1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Logo of the Nebraska athletic teams 1992-2003
Consensus national champion
Orange Bowl champion
Big Eight champion
Orange Bowl, W 24–17 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches #1
AP #1
1994 record 13–0 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach Tom Osborne (22nd year)
Offensive coordinator Tom Osborne (25th year)
Offensive scheme I formation
Defensive coordinator Charlie McBride (14th year)
Home stadium Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 72,700)
1994 Big 8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Nebraska $ 7 0 0     13 0 0
#3 Colorado % 6 1 0     11 1 0
#19 Kansas State 5 2 0     9 3 0
Oklahoma 4 3 0     6 6 0
Kansas 3 4 0     6 5 0
Missouri 2 5 0     3 8 1
Oklahoma State 0 6 1     3 7 1
Iowa State 0 6 1     0 10 1
  • $ Conference champion
  • ‡ – Bowl Coalition at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cornhuskers offense scored 459 points while the defense allowed 162 points.

Before the season

There was much anticipation for the 1994 season. 1993 saw the Cornhuskers fall just short of their first national title under Tom Osborne with a controversial loss to the Florida State Seminoles 18–16. The 1994 offseason was dubbed "Unfinished Business" by the Huskers, in their quest to secure a national championship for the coming season.

Junior Tommie Frazier returned as the signal caller under Tom Osborne's vaunted triple option offense. Also returning were several key starters on defense that would prove to be a vaunted unit during the 1994 season.

Schedule

[1]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 28 1:00 PM vs. #24 West Virginia* #4 Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) ABC W 310   58,233
September 8 7:00 PM at Texas Tech* #1 Clifford B. and Audrey Jones StadiumLubbock, TX ESPN W 4216   32,768
September 17 2:30 PM #13 UCLA* #2 Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE ABC W 4921   75,687
September 24 1:00 PM Pacific* #2 Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE W 7021   75,273
October 1 2:30 PM Wyoming* #2 Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE PPV W 4232   75,333
October 8 1:00 PM Oklahoma State #2 Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE W 323   75,434
October 15 2:30 PM at #16 Kansas State #2 KSU StadiumManhattan, KS ABC W 176   42,817
October 22 1:00 PM at Missouri #3 Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (Rivalry) W 427   50,537
October 29 2:30 PM #2 Coloradodagger #3 Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Rivalry) ABC W 247   76,131
November 5 1:00 PM Kansas #1 Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE W 4517   75,543
November 12 1:00 PM at Iowa State #1 Cyclone StadiumAmes, IA W 2812   45,186
November 25 2:30 PM at Oklahoma #1 Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (Rivalry) ABC W 133   70,216
January 1 7:00 PM vs. #3 Miami* #1 Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (Orange Bowl) NBC W 2417   81,753
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Roster and coaching staff

