Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 14

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 14: Jerry Tagge, Quarterback, 1969-1971

Honorable Mention: Henry Bauer, John Bordogna, Dennis Claridge, Cletus Fischer, Gerry Gdowski, Barron Miles

Also worn by: Anthony Blue, Dion Booker, Lance Brown, Daniel Bullocks, Tristan Gebbia, Rahmir Johnson, Bronson Marsh, Tre Neal, John O'Leary, Jeff Perino, Avery Roberts, Jonathan Rose, Billy Todd, Travis Turner, Lester Ward

Dave's Fave: Gerry Gdowski, Quarterback, 1986-1989

Friday, Jan. 1, 1971
7:55 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Miami, Florida

The third-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers have just run onto the grass turf before their Orange Bowl game against No. 5 Louisiana State. The Huskers are wearing new red jerseys, without the familiar white shoulder stripes, and (possibly for the first time ever) with the players' names on the backs. The Huskers have white pants with red stripes and white helmets with grey facemasks. After wearing an "NU" decal on the side of their helmets in previous seasons, Nebraska now sports a simple sans-serif red "N."

Jerry Tagge gets ready to take a snap from center. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Nebraska is completing its 81st season of college football. To this moment, the Huskers have never finished higher than fifth in the final AP poll (1965) and have finished a season in the top 10 only six times. When this day's New Year's Day bowl games started, Nebraska was likely to remain at No. 3. To move up a spot, they would either need No. 2 Ohio State to lose to 12th-ranked Stanford in the Rose Bowl, or No. 1 Texas to lose to sixth-ranked Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, played less than 200 miles from the UT campus.

Neither team is likely to lose.

Except… the craziest thing happened. Notre Dame shut down the Longhorn wishbone offense and won 24-11. Ohio State - a 10½-point favorite - gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lose 27-13.

The door was now wide open for Nebraska.

Could the Huskers take advantage of the opportunity?

The defense would be up to the task. With players like Larry Jacobson, Willie Harper, Rich Glover, Ed Periard and Jerry Murtaugh, nobody was worried about the Blackshirts.

The problem was the Tiger defense was just as tough. LSU had allowed more than 14 points just twice in 1970 - 20 in a season-opening loss to Texas A&M and 17 in a blowout, empty-the-benches win over Ole Miss.

Despite it being just the second season for Tom Osborne as offensive coordinator, Nebraska's offense had a lot of talent. Jeff Kinney, Joe Orduna, Johnny Rodgers, Guy Ingles, Bob Newton, and starting quarterback* junior Jerry Tagge.

Jerry Tagge in action against Colorado in 1971. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

*Actually - Nebraska played two quarterbacks in 1969 and 1970. Van Brownson played in multiple games - starting several - as the coaches often rode the hot hand. The two quarterbacks maintained a friendly competition for the top job, as this exchange from a 1970 Sports Illustrated article shows:

"I guess it's like fighting for a girl," says Tagge. "It's fun, but we both would like to be No. 1."

"Yeah," says Brownson, a man with shaggy good looks, "except I would win the girl every time. On the field, it's different."

Injuries to Brownson in the middle of the 1970 season allowed Tagge to grab firm control on the starting job.

Tagge started spring drills in 1969 fifth on the quarterback depth chart - a spot he shared with Chuck Osberg. Through injuries and his own hard work, he made it onto the field as a sophomore. He had the first game in school history with more than 300 yards of total offense - in his first start. By the time his hometown Green Bay Packers drafted him seventh overall in 1972, Tagge had written his name all over the Nebraska record book. Almost 55 years after his career ended, Tagge is still:

Seventh in career passing yards.
Ninth in total offense.
Tied for 10th in passing touchdowns in a season.
18th in total offense in a season.

In the locker room postgame, Tagge called the 1971 Orange Bowl "one of my poorer games… I made a lot of mistakes." LSU's coach Charles McClendon disagreed, saying Tagge was "extremely strong. He was hard to bring down on the keeper play, and one time, when we did crack through their fine pass protection, he threw the ball 45 yards with one of our guys hanging on his leg."

The game was a back-and-forth affair. Nebraska led 10-0 after the first quarter, but an LSU touchdown at the end of the third quarter made the score 12-10. The fourth quarter began with an LSU kickoff. Nebraska's drive started at its own 33.

Tagge led Nebraska on a 13-play drive that ate up 6:10. Kinney and Orduna combined for 15 yards. Tagge accounted for the rest. It was more methodical than flashy. Running plays up the middle, short passes and rollouts that look a lot like what gets called "RPO" today.

The biggest play of the drive was an 18-yard crossing-route completion to Kinney on third-and-seven. That gave Nebraska a first-and-goal from the five. After two runs came up short, Tagge took a third-down snap at the one. He plowed forward and was met by the Tiger defense. Tagge stuck the ball over his head, reaching it clearly over the goal line. Touchdown Nebraska! Paul Rogers kicked the PAT for a 17-12 Husker lead.

That's it, right? The team carries Devaney off the field as the celebrations begin across the Cornhusker state?

Nope, not even close.

There was still 8:50 to play, and the rollercoaster was just leaving the station.

The Huskers stopped LSU on the Tigers' next possession. Defensive end Willie Harper blocked the Tiger punt, sending the LSU punter to the turf. Harper was ruled to have been blocked into the kicker. Nebraska drove the ball down to the 15, but Orduna lost a fumble.

