What are some of your favorite non-championship teams?

[CWSooner]

One of the more mis-remembered games in Badger lore. USC had a huge lead and extended it to 42-14 in the 4th quarter (42-14) before the Badgers came storming back with 23 unanswered points, closing the gap to 42-37. The Badgers forced one final punt and, having already forced a safety on one fumbled punt attempt, narrowly missed blocking the last one as time expired. A buddy of mine's dad, Elmars Ezerins, was the player who had the chance at the block.
This is a quote from Pat Richter's Biography:

Heh! I don't think I've ever read any account of that game.  I just have my 8-years-old-at-the-time memory to go by.  We got back from my grandparents' house, where I had watched Alabama beat Oklahoma 17-0 earlier in the day, at some point in the second half.  I remember loving the Badger comeback, but I have gone all these years thinking that Wisconsin took the lead near the end, only for USC to take it back again.

I now stand officially corrected.

[rolltidefan]

You need to rethink the USC loss. Steve Spurrier getting another week to prepare for Bama and the USC players getting an extra week of rest and healing time while Bama was playing @ #10 ARK and vs #7 UF, had EVERYTHING to do with the loss.

nah. it was early in season and was the first, maybe 2nd team that had a bye before us. not enough time for us to be worn down and them to get major benefit of bye.
did the bye help them, i'm sure it did. they got an extra week of prep, etc. but by itself it's not part of the whole "the byes did us in" dialogue. in the end, the byes were bad. but that loss was already in the books before the byes really took effect.
imo, we played sloppy and disinterested and entitled and usc came to play. those would have happened with or without their bye.

[SFBadger96]

Heh! I don't think I've ever read any account of that game.  I just have my 8-years-old-at-the-time memory to go by.  We got back from my grandparents' house, where I had watched Alabama beat Oklahoma 17-0 earlier in the day, at some point in the second half.  I remember loving the Badger comeback, but I have gone all these years thinking that Wisconsin took the lead near the end, only for USC to take it back again.

I now stand officially corrected.

You're far from alone. Many people have a vague memory of Wisconsin winning the game because so much focus was paid to the dramatic comeback that USC's (!) win was almost lost in the shuffle. It was also a rare 1 vs. 2 match up in the Rose, so it got even more national attention than usual.

[medinabuckeye1]

It was also a rare 1 vs. 2 match up in the Rose, so it got even more national attention than usual.

It wasn't just a rare 1vs2 Rose Bowl, it was the first 1v2 Rose Bowl.  All 1 v 2 Rose Bowls:

• 1/1/1963:  #1 USC 42, #2 Wisconsin 37
• 1/1/1969:  #1 Ohio State 27, #2 USC 16
• 1/1/2006:  #2 Texas 41, #1 USC 38

This was also an era when the BigNine (then BigTen) almost always won.  The original BigNine/PCC agreement started for the 1946 season (1947 Rose Bowl).  The BigNine/BigTen won the first six (1947-1952) and 12 of the first 13 (1947-1959). Going into the 1963 Rose Bowl the BigNine/BigTen was 13-3.  The participants:

• Ohio State was 3-0 in three games.  
• Iowa was 2-0 in two games.  
• Michigan State was 2-0 in two games.  
• Illinois was 2-0 in two games.  
• Michigan was 2-0 in two games.  
• Minnesota was 1-1 in two games.  
• Wisconsin was 0-2 in two games.  
• Northwestern was 1-0 in one game.  

I'm sure the 1963 Rose Bowl is very big in Wisconsin lore in part because it would be 31 years before the Badgers returned to Pasadena.  Consequently, that game was the last great moment in Badger Football History for more than three decades.  From 1963 through 1992 the Badgers were only ranked 17 times (out of 448 polls), that was a dark time for Wisconsin Football.  

[FearlessF]

I remember Major Harris.  Enjoyed watching him play.