1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 88 Alford, EricEric Alford Sr
WB 31 Allen, JacquesJacques Allen Jr
OT 70 Anderson, EricEric Anderson Fr
SE 7 Baul, ReggieReggie Baul Jr
IB 21 Benning, DamonDamon Benning So
QB 18 Berringer, BrookBrook Berringer Jr
WB Brown, LanceLance Brown Fr
OL 62 Butler, TedTed Butler Fr
TE 90 Carpenter, TimTim Carpenter Fr
OT 61 Caskey, BradyBrady Caskey Sr
SE 16 Cheatham, KennyKenny Cheatham Fr
IB 26 Childs, ClintonClinton Childs Jr
QB Christo, MonteMonte Christo Fr
FB Cobb, JoshJosh Cobb Fr
IB 17 Davenport, ScottScott Davenport Sr
SE 83 Davis, AaronAaron Davis So
OT 75 Dishman, ChrisChris Dishman So
OL 63 Dumitrescu, ConstantineConstantine Dumitrescu Fr
FB Ford, GregGreg Ford Fr
QB 15 Frazier, TommieTommie Frazier Jr
OL Gessford, BenBen Gessford Fr
TE 87 Gilman, MarkMark Gilman Jr
C 54 Graham, AaronAaron Graham Jr
SE Haafke, BillyBilly Haafke Fr
SE Held, RyanRyan Held Fr
C Heskew, JoshJosh Heskew Fr
TE 89 Hohl, ErichErich Hohl Sr
SE 5 Holbein, BrendanBrendan Holbein So
TE Horst, JoeJoe Horst Fr
OG Hoskinson, MattMatt Hoskinson Fr
C 51 Humphrey, BillBill Humphrey Sr
TE 84 Jackson, SheldonSheldon Jackson Fr
FB Jackson, VershanVershan Jackson Fr
WB 33 Johnson, ClesterClester Johnson Jr
FB 24 Knuckles, BrianBrian Knuckles Jr
SE Lake, Jeff (Robert)Jeff (Robert) Lake Fr
OG Lesser, MikeMike Lesser Fr
SE 81 Livingston, JohnJohn Livingston Jr
OL Luhr, JasonJason Luhr Fr
FB 22 Makovicka, JeffJeff Makovicka Jr
FB Makovicka, JoelJoel Makovicka Fr
TE McGrane, JoshJosh McGrane Fr
OT Mikos, KoryKory Mikos So
SE Miller, AndyAndy Miller Fr
WB 27 Muhammad, AbdulAbdul Muhammad Sr
FB 38 Norris, ChrisChris Norris Jr
OT Nunns, BrianBrian Nunns Jr
OG 69 Ott, SteveSteve Ott Jr
IB 1 Phillips, LawrenceLawrence Phillips So
OT 73 Pollack, FredFred Pollack Fr
SE 80 Popplewell, BrettBrett Popplewell Jr
OG 65 Pruitt, BryanBryan Pruitt Jr
WB 34 Reddick, DavidDavid Reddick Fr
TE 86 Roy, DorrickDorrick Roy Fr
FB 40 Schlesinger, CoryCory Schlesinger Sr
OL Schmode, AnthonyAnthony Schmode Fr
FB 28 Schuster, BrianBrian Schuster So
OL Shadrick, JeremyJeremy Shadrick Fr
TE 85 Shaw, MattMatt Shaw Sr
IB 47 Sims, MarvinMarvin Sims So
SE Smith, LarryLarry Smith Fr
FB Smith, MikeMike Smith So
QB Staehr, JayJay Staehr Fr
OG 66 Stai, BrendenBrenden Stai Sr
FB Stanley, ChadChad Stanley Jr
OG Stramel, DaveDave Stramel Fr
OG 67 Taylor, AaronAaron Taylor Fr
OL Tessendorf, RossRoss Tessendorf Fr
OT 77 Treu, AdamAdam Treu So
OL Tully, KyleKyle Tully Fr
QB 77 Turman, MattMatt Turman So
IB 23 Uhlir, ToddTodd Uhlir Fr
OG 59 Van Cleave, MikeMike Van Cleave Fr
WB 25 Vedral, JonJon Vedral So
OG 68 Volin, SteveSteve Volin Jr
C 53 Vrzal, MattMatt Vrzal So
OG 74 Wade, BrandtBrandt Wade Fr
SE 3 Washington, RileyRiley Washington So
OT 72 Wiegert, ZachZach Wiegert Sr
WB Wieting, SeanSean Wieting Fr
OG 76 Wilks, JoelJoel Wilks Sr
OG 64 Zatechka, JonJon Zatechka Fr
OT 56 Zatechka, RobRob Zatechka Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
ROV 11 Aden, MattMatt Aden Fr
ROV Alderman, DaveDave Alderman So
MLB 36 Alexander, LeonardLeonard Alexander Sr
OLB 23 Arnold, LarryLarry Arnold So
FS Bailey, DennisDennis Bailey So
LCB Blahak, ChadChad Blahak So
DB 5 Booker, MichaelMichael Booker So
FS Brouse, ChadChad Brouse So
SLB 45 Brown, ClintClint Brown Sr
LB Brummond, DarrenDarren Brummond Fr
FS 17 Collins, SedricSedric Collins Sr
MLB 46 Colman, DougDoug Colman Jr
DT 99 Connealy, TerryTerry Connealy Sr
DB 3 Crayton, TrayTray Crayton Fr
LCB 2 Dennis, LeslieLeslie Dennis Fr
