Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 21

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 21: Mike Brown, Rover, 1996-1999

Honorable Mention: Prince Amukamara, Derek Brown, Kaye Carstens, Roger Craig, Franklin Meier, Fran Nagle, Ray Randels

Also worn by: Richard Bell, Damon Benning, Philip Bland, Titus Brothers, Ralph Damkroger, John Decker, George Farley, Charles Jackson, Lamar Jackson, Emmett Johnson, George Knight, Paul Miles, Robin Miller, Steven Osborne, Noa Pola-Gates, Marvin Scott, Harry Tolly, Don Westbrook, Mikale Wilbon

Dave's Fave: Mike Brown

Of Nebraska's five national championship teams, 1997 gets the least amount of love.

1970 was the first. 1971 was a dominating force, considered as one of the greatest teams in history. 1994 was the "refuse to lose" team that simply willed themselves over every obstacle in their way. The 1995 team is the - to me and many, many others - the GOAT.

As for 1997? To some, the split title - Michigan was ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press, Nebraska was No. 1 in the coaches poll - lessens it. Some will say they weren't as talented as 1995 or as singular focused as 1994. Others have a hard time separating the quarterback of the 1997 team from the failed head coach.

For me, the 1997 team holds a special place in my heart. The offense was a juggernaut, the defense was stellar, and there was no shortage of stars and big personalities. Like the 1994 squad, there was a laser focus on winning it all,* spurred on by the two painful losses in 1996. And I was a senior at UNL in 1997. It felt right to cap my college years with another championship.

*The 1997 team didn't have an "Unfinished Business" motto, but don't mistake that for not having goals. "This was one of the most focused groups of players I've ever been around," Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said. "They knew exactly where they wanted to be this Jan. 2nd. The reason we were here was not by accident."

But the 1997 season didn't start off all sunshine and rainbows. Nebraska blasted Akron 59-14, but the following week against Central Florida had more intrigue than anybody expected.

A day or two before the game, Osborne announced that backup quarterback Frankie London would play in the first half. This was something Osborne liked to do when his confidence in winning the game was higher than his confidence in his quarterback depth. London led the team on a 65-yard drive, scoring an 8-yard touchdown to give Nebraska a 14-10 lead.

Central Florida - in just its second season at the Division I-A (now FBS) level - answered with a touchdown of its own. On Nebraska's next possession, Frost ran out with the offense. He was greeted with boos from fans who felt London should be the starter. Veteran observers of the program believe it was the first time a Nebraska player was booed in Memorial Stadium's 70+ year history.* UCF - led by future NFL quarterback Daunte Culpepper - led 17-14 at the half, before Nebraska roared back for a 38-24 win.

*As somebody who was there, I'll tell you that it was not a deafening chorus of boos. But it was clear what was happening - much of it originating in the student section.

I was not booing, but I can speak to why it happened. In addition to the reality of the backup quarterback always being the most popular guy on the field, some fans blamed Frost for the 19-0 loss at Arizona State the year before. A few were still holding onto a grudge because Frost picked Stanford over Nebraska out of high school - even though NU had Tommie freaking Frazier and Stanford had Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh.

Bottom line - Frost had not yet won over the hearts of all Husker fans.

But he would…

The next week, No. 7 Nebraska traveled to Seattle to face No. 2 Washington. Tensions were high. Nebraska's sense of invincibility was gone. Scott Frost ran for two first-quarter touchdowns and the Huskers raced to a 21-0 lead. The Blackshirts played a great game and the offense ran for 384 yards (129 by Ahman Green and Joel Makovicka, plus 97 from Frost).

Nebraska's Grant Wistrom hits Tennessee's Peyton Manning during the 1998 Orange Bowl. | Nebraska Athletics

Another ranked opponent (No. 17 Kansas State) was up next. Green rushed for four touchdowns as NU won by 30. The next month would be more of the same as the Huskers beat Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas and Oklahoma* by wide margins. The Blackshirts pitched back-to-back shutouts over Tech and Kansas.

*In a sign of just how far OU had fallen post-Barry Switzer, Nebraska won 69-7. It was the biggest margin of victory by either team in the 78-game series, beating the 52-point whooping NU laid on the Sooners the year before. The game, played on a rainy day in Lincoln, was Tom Osborne's 250th win as Nebraska's head coach. During a postgame ceremony to present Coach with the game ball, the clouds broke and a rainbow formed over the stadium.

