Defense was the difference for fourth-ranked Nebraska. “I thought the defense played awfully well,” Tom Osborne said following the Huskers’ 17-12 victory against Colorado in the final regular-season game at Memorial Stadium, the day after Thanksgiving 1996.
Consider the fifth-ranked Buffaloes’ final possession with 4:47 remaining, beginning at the Colorado 44-yard line following Jesse Kosch’s 41-yard punt — and no return. On first down, rush end Grant Wistrom sacked Buffs’ quarterback Koy Detmer for a 5-yard loss. On second down, Detmer threw an incomplete pass. On third down, however, he passed 37 yards to Rae Carruth to the Nebraska 28.
On first down, Nebraska stopped Herchell Troutman for a 1-yard loss. On second, third and fourth downs, Detmer passes fell incomplete. The Huskers took over with 2:53 remaining.
Nebraska ran the ball eight times, picked up three first downs and forced the Buffaloes to use their three remaining timeouts. “Probably the best thing we did offensively all day was the last drive, simply because we didn’t give the ball back to them,” said Osborne.
Neither team excelled on offense. Weather was a significant factor. Temperature at kickoff was 37 degrees, with rain and snow and wind out of the south at 13 miles an hour. Because of the conditions it was “a little hard to play offensive football,” Osborne said.
The Huskers lost 4-of-5 fumbles and finished with 294 total yards on 66 plays. Colorado ran four more plays and finished with 277 total yards, including 226 passing by Detmer. Linebackers Jamel Williams and Jay Foreman intercepted Detmer passes, and he took three sacks, two by Wistrom.
Foreman returned his interception 21 yards for Nebraska’s first touchdown.
Foreman’s touchdown and Kris Brown’s extra-point kick gave the Huskers’ a 7-6 first quarter lead, after Colorado’s Jeremy Aldrich kicked field goals from 45 and 40 yards.
Nebraska increased its lead to 17-6 in the second quarter on a 30-yard Brown field goal and 7-yard DeAngelo Evans touchdown run. Evans was the game’s leading rusher, with 123 yards on 25 carries. Ahman Green, the team’s rushing leader on the season, carried only 3 times for 9 yards before leaving the game with a stress fracture.
Aldrich kicked 38- and 27-yard field goals in the second half. So much for the scoring.
“It made us a bit nervous about running the option for a while because of the weather conditions,” Osborne said. Nebraska rushed for 238 yards on 52 carries, but the fumbles were a problem. The Huskers lost 2-of-3 in the third quarter, the first at the Buffs’ 32-yard line, on a pass reception by Lance Brown, the second at the Nebraska 39-yard line on a 2-yard Evans run.
The Huskers “kind of got spooked out of it (option) for a little while,” said Osborne.
There was no concern about the defense, though. Wistrom, who would be the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, led the defense with 15 tackles, linebacker Jon Hesse had 10. Williams had nine tackles, a sack and an interception. Cornerback Ralph Brown had a school-record seven pass breakups.
With the victory, Nebraska would move up to third in the national rankings, win the Big 12 North Division and advance to the first Big 12 Championship Game against unranked Texas in St. Louis.
