Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 10

Dave Feit is counting down the days until the start of the 2025 season by naming the best Husker to wear each uniform number, as well as one of his personal favorites at that number. For more information about the series, click here. To see more entries, click here.

Greatest Husker to wear 10: Bret Clark, Safety, 1981-1984

Honorable Mention: Charles Fryar, Keithen McCant, Mike Minter

Also worn by: Jimari Butler, Joel Cornwell, Fred Duda, Bert Gissler, Heinrich Haarberg, Tim Hager, Roy Helu Jr., Joshua Kalu, Mark LeFlore, Frank Patrick, JD Spielman, Jamal Turner, Dijon Washington

Dave's Fave: Roy Helu Jr., Running Back, 2007-2010

From 1973-1997, Tom Osborne won 255 games and three national championships. In that same stretch, Penn State's Joe Paterno won 235 games and two national championships. Two of the greatest coaches of all time faced off in five straight seasons between 1979 and 1983. Both teams were ranked in all five games, including two meetings with both teams in the top 10.

Nebraska won the first two games in the series, 42-17 in 1979 and 21-7 in 1980. In the 1981 game in Lincoln, Penn State's Curt Warner ran for a (then) opponent record 238 yards as the Nitany Lions came from behind to win 30-24. The loss dropped the 1981 team's record to 1-2, the only time Osborne had a losing record after the first three weeks of the season.

In 1982, Nebraska traveled to Happy Valley for what turned out to be a national championship elimination game… played in the last weekend of September. Nebraska was ranked 2nd and Penn State was 8th. The CBS national audience was treated to a classic - if controversial - game in which the teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense.

Nebraska bumbled through most of the first half. A turnover on downs and a fumble killed promising drives. Meanwhile, Penn State jumped out to a 14-0 lead. A 30-yard touchdown pass to Irving Fryar with 38 seconds left in the second quarter got the Huskers on the board and made the halftime score 14-7.

The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, setting up a wild finish. Nebraska scored 10 straight points to take a 24-21 lead with 1:18 to go.

Turner Gill scoring — Turner Gill's short touchdown run gives Nebraska the lead with 1:18 remaining. | Nebraska Football Media Guide

The kickoff went into the endzone for a touchback, but Nebraska was called for a 15-yard personal foul. Back then, college officials did not announce who the penalty was on. Penn State needed to go just 65 yards for a touchdown.

On first down, quarterback Todd Blackledge threw a screen pass that went for 15 yards. Penn State was at midfield with over a minute to go. On second down, Kenny Jackson made what was ruled to be a sliding catch need the Nebraska sideline, although Huskers players indicated he was out of bounds. There was not sideline camera angle - and replay review was still over a decade away.

During a Penn State timeout, the CBS crew discussed strategy. A field goal would result in a tie, but Penn State's kicker had missed three kicks on the day. On the next play, Blackledge threw for the end zone, overthrowing his receiver. Blackshirt pressure resulted in a fourth-and-11 play from the 34. Jackson was wide open and appeared to have the first down by two yards.

But the officials called for a measurement. Was it a bad spot? Some home cooking to give Paterno a free time out? (He had just one left.)

On second-and-five with 13 seconds left, Blackledge threw toward the end zone. Mike McCloskey caught the ball - that we can all agree on. The referees ruled him in bounds. Even in 1982 low definition, the replay shows that McCloskey's foot at least a yard on the wrong side of the sideline.

"I can't comment on the pass play," Osborne said after the game. "Once it was ruled good, it doesn't matter."

"Our coaches in the press box were so sure he was out of bounds that they didn't even get excited about the play," said NU defensive coordinator Charlie McBride. "They were speechless when it was ruled a catch. They said one official rule it was caught out of bounds. The other said it was good." Husker fans made T-shirts depicting the extended sideline on the Beaver Stadium field.

The controversial play gave Penn State first-and-goal at the 2. Blackledge threw a play-action pass to Kirk Bowman, who was behind the Husker secondary in the back of the end zone. The throw was low, so Bowman had to fall on top of it. It was a ruled a catch and a touchdown. The three Husker players closest to Bowman - a former offensive lineman known as "Stone Hands" by his teammates - all signaled that the ball hit the ground.* Touchdown Penn State. It was Bowman's second touchdown catch of the day - and of his career.

