The Nebraska Cornhuskers have gone from being a powerhouse to looking ungrateful in college football. It’s a steep decline.
Their decision to back out of a two-game series with Tennessee shows a lack of respect for history – and for Tennessee’s role in shaping Nebraska’s success.
Forget the 27 years since Tennessee’s last major impact on Nebraska football. Longtime Cornhuskers fans surely remember how the Vols’ spectacular blunders helped Nebraska claim a share of the 1997 national title.
It’s clear that Nebraska didn’t consult legendary coach Tom Osborne before making this decision. In his final game, Osborne led Nebraska to a dominant 42-17 victory over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.
That win meant even more because of Tennessee’s strength at the time. The Vols had lost only one regular-season game, won the SEC, and boasted future NFL stars like Peyton Manning. But Nebraska handled them easily.
The victory helped Nebraska leapfrog Michigan in the polls, securing them a share of the 1997 national title.
Current Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, though new to the role, should be old enough to remember how important Tennessee’s contribution was to Nebraska’s success. Even if he forgot, someone on his staff should have reminded him of the Cornhuskers’ debt to Tennessee.
Or maybe it was Nebraska coach Matt Rhule’s call to avoid a tough matchup with a potential College Football Playoff team like Tennessee, especially with teams like Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana already on the schedule for 2024.
While I understand Nebraska’s struggles in recent years – a far cry from its dominant past – it’s still disheartening to see a program that once ruled college football now struggling to even make bowl games. Other teams, like Tennessee, get excited to play Nebraska, as the Vols proved in their 38-24 win in the 2016 Music City Bowl.
Despite the cancellation, Tennessee will move on just fine. AD Danny White will likely find a less challenging Power 4 opponent in 2026. After all, after canceling a 2023 game with BYU, he replaced it with a matchup against Virginia, a team that lost to Tennessee 49-13 and ended up with a 3-9 record.
I’m still disappointed in Nebraska’s decision. It’s not just about avoiding a team that made the College Football Playoff last season – Tennessee is not the dominant force it once was. Still, that 42-17 scoreline from the Orange Bowl should serve as a reminder to Nebraska fans of how much Tennessee contributed to their football history.
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