Mike Babcock is in his 47th season covering Nebraska football. Babcock also covered most other Husker sports at some point in his journalism career. Mike earned his undergraduate degree in English from Cal State-Chico and Masters in English (teacher preparation) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Babcock spent seven years teaching English and Introductory Literature at Parkland Community College. Mike wrote sports part-time at the Champaign-Urbana Courier as well as for Lincoln Journal and Star for 17 years for the sports department covering Nebraska as a sports columnist. Babcock then wrote for Huskers Illustrated before Hail Varsity and Hurrdat Sports.
Take your pick. Pitching or hitting? Either would be an appropriate beginning for a recap of Nebraska baseball’s third victory in the MLB Desert Invitational Sunday in Mesa, Ariz. This time the Huskers defeated Grand Canyon 9-1. So let’s begin with pitching,...
Statistically, Nebraska baseball dominated Northeastern in the second game of the MLB Desert Invitational Saturday night in Mesa, Ariz. But the final score, 7-4, doesn’t necessarily reflect that. Plus, there was drama at the end. Mississippi State transfer Kevin...
It was a Friday the 13th result for Connecticut in the opening game of the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona. Compliments, though that’s probably not an appropriate word, of Nebraska baseball. The Huskers ended the game on the run rule, with a four-run...
No, Nebraska baseball coach Will Bolt wasn’t referring to the Tom Wolfe book "The Right Stuff." He was talking about the 2026 Huskers Monday at Haymarket Park. “They’re about the right stuff,” Bolt said. In the fall and now, the Huskers have “really meshed well...
Calvin Jones was a “participant” in Nebraska football’s 48-13 victory against Colorado State in the fourth game of the season at Memorial Stadium, Sept. 25, 1993. The senior I-back didn’t “play,” he “participated.” It was semantically important. The day before, Coach...
Elation. And a sigh of relief. That was my immediate response to reports Nebraska football great Roger Craig was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in his 28th season of eligibility. Though eligibility never runs out, inclusion on the ballot can. For reasons...
It certainly wasn’t easy, but ninth-ranked Nebraska football managed a win against UCLA in the third game of the 1993 season, defeating the 0-1 Bruins 14-13 at the Rose Bowl. Maybe fan support made a difference. An estimated 12,000 in the crowd of 50,299 were Husker...
Nebraska football scored 50 points against Texas Tech in the second game of the season at Memorial Stadium in mid-September 1993. In other words, the Huskers coasted, right? Well, not exactly. With 8:37 remaining in the third quarter, the Red Raiders took a 21-20 lead...
Time to backtrack. Next up for our Hail Varsity Historical series is a game-by-game recap of the 1993 Nebraska football season, which set up Tom Osborne’s remarkable run of three national titles in his final four seasons. North Texas Coach Dennis Parker described it...