The Blackshirts recorded back-to-back sacks, but LSU converted a third-and-30 from its own 7. A few plays later, Harper simply takes the ball out of the quarterback's arms.

Three plays after that, Tagge loses a fumble on an option play.

On the very next play, Bob Terrio intercepts LSU's pass. It is the fourth turnover in the last eight minutes.

With just 45 seconds left to go in the game, Tagge kneels twice and Nebraska wins 17-12. Now, the Cornhuskers are national champions, right?

Nope. It would take FOUR DAYS for the final AP ballot to be tabulated. No. 6 Notre Dame, who upset No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl was also making a case for the top spot. Many Husker players and fans were worried that Notre Dame's clout with the national media would be enough for them to jump the Huskers. Sports columnists of the day were calling for a playoff in college football.

After the Orange Bowl, Devaney was asked if he thought his Huskers deserved to be champions. "Hell yes, we should be No. 1. I can't see any other way," Devaney said.

"I couldn't even see how the Pope could vote for Notre Dame."

Finally, the AP vote came in. Nebraska received 39 first-place votes. Notre Dame, who finished second, had only eight votes. In those days, the final coaches poll (organized by United Press International) came out in early December, before the bowls. Nebraska was third.

Jerry Tagge would lead the 1971 Cornhuskers to another national championship, leading another legendary scoring drive in the Game of the Century win over Oklahoma. Tagge would be named a first-team All-Big Eight and finished seventh in the Heisman voting.

His accomplishments may have been overshadowed by those of Tommie Frazier and other famous Husker QBs, but Tagge should be remembered for setting the standard of excellence.

***

As a sports fan, I appreciate an athlete with a good story. It's been my pleasure to share several different types of stories so far:

Stubborn perseverance like Ed Periard
Personal redemption like Phillip Dillard
Overcoming childhood hardships like Forrest Behm
Not letting a handicap get in the way of success like Kenny Walker and Andy Kadavy
Breaking down barriers like Bob Brown, Charles Bryant and Eric Lueshen
Tragic losses like Paul Eckna, Sam Foltz, Jack Hoffman and Brook Berringer

Gerry Gdowski scores against Utah State during his junior season. | Nebraska Athletics

But there's one type we haven't touched on yet: The unexpected star. The guy who seemingly came out of nowhere to become a record-setting superstar.

The problem is: I'm not sure if Gerry Gdowski fits that mold.

His senior season - 1989 - was one of the greatest seasons ever put together by a Husker quarterback. That is indisputable.

The debate is over how expected his success was.

On one hand, Gdowski enrolled in Nebraska having just won the Omaha World-Herald's Nebraska high school athlete of the year award. He was all-state in football and basketball. In track, he won eight all-class gold medals. That is an impressive prep résumé. I guarantee Gdowski felt confident in his athletic abilities.

But on the other hand, going into his senior season Gdowski's career statistics at Nebraska were: 6 of 10 passing for 72 yards with zero touchdowns, 35 carries for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Those stats were accumulated in 13 games… mostly at the end of blowout wins. That said, he did lead the freshman team in passing, rushing and total offense. On varsity, Steve Taylor (a former high school All-American) and Clete Blakeman (a future NFL referee) were among those ahead of him on the depth chart.

As fans, most of us did not see Gdowski's senior season coming. Heck, page 8 of the 1989 media guide has a section captioned "Who'll Replace Taylor?" Gdowski was said to have a "slight edge" over sophomores Mickey Joseph and spring game standout Mike Grant. Not exactly a bold prediction of what was to come.

Maybe Tom Osborne knew what he had. Maybe he didn't. His quote in that media guide ("I feel good about the quarterback position,") can be interpreted either as optimistic coach speak or the understated, yet confident Osborne not tipping his hand.

It is worth nothing that Gdowski's bio in the 1989 media guide says he "has the experience and knowledge to run the Husker offense, and could surprise some people with his ability to run the option."

While you're pondering whether Gdowski's magical season came out of nowhere or not, let's dive into that special year.

71-136 passing for 1,326 yards
19 passing touchdowns (then the second-most in school history, currently tied for eighth).
Just two interceptions. His interception percentage of 1.47 broke Turner Gill's school record.
117 carries for 925 yards, the most by a NU quarterback (breaking Steve Taylor's record from the previous season by 99 yards).
7.91 yards per carry, which broke Mike Rozier's school record from his 1983 Heisman season.
13 rushing touchdowns, tying Taylor's 1988 school record).
Just 75 yards shy of becoming the first Cornhusker quarterback to throw and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Would have set an NCAA record for QB rating (177.3) but didn't meet the minimum number of attempts.

Like I said, this was one of the best seasons any Nebraska quarterback has ever had.

The Huskers went 10-2, finished as Big Eight runner-up and finished 11th in the AP poll. Gdowski was the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year, an Academic All-American and a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award.

So, how do we account for Gerry Gdowski's record-setting season in 1989? Was he a "late bloomer," a product of Osborne's developmental system, or just that good?

Personally, I lean toward the latter. Over the years, Nebraska has had a lot of very talented players who couldn't get on the field because the guys in front of them were so good. That's what happened with Gdowski playing behind Steve Taylor - one of the most successful and highly touted quarterbacks Nebraska has ever had.

But when he got his chance, Gdowski made the most of it.

And that's a story I never get tired of hearing.

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