Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 5 - DeJuan Groce

The Longhorns were the stone that the Sisyphus Cornhuskers could never get to the top of the hill before it rolled back down, crushing their hopes and dreams. It has been 15 years since Nebraska and Texas last met on the football field, but many Husker fans still count the Longhorns among their most hated teams.

Some of the lowlights from those nine losses*:

• Nebraska missing out on the chance to play for a three-peat due to a team-wide flu outbreak and a fourth-down pass.
• The end of Nebraska's 47-game winning streak at Memorial Stadium.
• Multiple fumbles cost Nebraska a chance to play for a national championship.
• A fumble after successfully converting a third down pass when trying to run out the clock.
• The "one second" game.
• Multiple missed opportunities in the "Red Out Around the World" revenge game.

*And this is just the on-field stuff. We won't get into how Nebraska fans felt about Texas's influence over the Big 12 Conference.

DeJuan Groce played Texas three times. As a redshirt freshman, he played as a backup cornerback in the 1999 regular-season loss and the 1999 Big 12 Championship Game win - Nebraska's last win over the Longhorns.

But Groce's showing in the 2002 Texas game was one of the greatest individual performances in school history. As a cornerback, Groce had a career-high 15 tackles, including 12 solo stops. He also played a key role in Nebraska's rally against the No. 7 'Horns.

Dahrran Diedrick scored a touchdown to make it a 27-24 deficit with 2:22 left in the game. The Blackshirts stopped Texas on three plays, forcing a punt with 49 seconds to go. Groce, who was leading the nation in punt returns, stood at his own 30. It was a shorter kick, so Groce came up to catch it at the 40 with a Texas player so close that he was flagged for a "halo rule" penalty.

It didn't matter.

Groce burst to his right, running down the 40-yard line as his blocking got set up. Before he got to the numbers, he made a lightning-fast cut upfield. He slammed on the brakes at the Texas 30 to avoid being pushed out of bounds. Finally, after a 44-yard return, he was tackled at the 16-yard line. The Huskers were easily in kicker Josh Brown's range for a game-tying field goal.

But with 34 seconds left, Frank Solich wanted to play for the win. An option play on first down was stuffed for no gain. The Huskers, out of timeouts, scrambled to get set so quarterback Jammal Lord could spike the ball. With seven seconds left, Solich wanted one more shot at the win before he kicked the field goal. Receiver Mark Leflore had his man beat, so Lord threw in his direction. Unfortunately, Lord didn't see defensive back Nathan Vasher, who jumped in front of Leflore for a leaping interception.

Another Texas game, another kick in the groin.

DeJuan Groce was an excellent cornerback, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors as a senior. He finished his career tied for second on the career pass breakup chart, and owns the single-season record with 17 PBUs in 2000. Groce is one of two Huskers to have two interceptions in back-to-back games (Bill Kosch is the other). He was a 2002 team captain and won the Guy Chamberlain Award.

But make no mistake, DeJuan Groce is not on this list for his work in the secondary. Groce is here because he is one of the best return men in school history, trailing only Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers in career punt return yards and touchdowns. Groce owns the fourth- and ninth-longest punt returns in school history, 89 and 83 yards.

In his senior year, Groce racked up a school-record 732 yards on punt returns and scored four touchdowns, including an NCAA-record-tying two against Troy State. For his efforts as a return man, Groce was named All-Big 12 and All-America as a return specialist.

He was one of the greatest return men in Nebraska history and did everything he could to put Nebraska in a position to knock off one of their most hated rivals.

* * *

Having signed a letter of intent with Nebraska in February 1999, Carl Crawford likely would have been a redshirt junior or senior in the 2002 season. The speedy, highly touted option quarterback would have been the favorite to replace 2001 Heisman winner Eric Crouch.*

*This assumes Crawford would have been able to beat out the other scholarship quarterbacks in the room in 2002. A group that included Mike Stuntz, Mike McLaughlin, and true freshman Curt Dukes. I never saw Crawford take a snap, but I like his chances.

Instead, Crawford spent 2002 as a rookie outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Crawford hit .259/.290/.371 in 63 games, the first year of his 15-year MLB career.

