It's just funny b/c Brent Venables only knows Nebraska as this dominant superpower. Been fun to hear him talk about it in the last few days.
Wax poetic on Nebraska?
Well, their fans are first class. Every patch of grass in that stadium is going to be full. Some of the most loyal, intelligent fans in all of college football. They’re going to arrive early and stay late. No matter what, they’re going to be there for their team. A lot of pride in that community. One of the cleanest stadiums you’ll find anywhere. Whenever there’s concrete, there’s nothing. No debris, nothing. That has always stood out to me.
I grew up as a player in the late 80s, early 90s, that was one of the best eras in Nebraska football history. I remember at Kansas State that we would spend every single day working on Nebraska. Every day. Bob Stoops, Jim Leavitt, Bill Snyder, that staff would be working on Nebraska every day. My senior year we played Nebraska in Tokyo, Japan, in the Coca-Cola Bowl and rode over on the airplane with Nebraska, which was weird. They beat up on us pretty good. We had to ride back with them. But Coach Snyder, on the way there and way back, we had the side of the plane the sun wasn’t exposed to. He didn’t want guys to get hot. Be a little bit cooler on the opposite side of the sun. That’s the kind of stuff he would always think about.
I remember Will Shields. I was taking the run-through on an isolation play. I can’t remember the running back. I run through the A-gap. And Will Shields, remember Will Shields? He was an all-pro for like 50 years. He hits me, and I’m probably 210 pounds. A big, thick 210. He hits me, and I just helicopter. He spun me crazy, really. He knocked me silly.
Nebraska, I grew up on Nebraska football. Along with Oklahoma a few others, those were the programs that were always on TV. The programs that everybody strived to be like. It’s going to be really exciting. A great, great challenge for us to go to Lincoln, go on the road in a tough environment to see what our team is all about. A great opportunity to grow and develop as a team.
OU-Neb memories? (first KSU-Neb memories)
At Kansas State, I remember certainly as a player, what Nebraska was. Then I became a student assistant, then a graduate assistant, then I became a full-time assistant. We finally broke through in 1998. I remember we missed a facemask, I think that was on Coach Frost, right? Wasn’t that on Scott Frost? I think the facemask, they didn’t call it on us late in the game. We end up beatin’ ‘em. We got ‘em down, a sack, and probably should have gotten called but didn’t. I can say that now, right? They can’t hold me accountable. That was the ‘98 season. Kansas State was No. 1, had the No. 1 defense. But still, Nebraska was that team we didn’t know if we could beat. So in a real pivotal time in the history of Kansas State, that was the biggest win up to that point in time, that I could remember. We had beaten Donovan McNabb and Syracuse in '97 in Fiesta Bowl, which was a big win, but beating Nebraska was a whole nother animal. And for years, you just didn’t think you could beat ‘em, at the end of the day.
2000 OU-Neb?
So then of course we came to Oklahoma. I remember getting down 14-0, and Coach Stoops bringing us over. I think Crouch was maybe the quarterback then, they were running the option, and we had overpursued a few times. They went right down. Pow-pow. Man, body blow. Uppercut. We’re just laying on the ropes. Coach Stoops comes over, ‘Let’s go, we’re all out. Just slow it down.’ I was like, surely it can’t be that easy. But he was right. Then we went 31 unanswered. What a great, I remember they tore down the goal post out there (he breaks down). They tore down the goal post in Norman, Oklahoma, which we know, they don’t do. I’m ashamed now, because I wasn’t celebrating. I’m like, whatever, it’s 1 vs. 2. I’m literally thinking, I gotta get home, I gotta get sleep, because, I can’t remember, it’s Kansas or somebody, we’re going to get beat next week if I don’t get home. We’re gonna get beat next week if I don’t get home. So I’m literally driving through campus on the sidewalks. I gotta get home. All these crazy people celebrating, I gotta get some sleep because like my role was the most important role. That’s how I always felt. And so that was a cool moment. But I’m ashamed because I didn’t take any opportunity to soak it in. I just didn’t, you know, and that’s a dysfunctional place to be. But I’m not really — anyway. That’s what I remember about that.
