How to win a Heisman

the Lincoln Journal Star

Sept. 29, 2001

Eric Crouch should have been sacked for a safety; a Missouri defender had the Nebraska quarterback in his grasp in the NU end zone at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo.

And then it happened.

Crouch shrugged off the would-be tackler and headed upfield. He juked a Missouri defender at the 10-yard line, another at the 16 and one more at the 30 before kicking on the jets and outrunning everybody for a 95-yard touchdown and a place in the Husker record book with the longest TD run.

“I was kind of able to just bob and weave and get the touchdown,” Crouch said.

The TD run gave Nebraska a 22-3 lead en route to a 36-3 victory. Crouch added a 15-yard TD run later for good measure.

But most importantly, the run — like Johnny Rodgers’ punt return against Oklahoma and Mike Rozier reversing his field for a 2-yard TD against UCLA — clinched the Heisman Trophy for Crouch.

— Jeff Korbelik