Rebuilding a Dynasty Part Three: 1992 – Making Strides

April 26, 2006 by Steve Hanway

This is the third in a four-part series on Nebraska’s climb to the top of college football in the early 1990’s.

The 1992 Husker team entered the season with a lot to prove. Had the year before simply been a last hurrah or could they build on their success and win the first back to back Big 8 titles since the early 80’s? They got over the hurdle of beating ranked teams, but could they beat a top ten team? They had no proven quarterback and even when they had one they struggled offensively in recent years against the better teams on their schedule.

Lead by Senior quarterback Mike Grant, the Huskers cruised to easy victories against Utah and Middle Tennessee State. Nebraska then headed to Seattle to face #2 Washington. Just as had happened the year before, Nebraska ended up losing by 15 in a 29-14 contest. Nebraska bounced back to easily handle Arizona State and Oklahoma State but Tom Osborne decided to change things up heading into Missouri and coming off a bye week by starting true Freshman Tommie Frazier at quarterback.

In Columbia, Nebraska managed a 34-24 win, but no one came away thinking the team or the offense had really improved dramatically. Next up was #8 Colorado. The Buffaloes also had inexperience at quarterback but were undefeated and after a tie against Oklahoma were positioned to take the conference with a win in Lincoln. While Nebraska was still coming off the obvious change at the quarterback position, they stunned the Buffaloes by ditching the 5-2 defense (5 defensive lineman and 2 linebackers) and playing a 4-3 set (4 defensive lineman and 3 linebackers) which Colorado was not prepared to handle. The Buffs were harassed into turnovers in a 52-7 drubbing. Not only had Nebraska broken through to beat a top ten team but did so in dramatic fashion. Tommie Frazier had a nice line of 86 yards rushing and 2 TD passes in the rout. The goal posts came down as Nebraska had beaten Colorado for the first time since 1988 and were now the favorite to win the Big 8.

Showing that the Colorado game had not been a fluke Nebraska went out the following week and stoned #13 Kansas to the tune of 49-7. Freshman phenom Frazier had 3 TD passes in the win. Nebraska now looked like a team to be feared. Bob Devaney said they looked like the best Husker team he had ever seen. Little did they realize what awaited them in Ames. Nebraska had never lost to a team that finished with a losing record under Tom Osborne. Coming in at 3-6, Iowa State was sure to be one. But unfortunately, things were about to change. Nebraska’s offense sputtered, and players repeatedly slipped on the turf. Nebraska received its share of penalties including an excessive celebration penalty on John Parrella that kept an Iowa State scoring drive alive. Nebraska’s 19-10 loss left many confused. How could this be the same team that dominated two top-fifteen teams just prior to losing to the Cyclones?

Nebraska had almost two weeks to think it over before heading to Norman to face the Sooners who had humiliated Nebraska 45-10 in their last trip to OU’s campus. OU had questions of its own having already lost 3 games and tied 2. The Huskers dominated in a 33-9 victory and were one game from the Orange Bowl with Kansas State yet to be played. Kansas State needed a win to become bowl-eligible but couldn’t get past the Huskers who won 38-24 in Tokyo.

Headed to the Orange Bowl to face #3 Florida State, the Huskers were taken out of the game quickly. FSU scored the first 20 points and helped by freshman Tommie Frazier’s 3 turnovers handled the Huskers 27-14. Corey Dixon was NU’s player of the game with 138 yards receiving and 35 yards rushing. Again, the national media could dismiss the Huskers as a tier below the best teams in the country but the Huskers also proved to themselves that they could dominate good teams and even the bowl game was something of an improvement as the Huskers outscored the Seminoles 14-7 over the latter 2 ½ quarters and if they had taken better care of the football could well have beaten the #3 team in the country in their home state. More than that, the Huskers had found a quarterback that would only improve and a defensive scheme that would help keep them in every game. Nebraska now had a winning formula and only needed some time to work at getting better. No longer did the Big 8 seem like a major hurdle, now it was time to win the Orange Bowl.

With the roster already in good shape, Nebraska added some key recruits in running back Lawrence Phillips, offensive linemen Eric Anderson, Josh Heskew, Fred Pollack, Aaron Taylor, and Jon Zatechka, walk-on rush end Jared Tomich, linebacker Jamel Williams, defensive tackle Jason Peter, and defensive back Michael Booker.

For players and fans alike, the 1993 season couldn't come soon enough.

Next - Part Four: 1993 – Restoring the Faith

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