Bob Devaney

Robert S. "Bob" Devaney (April 13, 1915–May 9, 1997) was a college football head coach, first at Wyoming, and most notably at Nebraska.

Early career

He graduated from Alma College in 1939, where he played end on the football team. Devaney coached high school football in Michigan at Big Beaver, Keego Harbor, Saginaw, and Alpena, before joining the Michigan State Spartans staff as an assistant coach under Biggie Munn, then Duffy Daugherty. Most experts agree that it was Devaney's Michigan ties that would lead to his later success at the University of Wyoming and Nebraska.

Head Coach

Wyoming

Devaney's first college head coaching job was at Wyoming, where he went 35–10–5 (.750) in five seasons (1957–61). The Cowboys won the Sun Bowl in his second season and won or shared the Mountain States Conference title in his final four seasons in Laramie. Following the 1961 season, he was hired at Nebraska.

Nebraska

He joined Nebraska in 1962 and immediately re-established the Cornhuskers as a force in Big Eight Conference football. Prior to Devaney's arrival, Nebraska had been on figuratively hard times in football, with seven consecutive losing seasons; the 1961 team under Bill Jennings was 3-6-1 and 2-5 in conference. After a stellar winning tradition up to the early 1940s, Nebraska had only two winning seasons in the two decades preceding Devaney's first season.^[1]

He engineered an immediate turnaround, with a 9–2 record in 1962 that included a Gotham Bowl victory in Yankee Stadium over the Miami Hurricanes - the first of forty consecutive winning seasons. He followed this up with an even better 10–1 season the next year, that included a perfect 7-0 record in the Big Eight to claim the conference title, and an Orange Bowl victory over Auburn. His seemingly magic touch continued through 1966, with further records of 9–2, 10–1, and 9–2. At this point his record at Nebraska was 47–8 (.854). This had so revived Nebraska football fortunes that Memorial Stadium was enlarged significantly, by enclosing both ends. For the first time, Nebraska was on television once or twice a year, and fans all over the state sat down to watch the Bob Devaney TV show each week, in which he used his folksy manner review the tape of the game for all of the fans who hadn't seen it in person.

However, consecutive 6–4 seasons followed in 1967–68. Allegedly known as a drinker^{[citation needed]}, Devaney became subject to a whispering campaign about whether he had peaked. However, he had brought in an innovative offensive thinker as an assistant coach, Tom Osborne. He and Osborne revamped the offensive scheme (I formation with an unbalanced line), and upgraded the recruiting effort.

The effects of this change weren't apparent when Nebraska began the 1969 season with just a 2-2 start, then, in its fifth game, needed a last-minute comeback at home to beat a Kansas team that finished the season 1–9. But the 1969 Huskers kept winning and concluded the season with a 9–2 record, including a 45–6 massacre of Georgia in the Sun Bowl. This set the stage for the highlight of Devaney's coaching career.

National championships

In 1970, Nebraska returned most of the key offensive starters from the previous year, and added sophomore Johnny Rodgers, an explosive punt returner and wide receiver (who would win the Heisman Trophy as a senior). Nebraska tied USC in Los Angeles early in the season and were ranked third going into the 1971 Orange Bowl against LSU. A late touchdown by quarterback Jerry Tagge gave the Huskers a 17–12 victory to finish the 1970 season at 11–0–1. This secured the 1970 national championship, after the other two undefeated teams, Texas and Ohio State, lost their bowl games earlier in the day. (The final AP poll, conducted after the bowls, picked Nebraska, while the UPI final poll (released in early December before the bowls) picked Texas, with the Huskers third.^[2].

With most of its key players back and its defense vastly improved, Nebraska rolled through its first 10 games of the 1971 season. The top-ranked Huskers met unbeaten Oklahoma in Norman on Thanksgiving Day in the Game of the Century, one of the most celebrated games in college football history. A late touchdown by tailback Jeff Kinney gave the Huskers a hard-fought 35–31 victory. When Nebraska crushed unbeaten Alabama 38–6 in the 1972 Orange Bowl to finish 13–0, the Cornhuskers were said by many to be the greatest team in college football history. In fact, the Huskers defeated the teams ranked second, third, and fourth in the final AP poll: Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama.^[3]

Final season

Bob Devaney coached one more year in 1972. Although a disappointing loss to UCLA in Los Angeles opened the season, the Huskers finished with a 9–2–1 record. The loss to UCLA ended Nebraska's 32 game unbeaten streak (31–0–1), which dated back nearly three years, to October 11, 1969. Although the Cornhuskers tied Iowa State and lost 14-17 to Oklahoma in Lincoln in November, the season ended with a satisfying 40–6 victory over Notre Dame in the 1973 Orange Bowl, the Huskers' third consecutive victory in that bowl game. Nebraska finished the 1972 season at #4 in the final AP poll ^[3]. In addition Johnny Rodgers was selected as the winner of the Heisman Trophy. The UPI poll, released before the decisive bowl victory, had Nebraska at ninth.

Devaney's overall record at Nebraska was 101–20–2 (.829) in 11 seasons, with 9 bowl appearances and two national championships. His teams won or shared eight Big 8 titles. His record in his final three seasons was 32-2-2 (.916), and his overall college head coaching record (Wyoming & Nebraska) was 136–30–7 (.806) in 16 seasons.

Devaney served as athletic director at Nebraska from 1967–93 and as athletic director emeritus until 1996. The university's indoor arena, the Bob Devaney Sports Center, is named for him.

Devaney hired his protégé to succeed him as head coach, offensive coordinator Tom Osborne, who continued the legacy of winning for a quarter century. Osborne's greatest success came at the end of his career, winning 3 national championships in four seasons between 1994–97.

Head coaching record

Through the 1973 season, the final UPI coaches poll was released
at the conclusion of the regular season, before the bowl games.

References

External links

• Huskerpedia.com - Bob Devaney - profile
• Omaha World Herald - retrospective article
• College Football Data Warehouse - Bob Devaney - coaching record