CLASSIC LOON DROPPINGS
Nebraska 17, LSU 12
National Championship
January 1, 1971
Folks, today's game was a lesson in faith. In order for Nebraska to win the first national title in the school's history, three things had to happen: Notre Dame had to beat Texas (OK, check). Stanford had to knock of Ohio State (OK, check). And long-shot Nebraska, whose drive for a national title hit a bump after tying USC way back in September, had to figure a way through LSU's rugged defense and beat the No. 5 Tigers (OK -- big, fat, red check). Of course, after the game is when that faith really comes in -- that the voters will see things from NU's point of view. That must be why the wily Irishman, Bob Devaney, gave all those Jesuit voters something to think about with a few well-timed religious sentiments. I agree -- after this gutty performance, even the pontiff would have to vote the Huskers No. 1.
A few takes:
TAGGE, YOU'RE IT: It will go down as the greatest drive in Nebraska football history, capped by the greatest touchdown in Nebraska football history. Trailing 12-10 midway through the final quarter, the Cornhuskers marched 67 yards to immortality. Jerry Tagge's second-effort score -- the best stretch job I've seen short of Richard Nixon's six-door limousine -- was one for the ages. Something tells me that No. 14's famous pose will be frozen on office walls and taverns across the Cornhusker State for hordes of future generations. But as groovy as this junior's effort was on New Years' Day, something tells me that this kid's best stuff is yet to come.
HOLD THAT TIGER: Of course, Tagge wasn't the only Cornhusker named Jerry making big plays in the Orange Bowl. Senior Jerry Murtaugh, who will go down as one of the all-time great linebackers at NU, was a terror to LSU's offense, particularly in the final eight minutes of the game. At the beginning of the year, Murtaugh brashly predicted that Nebraska would win the national championship in 1970. While he's no Joe Namath, you've got to admire the kid's moxie. When everyone else was putting their money on Notre Dame or Texas, the Cornhuskers were the ones who were cashing in on New Year's Day. Lest we fail to mention Willie Harper -- he's only a soph-a-more -- who seemed to be in the LSU backfield more often than the Tiger skill position players.
SAND ORDUNA: If any Nebraska player deserves a little time on the white sands of Miami Beach in the aftermath of the Orange Bowl, it is Joe Orduna. Against a defense that allowed only 50 yards a game on the ground, Joe pushed, pounded, prodded and peppered his way for 66. The Huskers as a team put up 132 yards rushing -- by far the most by any team against the powerful Bayou Bengal 'D'. Orduna's running in the fourth quarter -- along with that Kinney kid's efforts -- put LSU in a more tenuous spot than the Paris Peace Talks. A keen effort by a determined bunch of dudes in red.
A BUNCH OF HOT ARA: Pay no attention to Ara Parseghian's pleas to the voters that Notre Dame should be No. 1. True, the Irish faced a difficult task in playing the top-ranked Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl, and they deserve much credit for their 24-11 victory in Dallas. But let's not forget that the Irish had their destiny in their own hands a few weeks back, but couldn't hold off USC. If you're looking at common opponents, there's no doubt that Nebraska -- whose tie-that-shoulda-been-a-win against the Trojans -- deserves it more than the leprechauns. They win the damn thing every three or four years, anyway. Let 'em wait their turn.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Pinch yourselves and say these words in the same sentence, fellow Loons: National Championship and Nebraska. Sure, under Bob Devaney the Cornhuskers have had their share of success, but that usually meant winning conference crowns, beating OU and going to a bowl game. No longer. Now the bar has been raised -- or beamed up, to borrow a phrase from that weird show, "Star Trek" -- to a whole new level. With so many youngsters on the defense, who would have thought that NU would tear through its schedule and sneak up on the college football world? Well, obviously Jerry Murtaugh knew what he was talking about. Nebraska is No. 1.
==STEVE==