SLB 4 Dumas, TroyTroy Dumas Sr
MLB 41 Ellis, PhilPhil Ellis Jr
SLB 24 Fisher, JasonJason Fisher Sr
DB 7 Foreman, JayJay Foreman Fr
OLB Gard, SeanSean Gard Fr
OLB 58 Hardin, LutherLuther Hardin Jr
OLB 86 Harris, DwayneDwayne Harris Sr
DB Herron, ChrisChris Herron Fr
MLB 44 Hesse, JonJon Hesse So
OLB 92 Higman, JeradJerad Higman Sr
DT Hoffman, MichaelMichael Hoffman Fr
LB Hogrefe, QuintQuint Hogrefe Fr
WLB Hunting, MattMatt Hunting Fr
DB Jackson, JaiJai Jackson Fr
DT 96 Jenkins, JasonJason Jenkins Jr
ROV Jensen, JeremyJeremy Jensen Jr
OLB 84 Jones, DontaDonta Jones Sr
LB Leece, CharlieCharlie Leece Fr
LB Macken, CaseyCasey Macken Fr
OLB 49 Martin, JohnJohn Martin Sr
DB 12 McFarlin, OctaviousOctavious McFarlin Fr
LCB 14 Miles, BarronBarron Miles Sr
OLB Miller, BryceBryce Miller So
ROV 10 Minter, MikeMike Minter So
WLB Mitchell, IanIan Mitchell So
OLB 42 Morrow, EdEd Morrow So
ROV 29 Moss, KareemKareem Moss Sr
DL 80 Nelson, ErikErik Nelson Fr
SLB 43 Noster, SeanSean Noster Fr
DT 97 Ogard, JeffJeff Ogard So
OLB 98 Olsen, JeffJeff Olsen So
WLB 52 Penland, AaronAaron Penland Jr
DT 57 Pesterfield, JasonJason Pesterfield Sr
DT 55 Peter, ChristianChristian Peter Jr
DT 95 Peter, JasonJason Peter Fr
ROV 39 Roberts, MikeMike Roberts So
LB 82 Rucker, MikeMike Rucker Fr
MLB 35 Sakalosky, JeffJeff Sakalosky Fr
DT 74 Saltsman, ScottScott Saltsman So
RCB 37 Schmadeke, DarrenDarren Schmadeke Jr
MLB Skoda, AdamAdam Skoda Fr
MLB 31 Stephens, JustinJustin Stephens Fr
WLB 32 Stewart, EdEd Stewart Sr
RCB 16 Stokes, EricEric Stokes So
WLB 91 Terwilliger, RyanRyan Terwilliger So
DB Thompson, AndyAndy Thompson Fr
LB 83 Toline, TravisTravis Toline Fr
DT 93 Tomich, JaredJared Tomich Jr
DT 94 Townsend, LarryLarry Townsend So
FS 9 Veland, TonyTony Veland Jr
DB Walther, EricEric Walther Fr
ROV 28 Williams, JamelJamel Williams So
RCB 8 Williams, TyroneTyrone Williams Jr
DT 68 Wiltz, JasonJason Wiltz Fr
OLB Winder, ShalisShalis Winder Fr
OLB 85 Wistrom, GrantGrant Wistrom Fr
RCB 22 Wrice, TrampisTrampis Wrice So
FS Young, ChadChad Young Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P/PK 6 Erstad, DarinDarin Erstad So
P 19 Kosch, JesseJesse Kosch Fr
P/PK Lafleur, BillBill Lafleur Fr
P/PK Morro, BrianBrian Morro Fr
PK 13 Retzlaff, TedTed Retzlaff Fr
PK 12 Sieler, TomTom Sieler Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Charlie McBride
       14th season as DC/LB coach
       18th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Colorado
  • Turner Gill
       3rd season as QB coach
       3rd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Kevin Steele
       6th season as LB coach
       6th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Tennessee
  • Ron Brown
       8th season as WR/TE coach
       8th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Brown
  • Dan Young
       12th season as OL/K coach
       12th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Reed
  • Milt Tenopir
       21st season as OL coach
       21st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Sterling
  • Tony Samuel
       9th season as OLB coach
       9th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • George Darlington
       DB coach
       22nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Rutgers
  • Frank Solich
       12th season as RB coach
       16th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Boyd Epley
       26th season as S&C coach
       26th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 17, 2011

