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Who was the best player on an opposing team?

  • Like the question asks, in Nebraska history, who was the best player that ever laced it up against the Huskers?

    My answers show my youth and inexperience, but offensively, no player was ever better to me than Rickey Williams for Texas. He was amazing. Even as a young lad I could tell he was a special player.

    Defensively, with the benefit of his NFL career, Ed Reed stands out a lot to me. He was an incredible talent back there for Miami in that ugly game.

    Twitter: @mikejschaefer Email: mschaefer@247sports.com

    Mike Schaefer

  • Barry sanders or that receiver from Louisiana tech or that guy from ball state.

    bobrosshairclub ●

  • Well, we did play against Peyton Manning once. I'd say he'd be a solid pick. On D I'd probably go with Ray Lewis or Lee Roy Selmon.

    Big Red Phoenix

  • I was going to let Kevin make the Peyton Manning pick. biggrin

    Twitter: @mikejschaefer Email: mschaefer@247sports.com

    Mike Schaefer

  • Mike Schaefer said...

    I was going to let Kevin make the Peyton Manning pick. biggrin

    Peyton certainly didnt look very good that night. All seriousness though, offensively it is Ricky Williams. No question about it.

    signature image signature image

    huskerrule

  • Mike Schaefer said...

    I was going to let Kevin make the Peyton Manning pick. biggrin

    The guy was pretty good. Of course, he was no Charles Woodson. shrug

    That bowl game was awful. Nebraska dominated from opening kick to final gun. Manning didn't play his best, and it seemed like Tennessee was content to dink and dunk so he wouldn't get hurt in his final college game before his big NFL payday.

    Tennessee defense was swiss cheese.

    Kevin Ryan ●

  • bobrosshairclub said...

    Barry sanders or that receiver from Louisiana tech or that guy from ball state.

    Troy Edwards from Lousiana Tech. Absolutely torched Ralph Brown for all of 22 catches and a still standing NCAA record of 405 yards receiving. (How do you top that anyway? 405 yards receiving?)

    But actually the best our Huskers have ever played against IMO was either Billy Sims, Marcus Dupree, or Ray Lewis.

    Skerz ●

  • Marcus Dupree.

    602Husker

  • The best player on the day we played the Edwards, I was at that game. I had better coverage on most of those catches from my seat than Ralph did.

    Barry Sanders greatest we ever played against, 11,000 yards in 8 or 9 seasons in the NFL. Playing on the worst team for most of those seasons.

    Blackshirts27

  • Bo Jackson

    deanshamrock

  • all of those are good.... Nebraska did play Peyton Manning as well. That's got to be up there. Ray Lewis when he was at Miami. Perhaps Gale Sayers as well? There are so many!

    klein12 ●

  • deanshamrock said...

    Bo Jackson

    wow! I had forgotten we played him in 1982, his freshman year. Beat them 41-7.

    klein12 ●

  • We have played an amazing array of top players over the years, including at least 15 Heisman Trophy winners - Charlie Ward, Rashaan Salaam, Ricky Williams, RGIII, Billy Vessels, Billy Sims and Barry Sanders.

    BUT, probably the best player on an opposing team that the Huskers have ever played was in 1908, when they played the Carlisle Indians with Jim Thorpe in the backfield, losing by a score of 37-6.

    This post was edited by daddyact on 6/1/2012 at 12:12 PM

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • daddyact said...

    We have played an amazing array of top players over the years, including at least 15 Heisman Trophy winners - Charlie Ward, Rashaan Salaam, Ricky Williams, RGIII, Billy Vessels, Reggie Bush, Billy Sims and Barry Sanders.

    BUT, probably the best player on an opposing team that the Huskers have ever played was in 1908, when they played the Carlisle Indians with Jim Thorpe in the backfield, losing by a score of 37-6.

    we never played Reggie Bush.... He was drafted in the 2006 draft. We played USC in Los Angelas in the fall of 2006.

    klein12 ●

  • daddyact said...

    We have played an amazing array of top players over the years, including at least 15 Heisman Trophy winners - Charlie Ward, Rashaan Salaam, Ricky Williams, RGIII, Billy Vessels, Reggie Bush, Billy Sims and Barry Sanders.

    BUT, probably the best player on an opposing team that the Huskers have ever played was in 1908, when they played the Carlisle Indians with Jim Thorpe in the backfield, losing by a score of 37-6.

    Was that the first game you attended? biggrin

    deanshamrock

  • deanshamrock said...

    Was that the first game you attended? biggrin

    No, but I believe we also played Illinois when RED GRANGE made his CFB debut and scored three TDs against the Huskers back in 1923.

    It could be argued that Grange was the greatest player of all time, in that his early entry into pro football virtually solidified the establishment of the NFL and assured the success of the sport at the professional level in 1925.

    Oh, and for what it's worth, he was named the greatest CFB player of all time by ESPN back in 2008.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • klein12 said...

    we never played Reggie Bush.... He was drafted in the 2006 draft. We played USC in Los Angelas in the fall of 2006.

    Eh, I forgot when he left USC.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • klein12 said...

    all of those are good.... Nebraska did play Peyton Manning as well. That's got to be up there. Ray Lewis when he was at Miami. Perhaps Gale Sayers as well? There are so many!

    Whoa! Forgot all about Gayle Sayers. Just too bad he opted for KU when he could have won a Heisman under Devaney.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • Lest I forget, the Huskers also played against George Gipp and the Domers way back in 1918-1920.

    If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

    daddyact

  • daddyact said...

    Whoa! Forgot all about Gayle Sayers. Just too bad he opted for KU when he could have won a Heisman under Devaney.

    We ALWAYS made Peyton look terrible, he was no factor when playing against NU, well, a little bit of a factor, but a loser without question.

    OTOH, LeRoy Selmon, Troy Aikman, Jack Mildren, Thurman Thomas, Kellen Winslow, Greg Pruitt, Brian Bosworth, Josh Heupel, Sam Bradford...too many others, but all of these guys impacted NU losses.

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    ...It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to. W. C. Fields

    Zonie87 ●

  • No one say Larry Fitzgerald? Pretty sure he was there when we played Pitt. He turned out ok

    IDWIW ●

  • Brad Smith always seemed to catch lightning in a bottle as long as the game was held in Columbia.

    303Husker

  • James Wilder in 1978, Barry Sanders, Peterson RB for the Vikings, Priest Holmes, Justin Blackmon, Johnson the WR for Miami in the Rose Bowl, Billy Sims, Steve Owens, John Riggins, Greg Pruitt, Jackson the TE for Oklahoma,
    Cliff Branch, Charlie Ward, Ed Podolak from ISU, and many others.

    galloping ghost

  • daddyact said...

    We have played an amazing array of top players over the years, including at least 15 Heisman Trophy winners - Charlie Ward, Rashaan Salaam, Ricky Williams, RGIII, Billy Vessels, Billy Sims and Barry Sanders.

    Now that is one crazy stat.

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    @Gopher2son247

    Nosfera2son ●

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    Twitter: michaelbruntz :: E-mail: michael@huskersillustrated.com

    Michael Bruntz ●

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