Nov. 3, 1962, is a day Tom Osborne wanted to forget as a graduate assistant under Nebraska coach Bob Devaney.
The Cornhuskers lost to rival Missouri 16-7 in front of a sold-out Memorial Stadium – one of just two losses NU would suffer that year.
What Osborne didn't know is what started that chilly November day would be a consecutive sellout streak that will reach 300 games on Saturday.
"I remember they went back and played at Michigan and beat Michigan, which meant something," Osborne said of the 1962 squad. "Devaney had taken a team that won three games the year before and went 9-2.
"For awhile there, Bob Devaney could do no wrong because he was the guy that turned it around," he said.
Current NU coach Bo Pelini is in a similar situation. He may not have taken over a three-win team when he first arrived, but the second-year Husker coach took a five-win team in 2007 to a 9-4 record last season.
The comparison doesn't stop there, either. The fire and enthusiasm shown by Pelini on the sidelines with his team has given him favorable comparisons to Devaney – something Pelini doesn't agree with yet.
"They shouldn't be comparing me to Bob Devaney," he said. "Bob Devaney did a lot. I haven't done anything."
Regardless of Pelini's humble attitude, the road of coaches since game one of the sellout streak has seemingly come full circle.
Devaney was a firecracker with an edge back in 1962. Osborne said Devaney could always light a fire underneath a players' rear end when it was needed most, but he was also a guy that would put his arm around you and laugh with you shortly after.
The reins were then handed to Osborne in 1973, and he led Nebraska to three national championships in the 1990s and earned the nickname "Father Tom" from his players and fans.
When the stoic coach retired in 1997 after 25 years as head coach, Frank Solich took over. Then came Bill Callahan, and soon after, Pelini, but that's the story everybody knows.
While Osborne, Solich and Callahan differed in personality to Devaney, it has been hard for many to find differences between Pelini and Devaney.
Lyle Sittler, a center on the 1962 team, said it's hard not to see the comparison after playing under Devaney and seeing what Pelini is doing with the program now.
"In Devaney football, you ran a little harder for him, you tackled a little harder, and you blocked a little harder," Sittler said. "If you couldn't play at that level, you tried something else, or you got busy and became a better player. That's where Bo is, and that's where I think Devaney was."
Dwain Carlson, who played left guard on the 1962 team, said he couldn't agree more, but thinks it is easier to see because of the accord Osborne and Pelini share now.
"The staff that he has, the way he goes about working with the kids with the practices being short and concise – everybody knows what they are supposed to do," Carlson said. "I think that's why Tom and Bo identify with each other so well – it's because of the Devaney/Osborne relationship."
Osborne said he sees a lot in Pelini that he saw in Devaney, but he also pointed out the expectations put on all five coaches through the sellout streak.
Devaney walked onto campus after the team won just three games with the sole expectation of just improving the team. Osborne was charged with maintaining Nebraska's grip on the college football world, as was Solich.
Osborne did feel bad for Solich's fate, considering the expectations he had to live up to.
"If you look at what Frank did over six years, you would probably be fairly happy with those results now," Osborne said. "Unfortunately, Frank was compared with my last five."
After it seemed Solich was losing that grip, Callahan was given the ball, and some would say he eventually dropped it.
Now, Pelini is being asked to rebuild, just like Devaney, and Osborne said he's been nothing but satisfied with what the second-year coach has done thus far.
Unlike his predecessors, Pelini has earned a favorable comparison to his predecessor, giving him what Osborne has called lasting power in Lincoln.
When Nebraska takes the field Saturday night against Louisiana-Lafayette, it will be in commemoration of the fans, the 300 sellouts and the five coaches who have led Nebraska through those years.
Osborne laughed at how interesting it was to see the coaching history come full circle over the last 300 home games, with Pelini and Devaney exhibiting the same drive for a championship.
"Obviously Bo is intense, and he's an emotional guy," Osborne said. "He has the capacity to get players to want to play for him, and that's a thing he and Bob shared."
spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com
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