The 2020 Nebraska football Red-White game being canceled due to COVID-19 concerns didn’t stop nearly 25,000 people viewing a virtual version online.
The Nebraska Athletic Department put on the virtual game using NCAA 14, the last version made for Xbox. The game had 281,350 unique viewers between Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch and reached 1,211,423 people.
After a pregame that included the Tunnel Walk, Hail Varsity via a video conferencing Nebraska band, Nebraska cheerleaders leading the Husker Power chant, and the national anthem sung by former Husker Steven Warren, the CPU simulation took off.
The teams exchanged punts from Sam Koch and Sam Foltz before Alex Henery got the scoring started with a field goal to give White a 3-0 lead.
Red quarterback Tommie Frazier celebrates after a second-half run. Frazier rushed 28 times for 187 yards and added 314 yards through the air. (Photo by virtual Kenny Larabee)
Later in the first quarter, after an 18-yard pass from Tommie Frazier to Bobby Newcombe, the wideout shushed the crowed, a virtual Memorial Stadium.
“Why would you shush your own crowd I wonder,” said Husker Sports Network announcer Greg Sharpe to Matt Davison who called the action with other occasional humor tossed in.
Two plays later saw Mike Rozier run for the one yard touchdown, giving Red a 7-3 lead.
Kris Brown added a pair of field goals, one from 50-yards out, to extend the Red lead to 13-3 before Ahman Green scored the first White touchdown on a seven yard run. Just a couple minutes later saw Eric Crouch toss a 12-yard touchdown to Matt Herian to give White a 17-13 lead.
Frazier, not one to trail for too long, scored on a 15-yard run and led another drive where Rozier scored again from one yard out to help Red lead 27-17 at the half.
Halftime featured an interview with former coach Tom Osborne, a replay of the Jack Hoffman touchdown from the 2013 Spring Game, and the Healthy Husker Pledge led by Husker great Will Shields.
Mystery gamers, later revealed to be Cam Taylor-Britt for the White team and Wan’Dale Robinson for the Red team, took over for the CPU in the second half.
A Henery field goal finished off a three minute opening drive to cut the deficit to seven.
The teams exchanged touchdowns by Frazier and Stanley Morgan Jr., before Rozier scored his third rushing touchdown to push Red out to a 41-27 lead through three quarters.
Green ran over Barrett Ruud to score in the first minute of the fourth quarter to again cut the deficit to one touchdown but Frazier answered by hitting a wide open Irving Fryan for a 37-yard touchdown on third down. Brown tacked on another field goal on the next Red possession to extend the lead to 51-34. Kyler Reed made a 24-yard catch and run touchdown to make it 51-41 with 7:11 to go.
Then things got interesting.
Kenny Bell reeled in a touchdown for the Red team to make the difference 16 points, but the extra point was missed by Brown. In real life, Brown missed just five of his 222 career PATs.
White quarterback Eric Crouch scrambles on third down late in the fourth quarter. Crouch led the White to to two scores in the final two minutes to force overtime. (Photo by virtual Kenny Larabee)
With three minutes left and trailing by two scores, Crouch led the hurry up offense. The White team scored on a two yard Green run on fourth down before converting the two-point conversion on a pass to Johnny Rodgers with 1:16 left in the game.
The onside kick was unsuccessful, but after three plays Red had only advanced five yards and burned 11 seconds. The 53-yard field goal attempt by Brown was tipped at the line, leaving White 1:01 on the clock with no timeouts.
That was more time than Crouch and company would need.
Three quick passes to get down field ended with a 22-yard reception by Rodgers in the back on the end zone. On the extra point, Crouch drilled Rodgers on a slant to tie the game at 57 with 41 seconds left.
The Red team ran out the clock to send the game to overtime.
White had the ball first but did not manage a first down, leaving the scoring up to Henery who drilled a 42-yard field goal.
The very first play for Red had Frazier roll right then throw a jump pass to the left toward the end zone where Fabian Washington intercepted it to end the game with a White victory 60-57.
Crouch went 31-for-39 passing for 404 yards and rushed 28 times for 127 yards for the White team. His counterpart on the Red team Frazier threw 47 passes, completing 35, for 314 yards while rushing 28 times for 187 yards.
White outgained Red 688-640 on the day.
The official Huskers Twitter account tweeted highlights of the game with the caption, “That was fun, but let’s do it in-person next time.”
20,000+ live viewers across the internet.
There is NO PLACE like Nebraska.
That was fun, but let’s do it in-person next time.
Stay strong & stay safe out there. #GBRUnited pic.twitter.com/ipmCr4uJl7— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) April 18, 2020