Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 30

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 30: Mike Rozier, I-back, 1981-1983

Honorable Mention: Clair Bishop, Dahrran Diedrick, Ahman Green, Stephen Hokuf, Paul Rogers, Bill "Thunder" Thornton

Also worn by: Tristan Alvano, Lowell English, Tierre Green, Mike Hays, Craig Johnson, Bo Kitrell, Randolph Kpai, Robert Ludwick, Dick McCashland, Jeff Moran, Marv Mueller, Markese Stepp, Eli Sullivan

Dave's Fave: Ahman Green, I-back, 1995-1997

Tecmo Bowl is one of the greatest sports video games ever released. The classic NES game allowed players to lead a pro football team to victory.

If you've ever played Tecmo Bowl, you know that the Bo Jackson character is an absolutely unstoppable cheat code of a player. He makes ridiculous runs and cannot be tackled. I wouldn't be surprised if the expression "video game numbers" was coined in reference to the stats 8-bit Bo could put up.

I can't prove it, but I believe the Bo Jackson Tecmo Bowl character was based on Mike Rozier's 1983 season. Rozier was putting up video game stats in an era where Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were the hot new games.

Try to process these numbers from 1983:

2,148 yards rushing.
29 touchdowns.
7.8 yards per carry.
230 rushing yards and four TDs against Kansas… in the first half.
Averaged 179 yards per game for the season, and 198.4 ypg in conference games.
Ran for 929 yards in his final four regular-season games.
Set or tied 16 individual school, conference and/or NCAA records.

Mike Rozier in action during the 1983 season. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Even 8-bit Bo thinks those numbers are absurd.

And here's two of my favorite stats: 3 and 29. In all of 1983, Mike Rozier scored only three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Why? In their 12 regular season games, the Huskers led by an average of 29 points at the start of the fourth quarter. Rozier rarely played a full game that season. Who knows how many yards and touchdowns Rozier could have rushed for if he had been getting carries after the 1983 offensive line had beaten the opposing defense into a tired pile of mush.

Simply put: At a school known for great running backs, Mike Rozier is the king. The winner of the 1983 Heisman, Maxwell and Walter Camp awards sits at the top of Nebraska's all-time rushing charts.

Running backs coach Frank Solich discovered Rozier by accident. Solich was watching a high school game, evaluating a different player, but a speedy, elusive back on the other team caught his eye.

Nebraska got in on Rozier early, before the other big schools found out about him. When grades became an issue, those other schools backed off. Tom Osborne recommended a year at junior college and stayed in touch during Rozier's breakout year at Coffeyville (Kan). Rozier repaid Nebraska's loyalty by becoming a Cornhusker.

Mike Rozier on the bench during the Huskers' 1982 game at Missouri. He helped carry Nebraska to a win despite suffering from — Mike Rozier on the bench during the Husker's 1982 game at Missouri. He helped carry Nebraska to a win despite suffering from a hip pointer. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

As a sophomore in 1981, Mike Rozier burst onto the scene with a 93-yard touchdown against Kansas State. Rozier rushed for "only" 943 yards, running behind future NFL All-Pro Roger Craig. But by the start of the 1982 season, Rozier was starting and Craig was moved to fullback.

When Rozier arrived in Lincoln, the single-season rushing record was held by Bobby Reynolds (1,342 yards in 1950). Mike Rozier broke that record by 347 yards as a junior in 1982, earning All-America honors. As a senior, Rozier he broke his own record by another 459 yards. He ended up as Nebraska's all-time leading rusher, breaking I.M. Hipp's mark by 1,924 yards. Ameer Abdullah, in second place by 93 yards, is the only other Cornhusker back within 800 yards of Rozier. Abdullah needed 145 more carries than Rozier to get that close.

Watching Mike Rozier highlights on YouTube is a highly recommended experience. The footage is grainy, but his skills are high definition. Rozier's burst in the first 10 to 15 yards is astounding. He goes from zero to top speed like a sportscar. He's strong enough to break tackles and is elusive in traffic.

