Season 7 saw a new quarterback in Sanders filling in for the great, but graduated Damien Lord. Sanders wasn�t too shabby in his own right, throwing for over 2,600 yards with a 24-5 TD to INT ratio. But a second straight MWC title wasn�t in the cards as losses to BYU and Utah tarnished an otherwise grand season for the Prairie Dogs.
Season 8 got NSU back on track as the team ran through the conference slate with a perfect 7-0 record. But the highlight of the season came in Week 1 as the Prairie Dogs traveled east to face in-state rival Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. A packed house saw a high-scoring affair, but the eventual national champions proved to have too much firepower for NSU. Nebraska took the first-ever meeting 43-38 on their way to winning the school�s sixth national championship. The schedule didn�t get any easier for the Prairie Dogs as NSU fell to 0-2 to start the season with a 23-18 loss to eventual #4 UCLA. NSU ran off 11 consecutive wins to finish at 11-2 and a final ranking of #6.Code:Final Record: 9-3, 5-2 MWC Final Ranking: #11 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 @ Syracuse W 28-27 OT 2 @ New Mexico W 38-31 3 Fresno State W 31-17 4 Air Force W 61-7 5 @ UNLV W 55-8 6 Brigham Young L 35-30 7 @ #24 Utah L 52-39 8 Oklahoma State W 20-13 9 @ Texas Tech W 24-21 10 @ Colorado State W 24-21 11 Wyoming W 33-13 12 16 Nebraska aTm L 24-17 EA Sports Bowl
Season 9 began with a supreme high, only to follow with the lowest low�all in the first game of the season. NSU traveled down to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles. Building an incredible 42-14 lead with 5:00 left in the third quarter, the Prairie Dogs collapsed as FSU rallied to take an amazing 48-45 lead with under a minute to go. Not to be outdone, NSU drove the length of the field with it�s potent Prairie Dog Option offense. Facing 4th and goal with three seconds left, NSU�s Shannon missed an 18-yard field goal that capped the greatest collapse in NSU history. Shannon would redeem himself and become one of the best kickers in school history. NSU floated to a 10-3 record after that, claiming another unblemished conference record to finish the season ranked #5 with a 29-23 loss to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl, NSU�s first premier bowl berth.Code:Final Record: 11-2, 7-0 MWC Final Ranking: #6 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 @ #1 Nebraska L 43-38 2 @ #4 UCLA L 23-18 3 Arizona State W 30-14 4 @ Bethune-Cookman W 35-23 5 @ Air Force W 33-14 6 UNLV W 62-13 7 @ Brigham Young W 27-21 8 Utah W 49-27 9 @ Ole Miss W 34-21 10 Colorado State W 41-14 11 @ New Mexico W 37-11 12 Wyoming W 42-9 13 16 S. Miss W 33-21 Liberty Bowl
Season 10 proved the Prairie Dogs was among the national elite in just a decade of play. Despite a defensive battle with eventual #7 Rice, the Prairie Dogs edged the Owls 13-10 in overtime and cruised the rest of the way, earning another conference title and playing in the school�s second major bowl. NSU dominated the Gators of Florida 30-14 to finish 12-0. But Virginia Tech and Wisconsin also finished unblemished and those two teams squared off for the national championship, denying the Prairie Dogs of its first championship. The Hokies took the title and NSU finished behind a one-loss Badger club at #3.Code:Final Record: 10-3, 7-0 MWC Final Ranking: #5 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 @ #18 Florida State L 48-45 2 @ #3 Virginia L 38-31 3 Brigham Young W 24-21 4 @ Utah W 40-10 5 Air Force W 39-7 6 @ UNLV W 45-35 7 New Mexico W 31-24 8 #4 Nebraska W 29-14 9 @ Colorado State W 51-25 10 @ Houston W 37-14 11 Washington State W 50-27 12 @ Wyoming W 51-20 13 16 Nebraska L 29-23 Fiesta Bowl
