Ken Hunter Football

Ken Hunter (born 5/4/1953, in Omaha, Nebraska) attended Omaha Central High School and was recruited by Bob Devaney to play football for the University of Nebraska.

Hunter played right guard for the Central Eagles during his three years on the team. He started at that position, and never missed a game in both his Junior and Senior years, while compiling a school record 19 unassisted tackles. He lettered in each of his high school years, and earned National Merit Scholar in his Senior year. Graduating 11th in his class, Hunter was a respected student athlete.

When he moved on to join Nebraska in 1971, Hunter moved to nose guard and earned his Blackshirt in his freshman year. In 1971, the number one-ranked Cornhuskers played what has come to be known as the "Game of the Century" against the number two-ranked Oklahoma Sooners at Owen (now Memorial) Stadium in Norman Oklahoma. This game requires little introduction for anyone who follows football as it has long been heralded as the best game EVER in college football. In a game that had been anticipated for several weeks, Nebraska's defense came into the game ranked #1. Oklahoma's wishbone offense came in ranked #1 averaging 563 yards of offense per game. Nebraska won the contest 35-31 in a knockdown-shootout that went back and forth and wasn't decided until the last few minutes of the game. The game's attendance of 63,385 was a record for Owen Stadium creating a sea of red, crimson and white.

Both teams won their bowl games that year (NU 38-6 over Alabama in the Orange Bowl and OU 40-22 over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl) and finished rankd 1-2; just as they were when they entered this game. Big 8 rival Colorado finished 3rd in the nation having lost to only ... Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Bob Devaney's Cornhuskers had some notable players, including Jerry Tagge, Johnny Rodgers, Jeff Kinney, Larry Jacobson, Willy Harper, Doug Durner, Rich Glover, Ken Hunter, Keith Wortman, Daryl White, Dick Ruppert, Carl Johnson, and John Dutton. During the "Game of the Century", Hunter was responsible for four tackles and one sack. You'll recognize some of those names from NFL fame. Future Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne was Devaney's assistant coach in the game, becoming head coach in 1973.

Nebraska went on to play for the National Championship in 1971. Jerry Tagge quarterbacked the Cornhuskers, beating LSU 17-12 in the Orange Bowl. During Hunter's remaining years at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers competed in the Orange Bowl two more times in 1972 and 1973 where Nebraska, led by David Humm beat Alabama 38-6 and Notre Dame 40-6 in each of those games. In 1974, Nebraska, with Humm at the controls, beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl 13-10.

Hunter's football career ended in 1975 when he graduated from the university having earned his undergraduate degree in accounting. He was a major contributor to the success of both his high school and college teams. Nebraska finished their winning seasons in 1971 through 1974 in first, fourth, seventh and seventh positions in the NCAA rankings.

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