Remembering the Last Elite Nebraska Football Team: The 1999 Team’s Legacy

• Part 1: The Season
• Part 2: The Roster

It’s been 25 years since the 1999 edition of the Nebraska football team took the field. In many ways they were a fitting showcase of everything Nebraska achieved and fought through that decade – fine-tuning their recruiting and defensive strategy to get more speed on the field, doubling down on their identity as a power run and option offense, preserving a winning culture and occasionally battling team dysfunction.  

The quarter century that came after has only served to magnify their accomplishments, which were perhaps taken for granted in light of the Huskers’ national-title-or-bust mentality in that era. In the time since they hung up their cleats, every failed campaign to reach their heights has served as a reminder that winning—ugly or not—is still winning.  

For some, the 1999 team is synonymous with the fumble epidemic that plagued them throughout the season. The Huskers coughed up the ball a staggering 49 times, losing 25 of those. For others, it’s the heartbreak of yet another loss to Texas, this one caused by those very turnovers. Still others remember the turmoil, the day Eric Crouch famously drove back to Omaha or when two I-backs quit the team in quick succession. Each turnover, loss, and bit of melodrama only served to tighten the vice grip Frank Solich found himself in the day he took over for the legendary Tom Osborne.  

But perhaps the 1999 team should be remembered for something else: a historically good defense.  

When talk of the greatest defense in Husker history arises, the 1995, 1997, and 2009 squads are justifiably championed. Yet, the 1999 Blackshirts might have quietly outperformed them all. 

For starters, the Blackshirts of ‘99 produced 54 sacks and forced 24 turnovers. No offense scored more than three touchdowns against them, and most were held to much less. They posted four shutouts in all, with special teams and the offense giving up the only scores in two games (Iowa and Texas). For their efforts, they ranked in the top six of four major defensive categories, nationally, clocking in at No. 6 against the run, No. 2 in pass efficiency defense (87.9), No. 4 in total defensive yards, and No. 3 in scoring defense with 12.5 points per game.  

*Note that statistics accumulated in bowl games were not counted toward a team’s totals in the ’90s.

The defense held opponents to a mere 3.7 yards per play, or 252.2 yards per game. For those who view run defense as a testament to a team’s physicality, the ’99 team allowed just 2.2 yards per rush and 77.1 rushing yards per game, putting them on par with the celebrated 1997 defense helmed by Grant Wistrom and Jason Peter, and even bettering the revered 1995 squad, which conceded 86 rushing yards per game. 

While the 2009 Blackshirts, armed with the greatest player of the 21st century, may have posted slightly better numbers in points per game, they can’t match the ’99 team’s relentless pressure or their efficiency on third down. And unlike the championship-winning defenses of ’95 and ’97, the ’99 Blackshirts were constantly put in tight spots thanks to an offense that was turnover-prone. Time and again, they repelled enemy advances, standing firm at the gates even when given short fields to defend. 

The defense was the crown jewel in ‘99, but the offense acquitted itself well by season’s end, averaging 34.0 points a game, good for 12th nationally. Nebraska finished fourth in the nation in rushing, though that mark was considered a “down year” by the Huskers’ lofty standards. Much of this stemmed from an offensive line that took time to gel and an offense plagued by turnovers. The Huskers would go on to lead the nation in rushing in both 2000 and 2001, their 14th and 15th NCAA rushing championships, with the seeds of that dominance planted in the fires of the ’99 season. 

Behind those numbers was an abundance of raw talent. The debate about how well Nebraska recruited in the ’90s still drones on but there’s no denying the ’99 roster was full of players with lofty prep billings. Nebraska counted several prestigious Parade All-American alumni in their ranks, including Ralph Brown, Eric Crouch, Tony Ortiz, DeJuan Groce, Bobby Newcombe, and Kyle Vanden Bosch. Mike Brown was SuperPrep’s No. 1 defensive back prospect in 1996, DeAngelo Evans their fifth-best running back, and Chris Kelsay their 28th-best prospect at any position nationally in 1998. 

That talent got a crash course on the field, too, as nine starters missed a cumulative total of 45 games during the tumultuous ’98 campaign. For perspective, from 1995-97, NU saw a combined three starters miss a total of six games due to injury. The silver lining of ‘98’s hodgepodge lineups is that by ’99 there were several players with game experience. Ten players returned who started at least four games on defense alone. 

A talented and experienced roster was the catalyst behind the team’s success. The Huskers finished second in the coaches poll, third in the AP, and second in the SRS (simple rating scale). They did it all against the 16th-toughest schedule in the country, which featured five teams that finished in the final AP poll – Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Texas and Tennessee. Three of their opponents finished in the top 10 in defensive points per game, to boot. Frank Solich, paid a base salary of $225,000 in 1999, won Big XII Coach of the Year for turning the Huskers’ early chaos into late-season cohesion.   

He wasn’t the only one to receive acclaim. Four Huskers were named All-American by at least one publication – Mike Brown, Ralph Brown, Steve Warren and Dominic Raiola (CNNSI). The Huskers had three Academic All-Americans in Mike Brown, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Brian Shaw to extend their NCAA record to 57 total. Vanden Bosch went on to win the “Academic Heisman” in 2000, then called the Draddy Trophy.  

