Many fans did not see much difference or improvement from the 1967 and ’68 seasons as ’69 began sluggishly with a 31-21 loss to USC in the opener and a conference loss to Missouri after defeating mediocre Texas A&M and Minnesota squads. Devaney knew that both USC and Missouri were loaded and both were bowl teams at the end of the season. He knew too that his brand new offense needed a break-in period with innovative inside reverses, isolation blocking, and the infusion of his young speedsters. Quarterbacks Tagge and Brownson delivered as hoped for, proving to be apt rushers with mobility and able to pass when needed. While the fans were murmuring, the players and staff were confident that they had an excellent formula for success. Winning seven in a row proved that their optimism was warranted and the Kansas victory in the season’s fifth game kick-started a streak of thirty-two consecutive games without a loss. There was almost a 100 yard per game increase in total offensive production and a reversal of what had been a negative turnover margin.

The Huskers 9-2 record was completed with a huge win over Oklahoma and a 45-6 beat-down of Georgia in the Sun Bowl, leaving them ranked at number eleven in the final polls. Devaney saw the potential for more and wanted it going into ’70.USC was again a nemesis as the 21-21 tie versus the Trojans in the season’s second game was the only blemish on a huge 11-0-1 National Championship season. The offense was in place entering the first skirmish but there were questions about a defense that had lost eight starters. The doubters were quieted as both sides of the squad were superb and they were barely challenged until the Oklahoma game which was won 28-21 in Lincoln. That victory left the Cornhuskers ranked at number three going into the Orange Bowl against SEC Champion and fifth ranked LSU. The game, played in the evening during prime time, was perhaps the best of the bowl season, with quarterback Tagge completing a late sixty-seven yard drive with his sneak into the end zone. The 17-12 victory moved the Associated Press to vote Nebraska as Number One and moved Devaney to state, “Even the Pope wouldn’t vote for Notre Dame as Number One.”

As a “Legend In The Making” Coach Devaney still downplayed his role and remained the salt of the earth individual that had first arrived at Nebraska. He obviously had found a winning formula, one that allowed him to surpass the rather significant accomplishments of his first few years in Lincoln and it was a testament to his willingness to bring fundamental changes to his football philosophy. There was no change in the way he handled and treated his players and they continued to play hard for him and each other. By the time the 1971 season concluded, the entire football world was looking at Nebraska as a new standard. In a season that saw the Cornhuskers play an “extra” game sanctioned by the NCAA in Hawaii and finish at 12-0, Big Eight Conference foes Oklahoma and Colorado also made national headlines. OU had but one loss in completing an 11-1 year and a 40-22 victory over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. That loss was of course, to Nebraska. Colorado stunned everyone with their 10-2 finish, Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl win over Houston, and losses only to conference rivals Oklahoma and Nebraska. The Huskers got yet another shot at Alabama and when the smoke cleared with Bear Bryant and the Crimson Tide on the wrong side of a 38-6 defeat, the legendary Bear was moved to say, “The 1971 Nebraska team is the best college team I have seen.” With Nebraska’s final ranking as the best in the nation, followed by number two Oklahoma, and number three Colorado, the accomplishments of both the Big Eight and Nebraska in being the best in the Big Eight, could not have emphasized more strongly, just how good the Husker team was.

The Thanksgiving Day Oklahoma game more than any other caught the fancy of the nation as The Game Of The Century featured OU’s best-in-the-country offense faced off against Monty Kiffin’s best-in-the-country defense. Television ratings were shattered and no doubt many platefuls of turkey and stuffing were left to get cold as the game was every bit as good as its billing. Marred by but one penalty call, both teams pounded each other with OU’s Jack Mildren and Greg Pruitt, matching NU’s Johnny Rodgers’ seventy-two yard punt return touchdown and the inside plunges of Jeff Kinney. A fourth quarter drive led by Tagge was the difference in Nebraska’s 35-31 victory in a game that has been highlighted by books and documentaries about its various aspects. To this day, the ’71 Nebraska team is rated by many college football experts as “possibly,” “probably,” “definitely,” “arguably,” and “without a doubt” the best of all time. Devaney to his credit, never bought in to “the greatest of all time” hype but admitted that he believed that he had a “great team.” There were individual stars that included Rodgers, Kinney, Tagge, Glover, Jacobsen, Joe Blahak, and Bob Terrio with Tagge, Kinney, and Jacobsen all first round NFL draft choices.