Tom Osborne's Toughest Loss? 35 Years Ago at Penn State

Recap of Controversial Game at Beaver Stadium in 1982

Penn State’s Mike McCloskey: Catch Was Out of Bounds

Having the great opportunity to report directly to Tom Osborne when he became director of athletics at Nebraska, I asked the legendary coach to reminisce about the toughest losses he experienced in his extraordinary 25-year career as a head coach.

Osborne smiled at that simple question, but like always, he succinctly, accurately and compellingly shared his thoughts with me in the privacy of his office. He paused briefly a couple of times to make sure he answered my question from his head and his heart simultaneously.

His choice was my choice and, in fact, the optimal answer for almost everyone I know.

Osborne told me that Nebraska’s 27-24 regular-season loss at Penn State in 1982 was his toughest loss not because there was no way to review and override controversial calls down the stretch, but because a great football team missed the opportunity to be Osborne’s first national championship team.

That loss stings more than any other setback for Osborne, a Hall-of-Fame coach who considered two other heart-breaking outcomes that cost Nebraska two more national championships.

Do you remember the Huskers’ 31-30 Orange Bowl loss to Miami in 1983?  Only Tom Osborne would refuse to back in to a national championship by kicking an extra point that would have allowed Nebraska to remain the nation's only unbeaten college football team.

Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer said the decision would have been automatic for him. Kick the PAT, bask in the glory of a national title and take advantage of a rare opportunity.

Osborne, however, would make the same call to this day because the rationale is a pivotal part of his DNA.

1993 Orange Bowl Team Missed Its Last-Second Field Goal in 18-16 Loss

Before harkening back to the 27-24 loss on the same field that Nebraska will visit Saturday afternoon, consider one more tough national title opportunity that Osborne ranks third behind Penn State in ’82 and Miami in ‘83.

Go back to the future in Miami, 1993. Remember Nebraska’s 18-16 Orange Bowl loss to national champion Florida State when the Huskers missed a last-second field goal that would have given NU the ‘93 national title?

Osborne ranks that game third in career terms of toughest losses, but the result and the resolve that followed that difficult outcome set the stage for Nebraska to win three of the next four national championships in 1994, 1995 and 1997.

In the '82 game at Penn State, “I remember a couple of plays that our fans still remember and talk about," Osborne told me. "I remember us scoring to go ahead 24-20. We kicked off and David Ridder ran down the field to cover. For some reason, a Penn State guy kept trying to block him even after the play was over, and David threw him off of him and was called for a personal foul. So instead of Penn State starting their winning drive on their own 25, they got to start on the 40."

Osborne also remembers the third-down pass that Penn State tight end Mike McCloskey caught two yards out-of-bounds. Without the benefit of instant replay, the catch was ruled complete.

16 Years Later, Penn State Receiver Confesses He Was Clearly Out of Bounds

Sixteen years later, when he introduced 1982 Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill at an athletic banquet in Boys Town, Neb., McCloskey admitted he was clearly out of bounds when he caught that crucial pass.

A couple of sportswriter friends who were also in State College that day always joked that Penn State should reline its out-of-bounds marker so we can all keep that sacred ground in a precious time machine.

Never one to gripe about anything, Osborne did acknowledge in our interview when he thought Nebraska lost its chance to win the national championship in 1982. But first, a history lesson is in order to fully measure the impact of the late Joe Paterno's influence on national voters.

Penn State had a bye week after beating Nebraska and two weeks later lost at Alabama, 42-21. Fortunately, the nation's voters moved Nebraska ahead of Penn State in the national ratings, and justice was served until the weekend of Nov. 13 when Penn State hosted Notre Dame while Nebraska played at Iowa State.

Before the weekend, Paterno was at his public relations best, saying if Penn State should somehow beat Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions would deserve the nation's No. 1 ranking.

Osborne pointed out to me that the Alabama team that beat Penn State by three touchdowns was not very good, and quite frankly, neither was Notre Dame. However, when the Nittany Lions beat the Irish, 24-14, in State College, and Nebraska thumped Iowa State, 48-10, in Ames, Nebraska switched positions with Penn State in both major polls.

Writers and coaches alike bought into Paterno's logic, and Nebraska never saw daylight again despite a 12-1 season that seemed worthy of a national championship.

3-Point Husker Road Loss Was Far Better than Penn State Loss to Unrated Team

In my mind, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is available on Google. Notre Dame lost four of its last seven games in 1982 and was, in essence, a non-national factor. The 8-4 Alabama team that rolled Penn State did not even finish among the nation's top 25 that season after beating Illinois, 21-15, in the Liberty Bowl.

What we had 35 years ago was a high-profile coach who lobbied voters and got away with it. Instant replay certainly would have helped Nebraska’s cause.

Amidst the evidence we built for Nebraska, I must add an important footnote. Second-ranked Penn State did beat once-beaten and top-ranked Georgia and Herschel Walker, 27-23, in the Sugar Bowl that season while Nebraska edged a less than stellar LSU, 21-20, in the Orange Bowl.

Still, when you add up all the evidence and compare 1982 seasons, Nebraska had as good a case for the national championship as anyone. 

"I know most everyone talks about losing to Miami (31-30) and missing the national championship the next season," Osborne said. "But when you really look at that '82 team and that '83 team (the highest scoring team in college football history), our '82 team was really a lot more balanced than our '83 team.

”We were much better on defense in '82, and that '82 team was great on offense, too,” Osborne told me. “We had Roger Craig (a two-time Super Bowl hero) and (Heisman winner) Mike Rozier, plus Turner Gill and Irving Fryar. I thought we were very deserving of a national championship."

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Voices from Husker Nation

I was there for the 1982 heartbreaker, and it was very tough to take since it cost Nebraska a national championship in the long run, especially with tight end McCloskey acknowledging he was out of bounds. PSU Stadium, in the middle of a nowhere field, now draws 107,000 fans, including 40,000 rabid students. I have been to games there a number of times, and it is the hardest place in college football to play. John Kelly Korky, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Montclair State University (NJ), Biology & Molecular Biology

Thank you for the interview story with Dr Tom. I remember those games like they were yesterday. I still remember how bad I felt when we lost to Miami by 1 point. Thanks for the memories. George Carpenter, Overland Park, Kansas, NU (1975 1991)