2001, 2005, 2009 at Neb? 2010 Big 12 champ?
And then in 2001 going up there and Jason getting hurt I think for the second time. And that was another maybe one score game. We had a really good defense in 2001. Another great tough game. And then 2005, I remember going there. My mom passed away on Wednesday. And my man Rufus, my man Rufus and whoever else. We had a bunch of sacks. We had eight or nine sacks up the A gap. So I remember that one real well. We won that game. And then we lost a tough one I think 10-3 in 2009. Then had a great win, played them in the Big 12 Championship in what was that, 2006? Had the head coach of the Bengals, Zac Taylor, and we played really good in that one. I remember that in Kansas City. And then 2010 in Arlington. So a lot of great memories. A lot of tough losses. Tough moments as a young coach, too. And so I got my own space got a lot of really cool moments. I was very fortunate to be a part of those.
2009 at Neb?
Obviously they had an amazing defense. I think our offense did pretty well, we just kept turning the ball over. Nebraska was really good on defense and we were really good on defense as well. I think they had under a couple hundred yards and we had over 300, but we had five turnovers. That's a recipe for an L. We lost 10-3. It's just a tough environment. But you get so into the game and into the play and the alignment and the execution or lack of. Once the game starts everything really goes white noise quiet. That's how it's always been for me. I always take 30 seconds to check it out. This is what it is. Like I said, it's full, the fans are very loyal, very passionate, very similar to here. For the longest time, they had the — and I don't know if it still holds true, but they had the most consecutive sellouts of anybody in college football. Does that still hold true? (It does). That's super cool. I'm a loyalist and I just ... that's what it looks like, even through some tough moments. I wasn't here in the 90s when we had gone maybe four years without going to a bowl game. Was it full? (It wasn't). The only reason I say that is not to throw that in our own face but that's probably more like what most places would be like. If we ain't winning, right? But there, they're still going to show up. So that's pretty cool. That's uncommon.
Wax poetic on Nebraska?
Well, their fans are first class. Every patch of grass in that stadium is going to be full. Some of the most loyal, intelligent fans in all of college football. They’re going to arrive early and stay late. No matter what, they’re going to be there for their team. A lot of pride in that community. One of the cleanest stadiums you’ll find anywhere. Whenever there’s concrete, there’s nothing. No debris, nothing. That has always stood out to me.
I grew up as a player in the late 80s, early 90s, that was one of the best eras in Nebraska football history. I remember at Kansas State that we would spend every single day working on Nebraska. Every day. Bob Stoops, Jim Leavitt, Bill Snyder, that staff would be working on Nebraska every day. My senior year we played Nebraska in Tokyo, Japan, in the Coca-Cola Bowl and rode over on the airplane with Nebraska, which was weird. They beat up on us pretty good. We had to ride back with them. But Coach Snyder, on the way there and way back, we had the side of the plane the sun wasn’t exposed to. He didn’t want guys to get hot. Be a little bit cooler on the opposite side of the sun. That’s the kind of stuff he would always think about.
I remember Will Shields. I was taking the run-through on an isolation play. I can’t remember the running back. I run through the A-gap. And Will Shields, remember Will Shields? He was an all-pro for like 50 years. He hits me, and I’m probably 210 pounds. A big, thick 210. He hits me, and I just helicopter. He spun me crazy, really. He knocked me silly.
Nebraska, I grew up on Nebraska football. Along with Oklahoma a few others, those were the programs that were always on TV. The programs that everybody strived to be like. It’s going to be really exciting. A great, great challenge for us to go to Lincoln, go on the road in a tough environment to see what our team is all about. A great opportunity to grow and develop as a team.
