Big 12 championships and Fiesta Bowls are sweet. But let's be honest, Husker fans: Knocking Texas out of the national title game would be sweeter yet.

Especially after what has happened in this series.

Since the Horns crashed the quaint Big Eight party 13 years ago, they've tussled with Nebraska eight times. The scoreboard reads: Texas 7, Nebraska 1.

Worse, all but one of those defeats was an absolute gut punch. Here's the sickening six-pack:

1996: Texas 37, Nebraska 27

Nebraska had won three of the four all-time meetings with Texas, most recently in 1974, when the big shots of the newly formed Big 12 met in the first league title game in St. Louis.

At 10-1 and winners of 37 of its past 39 games, No. 3 NU needed only a victory against 7-4 Texas, three-touchdown underdogs, to play for a third straight national title.

A flu bug hit the Huskers in the days before the game. Still, they looked nearly invincible with eight straight wins by 24 points or more, followed by a 17-12 victory over No. 5 Colorado.

The Longhorns led 20-17 at the half, highlighted by a 61-yard Priest Holmes TD run. But a 15-play drive by Nebraska ate more than six minutes of the third quarter, and the Huskers seemingly took control on DeAngelo Evans' 6-yard scoring run.

Texas quarterback James Brown, who predicted victory for the Longhorns, connected with Wane McGarity on a 66-yard TD strike with eight minutes left to put Texas up 30-27.

With less than four minutes to play, Brown moved the Longhorns from their 3-yard line to the 28 and hit Derek Lewis for 61 yards with a fourth-and-1 dagger.

Holmes scored from 11 yards out on the next play. The senior rushed for 120 yards on nine carries. Evans rushed 32 times for 130 yards in the Huskers' first conference loss since 1992.

The 37 Texas points were the most allowed by NU since Georgia Tech scored 45 in the 1991 Citrus Bowl.

1998: Texas 20, Nebraska 16

Ending Nebraska's hopes of a national title in the 1996 Big 12 championship was bad enough.

But when the Longhorns sang the Eyes of Texas on Halloween Night 1998, they'd done something even more impressive. They had stopped the fifth-longest home winning streak in NCAA history, which stretched back to 1991.

Nebraska came in 7-1, ranked seventh. Texas was 5-2, unranked.

But the Horns had the best player on the field, Ricky Williams, who ran for 150 yards on 37 rushes and solidified a few Heisman Trophy votes, too.

“At times, it was a man against boys,” defensive coordinator Charlie McBride said afterward.

Meanwhile, the Huskers were having trouble at quarterback. Monte Cristo started, but gave way to a banged-up Eric Crouch after NU fell behind 10-0. Crouch made enough plays to give the Huskers the lead, 16-13, with 8:33 left.

Then another freshman quarterback stole the show. Major Applewhite marched 85 yards late in the fourth quarter, converting four straight third-down passes.

On third-and-goal at the Nebraska 2, Applewhite rolled right, improvised when his intended target was covered and hit a diving McGarity for the winning touchdown.

The upset was complete, the streak was over and the greatest era in Husker history had clearly ended.

1999: Texas 24, Nebraska 20

The only major flaw on a dominant Nebraska team in 1999: slippery fingers. That doomed Nebraska on an October afternoon in Austin.

Twice Nebraska fumbled in the first half. One turnover set up a Texas field goal. Another in the Longhorn red zone cost Nebraska points.

But the biggest mistake came with 12:19 left in the game. Nebraska trailed 17-13 when Correll Buckhalter reached for the end zone on third-and-goal.

Fumble.

No. 3 Nebraska was making its first trip to UT since 1960 and clearly had matured since the '98 loss in Lincoln. Thanks to a stifling defense led by Mike Brown and Ralph Brown, NU had run into few problems en route to a 6-0 start.

But turnovers neutralize talent in a hurry, and NU fumbled 49 times in 1999.

Still, Nebraska's offense took a 20-17 lead with 7:52 left against 18th-ranked Texas. Your game to win, Blackshirts.

Instead, Applewhite scored in four plays. And just like the previous year in Lincoln, Crouch and the Huskers couldn't respond.

In the end, Nebraska, which led 13-3 at halftime, outgained Texas by 154 yards, held the ball nine more minutes, forced four more punts and had 16 fewer penalty yards.

