30 best college football teams not to win a national title
Not only one of the greatest teams not to win the national championship, the 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers could be considered one of the best college football teams of all-time. Led by head coach Tom Osborne and Heisman Trophy winning running back Mike Rozier (who amassed a staggering 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns), Nebraska dominated from the very beginning of the season.
Ranked No. 1 and facing fellow national championship contender Penn State in Week 1, the Cornhuskers beat the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions 44-6, which was a larger margin of defeat than any Joe Paterno-coached team had previously suffered. Nebraska would go on to outscore opponents by an average score of 50-17, and average more than 400 rushing yards per game. Though they came up one point shy of a national title and a spot among the greatest teams of all-time.
1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers Schedule
- No. 1 Nebraska 44, No. 4 Penn State 6
- No. 1 Nebraska 56, Wyoming 20
- No. 1 Nebraska 84, Minnesota 13
- No. 1 Nebraska 42, UCLA 10
- No. 1 Nebraska 63, Syracuse 7
- No. 1 Nebraska 14, Oklahoma State 10
- No. 1 Nebraska 34, Missouri 13
- No. 1 Nebraska 69, Colorado 19
- No. 1 Nebraska 51, Kansas State 25
- No. 1 Nebraska 72, Iowa State 29
- No. 1 Nebraska 67, Kansas 13
- No. 1 Nebraska 28, Oklahoma 21
- No. 5 Miami 31, No. 1 Nebraska 30 (Orange Bowl)
Had Osborne decided to kick the extra point after the Cornhuskers scored a last-minute touchdown against No. 5 Miami in the Orange Bowl, he would have secured a national championship. Ranked No. 1 and undefeated, all Nebraska needed was a tie to keep its top spot in the polls.
However, Osborne and the Huskers went for the win and instead came up short. Miami catapulted all the way from No. 5 to No. 1 to claim the first national title in school history.
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