OU-Neb memories? (first KSU-Neb memories)
At Kansas State, I remember certainly as a player, what Nebraska was. Then I became a student assistant, then a graduate assistant, then I became a full-time assistant. We finally broke through in 1998. I remember we missed a facemask, I think that was on Coach Frost, right? Wasn’t that on Scott Frost? I think the facemask, they didn’t call it on us late in the game. We end up beatin’ ‘em. We got ‘em down, a sack, and probably should have gotten called but didn’t. I can say that now, right? They can’t hold me accountable. That was the ‘98 season. Kansas State was No. 1, had the No. 1 defense. But still, Nebraska was that team we didn’t know if we could beat. So in a real pivotal time in the history of Kansas State, that was the biggest win up to that point in time, that I could remember. We had beaten Donovan McNabb and Syracuse in '97 in Fiesta Bowl, which was a big win, but beating Nebraska was a whole nother animal. And for years, you just didn’t think you could beat ‘em, at the end of the day.
2000 OU-Neb?
So then of course we came to Oklahoma. I remember getting down 14-0, and Coach Stoops bringing us over. I think Crouch was maybe the quarterback then, they were running the option, and we had overpursued a few times. They went right down. Pow-pow. Man, body blow. Uppercut. We’re just laying on the ropes. Coach Stoops comes over, ‘Let’s go, we’re all out. Just slow it down.’ I was like, surely it can’t be that easy. But he was right. Then we went 31 unanswered. What a great, I remember they tore down the goal post out there (he breaks down). They tore down the goal post in Norman, Oklahoma, which we know, they don’t do. I’m ashamed now, because I wasn’t celebrating. I’m like, whatever, it’s 1 vs. 2. I’m literally thinking, I gotta get home, I gotta get sleep, because, I can’t remember, it’s Kansas or somebody, we’re going to get beat next week if I don’t get home. We’re gonna get beat next week if I don’t get home. So I’m literally driving through campus on the sidewalks. I gotta get home. All these crazy people celebrating, I gotta get some sleep because like my role was the most important role. That’s how I always felt. And so that was a cool moment. But I’m ashamed because I didn’t take any opportunity to soak it in. I just didn’t, you know, and that’s a dysfunctional place to be. But I’m not really — anyway. That’s what I remember about that.
2001, 2005, 2009 at Neb? 2010 Big 12 champ?
And then in 2001 going up there and Jason getting hurt I think for the second time. And that was another maybe one score game. We had a really good defense in 2001. Another great tough game. And then 2005, I remember going there. My mom passed away on Wednesday. And my man Rufus, my man Rufus and whoever else. We had a bunch of sacks. We had eight or nine sacks up the A gap. So I remember that one real well. We won that game. And then we lost a tough one I think 10-3 in 2009. Then had a great win, played them in the Big 12 Championship in what was that, 2006? Had the head coach of the Bengals, Zac Taylor, and we played really good in that one. I remember that in Kansas City. And then 2010 in Arlington. So a lot of great memories. A lot of tough losses. Tough moments as a young coach, too. And so I got my own space got a lot of really cool moments. I was very fortunate to be a part of those.
2009 at Neb?
Obviously they had an amazing defense. I think our offense did pretty well, we just kept turning the ball over. Nebraska was really good on defense and we were really good on defense as well. I think they had under a couple hundred yards and we had over 300, but we had five turnovers. That's a recipe for an L. We lost 10-3. It's just a tough environment. But you get so into the game and into the play and the alignment and the execution or lack of. Once the game starts everything really goes white noise quiet. That's how it's always been for me. I always take 30 seconds to check it out. This is what it is. Like I said, it's full, the fans are very loyal, very passionate, very similar to here. For the longest time, they had the — and I don't know if it still holds true, but they had the most consecutive sellouts of anybody in college football. Does that still hold true? (It does). That's super cool. I'm a loyalist and I just ... that's what it looks like, even through some tough moments. I wasn't here in the 90s when we had gone maybe four years without going to a bowl game. Was it full? (It wasn't). The only reason I say that is not to throw that in our own face but that's probably more like what most places would be like. If we ain't winning, right? But there, they're still going to show up. So that's pretty cool. That's uncommon.
