Coach Bob Devaney provided the passion Nebraska needed to make the Cornhuskers the best team in the nation. The first championship season, 1970, sparked the winning feeling Nebraska still has today. Nebraska went into the championship game rated No. 3 in the Associated Press poll. Both teams ranked ahead of the Huskers lost that day, and Nebraska won in the Orange Bowl against Louisiana State, 17-12. That win made the fans spirits' soar. Says a former player: "The fans have just been fabulous. They went nuts. I mean they were just excited. They went crazy and I think they've just been crazy ever since."

Nebraska set out to prove itself again in 1971. They began the season ranked No. 2 and moved up quickly to No. 1. The Huskers remained on top the entire season, even after they faced No. 2 Oklahoma in the "Game of the Century." Nebraska beat Oklahoma, which paved their way to the Orange Bowl on New Year's night. Coach Devaney's Cornhuskers clashed with Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's Crimson Tide of Alabama. Nebraska was victorious over the second-ranked team, and they came back home with their national championship title.

Bob Devaney's championship spirit rubbed off on his players. Eighteen Cornhusker members under Devaney received All-American honors. In 1971, Larry Jacobson received the Outland Trophy. Johnny Rodgers won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rich Glover was voted the Outland Trophy winner and Lombardi Award recipient in the same season, 1972.

After the Devaney era, Husker football was never the same. This one coach helped the state fall in love with the game again after the rough years of the 1940s and 1950s. Even through a slump of his own, he kept the championship spirit alive in the hearts of Nebraskans. Coach Devaney chose Tom Osborne as his successor because he believed in the passion Osborne had for the game. Devaney knew Coach Osborne would keep the winning momentum of the early 1970's. History would go on to prove his decision was a wise one.

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