1995 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

Backstory
In 1994, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne shed his never-can-win-the-big-one label with his first national title. But how he did it would soon be called into question.

The regular season
There were three things you could count on when in came to Nebraska football in 1995. One was historic domination of its opposition. The second was frequent appearances in the police blotter.

The third was withering criticism of Osborne for seemingly ignoring the second thing to favor the first. It all started on Aug. 2, when backup wide receiver Riley Washington was arrested for attempted murder following a shooting outside a Lincoln convenience store. Osborne professed Washington’s innocence, and allowed him back onto the team. By the third game, star running back Lawrence Phillips would be suspended after charges he dragged his girlfriend by the hair down a stairwell.

Then there was Christian Peter, the oft-arrested defensive lineman whose alleged rape of a student cost the school $50,000 in a settlement in 1995.

The off-the-field problems had no effect whatsoever on how the Cornhuskers played. While it seemed everyone else had gone to a pro-style passing attack, the old triple option, run to perfection by quarterback Tommie Frazier, led Nebraska to an average final score of 51-14. The closest game, and lowest-scoring for Nebraska, was a 35-21 defeat of Washington State. The bow on the season was a 37-0 destruction of archrival Oklahoma in the regular season’s final game.

The postseason
The discussion before the Fiesta Bowl against Florida was as much, or more, about the propriety of putting Phillips on the field as it was about Nebraska’s chances to win. Osborne had been criticized for not kicking Phillips off permanently earlier, but the coach said he was afraid of what would happen to Phillips, raised as a foster child, without the structure of football. Phillips was reinstated with for the final three games of the regular season, and he wasn’t going to be held out of the Fiesta Bowl, either. Phillips ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns, as well as catching a touchdown pass from Frazier, in a 62-24 undressing of Florida for the national title.

Postscript
As he made the transition from coach (he retired after winning the 1997 national title) to Congressman (he was elected as a Republican in 2000), Osborne expressed regret over how he handled the Phillips and Peters situations. But he didn’t have to regret how he handled Riley Washington. It will be interesting to see what logic guides Osborne now that he is back as Nebraska’s athletic director, charged with reviving the moribund football program.

The greatest regular seasons ever Introduction 1934 Chicago Bears 1971-'72 Los Angeles Lakers 1972 Miami Dolphins 1976-'77 Montreal Canadiens 1979-'80 Philadelphia Flyers 1990-'91 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers 1995-'96 Chicago Bulls 1997-'98 Tennessee Lady Vols 2001 Seattle Mariners 2003-04 Arsenal FC VOTE: Which was most impressive?

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