The game that changed Nebraska football forever. I still can't believe that Coach Osborne retired 4 years earlier. He was age 60 according to the internet in 1997.
Still to this day, maybe the most shocked that I’ve ever been watching a college football game. It’s still hard to describe my reaction watching Colorado move up and down the field. I was born in 1983 and despite the fact that I was raised a Tennessee fan, I had a great deal of respect for Nebraska, especially after the bowl whippings they put on us in the late 90’s. Never in my life did I think I’d ever see them on the losing end of a game like this.
I remember every second of this game and just how unreal it was to watch.. I remember watching it at the lake after Thanksgiving and obviously rooting for Colorado because I'm a Gator fan and we had one loss and it put us right back in the picture.. and then we played FSU and Vols back to back because of 9/11.. then lost, then UT lost to Saban in Atlanta and it put Nebraska back in after not even winning their division or playing in their conf. title game if I remember right.. One of the weirdest years all around in 2001 for all reasons
@@UFBear15 Florida, Oregon, even LSU all would've made tougher opponents for Miami in the Rose Bowl that year. Nebraska's defense was garbage as they were exposed in this game, then Colorado got torched by Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
@@semicorrect I'm a michigan fan but this game made me like Colorado for years, dont even hate Nebraska but it was just so fun seeing an upset like this
@John Manning If Colorado hadn’t have lost to Fresno? They would have played Miami. Would they have beat Miami?? Idk but it would have been a better game than what we got.
The way that Colorado won is what is so memorable about this game. I’m a Maryland fan and was in college during this time, so I was definitely paying attention to this game. Nebraska had been one of the top 5 programs of the previous decade. People had not been used to seeing them get beat this decisively.
Craig Bohl was the defensive coordinator for the Huskers in 2001. They had no answer for stopping Colorado's run game. Colorado went to the Big 12 Championship game and beat Texas. They should have played Miami in the Rose Bowl.
It boggles my mind after all these years how Nebraska was still able to be in the title game. They shouldn't have been able to sniff it after this beatdown.
@Wyatt Mailloux Oregon or Colorado should had a chance. I don’t care if Colorado had two losses. Just like the year they put Ohio State in the CFP over Penn State a few years ago even though OSU didn’t win their Conference. Yeah Penn State had two losses but they was playing the best of any team at that time just like Colorado in 01.
@@mjabate Nebraska never recovered from the public beatdown by Miami and the negative backlash of being allowed to play. Oregon might have been more damaged by being allowed to play and then getting destroyed. As a husker fan I viewed that game as a divine punishment not a gift.
It was an absolute joke that Nebraska got to play in the title game after this blowout loss. Nobody was going to beat Miami that year but Oregon would have put up a better fight.
I still don't understand what happened, how NU kept getting absolutely gashed....taking nothing away from Colorado; it just looked a lot like what I imagine a D1 vs D2 football game would look like, never thought I'd see a Nebraska team manhandled like that.....and I still don't understand how it happened
Nebraska s line backers kept overrunning the play not staying in their gaps. ( 98 g)It was simple fundamental breakdowns. Colorado didn't do anything fancy and it fact took a play out of Nebraska own play book ( counter trey) . Basically ran down their throats and out physical Nebraska. Your comments are correct no d 1 line backers should be consistently over running and pursuing plays. They exposed this fundamental breakdown.
Here's something else. I've been,played football enough to know teams getting gashed like that is usually team is superior . Scheme problem player problem. Or a bit of both. Or just getting whooped. Colorado didn't have better athletes. In fact Nebraska was able to stop them and make it close at one time. But too many mistakes. Fumbles, Crouches interceptions plus momentum really made Nebraska pay. Plus I'm not sure why Bohl didn't put everyone up front 10 on the line or run blitz every play. Make them beat you passing. All they had was a tight end ( cu)
One last comment. I'm a Nebraska fan. I remember watching them play k state a few weeks before. Nebraska beat k state but I remember them gashing Nebraskas defense in the fourth quarter thinking 🤔 we re in trouble if CU watches this game which they did.
Casuals forget Colorado are the one’s who initially destroyed the the Nebraska Dynasty, 2001 Miami just cremated it (and then threw those ashes into a garbage can and then threw that garbage can off of a cliff, a high ass cliff with rocks and and a trench at the bottom).
I was working at a radio station running the board for this game. it was brutal. after we had beaten oklahoma, it seemed a straight shot through the big 12 to the national championship game. our defense shit the bed that day. scott shanle in particular fell for that counter play every time.
@@area.man. Yep. Nebraska has no real rivalry in the Big Ten. Neither does Colorado in the PAC 10. Its getting even worse now with the Playoff and these unneeded Super Conferences🤢🤢🤢🤢
I still get a smile on my face thinking of this game colorado could've used a slitly better qb but pesivento did just enough to beat Nebraska and Texas and Nebraska sholder never been in the rose bowl after getting this beating that was all bout politics crap
I enjoyed watching it right now. Forget that Nebraska went on a 27-7 run in the game, fumbled at the one inch line and still had a chance to cut the game to 5, had a 4th and 10 from the 40 and decided to punt. The team wasn't very good but the game was actually competitive in the middle considering at one point it was 35-3.
Colorado exposed a very undisciplined Nebraska defense. The D line wasn’t very good compared to previous years. Especially in the middle. LB’s kept vacating the middle of the field and that’s why Purify went 20 yards before seeing a defender. It was ridiculously bad. 680 yards by CU offense. Crouch played mediocre and missed on several big opportunities. Plus he can’t throw the ball at all. Detrick fumbled twice that really hurt. No playmakers and CU was hungry, on fire and wanted it more. Graham and Pesavento were killing them, let alone the running game that looked like a track meet. Lack of recruiting was obvious for a couple of years, but more so in this game.
This game had nothing to do with NU demise. They hired a lazy recruiter, and had an old staff who was sick of recruiting. They had a top class in 1997 and talent plummeted from there. The season after this they would barely make a bowl and they never regained the team speed they were known for in the 90s. Should have kept the option but hard to get a good recruiter who will recruit to the option so they went pro-style with cally. Talent was also redistributing to other parts of the nation from the central plains. In 1995 there were 4 teams from the big 8 with 10 wins...never been done by a conference up to that point...but by this time teams on the west coast and in the south were quickly picking up steam. The big 12 wasn't very good, which allow NU to win a bunch of games.
