The Greatest Football Team That Never Won a National Title

December 1983 was the coldest month in Lincoln's history. An icy rainstorm on the last night of November left the field at Memorial Stadium frozen and unfit for practice, so the greatest offense in Nebraska history spent the weeks before the biggest game of their lives locked inside Schulte Fieldhouse, unable to fully practice pass offense, pass defense, or the kicking game.

They went to Miami early to practice outdoors and, per Coach Osborne and former defensive lineman Scott Strasburger, stayed too long, got distracted, and came out flat. The scoreboard read 17-0 Miami after the first quarter of that famed, ill-fated Orange Bowl.

That’s just some of what Dennis Crawford uncovered in his new book Three Yards Away: The 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers, College Football’s Would-Be Champions, on shelves September 25.

The book pays tribute to the 1983 Husker squad, who Crawford contends may have been unjustly forgotten. "I chose 1983 because I think it was probably the best team in Nebraska history not to win a national title... I just felt they were unfairly neglected by history, and somebody has to preserve their place."

The Huskers of that era were snakebitten in their pursuit of the sport’s biggest prize, all while conference rivals Oklahoma and, later, Colorado broke through. "In the '80s, we were kind of like the Buffalo Bills,” former fullback Tom Rathman told Crawford. “We kept having shots at the title, but we just couldn't get it done."

The 1983 team was the best of them, tabbed by Sports Illustrated as The Greatest of All-Time before the Orange Bowl. Osborne admitted it went to the team’s head.

Crawford, an attorney-turned-historian after 37 years practicing law, interviewed a host of players from the ’83 roster. The most important interview he landed was with Coach Osborne.

Midway through their conversation, former wingback Ricky Simmons told Crawford why he'd agreed to talk: "I didn't know what to make of you, but I saw that you interviewed Coach Osborne. I figured you were on the level."

In total, Crawford talked with almost 20 former players. What he found was a brotherhood that’s stood the test of time more than 40 years since they last donned the scarlet and cream together.

"You could just feel the love in the room,” Crawford recalled speaking in a group setting with former linemates Mark Traynowitz, Harry Grimminger and Outland-winner Dean Steinkuhler. “And when the interview was over, Traynowitz turns and says, 'Dennis, the three of us are going to go for lunch. We're going to talk about what really happened in 1983.' And we all laughed our heads off."

Sep 24 1983; Lincoln, NE, USA; FILE PHOTO; Nebraska Cornhuskers tackle Dean Steinkuhler (71) in action against the UCLA Bruins. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Crawford looks at other teams that could lay claim to the title of Greatest to Never Win It All. But potentially the greatest competition for that title comes from the Huskers’ ’82 team that dominated its opposition behind center Dave Rimington and a stronger overall defense. The Huskers of that year were upended only once, in a controversial loss to Penn State that featured a disputed sideline catch by tight end Mike McCloskey that replays showed clearly out of bounds, which set up the winning touchdown with seconds to play. "Even Stevie Wonder could have seen that guy was out of bounds," Mike Rozier said to Crawford.

Crawford didn’t stop at interviews, turning to print publications from the era to expand his findings. "You find all these disparate sources and it's like this massive jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “This is kind of like writing a long brief, but this time on something much more interesting."

What Crawford unearthed was a wrongly maligned defense. The Turner Gill-led offense earned all the plaudits, producing point totals of 84, 72, 69 and 63 during the season, aptly garnering them the moniker “The Scoring Explosion.” But the defense allowed defending champion Penn State a mere six points in the final seconds of their season opener. They held on in a 14-10 nail biter with Oklahoma State and sealed the victory over their nemesis Sooners with a batted ball in the end zone.

Outside of a bad quarter against Miami, the Blackshirts held up exceedingly well, their stats skewed by playing their reserves in the 4th quarter most weeks. The 1984 successor led the nation in yards allowed.

In Osborne, Crawford found a sharp, engaging ball coach still more than generous with his time. While Dr. Tom hung up the whistle nearly 30 years ago, Crawford saw that the fire for his teams still burns within him. Recalling the split title in 1997, Osborne told Crawford that in December 1997 he personally called the Big Ten office to try to schedule a title game against Michigan. He got turned down over the Rose Bowl contract — then clammed up when asked who he spoke to.

"I followed up, 'Coach, who did you talk to?’ And his answer was, 'I don't remember.'” Crawford said. “The body language then was, let's move on."

Osborne, as he has for decades, maintains he'd go for two all over again. "I would never vote for a coach that played for a tie for number one."

Mike Rozier stands next to a mural that shows the East Camden native who won the Heisman Trophy in 1983 as a Nebraska running back. The mural is on the Bush Refrigeration building on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Camden. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

But the win he was chasing was never really the point, and four decades on, the proof isn't in the record book – it's in his players. Those Crawford interviewed are still, in every sense, a team: they stay in touch, they show up. "If somebody gets sick, they go and help," Crawford said. "If somebody needs a job, they find them a job." That, more than any trophy, is what Osborne meant by More Than Winning, that the game was only ever a vehicle for something that would outlast it.

It's why Crawford dedicated the book to the long-suffering Nebraska faithful, with a wish that they experience a return to glory soon. His own hope is simpler: that the 1983 team be remembered for the greatness it achieved, trophy or not.

On September 25, they get their due.

Three Yards Away is available for pre-order on Amazon and will be found in select bookstores across Nebraska.

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