Four Games That Shaped Big Ten Football In The 1980s
Read about four historically important games, involving Michigan’s Bo Schembechler, that shaped Big Ten football in the 1980s.
College Football History Articles
1984 Notre Dame Football: Gerry Faust’s Make-Or-Break Season
The pressure was on for head coach Gerry Faust in his fourth year. His first three years in South Bend had failed to produce a major bowl bid. 1982 and 1983 were marked by November collapses. The 1984 Notre Dame football team had 17 starters coming back and expectations were that they could save the […]
1983 Notre Dame Football: More November Heartbreak For Gerry Faust
Even though 1982 had ended on a dour note, with three straight losses ruining hopes for a major bowl bid, the 1983 Notre Dame football team entered the season with high hopes. It was the third year for head coach Gerry Faust, the team had shown significant improvement in his second season and pollsters were […]
1984 Ohio State Football: A Return To The Rose Bowl
Ohio State had missed the New Year’s stage for three straight years after their meeting with USC following Earle Bruce’s electric first season of 1979. The Buckeye program restored a little momentum in 1983 when they reached the Fiesta Bowl and won it. The 1984 Ohio State football edition got back to the Rose Bowl. […]
1982 Michigan Football: A Rose Bowl Revival
Michigan was coming off a disappointing year in 1981, one where they were ranked #1 in preseason, but an early upset loss at Wisconsin foreshadowed a tough campaign. The 1982 Michigan football team would be a little more vintage and got to the Rose Bowl for the fifth time in seven years. Head coach Bo […]
The Cinderella Rose Bowl Run Of 1981 Iowa Football
Iowa was a dead program when Hayden Fry took over in 1979. No Rose Bowl appearances since 1958 and not even a winning season since 1961. Fry didn’t break either streak his first two years, going 9-13. So when 1981 Iowa football opened the season by upsetting seventh-ranked Nebraska 10-7 it came out of nowhere. […]
The Frustrating End To 1982 Notre Dame Football’s Promising Year
After a rough rookie year in 1981, Gerry Faust’s second year on the sideline in South Bend was looking better. Notre Dame won big games and was poised to get to a major bowl. Then a late fade sent Faust and the Irish back to the drawing board. The 1982 Notre Dame football team was […]
The Harbinger: The Ominous Struggles Of 1981 Notre Dame Football
The 1981 Notre Dame football team came into the season brimming with optimism. The program had won national titles as recently as 1973 and 1977. The 1980 Irish contended for #1 deep into the season. Even a coaching change didn’t dim the good feeling. In fact, the hiring of uber-optimistic Gerry Faust only enhanced it. […]
The Undefeated Run Of 1987 Syracuse Football
1987 Syracuse football was in a dormant stretch where they hadn’t been relevant since the 25-year run of Hall of Fame coach Ben Schwartzwalder from 1949-73. That stretch saw a national title in 1959 and included great running backs like Floyd Little and Larry Csonka. It included the most hallowed name of them all in […]
1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers: A Great Team With A Too-Familiar Ending
Tom Osborne had been the Nebraska head coach since 1973, and he came into 1987 having done most everything you could do in college football—except win a national championship. The 1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers had the look of a team that could fill in the last line of Osborne’s resume. But an all-too-familiar nemesis—Oklahoma and a […]
1987 Oklahoma Football: Barry Switzer’s Last Great Team
Barry Switzer took over the Oklahoma Sooners in 1973 and his coaching reign was an unqualified success. There were three national championships, most recently in 1985. There was a consistent domination of the Big Eight and archrival Nebraska. The 1987 Oklahoma Sooners came into the season on a three-game winning streak over the Cornhuskers, each […]
1987 Florida State Football: Arrival Of A Dynasty
Bobby Bowden’s Florida State program made their first national splash in the seasons of 1979 and 1980. They went to the Orange Bowl both years and finished in the final Top 10 each time. The five years since then had seen FSU drift off the national radar. They were going to bowls and winning them—a […]