That Time Tom Osborne Almost Left Nebraska for Colorado

My earliest memories of Nebraska football start in the late 1980s, early 1990s. It’s a little bit of a blur, given that I was 7 at the turn of the decade. I vaguely recall hearing something about Tom Osborne interviewing at Colorado at some point along this journey through Husker fandom. But truth be told, it’s not something Common Fans of a certain age know a lot about.

This week, on the Common Fan Podcast, we launched Episode 2 of our series focused on Osborne’s coaching career. This episode, The Head Man, looks at TO’s early days as a head coach, from 1973 through the rest of the 1970’s. I must admit, in doing research for the episode, and then having a discussion with Husker legend Tom Ruud and longtime sportswriters Mike Babcock and Brandon Vogel, it seems shocking to me that TO ever would have considered the move to Boulder. 

The Breaking Point

The 1978 campaign started with a loss to Alabama but quickly turned into Osborne’s most promising season up to that point. Nebraska rattled off nine straight wins, including TO’s first victory over Oklahoma, ending a painful five-year losing streak to the Sooners. It should have been a breakthrough moment. Instead, what followed nearly pushed Osborne out the door and all the way to Boulder.

A week after beating Oklahoma, Nebraska lost at home to unranked Missouri, 35-31. Despite that, they received an Orange Bowl bid—only to find out they’d have to play Oklahoma again. “What a blow,” Osborne would later write…

CLICK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING FOR FREE