At the end of the 1990 college football season, the beginning of the dynasty that would change Nebraska football forever was only about two and a half years away. From 1993 to 1997, the Huskers would go on one of the most dominant runs in the history of the sport, putting together a 60-3 record and winning three national championships in four years. You know the story.
But at the end of the 1990 season, the dynasty that was right around the corner would have seemed about as likely as Tom Osborne cracking a post-game beer.
Late that season, the Huskers were undefeated and ranked #2 in the country. Going into the fourth quarter of the Colorado game up 12-0, things were looking promising. Then they fell apart. Nebraska lost to Colorado 27-12, and followed that up with a 45-10 loss to unranked Oklahoma. They would go on to lose to Georgia Tech 45-21 in the Citrus Bowl.
Colorado and Georgia Tech were co-national champions that year, so Nebraska wasn’t exactly playing the Sisters of the Poor. But still. From #2 going into the Colorado game, the Huskers would finish the season ranked #24, their lowest post-season ranking since 1968. It was the fourth consecutive season the boys in red finished outside the top 10. Fans and pundits alike were wondering if Nebraska’s days as a college football powerhouse were over.
This week, on the Common Fan Podcast, we launched Episode 4 of our series focused on Tom Osborne’s coaching career. This episode, Reaching the Mountaintop, looks at the Nebraska football teams of the early 1990s, from the low point of the 1990 season through the first national championship season in 1994.
Thanks to Husker great Abdul Muhammad and longtime Nebraska sportswriter Mitch Sherman for joining us for a fantastic conversation.
Righting the Ship
After the disappointing end to the 1990 season, Osborne gathered his staff for a meeting in South Stadium. He wasn’t panicked, but morale in the program was low. The high winning percentage was still there—but the gap between Nebraska and the national powers seemed to be widening. Something had to change.
That meeting in the South Stadium became the turning point. Osborne and his staff re-evaluated everything about how they were running their program. The team created the Unity Council to build player-led accountability. They doubled down on strength and conditioning combined with tough, physical practices. A nutritionist was hired. Perhaps the most important change was a new focus on defense–prioritizing speed and, eventually, switching from the 5-2 to the 4-3. Linebackers became defensive ends. Safeties became linebackers. Some of the fastest high school running backs in the country—guys who rushed for 1,000 yards—ended up on defense.
That 1991 recruiting class also represented a shift. Guys like Abdul Muhammad, Dwayne Harris, Barron Miles, and Christian Peter, weren’t just physically gifted. They were, in Muhammad’s words, “no-nonsense guys…tough guys.” Guys who put it all on the line, every day.
“I can’t stress this enough,” Muhammad told us. “It wasn’t just the drills we were doing—it was who we were going against. The war was in practice.”
The shift was gradual at first, with the Huskers going 9-2-1 in 1991 and sharing the Big 8 title with Colorado, and then going 9-3 in 1992 and winning the conference outright. They were making improvements, showing signs, and trending upward after the 1992 season.
One major reason for that was a guy from Bradenton, Florida.
Tommie Frazier arrived in 1992 and was starting by the end of his freshman season. The talent was obvious—but it was his mindset that set him apart.
Mitch Sherman recalled thinking, “Something is happening with the Nebraska program that is different from what I’ve seen…Frazier brought a different level of confidence among the entire team.”
Good to Great
The 1993 season brought the “refuse to lose” bunch, Osborne’s best team in a decade. It was a gritty squad that won three one-score games and went undefeated in the regular season. They went toe-to-toe with Florida State in the Orange Bowl, with Frazier out-dueling Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward in an 18-16 loss. Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden would later say Nebraska won every aspect of the game but the scoreboard.
While it was a heartbreaking–and somewhat familiar–end to the season for Nebraska fans, it was proof of concept for the formula Osborne and his staff had been developing since the meeting in 1990. They had caught up with the speed of the Florida teams. They had complete and total buy-in from the guys on the roster. They had a difference maker at quarterback with two years of eligibility left.
And perhaps the biggest differentiating factor was the level of physicality that Osborne insisted they play with. As Muhammad told us, “He (Osborne) always talked about being physical. Always.” A recurring theme of our conversation was the difficulty of practice. There were “no green jerseys, no yellow jerseys, everybody was live. Including Tommie.” Osborne wanted teams to “make sure they know they played Nebraska.”
Reaching the Mountaintop
And then came 1994—the season everything came together…and also nearly unraveled.
The Huskers debuted HuskerVision and the Tunnel Walk to start the season. They throttled West Virginia, UCLA, Texas Tech, and Pacific in their first four games. But after that Pacific game, Frazier was sidelined with a blood clot in his leg. It would keep him out for the remainder of the regular season, spelling major trouble for the season’s prospects.
Not to worry. Brook Berringer would have something to say about that. Of course, Berringer would suffer a collapsed lung in his very first game as a starter against Wyoming. The concerns mounted for TO.
Thankfully, Berringer was able to play most of the season, winning all seven games he started. The biggest highlight was a 24-7 win over #2 Colorado in Lincoln. That was an excellent team–as Mitch recalled, quarterback Kordel Stewart, wide receiver Michael Westbrook, and running back Rashan Salaam took a back seat to no one when it came to talent. That Buffalo team won every other game they played, including matchups against two top 10 teams and three other top 25 teams. But Osborne completely out-coached Bill McCartney that game and Nebraska won it handily.
Another highlight was the 17-6 win over #16 Kansas State in Manhattan. Berringer was dinged up enough that third stringer Matt Turman had to start the game. In a rugged, rainy, mid-October matchup, the Blackshirts stepped up to dominate the game, and Turman and Berringer (who entered the game in the 2nd half) helped the offense do enough to secure the win.
Hoisting the Trophy
When Frazier was finally cleared in time for the national championship game against Miami, Osborne faced one of the most delicate decisions of his career. The quarterback controversy. I was 12 at the time, and that period between the end of the season and the bowl game is seared into my brain. Will Frazier start? Doesn’t Berringer deserve it? Will this unravel the team?
Frazier had always been the guy, but it felt like Berringer had earned it. The decision, Osborne told the team, would come down to who practiced better.
They both practiced well. And both would play.
When Nebraska fell behind 10-0, Berringer came in to spark a touchdown drive and pull the Big Red to within 10-7. After Miami went up 17-7, Frazier returned and led the final three scoring drives.
“I think that’s why we won,” Muhammad said. “Because of how it played out. Because Tommie sat and waited, and Brook stepped up when we needed him. We were different. And we believed.”
And both sides of the ball physically dominated Miami in the 2nd half. Osborne’s insistence on tough, physical practices had paid off. Perhaps one of the greatest pictures in Nebraska football history is from that game when, during a timeout, the entire Nebraska offensive line is on their feet, smiling while numerous Miami defenders are taking a knee.
Of course, the win was capped by fullback Cory Schlesinger scoring not once, but twice, on fullback trap plays up the middle. It was vintage Osborne.
Nebraska 24, Miami 17. TO finally had his title.
Looking back now, the seeds of that title weren’t planted in 1994, or even in 1993. They were planted in 1990, in the wake of failure—when Osborne decided to reimagine his entire approach.
And that was only the beginning.
Let us know what you think, Common Fans. We’d love to hear your contribution to this discussion. Send us an email at commonfangbr@gmail.com, or message us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
As always, GBR for LIFE.
PODCAST EPISODE: Tom Osborne: Reaching the Mountaintop