Game notes

West Virginia

Nebraska vs West Virginia [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 3 2107 31
West Virginia 0 000 0

The 1994 season started for the No. 4 Cornhuskers with a 31–0 win over No. 24 West Virginia in the Kickoff Classic. The game pitted two teams that had posted undefeated regular-season records in 1993. Quarterback Tommie Frazier was the game's MVP, rushing for 130 yards on 12 carries, including touchdown runs of 25, 27, and 42 yards. He also completed 8 of 16 passes for 100 yards and another touchdown. I-back Lawrence Phillips also ran 126 yards on 24 carries. In all, Nebraska gained 368 rushing yards and 468 total. The Nebraska defense dominated the Mountaineers, registering eight quarterback sacks and holding West Virginia to 8 yards rushing and 89 total yards. Todd Sauerbrun set a record for West Virginia with a 90-yard punt and averaged 60.1 yards on nine punts. The victory marked Nebraska's first shutout victory in two years. It was also Nebraska's first shutout victory against a ranked non-conference opponent since a 20–0 win over No. 19 Baylor in Lincoln 1939, and the first ever such win in a game played outside of Lincoln. The win vaulted Nebraska to No. 1 in the polls.

Texas Tech

Nebraska at Texas Tech [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 7 71414 42
Texas Tech 0 367 16

Next up was a road victory that saw the Huskers cruise past the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 42–16, which remarkably saw the Huskers drop to #2 in the polls. Unfortunately, this victory came at a cost, as safety Mike Minter suffered a season-ending knee injury.

UCLA

UCLA at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
UCLA 0 777 21
Nebraska 12 16714 49

Pacific

Pacific at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Pacific 0 0147 21
Nebraska 28 21147 70

The next two weeks first saw a tough match-up, where the Huskers would dominate #13-ranked UCLA in Memorial Stadium, followed by a blowout against Pacific. Shortly after this victory, the 1994 season got a lot more interesting when Nebraska's field general Tommie Frazier was sidelined by a blood clot in his right knee.

Wyoming

Wyoming at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Wyoming 14 738 32
Nebraska 0 14217 42

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Oklahoma State 3 000 3
Nebraska 0 9167 32

Kansas State

Nebraska at Kansas State [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 7 0010 17
Kansas State 0 600 6

With Frazier sidelined, junior Brook Berringer answered the call to run Osborne's offense. Berringer, a pro-style QB from Goodland, KS, came off the bench and performed at his best in two straight victories against Wyoming and Oklahoma State, even at times with a partially collapsed lung. When it became too much for Berringer, walk-on QB Matt Turman stepped up to lead the Cornhuskers against Okie State and in a tough road game that pitched the Huskers against conference foe and neighbor Kansas State. This game proved to be a defensive battle, which saw the Huskers walk away with a 17–6 victory against the #16 Wildcats.

Missouri

Nebraska at Missouri [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 0 141414 42
Missouri 0 007 7

Colorado

Colorado at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Colorado 0 070 7
Nebraska 7 1070 24

Nebraska's homecoming game and 200th consecutive home sell out.

Kansas

Kansas at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Kansas 3 707 17
Nebraska 24 1470 45

Iowa State

Nebraska at Iowa State [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 7 7014 28
Iowa State 0 660 12

Oklahoma

Nebraska at Oklahoma [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 0 337 13
Oklahoma 0 300 3

The final five regular season games saw Nebraska beat #2 Colorado, where the defense shut down eventual Heisman winner Rashaan Salaam. Only Oklahoma provided any resistance for the Huskers, who escaped with a 13–3 victory in Norman, and another Big Eight Conference Championship.

Miami

Nebraska vs Miami [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 0 7215 24
Miami 10 070 17

Nebraska was #1 in the nation, and found themselves pitted against #3 Miami in the Orange Bowl, a setting very familiar to Tom Osborne and his Husker players. Osborne had been in this very stadium on three separate occasions playing for a national championship, and came away empty-handed each time, losing the previous year against Bobby Bowden's Seminoles of Florida State, to the Miami Hurricanes in the legendary 1984 Orange Bowl by the score of 31–30, and to the #1 Clemson Tigers in the 1982 Orange Bowl, a night game in which Nebraska entered #4 where the #2 and #3 teams lost their bowl games earlier in the day.

