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Devaney -fTlinnesota
next hurdle
for Huskers
by Jim Johnston
In the 1950s when Bob Devaney was
an assistant football coach at Michigan
State, the Spartans had a 28-game
unbeaten streak snapped by Purdue.
"We were happy as hell that we played
Oregon State the next week," Devaney
remembered. "Oregon State wasn't too
good and a lot of our players had trouble
adjusting to their first loss."
The problem which greeted Michigan
State head coach Duffy Daugherty had
been confronted by other successful
coaches. . .Oklahoma's Bud Wilkinson,
Darrell Royal of Texas and Penn State's
Joe Paterno to name a few.
Devaney, who gained recognition as
the winningest coach in the nation after
the 1960s, never faced the consolations
after losing a streak in the 20-game
bracket until the start of the 1972 season.
Devaney then faced the problem of
getting his team adjusted after its first
loss in 32 games. The situation was
created, for those who need reminding, in
Los Angeles three weeks ago. UCLA
shocked the two-time defending national
champions and again No. 1-rated
Cornhuskers 20-17.
Devaney's immediate reaction to the
loss?
"I wouldn't say I was stunned,"
Devaney said. "I naturally felt bad, but
we knew the winning streak had to end
sometime."
But that first loss after a long winning
streak doesn't conclude the problems or
reduce the pressures. They only begin.
"I've always said that a losing streak puts
more pressure on you," Devaney said.
The problems created after Nebraska's
loss to UCLA were not easy to solve. The
Husker offense, which prided itself on
consistency in 1971, had committed five
turnovers. The defense, which knew it
would have to carry the load early in the
season, failed to stop UCLA in the crucial
fourth quarter.
"It was a time to talk to some
individual players about some problems,"
Devaney said. "We know we had to (jet
the whole squad ready to play again, but
we also had to talk to some people about
some individual problems."
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The immediate reaction of most of the
Huskers after the UCLA game was that a
third straight national championship was
out of reach. But, after the polls left
Nebraska in the top 10 the following
week, opinions began to change.
"I wouldn't say I was
stunned. I naturally felt
bad, but we knew the
winning streak had to
end sometime."
"That did a lot for us," Devaney said.
"We didn't dwell on the loss, hut instead
looked ahead and realized we could still
win a national championship."
Confidence, perhaps, was one of the
toughest characteristics to rebuild.
"I'm sure a lot of players were afraid
the next week against Texas A & M,"
Devaney said. "They were probably a
little scared about making mistakes."
A 37-7 shattering of Texas A & M
built back confidence. Then Devaney was
hoping to build some momentum. How's
a 77-7 win over Army on TV for a
momentum builder?
Although Devaney admits "we're
proud of the way these guys bounced
back and its shows a lot of character,"
he's not about to say the Cornhuskers are
all the way back.
"I think we have to take into
consideration who we played the last two
weeks," Devaney said. "We're not going
to run into many teams that had as much
misfortune as Texas A & M and Army.
They each had a lot of turnovers."
You'll probably hear Devaney talking
cautiously again next week. . .even if the
Huskers score a lopsided win over
Minnesota at Memorial Stadium Saturday
afternoon. The Gophers aren't a true test.
Minnesota lost to Indiana in the season
