November 11, 1978 was one of the greatest days ever to be a Husker fan.
Nebraska was playing longtime Big Eight rival Oklahoma on a cold fall afternoon in Lincoln, and as had become the custom during the 1970's and 1980's, this one was for the Big Eight championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl. And, as had become the custom during that time as well, this one was for a shot at the national title.
Nebraska won that great matchup, forcing six OU turnovers -- including a late fumble by Billy Sims on the Nebraska 5-yard line -- to win 17-14 and give Tom Osborne his first-ever win over the hated Sooners. I remember jumping up and down and cheering and yelling in our family room, along with the rest of my family, as we knew a trip to the Orange Bowl was forthcoming and a shot at a third national championship in the decade.
Of course, there was one small bump on the road to Miami, a rare season finale against Missouri. OU was the traditional last game of the season, but for some reason the Missouri game wound up being the swan song for the 1978 season and a nice little final tune-up before a sure national title game against Penn State. We didn't really worry much about that game -- my dad and I spent the day doing some Christmas shopping in Lincoln while the Huskers battled the Tigers.
As it turns out, it would not only be one of the best games of the year in college football -- it would also be the one that turned national title hopes into broken hearts.
We listened to the game as we drove into town that afteroon. On the first play, Rick Berns broke through on an 82-yard run on his way to a then-school record 255 yard afternoon. Huskers 7, Tigers 0 -- everything's going to be just fine and we're going to be 11-0 and playing for all the marbles this January, my dad and I both thought.
Turns out, though, that Missouri had other plans. James Wilder had a super day, rushing for over 180 yards and four touchdowns. We stared at the radio each time Missouri would bounce back and hang with our beloved Huskers -- this CAN'T be happening, can it?
Of course, we had forgotten that Missouri had come to Lincoln and won each of its two previous games, upsetting Husker hearts along the way, and it had suddenly become a home away from home for the Tigers as they continued to match the Huskers' high-powered ground game. Berns was running wild, but Wilder was able to do him one better.
As the final seconds ticked away and we heard Lyle Bremser describe the action, we couldn't believe our ears. Missouri had just upset Nebraska 35-31 and blown away our hopes of playing for a national title. As bad as that felt, it got worse later that night when we saw the 10:00 news and they showed video of then-athletic director Bob Devaney and coach Tom Osborne as they were on a teleconference call with officials from the Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl called to inform Osborne that his Big Eight champions would be hooked up against -- Oklahoma???
Of course, the first-ever bowl rematch of two conference foes would go the Sooners' way, as they won 24-17 in Miami to extract a certain measure of revenge from their defeat in Lincoln two months before. But that upset by Missouri has gone down in history as one of the most surprising upsets Husker fans have had to witness in Memorial Stadium. It's also the last time a Missouri team visited Memorial Stadium and walked out with a "W" -- Nebraska has won each of the previous 14 matchups in Lincoln since then.
Will the Huskers be able to continue that dominance of the Tigers? Or will Missouri finally break that long losing streak in Lincoln? On paper, Missouri clearly has the better team and should be able to continue its push for a possible national championship. Then again -- maybe it's Nebraska's turn to play the spoiler role for once and throw a wrench into an opponent's national title hopes.
Tickets are still available for this game at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.
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