With all his success, it would be easy to assume Rozier was a cocky, me-first person. Instead, he was a humble team player. Prior to winning the Heisman, Rozier told his family that if he won, he'd like to "give the head to Turner Gill, the arm to Irving Fryar and the heart to the line."

"But I'll keep the legs," he said.

Okay… we cannot talk about Mike Rozier without reliving the greatest (and longest) two-yard run in football history.

Mike Rozier carries the ball against UCLA in 1983. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Against UCLA in 1983, Nebraska had third-and-goal from the Bruin 2-yard line. Nebraska runs a toss play to the left side, but the Bruins diagnose the play and string it out. Rozier is nearly tackled at the 5 when…

Wait. Hang on a second.

Nothing I could possibly type could ever surpass what Lyell Bremser said on the radio that day. So, let's have the legend tell you what happened:

HOLY COW! MAN, WOMAN & CHILD!

I gotta tell ya, folks! You never saw anything like it! Shades of Bobby Reynolds in 1950!

This man, Mike Rozier...started running the left side! He was SHUT OFF on the left side, far to the left sideline! He turned, reversed his field, came ALL THE WAY ACROSS to the right side...picking up blockers as he came! Came laterally across the field, back at about the 10-yard line, he turned upfield when he got a block or two from Turner Gill, his quarterback and Harry Grimminger, his left guard, among others! And, went into the end zone...believe it, or not for the TOUCHDOWN!"

If you've ever played with the Bo Jackson character in Tecmo Bowl, you know that the secret of making him truly unstoppable is to run 8-bit Bo from sideline to sideline.

Hmm… I wonder where the developers got that idea from?

***

We could (and probably should) talk all day about the greatness of Mike Rozier. But it is impossible to ignore the career and accomplishments of Ahman Green.

Ahman Green is easily on the Mount Rushmore of backs* at a school that has produced dozens of amazing backs.

*Give me Rozier, Lawrence Phillips, Green and Ameer Abdullah (over Bobby Reynolds) for my Mount Rushmore of Husker backs.

Ahman Green carries the ball against Oklahoma. | Nebraska Athletics

Just two games into the 1995 season, Lawrence Phillips was suspended indefinitely. Would the loss of Phillips - then the sixth-leading rusher in school history - be the thing that finally derailed the mighty Big Red machine?

Nope.

The next game was against Arizona State. On the very first play, Clinton Childs took a toss 65 yards for a touchdown. Ahman Green - a true freshman playing in his third game - had 111 yards and two touchdowns. Not long after that, Green became the starting I-back for the greatest team in college football history. He ran for 1,086 yards and 13 touchdowns, earning first-team All-Big Eight honors as well as being named Big Eight Offensive Freshman Newcomer of the Year.

Green possessed everything you could want in an I-back. He had great vision, tremendous balance, and the strength to run to - and through - contact. And once he got into the open field… tell the band to start playing "Hail Varsity" because he was going to the house. Nebraska didn't throw to their backs a lot, but Green was a reliable receiver as well.

In 1996, Phillips left for the NFL and Green was the full-time starter. Unfortunately, injuries (a turf toe at the start of the season and a stress fracture in his foot at the end) limited his effectiveness. Still, he ran for 917 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

As a junior in 1997, Green had a season for the ages. He had 1,877 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns - both the second-most in school history behind Rozier's Heisman-winning 1983 campaign. Green also tied split end Kenny Cheatham for the team lead in receptions with 14.

Including the 1997 Big 12 Championship Game, Green rushed for an average of 170.7 yards and 2.1 touchdowns per conference game. Half of his 22 touchdowns in 1997 were 11 yards or longer, with eight over 25 yards. Ahman Green was a big-play machine.

Nebraska's success in 1997 got the Huskers to the Big 12 title game, where they blew out Texas A&M, and into the Orange Bowl.

The 1998 Orange Bowl was an incredibly important game. First and foremost, Nebraska - undefeated and ranked No. 2 in both polls - had a shot at a national championship. Michigan was ranked No. 1 and would face eighth-ranked Washington State in the Rose Bowl.*

*This was in the days of the "Bowl Alliance," where the Big Ten and Pac-10 champs would only play in the Rose Bowl. The top teams from the other conferences were ranked and matched up to create a championship game.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which included the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Rose Bowl, started in 1998.

