1970 College Football Recap
Before Bob Devaney arrived in 1962, Nebraska had been among the Top 10 teams of the final AP poll exactly twice: No.9 in 1936 and No.7 in 1940.
Devaney's Cornhuskers made it to No.6 in 1963, No.5 two years later, then all the way to No.1 in 1970. Along the way, Nebraska replaced Oklahoma as the Big Deal in the Big Eight by winning six conference titles in nine years.
In 1970, the Huskers were tied 21–21 by Southern Cal in their second game then won 10 straight. At the end of the regular season AP ranked them third behind Texas (10–0) and Ohio State (9–0). UPI, still taking its final vote before the bowl games, named the Longhorns as national champs.
On New Year's Day both Texas and Ohio State lost, giving Nebraska a chance to take it all with a win over LSU in the Orange Bowl. The Huskers posted an early 10–0 lead, lost it in the third quarter, but came back to win in the fourth, 17–12.
Earlier in the day, Texas put its 30–game winning streak on the line against No.6 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. The Irish, who lost by four points to the Longhorns in last year's Cotton showdown, won this time by 13.
In the Rose Bowl, Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett quarterbacked Stanford past Ohio State with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
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