But it would be much different this year. Frazier had returned from his injury, and Nebraska would not back down, even after trailing 10–7 at halftime and 17–7 with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter. It is important to note that during his halftime speech, Coach Osborne had predicted the eventual meltdown of Miami late in the game. He told his players that if they maintained their composure, that Miami would slip up and earn a costly penalty. Osborne's prediction rang true, and the physically dominant Huskers scored 15 unanswered points in the 4th quarter on two key TD runs by FB Corey Schlesinger to earn Tom Osborne his first national title, by the score of 24–17.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Final
AP 4 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Coaches 1

After the season

The successful season saw Nebraska lead the nation in rushing, with talented but troubled sophomore Lawrence Phillips rushing for 1,722 yards and finishing 8th in Heisman voting. The offensive line, which was arguably the best in the country as well, was affectionately known as "The Pipeline" and included Outland Trophy winner and All-American Zach Wiegert at tackle, fellow All-American Brendan Stai at guard, along with Rob Zatechka, Joel Wilks, and Aaron Graham. The vaunted 4–3 defense, led by All-American linebacker Ed Stewart, limited conference opponents to a mere 55 points.

The Huskers were treated to a warm welcome, despite the freezing temperatures, when they returned to Lincoln as National Champions. An estimated 15,000 fans were on hand at the Lincoln Airport to welcome home their Big Red heroes.

Awards

[2]

Award Name(s)
Outland Trophy Zach Wiegert
UPI Lineman of the Year Zach Wiegert
All-America 1st team Terry Connealy, Donta Jones, Brenden Stai, Ed Stewart, Zach Wiegert, Rob Zatechka
All-America 2nd team Lawrence Phillips
All-America 3rd team Barron Miles
Big 8 Coach of the Year Tom Osborne
Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year Ed Stewart
Big 8 Defensive Newcomer of the Year Grant Wistrom
Big 8 Male Athlete of the Year Rob Zatechka
All-Big 8 1st team Troy Dumas, Aaron Graham, Donta Jones, Lawrence Phillips, Barron Miles, Brenden Stai, Ed Stewart, Zach Wiegert, Tyrone Williams
All-Big 8 2nd team Brook Berringer, Terry Connealy, Dwayne Harris, Kareem Moss, Christian Peter, Rob Zatechka
All-Big 8 honorable mention Eric Alford, Reggie Baul, Darin Erstad, Abdul Muhammad, Cory Schlesinger

NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1994 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.[3]

Name Team
Eric Anderson Amsterdam Admirals
Mike Anderson Amsterdam Admirals
Michael Booker Atlanta Falcons
Doug Colman New York Giants
Chris Dishman Arizona Cardinals
Troy Dumas Kansas City Chiefs
Jay Foreman Buffalo Bills
Tommie Frazier Montreal Alouettes
Aaron Graham Arizona Cardinals
Jon Hesse Green Bay Packers
Sheldon Jackson Buffalo Bills
Vershan Jackson Kansas City Chiefs
Donta Jones Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Lafleur Barcelona Dragons
Joel Makovicka Arizona Cardinals
Barron Miles Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Minter Carolina Panthers
Kareem Moss BC Lions
Christian Peter New York Jets
Jason Peter Carolina Panthers
Lawrence Phillips St. Louis Rams
Mike Rucker Carolina Panthers
Cory Schlesinger Detroit Lions
Brenden Stai Pittsburgh Steelers
Eric Stokes Seattle Seahawks
Jared Tomich New Orleans Saints
Larry Townsend Berlin Thunder
Adam Treu Oakland Raiders
Tony Veland Denver Broncos
Zach Wiegert St. Louis Rams
Jamel Williams Washington Redskins
Tyrone Williams Green Bay Packers
Jason Wiltz New York Jets
Grant Wistrom St. Louis Rams
Jon Zatechka Berlin Thunder
Rob Zatechka New York Giants

References

  1. "Football - 1994 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  2. 1994 Husker Honors
  3. "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
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