But Vick was... well Vick.    Husker fans have a lot of great things to say about Turner Gill and Tommie Frazier.  Both are legends and some of the best to ever play their positions.   Gill was closer to a Harris or a Vick, ...where Frazier was more a a run first player.  Nebraska fans adore both of them.  But I'd have to take Vick over them as well....  (I'll be banned from Lincoln for saying that...)   That doesn't change my appreciation for what Gill or Frazier meant to UNL or how great they were as players.  

again, jmo.  

would have been fun to watch Vick beat out Crouch in 99 and 2000
probably get the  win in Manhattan in 2000, Crouch had a tough day.  Vick was much better as a passer
Vick may have won a hypesman and a MNC at UNL
would have saved Frank Solich, but I'd guess Solich wasn't willing to recruit Vick

[fezzador]

Not gonna lie, but it would have been fun to watch Vick orchestrate a triple-option offense.

[Entropy]

Not gonna lie, but it would have been fun to watch Vick orchestrate a triple-option offense.

just for clarity...  Unlike Oklahoma who ran a true triple option, UNL ran a double option.  

Nebraska ran basically 5 types of option, which accounted for about 25-30% of the playing calling.  They were the Arc, Belly, Speed, Veer and Wall.   Any FB dive was actually a called play rather than a read by the QB.   I would describe UNL as an I-formation power team that also ran the option.   The big plays came from the option, but like a deep pass, you don't run it every down.

[FearlessF]

Crouch obviously ran that offense very well.  Was very fast, quick,  and had better than average moves.

Vick was faster, quicker, better moves and a helluva lot better passer.

Crouch's head had a few issues, but obviously Vick was in need of a better head.  Too much for Solich to overlook.

[Entropy]

Solich was also a lazy recruiter.   He enjoyed practicing and game plans a lot more than recruiting.      The entire recruiting experience seemed like a hassle to him....  Good example of this was a story I heard while he was still HC.  UNL was bringing recruits to camps and placing them in the dorms next to the railroad tracks.   You have to be more thoughtful.  

[FearlessF]

hey, I lived in those dorms for a year

Solich perhaps didn't enjoy the drama.  Driving to Omaha to pull crybaby Crouch back to the team as a freshman probably wasn't his favorite moment as a recruiter.

[OrangeAfroMan]

I randomly loved one of Nebraska's RBs in '99 - Dan Alexander.  Dude was as wide as he was tall, and was faster than he should've been.  He just looked funny as a ball-carrier, but was really good.  I wish they gave him all the carries.

[FearlessF]

Solich liked him as well.  At 6-feet, 255 pounds, 5 percent body fat and 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash, he was impressive.

Many thought Correll Buckhalter should have had more carries.  Buckhalter had a much more impressive NFL career.

Alexander went 21-108 in the Fiesta vs the Vols

for the season Alexander had 134 for 865 avg 6.5  Buckhalter had 111 for 662 avg 6.0

[FearlessF]

As for nebraska... 1993 was a season I really enjoyed.  You could just tell they were on the verge of something.   That combination of hope and overachieving is memorable.  

for the Huskers the 83 season and failed 2-point conversion will always be my fav non-champ team
1981 and 1982 were also special
came a long way in 81 after starting 1-2 with a win over the Sooners, first since 78
82 was Rimmington's season, helluva team, robbed by zebras vs PSU
those teams were obviously special to me because I was a freshman at UNL in 1981, didn't miss many games
nice 4 year run

[rook119]

The Chad Pennington Marshall teams - the MAC was pretty freaking great from about 1997-05. They had IMO the best conf championship games, December weather, home game CCGs, rivalaries, etc. Why did Marshall ever leave this conference for away games at Rice?

Bit of history during Marshall's undefeated season they were 11-0 going into the game w/ WMU (ranked #12). They got spanked and were down 23-0 in the 3rd quarter and mounted a furious comeback to win 34-30 on a last sec TD. If they would have lost they wouldn't have gone to a bowl game.

PSU 1994 - I guess there have been better offenses if you go by yardage and PPG, especially today. But they played the most asthetically beautiful offense that I have ever seen.

Arizona last year - RIP Khail Tate.

Alabama - the Paul Palmer years. Bama was much more lovable when they'd go 9-3 or 10-2 and had their cute little QB/RB/WR hybrids

As far as Major Harris goes, I think he was better than Vick. Unfortunately in Major's final year, WVU had one of the worst OLs in D1 (it was almost PSU in the Hackenberg years bad) and spent the entire season running for his life.