The difference: Not once did Texas give the ball away.

2002: Texas 27, Nebraska 24

One of the best games at Memorial Stadium this decade — underrated because it came in the middle of Nebraska's 7-7 season.

This rare November night game had it all: big stakes, valiant individual efforts, a thrilling comeback and a controversial play in the final seconds.

Nebraska entered 6-3; Texas was 7-1 and No. 7 in the country. For the second time in five seasons, the Horns were trying to end NU's nation-leading home winning streak, which stood at 26 games.

For NU, it was one last shot to salvage a season gone wrong.

Texas led at half 6-3. Then the fireworks started.

Jammal Lord, playing the best game of his tumultuous career, ran for 234 yards and tossed a 60-yard bomb to Matt Herian.

Chris Simms responded with 419 passing yards. Roy Williams, whom Nebraska couldn't cover or tackle, caught 13 balls for 161.

Texas led 27-17 with three minutes left. But a quick NU score, followed by a three-and-out and a 44-yard DeJuan Groce punt return, gave the Huskers a chance with 34 seconds left.

On third-and-long at the Horns' 16, Frank Solich could've positioned NU for a game-tying field-goal attempt. Instead, he called pass. Lord threw for the end zone. Nathan Vasher intercepted him at the 1-yard line, seizing the oxygen from a record crowd.

At that point, no active coach in America had won at Memorial Stadium — except Mack Brown. He was 2-0.

2006: Texas 22, Nebraska 20

This time, Nebraska was going to pull the upset. This time, the 17th-ranked Huskers were going to ruin Texas' title hopes.

This time, the football gods wore scarlet and cream — if you didn't believe it, the snowstorm blowing through Lincoln Oct. 21 should've delivered the signal.

Then, on third-and-3 from the Nebraska 36 with 2:23 left, Zac Taylor hit Terrence Nunn for a victory-clinching third down. One problem: Nunn fumbled before he hit the ground.

Bill Callahan had his best Nebraska team that fall — 6-1 entering the Texas game — but the big win eluded him. And the Horns appeared too strong to overcome.

Nebraska trailed 16-7 entering the fourth quarter, but Brandon Jackson quickly changed the game when he scored on a 49-yard shovel pass.

Marlon Lucky gave NU the lead when he connected with Nate Swift on a perfectly executed 25-yard I-back pass.

That's about the time the snow really started flying.

When the Blackshirts forced another punt, NU was one first down from its first top-15 win in five years.

But the Longhorns recovered Nunn's fumble, moved 40 yards — jumping on their own third-down fumble — and kicked a chip-shot field goal.

Texas 22, Nebraska 20.

“It's a funny ball, you know,” Callahan said afterward. “Sometimes it bounces funny.”

2007: Texas 28, Nebraska 25

In the middle of the meltdown that was the fall of 2007, there was one day that didn't quite fit.

Nebraska arrived at Royal-Memorial Stadium having allowed 122 points in consecutive blowout losses to Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M — the final two at home.

Yet the Huskers and their historically bad defense led three-touchdown favorite Texas 17-3 in the closing minutes of the third quarter.

It was 17-9 to start the fourth when Jamaal Charles ran wild for 216 of his 290 yards in the final 15 minutes to better Billy Sims' mark for the highest single-game rushing total against Nebraska.

The blitz-happy Blackshirts allowed Charles touchdown runs of 25, 86 and 40 yards in the fourth quarter, the last with 3:34 left to put the Longhorns up 28-17. NU quarterback Sam Keller, who earlier hit Swift for a pair of TD throws, was knocked out with a season- and NU-career ending shoulder injury. Joe Ganz replaced Keller and connected with Maurice Purify for a touchdown and two-point conversion, but UT recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Lucky rushed for 111 yards in defeat, and Keller threw for 298. Texas sophomore Colt McCoy, who left temporarily with an injury in the second half, struggled to a 12-of-28 passing performance with no touchdowns and one interception.

Nebraska left Austin at 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12, losers in four straight for the first time since 1961. The skid reached five a week later in a 76-39 loss to Kansas, sealing the fate of soon-to-be-fired coach Bill Callahan.

The win for Brown was his 100th as head coach at Texas.

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