*Several years later, Bowman's brother-in-law was chatting with Nebraska center Dave Rimington at a convention. When Rimington realized who he was talking to, he took out a business card, wrote a message on the back and instructed him to deliver it to Bowman. The card, inscribed with "You didn't catch that ball" currently resides next to the game ball in Bowman's trophy case.

The kickoff would be the final play of the game. Penn State had already been assessed a five-yard delay-of-game penalty for their fans coming out onto the field. As Mike Rozier reversed his field, a Penn State fan is standing on the "0" of the 20-yard marker. No flags were thrown. Game over. Nebraska loses an all-time heartbreaker 27-24.

The following week, Penn State lost at Alabama 42-21. PSU would finish the regular season ranked No. 3 and beat No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship. Nebraska would go on to win the rest of its games in 1982, including a win over No. 13 LSU in the Orange Bowl. The Huskers finished third in both polls.

The following season, the two teams were paired in the inaugural Kickoff Classic, played at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Top-ranked Nebraska scored on two of its first three possessions and never looked back. Penn State scored in the final 20 seconds to avoid its first shutout in over a decade. Final score: 44-6, tied for the largest margin of defeat in the Joe Paterno era.

Bret Clark in action against Wyoming. | Nebraska Football Media Guide

Bret Clark was an excellent safety for Tom Osborne’s teams in the early 1980s, recording eight tackles in the 1982 Penn State game as a sophomore. The Nebraska City native had a great talent for breaking up passes. Clark tied the school record for PBUs with eight in his sophomore and senior seasons. Football News named him a sophomore All-American in 1982.

In his junior year (1983), Clark had five interceptions - the most by a Husker in a decade. One was in the end zone at Oklahoma State on the final play of the game to preserve a 14-10 victory and Nebraska's national championship hopes. Clark was All-Big Eight and an honorable mention All-American.

Bret Clark on the field before a 1984 game — Bret Clark (right) with coach Tom Osborne and center Mark Traynowicz. | Nebraska Athletics

Clark - nicknamed "Captain Crunch" - shone brightest in 1984, his senior season. He led the team in pass breakups, interceptions and fumbles recovered. He repeated as an All-Big Eight selection and earned first-team All-America honors.

In 1998 - 16 years after the infamous 1982 game - Mike McCloskey was in Omaha to introduce keynote speaker Turner Gill at a banquet. For the very first time, McCloskey admitted that he was out of bounds when he made the catch along the sideline.

"There are no hard feelings," Gill said, "since we got our championship in 1994 and (Penn State's undefeated team) didn't."

***

Here's a fun exercise: Pick any four quarters of football from any Nebraska game to make up your perfect game.

Out of the nearly 1,400 games Nebraska has played, which one had the best first quarter? Which one had the best second quarter, and so on.

"Best" is an intentionally open-ended superlative. Do you value offense? Defense? Both? Does the stakes of the game (such as a rivalry or bowl game) give a little extra juice?

My perfect game looks like this:

Roy Helu Jr. carries the ball during his record-setting day against Missouri in 2010. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

First quarter: 2010 vs. Missouri

It was a big game. No. 14 Nebraska hosting Blaine Gabbert and No. 7 Mizzou.

Gabbert - a high-profile recruit who spurned Nebraska - did not gain a yard on his first possession.

On Nebraska's first play from scrimmage, Roy Helu Jr. scored untouched from 66 yards.

Mizzou went three and out again, punting the ball back to Nebraska. Taylor Martinez dropped the shotgun snap, picked it up and found Brandon Kinnie for a gain of 10. It was shaping up to be that kind of day for Nebraska. Martinez found Niles Paul for a big gain. That drive ended in a Alex Henery field goal.

The Tigers completed a pass for a first down, but the drive ended with a Lavonte David sack.

Nebraska's third possession featured the Huskers' tight ends. A 22-yard reception to Ben Cotton and a 40-yard post pattern to Kyler Reed gave the Huskers a 17-0 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.

