not really mean anything, but shows how close the Huskers were to a very dominant run.

      One could point to many very close losses during the Osborne era that kept the Huskers from some very impressive runs. Like the 27-24 loss at Penn State (a win that was stolen from the Huskers) and the 31-30 loss to Miami in the Orange Bowl which kept NU from back-to-back 13-0 seasons.

      During Osborne's 25 years at the helm, the Huskers had 18 losses by four points or less. Factor in the three ties and there could have easily benn 21 more wins for Osborne. I already know what you are thinking, what about the close wins? During the same timeframe, NU had 12 wins by fouor points or less, so argument could be made the otehr way as well.
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-14-2012
      One of the lucky few that attended UNL from 1993-1997. The loss to FSU my freshman year, the win over Peyton Manning and the Vols capping my college career, 3 straight undefeated reg seasons, 3 Natty's....One hell of a run, too bad I was drunk for most of it.
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-14-2012
      Good point on Bennett's miss not being the game-maker or breaker. As a matter of fact, he had made the go-ahead FG about 3 mins earlier. Somehow, the D let Charlie Ward and co drive into FG range in about a minute. I'm sure everyone only remembers Bennett's heart-breaking miss, poor kid had a whole state on his back at that moment.
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-16-2012
      vety nice read by the posters for once no negativity.GBR
    1. Unregistered's Avatar
      Unregistered - 03-19-2012
      Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
      Pretty rough on Bennett there. Obviously, the miss is the play everyone remembers, and it is the single easiest to identify play that would have changed the outcome. But no game is ever won or lost on a single play. And it really isn't Bennett's fault that NU never really placed any value on recruiting serious kickers until after that game. He was the typical NU pre-94 leftover who was there to wear red and kick extra points. Pretty much everyone in the stadium knew it would have been a miracle if he made that kick.

      So, to focus on him to the tune of six mentions in a half-column story, assigning him responsibility for NU's failure to win 38 in a row seems a tad unfair. FWIW...

      DHSmd

      FWIW Most people on the sidelines (readlayers) watched Byron put it through the uprights from 55 all week leading up to game. So no miracle and no leftover. The football world did not start in 1994!
    1. B1GRedFootballFan's Avatar
      B1GRedFootballFan - 03-21-2012
      The end of that 1993 Orange Bowl game was crazy indeed. You cannot blame Bennett for the miss. Bobby Bowden had already been "drenched" in the middle of the field with a microphone in his face. Then, to his astonishment, was escorted back to the sideline to watch the NU field goal try.

      Wow...........
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