Crawford's decision - along with Nebraska's struggles to find quality option quarterbacks - opened the door for Jammal Lord to become a two-year starter and record-setting quarterback… even if it likely had a negative impact on Lord's pro career.*

*In 2009, Solich told the Journal Star that "if Carl would’ve been in the program, Jammal Lord would’ve been a strong safety, and Jammal would probably still be playing pro ball."  

It's worth noting that Lord did play briefly in the NFL as a safety, which is remarkable considering he did not play the position in college.

I really liked Jammal Lord. I thought he was a talented athlete who became a respectable quarterback.

Unfortunately, he is another player whose career is not fully appreciated by Husker fans. Why? Lord had two big strikes against him: 1) he followed a Heisman Trophy winner, and 2) he was the quarterback of the 2002 team that broke the streak of nine-win seasons.

The 2002 team got off to a great start, beating Arizona State, Troy State and Utah State by an average of 41-13. The first signs of trouble came in the end of September. An ugly blowout loss at Penn State, followed by a 22-point drubbing by Iowa State. Nebraska dropped out of the AP top 25 for the first time in 21 years, a stretch of 261 games dating back to 1981.

Nebraska rebounded with wins over McNeese State and Missouri but lost to Oklahoma State for the first time since 1961. I-back David Horne scored three second-half touchdowns to help turn a 31-14 deficit into a 38-31 win at Texas A&M. The Longhorns came to Lincoln and broke Husker hearts yet again, winning 27-24. Lord rushed for a QB-record 234 yards and threw for two touchdowns, but his interception at the goal line with 1 second left sealed Nebraska's fate.*

*I continue to maintain that with just 7 seconds left in the game, Solich should have sent the very reliable Josh Brown out to try a 33-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. Yes, Texas was a top-10 team, but I'll take my chances against them in overtime instead of throwing a pass for the end zone and hoping there's enough time left to kick the field goal on fourth down.

After a blowout of Kansas, Nebraska's record was 7-4. Maintaining the nine-win streak, which dated back to 1969, was still a possibility. But the wheels fell off.

An embarrassing 36-point loss to No. 11 Kansas State. A 15-point loss to Colorado on Senior Day. On a Friday afternoon in Shreveport, Louisiana, the 2002 season came to a merciful end with a 27-23 loss to Eli Manning's Ole Miss Rebels in the Independence Bowl.

At 7-7, it was Nebraska's first non-winning record in 40 yards.

For my money, Jammal Lord did everything he could to prevent it. He ran for 1,412 yards - the most by a Husker quarterback, and eighth best all-time - and threw for 1,362. Lord accounted for 20 total touchdowns. His supporting cast wasn't as great as Solich's other teams (Wilson Thomas was the leading receiver with 30 catches for 353 yards. Dahrran Diedrick ran for 931 yards and six touchdowns).

Despite having several NFL players - Barrett Ruud, Scott Shanle, Chris Kelsay, the Bullocks twins, and more - the Blackshirts often struggled to stop opponents. Defensive coordinator Craig Bohl was fired after the season. Three Osborne-era assistants on the staff (Dan Young, Milt Tenopir and George Darlington) retired.

In 2003, Lord was once again the starting quarterback.* With a new offensive coordinator (Barney Cotton) calling plays, Lord wasn't asked to shoulder so much of the offensive load. Lord ran for 948 yards, threw for 1,305 and had 16 total touchdowns. The defense - led by new coordinator Bo Pelini - was much improved and was a big reason the team improved to 10 wins.

*And, notable to our purposes in this series, Lord switched his uniform number from 10 to 5.

Unfortunately, the three losses - by 17 points at Missouri, 24 at Texas and 29 points to K-State on Senior Day - painted a picture of a program that struggled against top opponents in nationally televised games. Steve Pederson fired Solich after the Colorado game.

Lord, a 2003 team captain, finished his Husker career at the 10th-leading rusher in school history (currently 15th), and is still eighth in total offense, behind several players who started for three or four seasons. I believe that had he been surrounded with better talent, Jammal Lord would be remembered more fondly.

As it was, he was a dynamic athlete who did his best to put the Huskers on his back.