Football is a wonderful game. Anybody can beat anybody, but there are some teams that take pride in being perfect. Some teams that come to mind are the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. You would think there is nothing similar about these two teams, except that they play football. There is so much more history between these two teams.
A tradition of excellence has been established with both of these programs. They are both used to winning, but occasionally go through slumps. Iowa and Nebraska have had their share of the glory years, but also have gone through rough times. There are two great coaches that have passed through the schools. They both have been called a bunch of farm boys that play with a lot of heart and integrity. These two schools may be located in the same area and share some similarities, but are different in many ways.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers team began competitive play in 1890. They have claimed 46 conference championships and five national championships. Nebraska won these titles in 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. They are only the second team to win three national titles is four years. Their coach Tom Osborne complied a 255-49-3 record over a 25 year span. The tradition of excellence carries over to their fans. They hold the record for most consecutive sellouts, which dates all the way back to November 3rd, 1962. After all these astonishing statistics, it’s sad how they are playing right now. The current coach Bill Callahan has implemented a new offense and a troubling 25 and 18 record. In Nebraska football standards that is absolutely terrible.
Another team struggling at this time is the Iowa Hawkeyes. They’ve had their share of success though. They are in a conference called the Big Ten, which is a group of teams in the Midwest and partially to the East. They play in Kinnick Stadium, which is named after 1939 Heisman Winner Nile Kinnick. Unlike Nebraska they have only won one national championship. After a few disappointing years, Kirk Ferentz was hired in 1998. He has really turned this program around. Since he came to Iowa, he has won two conference championships and gone to six straight bowl games.
As I have said, both of these teams play football, but they do it in a very different way. Nebraska is used to perfection and so is Iowa. Nebraska has usually been a triple option team and Iowa plays a very balanced game. They have had their share of legendary coaches and their share of the glory days. As we all know that with the glory days there come some hard years and both teams are going through that stage.