Dave Feit’s Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 70

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 70: Doug Glaser, Offensive Tackle, 1987 – 1989

Honorable Mention: Eric Anderson, Brian Blankenship, Ted Connor, Bob Lingenfelter, Donnie McGhee, Tyrone Robertson, Charles Toogood

Also worn by: Nick Ash, Marvin Crenshaw, Dick Czap, Gary England, Chongo Kondolo, Jeff Kwapick, Jamie Liewer, Jason Lohr, Wayne Meylan Jr., Matt Sichterman, Matt Slauson

Dave’s Fave: Eric Anderson, Offensive Tackle, 1994 – 1997

The very first Nebraska football game I attended was the 1983 win over the Colorado Buffaloes. The Huskers scored an NCAA-record 48 points in the third quarter on their way to a 69-19 victory, their 16th straight over the Buffs. Colorado’s coach was a former Michigan assistant in his second season at CU: Bill McCartney.

When McCartney was hired by Colorado in 1982, he made a point to proclaim that Nebraska was Colorado’s primary rival. It was a laughable proclamation. The Huskers held a 28-11-1 edge in the series and had lost just once (1967) since Bob Devaney was hired.

Therefore, the 1986 game – the #3 Huskers lost 20-10 to unranked Colorado – was a complete shock to everybody outside of McCartney’s locker room. Doug Glaser spent the 1986 season playing for the Nebraska freshman team, but he was going to have a front-row seat for the Colorado rivalry gaining traction on both sides of the border.

Glaser was one of the rare offensive linemen in the 1980s to forgo a redshirt season. As a sophomore in 1987, he backed up Bob Sledge, playing in every game. The 1987 game – in Boulder for a second straight season – was a convincing 24-7 win.

In 1988, Glaser became a full-time starter and picked up second-team All-Big Eight recognition. The 19th-ranked Buffaloes held the No. 7 Cornhuskers to almost 100 yards below their season average of 382.3 rushing yards per game and allowed only one touchdown. The Huskers were lucky to escape with a 7-0 victory.*

*Seriously, they were very, very lucky. In the second quarter, Colorado running back J.J. Flannigan broke through the Blackshirts and was on his way to a 43-yard touchdown. But, all by himself at the 25-yard line, he dropped the ball. Flannigan recovered his fumble, but the Buffaloes were kept off the board.

Doug Glaser’s senior season – 1989 – was his best. Despite missing three games with a broken big toe, he was All-Big Eight and All-America. He also was a team captain.

His injury illustrated the difference he made. In the three nonconference games he missed, the Huskers rushed for 335 yards per game. In the games Glaser played – including all of the Big Eight schedule – NU ran for an average of 390 yards.

Colorado was also having a great season in 1989. The Buffs were No. 2, having defeated Oklahoma earlier in the season. They were led by quarterback Darian Hagan, who became Colorado’s starter when quarterback Sal Aunese passed away. CU defeated No. 3 Nebraska 27-21 in Boulder, breaking up a pass in the end zone of the final play of the game.

After the game, Glaser said “We really wanted to go back to the Orange Bowl and take our best shot at the national championship. This really hurts because we weren’t that far off.”

Husker fans who attended the 1989 game in Boulder reported acts of vandalism to their vehicles and other unpleasantries in the stands. It was a clear sign that the rivalry was escalating into something that meant a lot to both teams. The Buffaloes would win a share of the 1990 national championship … with the assistance of a fifth down at Missouri. The Huskers would soon start a decade-long streak without a loss to Colorado.

***

I believe the vast majority of Husker fans would agree with both of the following statements:

The 1994 offensive line (aka “The Pipeline”) is the best line Nebraska has ever had.
The 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers are the greatest team in college football history.

But here’s something that you may have forgotten: the 1995 Huskers had four new starters on the offensive line. Other than center Aaron Graham, everybody was starting for the first time. Chris Dishman, Aaron Taylor, Steve Ott and Eric Anderson all had played before, but not as regular starters.

On an episode of his “Doc Talk” podcast, Dr. Rob Zatechka – a senior tackle on the 1994 Pipeline – was asked “What do you call the ’95 Huskers?”

Zatechka’s answer? “’94’s backups!”

It turns out the backups were pretty good.

In 1994, Nebraska averaged 477.8 yards of offense per game, with 340.0 rushing yards per game. Husker quarterbacks were sacked just six times.

When blowouts built depth: Brook Berringer operates behind the No. 2 offensive line during the Huskers' win at Michigan State in 1995. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

In 1995, Nebraska averaged 556.6 yards of offense per game, with 399.8 rush yards per game. The 1995 team did not allow a quarterback sack. Additionally, the 1995 offensive line had zero penalties (holds, false starts, etc.) called against them.

I’m not looking to start any battles between the 1994 and 1995 players, so I’ll simply suggest that the 1994 team did one hell of a job getting the 1995 squad ready to start.

In the old Looney Tunes cartoons, there was a recurring gag between Ralph Wolf (who looked a lot like Wile E. Coyote) and Sam Sheepdog. They would say good morning, punch a time clock, and Ralph would do his best to get around Sam to attack the sheep Sam was protecting. Sam’s appearance didn’t necessarily look strike fear into Ralph’s wolf heart, but Sam was always there to thwart his plans and inflict punishment.

Over the years, Nebraska has had numerous offensive linemen who played with an edge. Heck, there were some that legitimately may have had a screw lose. They used that to intimidate their opponents.

But Eric Anderson always gave off a vibe like Sam Sheepdog. A big, unassuming, lunchpail guy who would clock in, kick your ass for three quarters* and say “Goodnight, Ralph” as he clocked out. Then he’d do it all over again the next time.

*Starters on the 1995 team rarely played all four quarters. When you win games by an average of nearly 39 points, you’re going to get the fourth quarter off.

Who knows, maybe it was Anderson’s big glasses that threw me off. But he was clearly no pushover.

Anderson merely replaced one of the best offensive tackles in school history (Zach Wiegert) without a noticeable drop-off in production.

All in a day’s work.

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