Next was Nebraska's first-ever overtime game, a 45-38 win over a plucky Missouri team. The "Miracle in Missouri" - which we discussed in depth at #84 - served to refocus the team, even if it did cost the Huskers their No. 1 ranking. NU finished out the regular season with a 77-14 win over Iowa State and a narrow three-point escape at Colorado.

The Huskers won their first Big 12 championship with a convincing 54-15 win over Texas A&M. A few days later, Tom Osborne announced his retirement, effective after the Orange Bowl. Nebraska dominated No. 3 Tennessee 42-17 and (with some politicking by their quarterback) won at least a share of the national championship, finishing No. 1 in the coaches poll.

The Blackshirts were a big reason Nebraska won the championship in 1997. They held teams to just 16.4 points per game and 257.3 yards per game. Opponents converted only 25% of their third-down opportunities.

There was NFL talent all over the field. Grant Wistrom, Jason Peter, Jay Foreman, Mike Rucker, Carlos Polk, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Ralph Brown and numerous others. Sixteen defenders from the 1997 team (nine starters and seven backups) would play in the NFL.

Mike Brown was just a sophomore on the 1997 team, but he was already a star. He led the national championship defense with 77 tackles. He added two interceptions, four tackles for loss and four pass break-ups.

The position name "Rover" is such an apt description for how Mike Brown played football. He roved sideline to sideline and from goal line to the opponent’s backfield making plays. Brown ended his career second on the all-time tackle charts.

This does not surprise me, because Mike Brown is the greatest open-field tackler I have ever seen.

Period.

It didn't matter who had the ball, how fast they were, or what moves they had. Mike Brown would bring them down. I sincerely believe that Mike Brown could have tackled Barry Sanders one-on-one in his prime.

Teammate Grant Wistrom described Brown as "integral" to the 1997 team's success, adding "Mike didn't get the credit he deserved at Nebraska."

I agree.

***

They say defense wins championships.

At Nebraska, a Charlie McBride defense wins championships.

The Husker legend was Nebraska's defensive coordinator for 18 seasons (1982-1999). In that span, the Cornhuskers:

Won 12 conference championships.
Finished in the AP top 5 nine times.
Won three national championships, including three in four seasons.
Sent dozens of Blackshirts to the National Football League.

Charlie McBride - Nebraska Football Defensive Coordinator — Charlie McBride was Nebraska's defensive coordinator for 18 seasons. | Huskers.com

We've talked previously about how moving the Blackshirts from the 5-2 to the 4-3 took Nebraska to another level. Starting with the 1992 Colorado game (the game widely credited as when Nebraska made the switch) through McBride's retirement, the Huskers went 85-10. Five of those losses were one-score games, and the largest margin of defeat (19 points) was in a game where the offense did not score a point.

One thing that struck me about McBride's defenses in the 1990s was his seemingly counterintuitive strategy. In an era where teams were abandoning the run to beat you by throwing the ball, McBride's first priority was to stop the run.

Huh?

McBride knew that if a passing team could get consistent yards on their running plays, they would be nearly impossible to stop. An offensive coordinator with that type of success could do whatever he wanted. But if the Blackshirts could take away the threat of a run, it would make the offense one-dimensional. And when an offense is one-dimensional, it makes it easier for your pass rushers to pin their ears back. That pressure makes life easier for the defensive backs.

That stop-the-run philosophy worked amazing well against a number of prolific offenses. Just ask Steve Spurrier. Or Peyton Manning. Or Colorado.

Of course, it wasn't always easy. McBride once joked that the fans "tried to fire me for at least 20 of the 23 years" he was an assistant at Nebraska. Surrounding himself with excellent assistants (like George Darlington, Tony Samuel, Kevin Steele and others) certainly helped.

McBride was the fiery yang to Tom Osborne's stoic yin. If Osborne never said anything spicier than "dadgummit," McBride definitely made up the difference. He was the epitome of a tough-love coach. But his players - especially the defensive linemen he worked with daily - would take a bullet for him.

