Top 10 Husker losses of all time - #6

Top 10 Husker Losses of All-Time - #6





January 3rd, 2002

Nebraska 0---0---7---7----14
Miami Fl 7---27---0---3---37
@ Pasadena, CA
A – 93,781



Looking back now on our #6 Husker loss of all time, I’m sure most Husker fans look back and think of this as no big deal. In retrospect, Eric Crouch and company had absolutely no business going against a loaded Miami team that would give them the world's biggest ass pounding since Anal Girls 4 came out. (Or the Colorado game just 42 days before..which I’m sure we’ll talk about in the coming days.) I’m sure by now, most Husker fans would agree that they were just happy to make the Rose Bowl, and spent a lovely evening in the Los Angeles area, eating at Cheesecake Factory and hitting the Newport mall with fellow obese fans. (Note the estimated 60,000 Husker fans in attendance probably kept the game from being 49-14)

However, when you look back at the golden opportunity handed the Hick Nation that winters night, it’s plain to see that an chance such as that most likely will never come around again. This loss against a bevy of NFL stars such as Clinton Portis and Jeremy Shockey was devastating because it put Nebraska through the toilet on every single sports talk show on the planet. This loss proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Huskers were placed in Pasadena on name recognition alone, and had absolutely no business playing in a game that large. What was once a proud program, was suddenly a running joke to the National Media, as they finally saw you for the frauds you are.

The corn got off to a flying start on college football’s biggest stage by giving up points early and often in new and exciting ways. Andre Johnson, who finished the game with 199 yards receiving started things off early with a TD catch, despite handing the Huskers the ball in the first two possessions with a punt and a Ken Dorsey interception. (Dorsey later told the media that he felt sorry for Nebraska, and thought they could use any points they could spot them. But, the Huskers simply turned the ball back over to the Canes on the following drive. OK, maybe not, but you believed me for a second)

With a Clinton Portis touchdown early in the second, as well as a James lewis pick of an Eric Crouch pass, the Canes cruised to the National Title, piling up 472 yards of total offense, most of which in the first half. Dorsey finished the game going 22 of 35 for 362 yards, most of those with his eyes closed. Several Miami players after the game even commented on how slow the game had become in the second half, as their vaunted passing attack was put on the shelf.

Interesting to me, when all of the Nebraska bashing was said and done, was the blame for which Husker fan pinned the loss on; Head coach Frank Solich. When you look at the rosters, the stats and the way each team had been playing up to that point, it’s a wonder Miami didn’t win by 60. But most Husker fans you talk to will say that it was Frank Solich’s inferior coaching that did them in. Uhhhh, say what? Miami made this game look like playstation, pulling up in the second half, and cruising in for the title. Only a DuJuan Groce punt return at the start of the 4th quarter made the game even close to respectable.

So for giving the most overrated Husker squad of all time a nuclear wedgie in front of the entire world on its biggest stage, the 2001 Miami Hurricanes are rewarded with delivering the #6 Husker loss of all time.

Monday – “This has to be rock bottom….right?”