The game featured numerous video tributes to Husker fans and the 300-game sellout streak from the likes of Keith Jackson, Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne.

“The greatest fans in football history,'' was the unqualified assessment of Switzer, the longtime Husker nemesis as coach at Oklahoma in the 1970s and 1980s.

“The whole nation of college football stands in admiration,'' said legendary ABC broadcaster Jackson, for decades college football's most recognizable voice.

Jackson's message included a light moment in which he said “are you kidding?” about 300 straight sellouts.

Barry Alvarez, the former Husker who went on to a long career as a coach and athletic director at Wisconsin, said he was proud at Big Ten media days recently when Penn State Coach Joe Paterno called for better fan behavior in the conference, and used Nebraska fans as an example of good sportsmanship.

Both Frank Solich and Turner Gill came on the screen wearing shirts of the teams they currently coach, Ohio and Buffalo, respectively.

One of the warmest receptions came for Solich, the longtime Husker whose firing as head coach in 2003 sparked controversy. Solich spoke of the passion always associated with Nebraska coaches, players and fans.

“Keep filling up Memorial Stadium, keep winning football games and championships, and Go Huskers,'' he said.

Osborne said he's not sure the sellout streak could be duplicated anywhere else.

“Hopefully 15 years from now,'' he said, “we'll all be gathered here for the 400th consecutive sellout.''

— Henry J. Cordes and Nick Rubek

*....*....*

Matthew Nelson drove 6½ hours to Lincoln to catch Saturday's game. He was raised in Colorado and lives in Oklahoma City, but describes himself as the ultimate Husker fan.

“I bleed red and white,” the 24-year-old said. “I'm just still in awe that I'm here.”

It was Nelson's first Husker game at Memorial Stadium.

“I can't even imagine what it's like for the players as they run out on the field,” he said. “I still can't even believe I'm here with all the cheering fans.”

Nelson remembers watching plenty of games, including championship games, on television as a kid, and his dad used to listen to NU games on the radio. Dad gets the credit for Nelson's Husker pride.

“Being here is almost like watching back through my childhood,” he said.

Nelson stood near a commemorative wall dedicated to Nebraska lettermen. He rested his fingers on former player Matt Davison's name and then Eric Crouch's.

“I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world,” he said, “especially on a night like tonight where I can help break a sellout record.”

— Josefina Loza

*...*...*

Hip, hip, hooray for NU's cheerleaders.

They sported red-and-white-striped V-neck sweaters with large Ns on their chests. The ladies paired the vintage-style cardigans with red pleated skirts and big red bows tied in their hair.

Even their bubble-bang hairdos were a modern take on the retro theme.

A woman standing near the sidelines called out to the yell squad, wanting to know all about the sweaters. “They're cute,” she said.

— Josefina Loza

*....*....*

The Huskers' throwback football jersies had no names printed on the players' backs. Only a true Husker fan who knew the players' numbers could tell who was who in the game.

“It would be nice to have their names on them,” said 1970 NU alum Robert Wallace. “The names are a great way to identify players during plays.”

His wife, Jeanne, chimed in: “But the jerseys are still fun for today.”

The Des Moines couple met as freshmen in college.

— Josefina Loza

*....*....*

One thing fans didn't have to worry about this particular Saturday was the score.

By halftime, NU fans knew it was going to be a lopsided win. So Spencer Cox, 29, of Omaha and Ryan Tanner, 28, of Lincoln — both formerly of Hershey, Neb. — hit the concession stand for some ice cream.

“We've walked around the stadium, like, three times,” Cox said. “We're only here for moral obligation to support the Huskers.”

“We're always in our seats,” Tanner said. “I can't remember another time we've had like this.”

He added, “It doesn't matter where in the stadium we are or what's going on in the game, we're still having a good time.”

— Josefina Loza

*....*....*

At the volunteer station, three teens were snacking on burgers and fries during their break when a lanky teen ran into the room to tell the group, “I just saw Larry the Cable Guy.”

“Where?” the others said in unison.

“In the stands. I pointed at him while you guys were up there,” the kid said. “He was the guy in the camouflage Nebraska baseball cap.”

The comedian, also known as Dan Whitney, has his own skybox.

And the stands held a lot of guys with camouflage baseball caps.

— Josefina Loza

*....*....*

Several stores were selling new-but-old-looking tattered shirts with Herbie Husker on them for $25.

But whatever happened to Harry Husker?

Some fans asked Saturday about the long-faced character with a Jay Leno chin. Now that's old-school.

— Josefina Loza