subject: Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Success of Coach Osborne [print this page] In the course of the last half century, there has not been a college football program that has seen more success in terms of wins than the Nebraska Cornhuskers. As one of only seven NCAA football programs to garner 800 or more wins in their history, the Cornhuskers have been a college football power for most of their 119 seasons, holding the fourth highest number of wins in Division 1 football. In addition, they have achieved five national championships, with three of those coming in the last quarter century. Those three national titles were earned under the guidance and tutelage of the legendary Thomas "Tom" Osborne, who coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers between 1973 and 1997.
His basic strategy
Much is made of coaches and their overall philosophy, as if wining football games involves some magic coaching incantation. The truth is that the best coaching strategy has always been one that has its emphasis on the fundamentals of the game, and winning. In that respect, Osborne's strategy and approach to the game was simple:" adapt and win; stagnate and die. His miserable experience in attempting to halt the powerful Oklahoma option offense of the 1970s - the dreaded "Wishbone" prompted him to abandon his balanced "I" formation offense in 1980 and adopt the option for his team. Nebraska's option attack soon had opponents pulling their hair out just as Osborne had done when facing Oklahoma. Though many observers have pointed to the strength of the option quarterbacks which Osborne recruited year after year, his success had more to do with the coaching job he did with not only the offense, but the defense and special teams as well.
Success breeds success
For an entire quarter of a century of Osborne coaching, Nebraska enjoyed the type of national prominence most schools' fans would come to envy. With teams that won at least nine games in 25 consecutive seasons - a remarkable streak by any standard - and 13 Big Eight and Big Twelve Conference titles, Osborne amassed an impressive record of 255 all-time wins with only 49 losses and 3 ties. He also broke the record for the fastest coach to win 250 games, as his teams compiled a 60 victory and 3 losses run during his last five years at the coach's helm. In addition, throughout his tenure at Nebraska, there were only three weeks in which the Cornhuskers were not ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll.
With undefeated teams in the 1994 and 1995 seasons - both of which resulted in consensus national championships, Osborne's Nebraska teams had earned the right to be called a true dynasty. The Cornhuskers' unpredictable and often unstoppable rushing offense, combined with a stellar defense that often received far less credit than it deserved, made them a potent force on the field that no team could afford to take for granted -just like their coach. Osborne remains with the University to this day, in his official capacity as athletic director.
Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Success of Coach Osborne