But Nebraska wasn't done yet.

One more stop by the Blackshirts - including a stuff on third-and-one - gave the Huskers the ball at their own 27. After the snap to Martinez in the pistol, center Mike Caputo and right guard Ricky Henry pulled to their right. Martinez hands the ball to Helu, who had to love what he was seeing. Henry blasted the outside man and Caputo sealed the inside, creating a massive hole. Mizzou's safety took a bad angle and the play was over before Helu crossed the line of scrimmage. A 73-yard touchdown gave Nebraska a 24-0 lead on the seventh-ranked team in the nation.

On Missouri's final drive of the quarter, Gabbert was sacked twice and threw an interception to Dejon Gomes as the quarter ends.

Let's look at the first-quarter stats, shall we?

155 rushing yards to 7. 256 total yards to 48. Mizzou is held to 0-of-5 on third down.

Roy Helu Jr. is one of my favorite I-backs from the last 20 years. He combined speed, power, vision and a love for hurdling over defenders to become one of the most vaunted rushers in school history. At the end of the 2010 Missouri game, Helu had 307 rushing yards (and 317 all-purpose), breaking Calvin Jones’ 20-year-old record of 294.

It was one of the greatest individual performances I’ve had the pleasure to watch at Memorial Stadium. And that first quarter was easily the most complete quarter of football Nebraska has played this century.

Second quarter: 1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida

As the second stanza opened on Nebraska's quest for its second straight national championship, the No. 1 Huskers trailed the No. 2 Gators 10-6.

On the second play of the quarter, Lawrence Phillips exploded for a 42-yard touchdown, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Nebraska could, contrary to popular belief, run on grass.

After two holding penalties and a sack, Florida had second-and-31 from inside its own 1. Jamel Williams sacked Danny Wuerffel for a safety. The free kick - returned to midfield by Clinton Childs - started a drive that led to an Ahman Green touchdown from one yard out, with a vintage 31-yard Tommie Frazier run in the middle.

On the ensuing kickoff, Florida's excellent receiver Jaquez Green is blasted by Joel Makovicka and Jon Hesse. The Gators go three and out. A promising Husker drive ends in a field goal.

Florida manages to get a first down, but Wuerffel threw a 42-yard pick-six to Michael Booker. With one more possession, Kris Brown kicks his second field goal of the quarter with 8 seconds left.

In the second quarter: Nebraska scored 29 points. The Blackshirts had four sacks.

Going into halftime, Florida coach Steve Spurrier looks like a man who wishes he had gone to the Sugar Bowl. "We're just getting clobbered right now. We're getting beat pretty bad, all the way around."

Third quarter: 1983 vs. Colorado

Leading 14-12, No. 1 Nebraska came out after halftime and absolutely laid the wood to Bill McCartney's Colorado Buffaloes.

Turner Gill had a 17-yard touchdown run just 2:24 into the quarter. It was Nebraska's THIRD offensive touchdown of the quarter. Irving Fryar scored twice (on a 54-yard run and a 34-yard reception), as did Mike Rozier (from 13 and 18 yards).

A missed extra point is the only thing that stood between Nebraska and an NCAA record for points in a quarter. But in Scott Livingston's defense, he made his four other PATs in the quarter. Dave Schneider made two of his own as Nebraska scored 48 points in the third quarter.

"It was like someone dropped an atom bomb on us," said CU cornerback Victor Scott.

On a personal note, this was the first Nebraska game I attended in person. My fandom was never in doubt after that quarter.

Fourth quarter: 1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami

There have been fourth quarters with far more points scored than NU's 15. Bigger comebacks than the eight points NU trailed by. But in my lifetime, there has not been a more impactful quarter of Nebraska football.

This was the moment Tom Osborne exorcized his demons. Beating Miami in Miami. Successfully making a two-point conversion in the same end zone where he previously fell short.

The fourth quarter was the culmination of 365 days of dedication, blood, sweat and tears. It was the springboard for the greatest college football team of all time. It was the first national championship in a generation and one of the most memorable nights of my life.

Not too shabby a game.

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