In "Anatomy of an Era," defensive tackle Kevin Ramaekers shared what McBride's practices were like:

"The things he said on the practice field, you couldn’t put in writing, 'I can’t believe we gave you a f***ing scholarship. This is a joke, you should be playing at Wayne State.' But then you go in the film room and he goes, 'This is a great job. Step here with your foot, reach with your left hand here…' He’d show you ways to beat your opponent. He was a great teacher of the game and an unbelievable motivator.

"The motor never stopped with that guy. If you had a tank that was half full you were not going to play for Charlie. You had to be half nuts."

Charlie McBride wanted to retire after the 1997 season, but Osborne persuaded him to stay. Osborne didn't want to leave first-time head coach Frank Solich with two new coordinators. T.O. knew McBride could help stabilize the transition on and off the field.

It turned out to be an excellent decision. McBride was about to unleash his crowning achievement. The pinnacle of his coaching career. His defensive masterpiece.

The 1999 Nebraska Blackshirts defense.

Mike Brown and Ralph Brown on the cover of the 1999 Nebraska Football Media Guide. | Nebraska Athletics

If there was a defensive category, the odds are good the 1999 defense was near the top. A sampling:

Second in passing defense (175.2 yards per game)
Third in scoring defense (12.5 points per game)
Fourth in total defense (252.3 yards per game)
Sixth in the rushing defense (77.1 yards per game)

In addition, they set a school record with 53 sacks, intercepted 18 passes, recovered 17 fumbles, blocked 10 kicks and scored three safeties (which tied a school record).

These impressive numbers weren't put up against a bunch of cupcakes. The 1999 team played just one team that did not belong to a power conference: Southern Miss, who went 9-3 and finished ranked No. 14. Speaking of ranked teams, the 1999 Huskers faced six ranked opponents. They were just as dominating against top competition, allowing just 13.2 points per game against ranked teams.

The Texas A&M game was one of their most dominating performances. Eight sacks, four interceptions, three forced fumbles, two blocked field goals, just two yards rushing, and the first shutout of an Aggie team in 11 years.

Mike Brown had a successful career with the Chicago Bears after his time at Nebraska. | Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

The A&M game was one of Mike Brown's best games as a Husker. The senior rover had nine tackles (six solo) including two for loss. He forced two fumbles, intercepted two passes and broke up one pass. "Mike had an awesome day," said McBride. "He was like a heat-seeking missile."

That's how Mike Brown played. He reacted so quickly it seemed like he was listening into the offense's huddles. Brown was a multi-year starter at Nebraska and led the team in tackles his final three seasons, finishing his career as the second-leading tackler in school history (currently fourth). As a senior, Brown posted career bests in tackles (96) and interceptions (5, tied with several others for the eighth most in a season). Brown was also a team captain and won the Guy Chamberlain Trophy. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and enjoyed a successful career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears.

Charlie McBride's final defense was truly a national championship-caliber squad. Unfortunately, the offense dropped the ball.

Literally.

Husker players fumbled 49 times in 12 games, losing 25. Both of those are school records that hopefully will never be broken. In the Kansas State game, Nebraska fumbled 10 times but still won by 26 points.

Fumbles played a huge role in Nebraska's lone loss at No. 18 Texas. Early in the fourth quarter, Nebraska had a third-and-goal opportunity to take the lead. I-back Correll Buckhalter lost a fumble at the 2-yard line. Despite gaining 154 more yards than Texas, the Huskers lost the turnover battle 3-0. They lost the game - and their chance to play for a national championship - by four points.

*Twitter user "Nebraska Collector" is a leading historian on Nebraska football uniforms. On his site, he notes that 1999 was the debut season for a new uniform template from equipment provider Adidas. Among the biggest changes: the numbers on the jerseys were sewn on, instead of a standard heat press.

Frank Solich claimed the fabric used on the numbers contributed to the fumble issues. It's worth noting that the change was rolled back for the 2000 season. The number of fumbles decreased by 47%.

Nebraska would avenge the loss in the 1999 Big 12 Championship Game. Once again, the Blackshirts played at a championship level. Texas's lone touchdown came on a 20-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. The 22-6 win is Nebraska's most recent conference championship.

The Huskers earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl to face Tennessee. The Huskers won convincingly to finish as the third-ranked team in the country. After the game, a tearful McBride announced his retirement. He - like Mike Brown - left Nebraska as one of the true legends of the program.

The 1999 team is near the top of the list of "best teams to not win a national championship."

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