Michigan looked sluggish and unimpressive in the Rose Bowl. Starting at Washington State's own 7-yard line with just 16 seconds left in the game, the Cougars' Ryan Leaf completed two passed to move the Cougars to the Wolverine 26. With two seconds left - and Wazzu out of timeouts - the ball was readied for play. Leaf appeared to spike the ball with 1 second remaining, but the referees ruled the game had ended. Video review did not exist at the time. Michigan escaped with a 21-16 win.

Nebraska knew the door was open to claim a split national championship. But the Huskers faced a much tougher task than Michigan did: No. 3 Tennessee, led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

Michigan eked out a narrow win over Washington State and quarterback Ryan Leaf in the 1998 Rose Bowl. | Long Photography-Imagn Images

In addition to the national championship implications, the 1998 Orange Bowl would also be Tom Osborne's final game as Nebraska's head coach. He announced his retirement a few weeks earlier. Every player, coach and fan wanted to send Osborne out as a winner, and it added another layer of tension to the game.

The offenses were the headliner, but Nebraska's defense was the early star. Ralph Brown forced Jamal Lewis to fumble, thwarting a Volunteer drive. Quarterback Scott Frost led the Huskers on an eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive to take an early lead. Ahman Green scored from one yard out. Another Tennessee fumble set up a Husker touchdown by wingback Shevin Wiggins. Tennessee managed a field goal, but the Huskers led 14-3 at the half.

In the third quarter, Nebraska took control of the game. Frost scored twice and Green had a 22-yard touchdown run. The Blackshirts hounded Manning, keeping him to a season-low 134 passing yards. Frost - not known for his passing - had 125 yards through the air, on 12 fewer completions.

Nebraska led 35-9 heading into the final quarter. Frost rushed for his third touchdown of the game, making a "No. 1" sign with his hand in the end zone. Manning was pulled from the game and backup Tee Martin - who would lead the Vols to a national championship the following season - drove Tennessee for a garbage-time touchdown against the Husker reserves mere seconds before senior co-captains Grant Wistrom and Jason Peter dumped the contents of the Gatorade bucket on Tom Osborne's head.

Peyton Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers were no match for the Huskers in the 1998 Orange Bowl. — Peyton Manning tries to rally the troops during the fourth quarter of the 1998 Orange Bowl against Nebraska. | Knoxville News Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK

Final score: Nebraska 42, Tennessee 17.

In his postgame comments, Frost gave an impassioned plea for a split title. "I don't think there's anybody out there that with a clear conscience can say that Nebraska and especially that Tom Osborne, that great man, doesn't deserve a national championship for this!" Frost said. "At least a share!"

A share is what Frost - and Nebraska - received. The Huskers received 32 first-place votes in the coaches poll - two more than Michigan - and the Huskers won their third title in four seasons.*

*Along with the better trophy. The winner of the coaches poll received the Sears Trophy, with its beautiful Waterford crystal football. Michigan received the AP trophy, which looks like something that was made in a junior high shop class.

For more than 25 years, Nebraska and Michigan fans have continued to debate which team had the better résumé, and who would have won on a neutral field.

Ahman Green rushed for a franchise-best 8,322 yards during his eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers. | ROBERT HANASHIRO via Imagn Content Services, LLC

I'm obviously biased on the subject, but I cannot think of a convincing argument for why Michigan would win. Personally, I think they would have lost by 10 to 14 points as Grant Wistrom folded quarterback Brian Griese into a pretzel. Yes, Charles Woodson won the Heisman, but let's see if could have run down Ahman Green in the open field. My money would be on Green, who won the 100-meter dash in 10.61 seconds as a high school senior.

As for Ahman, he bypassed a chance to become Nebraska's all-time leading rusher to enter the NFL draft in 1998. Green had a long and successful career with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Packer Hall of Fame in 2014.

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