Season 11 saw NSU take down the defending national champs at their place in the first game of the season. The 31-14 win over the Hokies powered NSU to a second straight undefeated season (including an 80-7 blowout of BYU). This time, the Prairie Dogs wouldn�t be denied a spot in the national championship game. Facing legendary program Notre Dame, NSU lead late in the fourth quarter after a career long (and school record) 57-yard field goal by Shannon. But the luck of the Irish proved to be in full effect. A six-play drive saw Notre Dame score a touchdown with just over a minute remaining. The two-point conversion failed but the Irish D stopped the Prairie Dogs at mid-field and claim the national championship. Super Sophomore JP Morgan rushed over 2,000 yards and won the school�s second Heisman Trophy as NSU finished the season #2 with a 12-1 record.Code:Final Record: 12-0, 7-0 MWC Final Ranking: #3 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 Colorado State W 52-28 2 @ #22 Notre Dame W 27-15 3 #7 Rice W 13-10 OT 4 Grambling State W 54-22 5 @ Air Force W 36-15 6 7 UNLV W 76-13 8 @ Brigham Young W 56-7 9 Utah W 31-6 10 Toledo W 48-0 11 @ New Mexico W 37-27 12 @ Wyoming W 65-20 13 16 Florida W 30-14 Sugar Bowl
Season 12 was the culmination of the founder�s goal. NSU was dominant throughout the season and won the schools first National Championship with a 33-16 win over Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. NSU averaged 48 pts/gm and allowed just 15 a game. The Prairie Dogs took out in-state rivals Nebraska-Omaha and (the now defunct) Nebraska aTm and routed its MWC foes to extend its conference win streak to 37 games. Allen Jobes provided a new weapon to the NSU offense. The prototype tight end caught 57 passes for 1,226 yards and 15 TDs. Morgan was �held� to just 1,698 yards, but the junior scored 21 TDs and scored five more times receiving. Morgan finished the season with nearly 500 yards catching.Code:Final Record: 12-1, 7-0 MWC Final Ranking: #2 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 @ Virginia Tech W 31-14 2 @ UNLV W 58-30 3 New Mexico W 63-15 4 #25 Fresno State W 42-9 5 Air Force W 59-3 6 Northwestern W 43-0 7 @ Utah W 35-21 8 Brigham Young W 80-7 9 Wyoming W 48-17 10 @ Colorado State W 58-19 11 @ Middle Tennessee State W 22-3 12 @ Syracuse W 55-25 13 16 Notre Dame L 26-25 Sugar Bowl
Season 13 was almost a disappointment from the get go. Facing Virginia Tech on the road following a heated race for three recruits in the off-season. The bad blood provided a good game as the Prairie Dogs overcame a late deficit to stun the #2 Hokies in Blacksburg 15-14 as Kelly kicked a 31-yard field goal with no time remaining. The win propelled the preseason #1 team to another great win over the Coyotes of Nebraska aTm. But the highlight of the season came much later. With visiting Notre Dame looking to spoil the bid to repeat, the NSU-Irish game became the stuff of legends. With the game in the balance, NSU�s Mike Deese tipped a two-point conversion at the goal line that prevented a wide open Irish receiver from extending an already record game as Nebraska State won by the incredible score of 89-87 in a record 9 overtimes. The game was tied at 35 after the Irish rallied for three TDs in the fourth quarter. NSU logged 54 points in the overtime periods with ND scoring 87. The game also marked the first time the fans flooded the field. NSU would go on to win their second consecutive National Championship with a 38-13 win over Nebraska-Omaha in the Rose Bowl. Sanctions would force UNO back into DII and would stall a budding rivalry for several years.Code:Final Record: 12-0, 7-0 MWC Final Ranking: #1 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 @ #6 Nebraska A&M W 59-26 2 #14 Nebraska-Omaha W 34-28 3 @ Air Force W 73-13 4 UNLV W 38-10 5 @ Brigham Young W 38-6 6 Utah W 63-25 7 @ #10 Wisconsin W 26-14 8 Colorado State W 44-20 9 Kansas State W 68-19 10 @ New Mexico W 45-8 11 @ Wyoming W 55-0 12 16 Texas Tech W 33-16 Orange Bowl
Report generated by AViD Dynasty Manager Copyright� 2004-2006Code:Final Record: 13-0, 7-0 MWC Final Ranking: #1 WK Opponent Date/Time Result COV 1 #7 Virginia Tech W 15-14 2 Air Force W 20-0 3 #8 Nebraska A&M W 37-20 4 @ Houston W 51-31 5 Brigham Young W 45-0 6 @ UNLV W 42-0 7 @ Utah W 55-20 8 New Mexico W 21-6 9 @ Wisconsin W 26-0 10 @ Colorado State W 36-8 11 #22 Notre Dame W 89-87 OT 12 Wyoming W 27-21 OT 13 16 Nebraska-Omaha W 38-13 Rose Bowl
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