And like every good Husker team, there were also legacies galore in the depth chart: Tracey Wistrom (brother Grant), Dion Booker (brother Michael), Mark Vedral (brothers Mike and Jon), and Tyrone Uhlir (Todd and Troy). Second-generation players included Jamie Burrow (yes, Joe’s brother), whose father Jim played in the ‘70s. Gregg List and Josh Davis were also following in their fathers’ footsteps, Josh’s father being the notorious “Tough” Tony of 1970s fame.  

Suffice it to say, the legacies and first-generation Huskers made their predecessors proud. As time passes, it’s clear that the 1999 team might not have the crystal trophy, but they have something just as valuable – a place in Husker history as the last great team.  

Any assertion that 1999 was the last of anything demands an examination of what came after. Given that Nebraska has not lost fewer than four games since 2003, the options are limited. The most obvious contenders for so-called ‘elite’ status in the 21st century come from the two succeeding editions of the ‘99 ‘Skers, the 2000 iteration that won 11 games and the 2001 squad that played for a national title in Pasadena.  

In contrast to the 1999 crew, the Huskers’ offense clicked early in 2000, the offensive line being touted as possibly the best ever in preseason. The Huskers trampled early foes but were shut down by eventual champion Oklahoma after a rousing first quarter and later vanquished in the sleet at K-State. The 2000 squad had talent but was the first to show a declining amount of it. Lack of depth was on display in the early bout with Notre Dame, where the special teams – generally a collection of future starters in those days – gave up both a kick and punt return for touchdowns. 

Craig Bohl rose to the head defensive position in 2000 after Charlie McBride’s retirement. The defense took an immediate step back, giving up the most points in a season since 1958. The tackling became noticeably sloppier, leading to banner days by Iowa receiver Kevin Kasper, Quincy Morgan of Kansas State, and Cortlen Johnson of Colorado.  

Solich and company patched many of the leaks in Bohl’s defense before the 2001 season and moved forward with a Husker offense that bid adieu to several key contributors – namely Matt Davison, Bobby Newcombe, Russ Hochstein and Dominic Raiola – but forged ahead with a distinct identity behind the fleet-footed Crouch and his 18-wheelers up front. However, the defense would later be exposed in humiliating and, at the time, dumbfounding losses to Colorado and Miami. Nebraska finished 2001 ranked seventh and was resoundingly considered unworthy of the Rose Bowl match-up they received because of an indecipherable BCS formula.  

Both the 2000 and 2001 squads were in sequential stages of decomposition, the talent slowly dissipating until it became clearly apparent in 2002. The ‘99 squad was bolstered by perhaps the best recruiting class Nebraska ever signed, Osborne’s final full class in ‘97 that featured two players – Crouch and Raiola – whose names would one day adorn Memorial Stadium. As they matriculated out of the program, the newcomers from the ’99 and ’00 classes couldn’t fill their shoes and Nebraska correspondingly could not compete with the best in the sport in either 2000 or 2001.  

Perhaps the other true contender for elite status among subsequent editions is the 2010 group. Lost among Pelini’s other four-loss teams, fans often forget that this team set up shop in the top 10 for much of the year, winning marquee matchups against the likes of Washington, Kansas State and Oklahoma State and twice embarrassing future NFL first-round quarterback Jake Locker. Locker finished a combined 9-of-36 passing against the Huskers, thanks in large part to the best pair of cornerbacks Nebraska has had since 1999 in Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard.  

In fact, since 2001, Nebraska has spent a single week in the top 5 of the polls. This was the team that occupied that perch. They were awarded it after dismantling K-State but then lost it a week later when they laid an egg against (sigh) Texas. This was ultimately a 12-1 caliber team that just didn’t get the job done. They can’t truly be called elite because of it.  

The numbers and game results speak for themselves. 1999 Nebraska was certifiably elite. So whenever you get nostalgic for the ’90s next, eschew your usual rewatch of the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and throw on the 2000 game instead. You’ll see true greatness. And don’t mourn for the past but eagerly anticipate the future. Another elite Husker squad will ascend in due time, perhaps sooner than later. And when that happens, Husker fans will truly party like it’s 1999.  

QB Eric Crouch/Bobby Newcombe
IB Dan Alexander/Correll Buckhalter/DeAngelo Evans 
FB Willie Miller 
SE Matt Davison 
WB Bobby Newcombe/Sean Applegate 
TE T.J. DeBates/Tracey Wistrom 
LT Adam Julch 
LG James Sherman 
C   Dominic Raiola 
RG Russ Hochstein 
RT Dave Volk 

DE Kyle Vanden Bosch 
DT Steve Warren  
DT Loran Kaiser 
DE Aaron Wills 
SLB Tony Ortiz/Brian Shaw 
MLB Carlos Polk 
WLB Eric Johnson/Julius Jackson 
CB Ralph Brown 
ROV Mike Brown 
FS Clint Finley/Dion Booker 
CB Keyou Craver 
 
K Josh Brown 
P Dan Hadenfeldt 

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