re: Three candidates for greatest team ever

1995- did not destroy everyone

14 points to a 3-8 team. Not destruction. They were up 21 points in the fourth at one point, so okay.

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1995- did not destroy everyone

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Their closest game was 14 points. Next closest game was 23 points. That really is destroying everyone, especially back before football turned into the offensive game it is now.

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Some Big 8 history involving Nebraska.

There were only two rival coaches in the Osborne era of the Big 8 (1973-1995) that were worth a shite: Barry Switzer and Bill McCartney. Neither of those guys were in the Big 8 in 1995.

If you take away Switzer and McCartney, Nebraska goes undefeated in the conference in 15/22 seasons from 1973-1994. You throw in mediocre non-conference opponents (1995 Nebraska did not beat anyone OOC with more than six wins) and Osborne would have run roughshod through the regular season in a lot of those years just like he did in 1995.

From 1983-1994, Osborne was 2-8 against the combination of Miami and Florida State.

1995 Nebraska did not face the same style of team that gave Osborne so many problems. IOW, no elite teams that believed in defense and had guys that could match up with them physically and shut down their one dimensional offense.

You line up an I formation offense like 1995 Nebraska against a 2021 UGA with seven guys that are going first round on D (including behemoths like Jordan Davis) and Kirby Smart scheming and you don't have an NFL arm, a WR that was even draftable, and a TB who handles adversity like a petulant child and might do God knows what if he's getting the shite knocked out of him, you're going to have problems.

Nebraska wasn't invincible in those days, folks. They were wide open overthrown pass from losing to Miami in the Orange Bowl in 1994 and eight straight bowl losses. The 1996 team got their arse shut out by Arizona State and gave up 500 yards to Texas in the Big XII championship. The 1997 team was a fluke (and illegal) play from losing to a mediocre Missouri team.

When you look back on the Switzer teams, the McCartney teams, some of the OOC opponents like late '70s Alabama, early '80s Penn State, early '90s Washington, late '80s UCLA with Troy Aikman, mid '80s FSU, then Miami in bowl games... man, the 1995 team had it frickin' easy, people, compared to other Nebraska teams from the Osborne era. They didn't face any of that shite. Just beat Kansas and Kansas State for literally the 50th time in a row and then a tissue soft bowl opponent with a HC who thinks defense is a waste of time.

There would be more trophies in Lincoln if all of Osborne's teams had had the 1995 group's slate.