Nebraska didn’t need a flashy offensive afternoon to close out Frank Solich’s first regular season with win No. 9. It needed Kris Brown, a defense that kept slamming the door, and just enough poise to survive Colorado 16-14 on Friday, Nov. 27, 1998, at Memorial Stadium.
Brown was the difference. He drilled three of four field goals, and the biggest one came from 25 yards with 8:48 left to put Nebraska ahead for good. Solich said Brown’s value went well beyond the scoreboard.
“As you look at other kickers, they contribute in one or two ways, but Kris has been outstanding in PATs, field goals and kickoffs,” Coach Frank Solich said. “Today, his kickoffs were very good and that took away a very big part of field position for Colorado. He’s been able to do that consistently.
“Whenever he steps on the field you feel comfortable that he’s out there.”
The final stretch belonged to the Blackshirts. After Brown’s go-ahead kick and a kickoff into the end zone, Colorado managed only 18 yards on six plays.
On the Buffaloes’ last possession, Bill Lafleur’s 58-yard punt and a minus-3-yard return pinned them at their own 9. From there, rush end Chad Kelsay delivered an 8-yard sack on second down, pushing Colorado back to third-and-15 at its 26-yard line.
Two incompletions ended it, and Nebraska ran out the final 1:41.
The Huskers finished 9-3 and ended the regular season ranked 14th nationally. Solich said getting to nine wins carried real weight for the team.
“I’m relieved that we were able to get nine victories for this football team. They wanted that badly,” said Solich. “You have to go back to my (playing) era to find a team that didn’t get nine wins.
“That was weighing on them very heavily, and they were constantly reminded of that every time they turned on the TV or read the paper. I’m delighted that we were able to get this one done today.”
That nine-win finish extended Nebraska’s streak to 30 straight seasons with at least nine victories.
The game’s first score came from the defense, not the offense. Free safety Clint Finley picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter.
Nebraska’s offense never found the end zone, and that had not happened since a 19-0 loss at Arizona State on Sept. 27, 1996.
Still, the defense kept creating chances. A sack and forced fumble by rush end Mike Rucker, recovered by defensive tackle Jeremy Slechta, set Nebraska up at its own 42-yard line and helped lead to Brown’s game-winner. Rucker was part of a six-sack night for the Huskers.
“I thought they rose to the occasion when the game was on the line,” Solich said of the Blackshirts.
I was very pleased that they got it done. They made the big plays when they had to make them.”
Colorado finished with 246 yards of offense. Marlon Barnes accounted for 102 rushing yards on 25 carries, and Mike Moschetti completed 12 of 18 passes for 132 yards and both Buffaloes touchdowns, with the Finley interception included in that total.
Nebraska’s offense was held to 12 first downs and 254 total yards, including 131 on the ground. The Huskers averaged 253.8 rushing yards per game for the regular season, their lowest mark since 1976, when they averaged 219.8. Their total offense average of 384.9 was the lowest since 1969, when they averaged 371.8.
I-back Correll Buckhalter led Nebraska with 92 yards on 15 carries, and 52 of those came on one run that set up Brown’s second field goal. Eric Crouch completed 10 of 22 passes for 123 yards with one interception and ran for just 18 yards on 17 carries. He also took a sack for a 15-yard loss.
“I thought he played well,” Solich said. “At times you could see that there was some inexperience there, and that’s the way it goes. I thought he hung in there and never panicked.”
In the end, Nebraska did what it had to do. It was not pretty, but it was enough to finish the regular season with a hard-earned win and a ninth victory.
“It was a hard-fought football game throughout,” said Solich. “We’re pleased and proud of our kids, that they were able to get it done.”
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