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sometimes a guy is brought in because of his hatchet

THIS WEEK IN HUSKER HISTORY
The week of March 23-29, looking back in five-year intervals

1909: After keeping the university waiting for two months, coach William “King” Cole agrees to return for a third season, at a salary of $1,800. 

1914: Future Hall-of-Famer Guy Cham­ber­lin is among the bright new prospects as spring practice gets into full swing for Jumbo Stiehm's Cornhuskers. 

1919: Nebraska and Minnesota schedule what would turn out to be the only game between the schools in an 18-season span.

1929: The Cornhuskers open their second week of spring practice as they await the arrival of new coach Dana X. Bible.

1949: Bill Glassford's Huskers toil in the wind, rain and mud for two hours in a Saturday scrimmage.

1964: The Nebraska-Minnesota game is selected for an NBC national broadcast. It is one of only four games involving Big Eight schools to be chosen for regional or national telecasts.

2004: The first practices under new coach Bill Callahan take place at Memorial Stadium.

Not that I care too much about basketball, but with A&M and Nebraska playing in the NCAA tournament they said that NU has never won a tourney game in it's history.  Is that really true?  If so I find that hard to believe.  

Happy 62nd birthday to former University of Nebraska running back Jeff Smith. Most younger fans probably never heard of Smith. Some older fans may only remember him as the intended receiver of Nebraska's failed 2-point conversion attempt at the end of the 1984 Orange Bowl game against Miami. But there is much more to Jeff Smith than most fans know.

Entering the 1984 Orange Bowl, Nebraska was hyped as the greatest team of all time. Week after week, the Huskers destroyed their opposition while averaging 52 points per game. Nebraska's high-powered offense featured Heisman Trophy running back Mike Rozier, All American wingback Irving Fryar and the wizardry of option quarterback Turner Gill. But they also had a secret weapon, most fans had never heard of--Jeff Smith.

Coming out of Wichita, Kansas, Smith was one of the most heavily recruited high school running backs in the country. He chose Nebraska because he wanted to play in a offense that featured the running game and play for national championships. Smith was a big-time talent. But he found himself stuck in a deep pool of running backs at Nebraska. For 4 long years, he waited patiently on the sidelines watching backs like Jarvis Redwine, Roger Craig and Mike Rozier carry the football.

Late in the 3rd quarter of the 1984 Orange Bowl, Mike Rozier was forced to leave the game with a severe ankle injury. Nebraska was trailing underdog Miami 31-17 and it appeared the Huskers chances were slipping away. Smith came off the bench and almost single-handedly brought Nebraska back. He carried the ball 9 times for 99 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. Smith's explosive running style surprised the Canes. He was far more effective than Rozier. Smith's second touchdown came on a brilliant 24 yard run while facing a 4th and 8 situation. With only 48 seconds left, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne elected to go for 2 points rather than kick for a tie and a likely national championship. Just about everyone in the stadium thought Nebraska would call a pass to Irving Fryar. But Osborne went with his secret weapon Jeff Smith. Nebraska ran a pick play, which used Fryar as a decoy. Fryar tried to set a pick on Miami safety Kenny Calhoun. However, Calhoun was able to fight off the pick and just barely got his fingertips on the ball to deflect it away from Smith. Miami hung on to win 31-30.

Jeff Smith never became a star. He began the following season as Nebraska's starting I-back in 1984. But an early season injury sidelined him for the remainder of his college career. He went on to play 4 seasons in the NFL as a backup running back and kick returner with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But for nearly 2 quarters of the second half, he was the best player on the field at the 1984 Orange Bowl--only to be remembered for a play he was unable to make.

THIS WEEK IN HUSKER HISTORY
The week of April 6-12, looking back in five-year intervals


Getting the job at Arkansas capped a mete­oric rise for Thomsen, who just two years earlier was a high school coach in Goth­en­burg, Neb. 

1929: Former Nebraska end Fred Thomsen succeeds another former Husker, Francis Schmidt, as head coach at Arkansas. Thomsen would stay for 13 seasons, a tenure that’s second only to Frank Broyles’ 19. Meanwhile, in Lincoln, new coach Dana X. Bible tries to settle on a quarterback as the team holds its first practice games . “It looks as though Nebraska is breaking away from the old ‘powerhouse’ idea and developing a more versatile offense,” the Daily Nebraskan observes.

1934: Two pass plays covering 77 yards in the final half-minute of the second quarter give the Blues a 6-0 win over the Reds in the Huskers' final spring scrimmage. The touchdown for the Blue team, consisting largely of freshmen, came on a pass of about 40 yards from Henry Bauer to Lloyd Cardwell.

1944: Five more players join spring drills, boosting the total to a still-meager 25.

1964: Bob Devaney puts the emphasis on passing in the first scrimmage of spring.

1984: Newly retired play-by-play man Lyell Bremser is honored.

2004: Fundraising for the stadium expansion reaches more than a third of the $50 million goal.

2014: The Reds win the spring game, 55-46, in a special offense-vs.-defense scoring setup. Bo Pelini carried a cat as he led the players onto the field.

I don't get worked up over 
ADs or University presidents

UNLESS, they fire or hire the wrong football coach

Northwestern will play home football games the next two seasons on the university’s lacrosse/soccer field, but Nebraska is unaffected because its next trip to Evanston isn’t until 2027.