With college athletics on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, Nebraska held a virtual spring football game online Saturday with more than 20,000 viewers tuned in across various platforms, the school's athletic department said.
The simulation, played on EA Sports' NCAA Football, was held on the day the annual Red-White Game was scheduled to be played at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, and the teams featured star-laden rosters from Cornhuskers teams past and present.
Quarterbacks Tommie Frazier, who led the Cornhuskers to the national championship in 1994 and 1995, and Eric Crouch, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2001, opposed each other. So, too, did running backs Mike Rozier, who won the 1983 Heisman, and Ahman Green, who ran for 9,205 yards and 60 touchdowns in the NFL.
The first half played out as a virtual simulation, followed by a speech from former Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne. The second-half plays were controlled by current Nebraska players Cam Taylor-Britt and Wan'Dale Robinson. The White team, led by Crouch and Green, came from 16 points down to win 60-57 in overtime.
BALL GAME.
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) April 18, 2020
White mounts a 16 point comeback with under 2:00 to play to win 60-57 in OT. https://t.co/OwfSdN3cBW pic.twitter.com/hhgrbhWBS5
Notable players on defense included Ndamukong Suh, Trev Alberts and Prince Amukamara.
Current Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who led the Cornhuskers to a national title as their quarterback in 1997, was not on the roster, as there were no reserves on either side.
The 2020 season will be Frost's third year as coach at his alma mater. The Cornhuskers, still trying to find their footing in the Big Ten Conference, are 9-15 in his tenure.