Top 10 Memorial Stadium games: No. 4, Alabama 1977

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

We're counting down the top 10 games at Memorial Stadium. Today we look at Nebraska's 31-24 win over Alabama in 1977.

Hype: Nebraska was coming off a stunning season-opening loss at home to unranked Washington State 19-10. The Huskers bowed out of the polls after a preseason No. 15 ranking.

Atmosphere: Alabama coach Bear Bryant almost passed out from the heat in the old visitors’ locker rooms. In the stands? Loud, of course, although the crowd of 75,899 was the smallest of the season at Memorial Stadium.

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Bear Bryant, Alabama's head football coach, is escorted off the Nebraska field by Alabama State Troopers in September 1977. (LJS file)

Bear Bryant, Alabama's head football coach, is escorted off the Nebraska field by Alabama State Troopers in September 1977. (LJS file)

Game quality: Very entertaining. In one TD drive alone, Nebraska fooled the Crimson Tide with an I-back pass, a flea-flicker and a fake field goal. A gutsy fourth-down call led to the winning TD, and two interceptions finished the Tide.

Legacy: This was Tom Osborne’s first victory over a top-five team, and it didn’t come until his fifth season. Making it more meaningful was the fact it came over the legendary Bryant.

Looking back: I-back Rick Berns scored the winning touchdown with seven minutes remaining on a fourth-and-short, goal-line dive. Cornerback Jim Pillen then intercepted two passes to preserve NU’s 31-24 victory over No. 4 Alabama in Lincoln.

“To beat a team coached by Bear Bryant is a great feeling,” Osborne said after the game, “out of respect for him, not animosity.”